Taming the Tongue

I was reading a devotion with my youngest daughter this morning.  Some days it feels like my biggest lessons come from these and I tend to have more "ah-ha" moments than she does!  Today was more a gentle reminder though.

In the devotion a young boy was working on a science project about sound waves.  He had read a book in which scientist believe that every word that has ever been spoken is kind of floating around in space and that one day it might be possible to hear them again.  Uh-oh!  There are LOTS of words that I have said that I pray no one ever hears again, including me.  Those grumbles I have let slip under my breath.  A lot of my speech before I came to know Jesus, and admittedly some afterwards.

Our words are powerful.  God used words to bring most of what we see today into creation.  Proverbs 18:21 tells us that words have the power of life and death.  They can turn away wrath or incite anger (Proverb 15:1). Our words can bring pain or healing (Proverbs 12:18).  Do a Bible word search on words and you will see that God devotes a lot of verses to what we speak.  And He promises that one day we will have to give an accounting of all of them (Matthew 12:36).

But it really isn't so much that you said some unkind words.  Our words are simply an outward reflection of our heart (Luke 6:45, Matthew 15:18), and that is what God is truly after.  James tells us that you can say you worship God all you want to, but if the words you are speaking are not a reflection of that, then you are simply deceiving yourself (James 1:26).  If you are deceiving yourself, you aren't really, wholeheartedly committed to God are you?

Now, don't think I am telling you that you are doomed.  Fortunately we live in a time of grace.  God understands that we aren't always going to get it right all of the time, he isn't looking at what you do as much as He is looking at your heart.  Are you truly and honestly trying to bridle your tongue and speak words that are encouraging, helpful, full of grace?  Are you allowing the Spirit to convict you when they aren't and as a result repenting?  Then you aren't deceiving yourself, you are learning.  God gives us the guidelines so that we would understand not only what sin is, but how it hurts others.  Jesus died and paid the price for every unkind word or deed we have ever or will ever say or do.  The act of bridling our tongue is an act of obedience, but more so, it is an act of love.  And considering how he demonstrated His love for us, it is such a small thing in comparison.

*originally published on Coffee with Christ

The Light Giver

 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. ~John 1:9-12 NLT

I have to admit, it is really hard for me to grasp that God, who created billions of universes, paid attention to teeny tiny details of His creation, and for whom nothing is impossible, sent His Son down here to yet again give us a chance to be with Him.  And He did it knowing we would not only reject Him, but kill his human form in a horrible way.  I just can't grasp that kind of love.

I love my children with all my heart, but I would never send one to be tortured to save another, and yet that is what God has done....

for you.....

for me.  Let that soak in.   This wasn't something He did for your neighbor, or just for the ones who were trying to get it all right.  Jesus came for the drug addict, the pornographer, the liar, the thief, the mom who just wants to get away from her children, the father who abandoned his children, the murderer....He came for ALL of us.  That includes you and me despite the things we have done or are doing that are detestable to God.

You see, God isn't looking at us with condemnation in his eyes, but sorrow.  He knows the person we were created to be, He created us.  He knows what we are capable of if we weren't burdened down by all of the bad choices we had made.  That is the person He sees when He looks at us, and that is the person He wants to restore us to.  That is why He sent Jesus, and why Jesus accepted His fate knowing how difficult it would be.  Take a moment and read His words in Luke 22:38-39:

Then he (Jesus) said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”  Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 

 You see, not only did Jesus accept His fate, He loved us enough to follow through.  Read that again...He loved us enough to follow through.  Jesus died for you to be able to enter into a relationship with His Father and not only that, but to be able to stand before God pure and clean.  Jesus paid the price for every sin you ever thought or committed as well as those in the future.  And yet we go about our day and try to squeeze Him into our life....if we have time.....if we remember.....

Take a moment today and give Him the time.  Not because He has earned it, which He totally has, but because of who He is...because of how much He loves....because He deserves our all.

*originally published at Coffee with Christ

The Real Question...

God love you....just the way you are.  It's true.  He loves you when you hit snooze on your alarm clock rather than get out of bed and spend that time with Him.  He loves you when you choose to tell that "little white" lie rather than face the consequences of your actions.  He loves you when react in anger to a loved one, or turn a blind eye to the person on the side of the road that has obviously had better days.  He truly does love you in spite of all you do.  (Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:10, 1 John 4:19, Lamentations 3:22-23)

The real questions, is do you love Him?  Think about it, when you love someone you are eager to show them you love them by adjusting your life to make them happy.  You cook a special meal, you watch sports that you don't really like, you change your schedule, your life to make them feel special.  And then there is God.  He will understand that you broke your date to chat with Him....again.  You can apologize later for the lie and He will let it go because it kept you out of a little hot water and after all, He loves ya.....right?  See a problem here?

Yes, God absolutely, whole-heartedly loves you so much that He sacrificed everything  for you.  But remember, we were created in His image.  You know that feeling you get when the person you love gets wrapped up in something other than you and forgets to call?  Or when you and your best friend get in a fight?  Now remember we were created in His image....He gets those feelings too when we hurt Him.  And it does hurt Him.  (Psalm 95:10, Genesis 6:5-6)

All those "rules" you think we are supposed to be following because God said so, aren't really rules so much.  Think of them more as an inside scoop on what makes your beloved happy.  If you were dating someone and came across a letter that told you exactly what made him or her happy and what didn't, wouldn't you do your best to adjust your actions based upon that letter?  Especially when you had already been shown how madly that person is in love with you?  THAT my friend is what the Bible is all about.

Open yours to just about any page and you will find a revelation of God.  What He likes, what He doesn't.  Take the time to deepen your relationship with Him, to love Him back.  Make Him a priority  in your life (for the first time, for the 100th time-it doesn't matter!).  He longs for you to reciprocate His love.  When we view our relationship with Him as just that, a relationship, it becomes much easier to choose to do the right thing.

*originally published at Coffee with Christ

Perspective

Perspective is a funny thing, it can cause two identical things to look completely different. For example, in the picture above, do you see a woman's face, or man playing a saxophone?  Same picture - different perspectives.  I am expecting my first grandchild in about three weeks. For me and my daughter, it is going to be a mighty long three weeks. But for a momma who was just told that there is nothing more the doctors can do and her child only has about three weeks left on this earth, three weeks isn't nearly enough time. It's the same three weeks, but the perspective is different.

Paul encourages us to look at this life from a different perspective from the world. For those who don't know or understand the promise of eternal life with our Father, life on this earth is all there is. As a result, when hardships come they have nothing to look forward to, no promise of joy. (Romans 14:17, Psalm 71:23) It is hard to persevere when you can't see the silver lining. We, however, know how the story ends, our team wins. With that perspective, how can we possibly let the things on this world get us down for very long?

Don't get me wrong, I have my moments where I forget the ending and get lost in the conflict. Moments where I wonder how I'll get through, or if the battle is worth it. But then I look up, and not just up from my situation, but up to my Father who reminds me that there is a bigger picture. He helps me to regain my perspective on the situation.

You see, so often I catch myself living this life like the momma who is told she only has a few weeks left with her child, when in reality I should be living like the one expecting the new life, because that is the promise that we have. Yes, we will have to say goodbye to this one, just as the expectant mom must say goodbye to her previous life. But what awaits her is a love like she has never known before, a life better than she ever could have imagined. And that is what awaits us also.

So when things get you down, when the world and your situation just doesn't make sense, remember your perspective. Look up and be reminded that we win in the end!


*originally published at Coffee with Christ