Read: 1 Nephi 22 - 2 Nephi 1
Mark: 1 Nephi 22:26
"If Satan could but capture our minds, he would have won the battle and the war. He can only do this if we let him. If we refuse to walk with him, he will have no power over us, for God gave us our free agency and Satan cannot take it away. So what I am suggesting is that we refuse to even walk on the same street with Satan. In other words, not only should we avoid evil, we should avoid the very appearance of evil." --Bishop Victor L. Brown
To ponder:
How can Satan be bound in his efforts to influence you?
I'm going in for carpal tunnel surgery in a few hours on my right hand, so I'm here bright and early with the reading for today. I'm not certain how easy it will be for me to type in the coming days, so my entries may be anywhere from non-existent to short, depending on my pain level and ability. I love Lehi's blessings and words to his sons (and adopted sons) at the beginning of 2nd Nephi. He speaks so powerfully and with so many truths. And he's speaking as a man of God, but also as their father. I am so grateful to my father and for the many priesthood blessings he's given to me. I continue to cherish his words of wisdom and ask for his advice. I love Lehi's words to "arise from the dust , my sons, and be men" (2 Nephi 1:21). And in verse 23 where he pleas for them to put on the armor of righteousness and get rid of the things that hold them back. No matter where we are in life, there's no reason we can't rise higher! And I especially love Bishop Brown's quote for today. We are literal sons and daughters of God. We have great potential in our lives and eternity. We must remember who we are and keep our standards high, avoiding even the appearance of evil because our eternal reputations are at stake! I know that we live in a land of promise. Our country really is wonderful, but it isn't perfect because we don't have perfect leaders or citizens! I read 2 Nephi 1:6-7 and remember that this land is sacred and that I am blessed to be here. I think that's why we're so encouraged to be involved in our communities and governments, because there's already so much influence to do evil that we need more influence for good. What can I do to "come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust" (2 Nephi 1:23)?
ReplyDeleteI love how in 1Nephi 22:26 that it tells us that if we are righteous that Satan will be bound and that he will have no power on our hearts, that along with the promise that if we keep the commandments God that he will strengthen us I feel are awesome promises, I look forward to the day that Satan is bound and that he has no power to tempt us and that we will be strong and immoveable in our faith and our good works.
ReplyDeleteAs I ponder I know what a great time that will be
The scriptures just before your reference really stood out to me as well. In 1 Nephi 22:22-23, we are promised that the righteous need not fear, evil will be overcome. Now we just have to work on being righteous!
DeleteAs I read and re-read these scriptures, the hymn "Who's on the Lord's Side, Who?" kept running through my mind! We are taught so many truths throughout these two chapters. I love that we are promised that the Lord will not allow the wicked to destroy the righteous. And, we are reminded of the importance to be obedient.
ReplyDeleteAs I thought about the question today: How can Satan be bound in his efforts to influence you?--I thought of what we so often refer to as the "Standard Mormon Answers"--read the scriptures, take the sacrament, pray. These are all of course so important and so right! But I want to add one more to the list and that is the reminder that Nephi gives to us in 1 Nephi 22: 30-31--and that is the importance of being obedient. One last random thought: Do you love that in 2 Nephi 1:12-14, Lehi uses the following words to his sons: Remember, Hearken, Awake and Arise! I love these words; they remind me of the things that I need to do each day.
Hey Everyone! I just want each one of you to know how much I appreciate you and each one of your comments and your willingness to share your thoughts, experiences and ideas. Thank you for helping me look forward to reading and studying the scriptures each day! Love, Patti
ReplyDeleteYesterday in a drive thru I saw a young woman who's eye makeup was so pretty. I complimented her. She stopped and slowly smiled. What a beautiful moment to watch someone realize another person acknowledged their existence as well as their beauty. As I left she just kept smiling.
ReplyDeleteHeavenly Father sees us in that same light. The more obedient we are to His commandments, the closer we are to the ultimate goal of living beside Him for eternity. Satan wants to make things look so inviting and satisfying. But it's kind of like Chinese food, it doesn't fill our bellies for very long. There is no satisfaction because it is only for ourselves. Obedience to covenants brings us healthy,filling food for our hearts that lasts. As we become closer to God's light we become more Christ like. Becoming more Christ like gives off more light to keep Satan bound.
I love all your comments! Sometimes it helps to be reminded that we DO have power to bind Satan and cast him out of our hearts as we align ourselves with God. Thanks for all your thoughts. I really do love seeing what everyone thinks of when they read.
ReplyDeleteI think I marked all the passages mentioned above. I also love theses chapters. I feel as though heavenly Father is expressing His concern for me through the words Lehi expresses. I also feel these are good news chapters. Bad things will still happen but this is an eternal matter. Satan will be bound. The righteous will be blessed. Something I noticed when I read this is that Satan will have no power BECAUSE he will have no effect on the hearts of men. I've always reversed it. We can bind Satan now by giving him no place on our hearts. This is suggested by the question for this section of reading. What can I do to bind him? Fill my life with so much good there is no room for him!
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