If you're from North America, when you read the title of this morning's Gleanings From The Word, you probably at least subconsciously finished the sentence with "This is your brain on drugs" because of all the television commercials you've seen over the years that had that slogan.

Our brains are truly amazing gifts from God. They store everything we encounter, every sound, every image, and every sensation. Nothing that enters into our senses is ever lost (unless we damage part of the brain). Retrieving that information isn't quite so simple, just because it's filed in there someplace doesn't always mean we can retrieve it at will.

I'm great with faces, I seldom forget one. I'm terrible with names; I've even been known to forget the name of a good friend on occasion. I'll go to introduce a friend I've known for years to someone and draw a complete blank as to their name.

Over the years I've filled my brain with some highly inappropriate junk. As teens, we came up with a crude version of "Away in a Manger" and whenever I hear the music to that song, the inappropriate lyrics leap to my mind first. I grew up listening to music that glorified drinking, drugs and sex.

Over the years, I watched way too many violent movies and read many violent books. A lot of it was historically true, but the images were none the less graphic. Those images never go away and are up to pop into my mind at times.

Before becoming a Christian and even in some of my early Christian years I struggled with pornography. It was or so I had always been led to believe, a "harmless" diversion. Now that I've learned better and have given the garbage up, the images till come to my mind at times.

I'm a believer, and Christ has long since forgiven me for these sins. The problem is that once they are in the brain's filing system they are guaranteed to pop up at some point in time or another.

We can't do much about the stuff that is already in that filing system, although I have found that the closer I walk with God, the less often the junk surfaces. We can however be proactive about what we keep filing in our brains.

Until next time, may you fill your mind with the things of God and put aside the things of the world.

Be blessed.

Hallelu Yah (Praise God)!

Kevin

Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are a work in progress

Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world.

The key to contentment in life is to know God and walk in His ways. Anyone can know about God but the ability to know God is left to individual choice. You can have a personal, intimate relationship with God just for the asking.

If you haven't made the decision to accept Christ as Lord