Watch Your Mouth!!!

My mouth can surely get me into a lot of trouble, even with God.  Yesterday, I was reading an article which quoted Numbers 14:28:

So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. 

It suddenly hit be how powerful my spoken words are.  The Lord told the Israelites that He would do what they say.  Unfortunately, they were complaining and being rather negative.  Therefore, they literally got what they spoke about. Hey, they asked for it and got it.  God is a giver.  

More and more, lately, I have been recognizing that my words can break me or make me.  Isaiah understood this when he said:

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” Isaiah 6:5

He connected his ruination with his "unclean lips" and he lived around people who were in the same state.  They were bringing each other down.  Judging from the Israelites' modus operandi, their lips were unclean not just because they were cursing, but more than likely it was due to all their constant criticizing and fussing. Their words were creating their own destruction.  

God is creative and His words constructed our world.  The Lord "said" and it happened.  What are you saying?  Think before you speak, what you say is shaping your reality.  

But, don't worry, God is always willing and able to help you change your words and forgive you for all you have said.

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Isaiah 6:6-7

God will design our circumstances to help us comprehend that the tongue has the power of life and death. Proverbs 18:21 Then when it has sunk in, and we have made the decision to speak His words our lives will never be the same again.  It is after Isaiah had his lips cleansed with coal from the altar, that God asked whom he should send.  Isaiah was now ready to take on the task and he could say, "Send me."

Can each of us say, "Send  me"? Or, are we resisting God as He places us in situations that are shaped to clean up our words.  Once our words are not God's words, we cannot go on the path for which He has purposed us.  

If you would like to change your world, change your words.  Watch your mouth!!!

Watch your thoughts, for they become words. 
Watch your words, for they become actions. 
Watch your actions, for they become habits. 
Watch your habits, for they become character. 
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

Lost That Loving Feeling

Christmas is fast approaching and people seem to be talking more about love during this season.  I don't get it though, we throw the word "love" around as if it is something we can just pick up and toss down whenever we like. Songs tell us To Give Love on Christmas Day. I, on the other hand, believe that if it is only on Christmas day that we "give love", then we really have a serious problem.

Actually, I am not too enthused about Christmas, much to the chagrin of most of my friends.  I have often been called Scrooge.  All I can say to that is "Bah!!! Humbug!!!" People seem to lose that loving feeling at Christmas.  I must admit that I too have lost that loving feeling.

It is okay if we lose that loving feeling, but we must make sure that our love is not based on what we feel.  Instead we are to show love to the other person no matter what.  That can be quite a task, that is why we were given a Helper - the Holy Spirit.  The fact is, feelings come and go and love should not be about feelings. Unfortunately, we cannot truly give love if we do not have an understanding of the true definition of love.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Undoubtedly, it can be quite difficult to love unconditionally, but we are called to do this.  Love is everything in the Bible.  This is why Jesus laid down His life for us.  

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.  1 Corinthians 13:3 

We often give of ourselves, spending time with the sick, helping the needy and providing for the poor.  But, can all these be wrong?  Yes, they can, if the heart behind them is not in the right place.  Many times we give out of the desire to receive praise and to feel good about ourselves.  Instead, we should give out of love which overflows from an intimacy with Christ.  Remembering, our good things can keep us from God's thing for us.  I find that it would be quite hypocritical of me if I were to only give love on Christmas Day and then the rest of the year I am selfish and self serving.

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:1-4

Love is much more than a feeling, it is an action.  And, our actions must show we are putting the other person first.  When each person puts the other above himself or herself, true love is at work.  Subsequently, we will have joy to the world, peace on earth and goodwill to all men because we are loving every day, not just on Christmas Day. 

Whitewashed Religion or Submitted to Grace

I have often heard the saying "Christianity isn't about religion, it is about relationship", but I didn't really comprehend the full essence of this statement. When I became a Christian, I wanted to know what I had to do to become a "good" Christian, as I believe whatever I do, I should do my best at it. Therefore, I sought to be the best Christian I could be. Bible school, Bible studies and books on Christianity were all means by which I endeavored to be the top Christian that I desired to become. Instead, I fell short of the glory of God.  I knew more Bible verses, I could write a sermon and knew much more about God.  But, did I really know Him?

If I really knew God, I would have understood I could not work my way into His grace. I didn't have to, His grace was freely given to me by Christ's work on the cross. There is nothing I can really do, except to accept the gift of salvation, which Jesus has already paid through His death.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8

I observed the laws and traditions of religion, so I stayed under a curse. There was little joy and peace. I looked like a "good" Christian, because I did all the "right" things, and became a slave to self-righteousness.  Scriptures became my weapon to cut down people, rather than against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)  I hurt those who I was supposed to help in the name of Jesus. All the time thinking I was right, yet inadvertently taking Jesus' name in vain.  

Grace was not something I could even fathom. I walked around like the Pharisees and Saducees of Jesus' time. My religion was whitewashed.  It looked good, but really wasn't good at the core. Whatever was on the inside of me was dead.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. Matthew 23:27

Religion made me grow cold.  If others did not live the way I lived then I thought they must be on their way to hell and surely God was going to punish them.  The truth be told, I was punishing myself.  My harsh criticisms of others hindered me from loving them and growing in a deeper relationship with them. I ran people away from Christ rather than leading them to Him.  This makes sense though, I was blind and could not lead anyone to Christ as I didn't even know how to get to Him myself. I didn't  know how to accept His grace and I definitely didn't know how to give it.

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. Galatians 5:13-15

I sinned against God and man, by being hurtful and hateful. Wrong thinking made me believe I was serving God, yet my actions were a disservice to Him. I didn't even recognize I was free, I saw myself as a slave to the Taskmaster rather than His daughter, heir to the Kingdom.

A princess has a vested interest in the Kingdom, she wants to see it built and kept in good order to please her Father, the King. Also, the Kingdom will be hers so the work she does isn't a burden it is a joy and it comes as second nature.  On the other hand, a slave feels burdened and angry working hard in a Kingdom he can never have. Thankfully, I am not a slave.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

It has been my tests and trials that God has orchestrated in my life that has brought me to a place where I can accept His grace and also give it. I have submitted to grace, even though some days I fight against her.  Even though I wrestle with her she is always very gracious and still has faith in me, loving me no matter what.   How could I not grab a hold of her as wonderful as she is? She has given me the freedom to be me.  

Grace is not a license to sin, but an opportunity to freely live and to live freely. The greatest Giver gave me life and I have been given the choice to receive the gift or not. No longer do I have to be a slave to a whitewashed religion, instead, I have decided to submit to grace.