GARBAGE in GARBAGE out

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me. That may be true on a very basic level especially if you have a really thick skin and if the person saying harsh things to you is not important to you.  That being said the words spoken to us by people who matter to us, by people whose opinion we value, can have a huge impact in our lives. They can encourage us and give us hope -or- they can crush us and wound us deeply.  James warns us about the POWER of our words.

James 3:5-8 (NET) Think how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze.  And the tongue is a fire! ...no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in God’s image.  ...These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters. 

Commenting on these verses Hughes says this: Those who misuse their words are guilty of spiritual arson. ...The uncontrolled tongue has direct pipeline from hell.   So what hope is there? If no human can control the tongue then why even try?  I Love the fact that the Lord Jesus tells us how we can make sure there is a change in the words that come out of our mouths. 

Luke 6:45 (NAS) The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

What am I storing up in my heart - those things which lead to godliness - or things which lead to worldliness? What am I treasuring in MY heart?

Luke 6:45 (NLT)  ...What you say flows from what is in your heart.

If I want to change the way that I speak.  If I want my words to have an impact on others for good.  Then I must fill my heart and mind with GOOD things.  I must saturate my heart and mind with God’s Word as well as anything else that is godly and uplifting.  If we watch, read, or listen to anything that is full of bad language even if we NEVER use bad language ourselves it is in our minds and at moments of stress it will pop to the surface.  So I must guard what I put into my heart and mind.  Garbage in - Garbage out is true of programming and using computers.  It is even more true of the things that we put into our hearts and minds.

PRAYER: Lord God please give me YOUR words to speak.  Keep me from spewing nonsense or sinful words when I am upset, depresses, angry, or stressed out.  Please Lord Jesus help me to fill my mind with those things which are good and wholesome and pure.  Lord please take control of my mind and my mouth.  May I honor YOU with my thoughts and my words.

AMAZING WOMAN - AND A FRESH NEW LOOK

I am married to am amazing woman.  Carol has been, and continues to be, the one who encourages me, believes in me, and challenges me, to pursue God.  She challenges me to be REAL and to LIVE OUT my love for God in practical ways.  I love the fact that after 35 years of marriage there are times that I do not even bother to ask Carol about something because I know what she will say. There are also many things that regularly take my by surprise.  So each day is a new adventure, she is always changing and growing, and always fresh and new.  And I love that.  Looking at Romans 12:1 is little like that.  There is so much there that I already get and understand - and yet it is new and fresh each time I look at it.  Let’s look at it together:

Romans 12:1 (NET)  ...I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice - alive, holy, and pleasing to God - which is your reasonable service.

Romans 12:1 (HCS) ...by the mercies of God, I urge you  to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,  holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.

God's amazing Mercy is the basis of this command.  Jesus died paying the price for ALL my wickedness from my sinful thoughts, to my twisted motives, my harmful words, to ALL my sin-filled actions. Though I have earned condemnation I was offered Forgiveness.  My response should be to GIVE myself to God each and every day.  If I do it can be one of the ways I worship God.  MacDonald said it this way: “...as believer-priests, we do not come to God with the bodies of slain animals but with the spiritual sacrifice of yielded, SURRENDERED lives." Watts expressed it this way: "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my heart, my life, my ALL.”

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for Your extravagant, lavish Mercy.  You have forgiven the unforgivable in me, thank You.  Please Lord God I offer myself to You today as a sacrifice that is ALIVE, a sacrifice that is on-going.  May I be pleasing to You today.  Please accept my offering of myself as an act of worship.