They don’t create comics like they used to! My sister and I used to fight over who would get to read the Sunday comics first. To this day I still like Peanuts! Charles Schultz was pure genius and all teacher. Yes, his comic strip offered humor but also many lessons, some profound, and wisdom to those who would ponder.
Consider a short four-frame strip with Charlie Brown and Linus as the main characters. Linus, rubbing his blanket along his left cheek, says to Charlie Brown, “This blanket absorbs all my fears and frustrations. At the end of each day I shake it out the door, thus scattering those fears and frustrations in the wind.” Charlie Brown, listening intently and watching as Linus shakes the blanket asks, “What about tomorrow?” to which Linus replies, “Tomorrow I start with a clean blanket…not unlike the proverbial clean slate.”
Now, there’s some wisdom for you.
How difficult do WE make it for ourselves because we hold on to the fears and frustrations of yesterday? Are we constantly replaying the video of past hurts and reliving old dramas? Do we spend too much time thumbing through the records of wrongs that have been committed against us?
God gives us grace sufficient for today, for what is right in front of us (2 Corinthians 12:9), and His word encourages us to forget what is behind (Philippians 3:13). We cannot grasp the joys and take hold of the promises of a new day if we are clinging to the past and holding on to the old. Let it go. Lay it down.
We tend to blame everything and everyone for our struggles and failures, our hindered progress when often we need simply look at ourselves.
THIS WEEK reflect on the things that you need to let go of including the hurts and hard feelings toward yourself or others that you need to lay aside. It’s spring and time for spring cleaning – a great time to shake the blanket.
Since my second retirement, I’d become addicted to daytime television. Not the trashy, mindless, dribble (though I believe you have to keep it ALL in balance – see an earlier post confession – Television 8, Prayer 1), but rather I try to watch what I believe will teach, help, inspire and grow. Such is my justification for my near addiction to the daytime television show, The Doctors.
Daily I am amazed by the miracles of life – not of the individual doctors, though I am in awe of the knowledge, skills and wisdom that God has imparted to them. But it is the miracle of the human body that most astonishes. If we would stop and consider, likely we witness millions of miracles on a daily basis. Just think about the miracle of conception – a sperm and an egg uniting then dividing to become a human being. Think about the miracle of birth. I once heard a neurologist share a presentation on all the ways and all the junctures at which “something” could go wrong from conception to birth. He said it was a miracle that anyone was born alive much less born with a whole and healthy body and mind.
Burn yourself and watch the body heal. I’ve been very cooking challenged lately and bear the scars of burns to prove it. A seemingly small and innocent burn on my hand blistered, festered, oozed and ached. But after a few weeks, it has healed – smooth to the touch and pain free. Though discoloration remains that, too, is fading with each passing day. Break a bone, cut a gash, stretch a tendon. The body has a whole unique system for dispatching white cells, regenerating red cells and doing tons of other things that I couldn’t begin to understand much less explain.
How about surgery? I’ve had a few different procedures. Imagine someone cutting you – not just a nick at the surface but deeply through layers and layers of skin and tissue then playing around with some of your organs, cutting things away, “lasering” and “lanceting” and cauterizing things and then STAPLING (who thought that up?!) you back together perhaps adding a few needle and thread stitches along the way. And after all that you’d think you’d have to lie in bed not just for days or weeks, but months, possibly years! But if you’ve had surgery, you know they get you up and out of bed walking – sometimes within hours of your procedure. If that’s not a miracle – what is?!!!!
Surgery or no surgery, that your heart beats, that your eyes see, that your ears hear, that your brain interprets the sights and sounds, that you walk, that you think, that you speak – those are miracles!
Today I watched a new version of The Ten Commandments – not the Charlton Heston version that I grew up watching, but a much less Hollywood version. I happened to flip the channel just at the point when the newly fleed from Egypt Israelites were complaining about not having enough food to eat. Grumbling, they actually said they might as well have stayed in Egypt and died (Numbers 14:2 NIV). In Egypt they declared, they sat around pots of meat and ate all the food they wanted (Exodus 16:3 NIV). And when God GAVE them manna, they detested it and called it miserable (Numbers 21:5 NIV). At this point in the movie, I had very unholy thoughts. I actually telephoned my sister to tell her about the movie and my thoughts declaring that I would have told the Israelites to just take their little ungrateful, manna detesting hips back to Egypt then. That’s why I’m not Moses! (I have since repented.)
There are miracles all around us all the time! Yet, we find so much to complain about. God evidenced great patience with the Israelites, and thankfully, He does with us as well (me included).
THIS WEEK as many of us celebrate the Easter season, pause and reflect on the million miracles that God performs daily in our lives including the gifts of grace, mercy and salvation and the “Egypts” He has delivered you from. Repent of your grumblings, and recommit your life to His service. If you do not currently have a personal relationship with Christ, there is no better time. Please click the SALVATION tab above to learn how you can invite Jesus into your life as your Savior and witness firsthand the miracle of Salvation.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs on your whole country. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’”
So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land. But the magicians did the same things by their secret arts; they also made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 8:1-7 NIV)
Hmm. That’s a lot of frogs! Seems Pharaoh thought so, too, because in verse 8 we read, “Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the Lord.”
Moses, acting as God’s agent, was happy to oblige with one condition detailed in verse 9: “Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.”
Moses simply asked Pharaoh to set the time for him to pray for Pharaoh, his officials and his people and POOF! The frogs would be gone. This plague would end. Sounds like a great deal. Moses prays to God for Pharaoh AND the frogs disappear! Bet Pharaoh was jumping up and down hearing this offer.
Nope.
In verse 10, Pharaoh has a one word response to Moses’ offer. “Tomorrow.”
Pharaoh chose one more night with the frogs.
Seriously?
But isn’t that just like us? We want the blessing of God, but we don’t want to stop what we are doing; we don’t want to let go of some of the things, ideas, people or emotions that we are holding on to. We want to negotiate with God. We want one more night with the frogs.
Rribbit!
THIS WEEK identify your frogs – the thoughts, emotions, thinking, habits or people that you need to let go. Pray for strength to trust God, and let this be your last night with the frogs!
Years ago a colleague (Mary) said, “One day you look in the mirror and you ask yourself who in the world is that? You feel so young in spirit and even in mind, but your neck, hands and that person in the mirror will tell you otherwise!” I laughed, and Mary simply said, “You’ll see.”
It’s 23 years later, and Mary’s “prophecy” has come true!
I tried to blame it on the mirror. You know, since research has proven that there are “skinny” mirrors (sometimes used in dressing rooms to make you appear slimmer in clothing and to boost sales), I figured there must be “old” mirrors though for the life of me I cannot imagine why someone would create one. And who would buy one though obviously I had one? But there they are…crows feet, scratching all around my eyes. Take heart, they’re not alone; the gray hairs in my brows are keeping them company!
What do you see when you look in the mirror?
Do you see that you were fearfully and wonderfully made? (Psalm 139:14)
Do you see the apple of God’s eye? (Psalm 17:1)
Do you see God’s treasured possession? (Deuteronomy 7:6)
Do you see that you are made in the image of God? (Genesis 1:27)
Do you see what God sees?
Satan offers us trick mirrors. He would have us see ourselves as less than our God created us to be. In his mirrors we see all our shortcomings. We see our struggles and inferiorities. We see shame and embarrassment. We see the stain and guilt of sin.
But if our life is hidden with Christ in God – if we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, then whenever God looks at us, He sees Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God covering us.
Superstition says it’s bad luck to break a mirror, but I say smash whatever mirror Satan keeps holding before you and look into the mirror of God. See what He sees – YOU – His child. (John 1:12) A new creature. (2 Corinthians 5:17) A fellow heir with Christ. (Romans 8:17) The righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) A temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:17) One who is chosen, holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4), redeemed and forgiven (Ephesians 1:7), complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10) and dearly loved (Colossians 2:12).
Now that’s the mirror you need!
THIS WEEK, take a look in the mirror. Do you see what God sees?
LIfeWay Research (2012) indicates that “61 percent of evangelical Christians do not share their faith regularly” – even though they believe it is their responsibility to do so. Further, nearly half of those who responded to the LifeWay survey said they have not invited a non-Christian friend to church in the past six months.
Whoa!
That’s frightening, unsettling, distressing, disappointing, concerning, alarming… I’ve got a whole list of adjectives and adverbs that I could wrap around this one! And when we butt this body of research up against a study by the North American Mission Board (NAMB) in collaboration with LifeWay (2009), we find that “67 percent of Americans say a personal invitation from a family member would be very or somewhat effective in getting them to visit a church. Another 63% say a personal invitation from a friend or neighbor would be effective. This same study reports that nearly two-thirds (63 percent) are very or somewhat willing to receive information about a local congregation or faith community from a family member, and 56 percent are very or somewhat willing to receive such information from a friend or neighbor.” A similar LifeWay study summarized in Discipleship Journal (2008) reported 75% would be wlling to listen to someone talk about his/her Christian beliefs and 78% would enjoy an honest conversations with a friend about spiritual beliefs even if they had other beliefs.
Enough of the numbers; let’s cut to the point best summarized by Ed Stetzer, vice president of LifeWay Research and Ministry Development, “[M]any of your unchurched friends are ready for an invitation to conversation.” THIS is clearly the point for the question raised in Romans 10:14 (NLT), “But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?
Hello Someone!
Yes, you!
Who have YOU told lately? With whom have YOU shared the good news of God’s Gospel?
Let me share another tidbit from the 2009 LifeWay data. “Out of 13 approaches tested, personal invitations from family members or friends is the only method that a majority of Americans say would effectively draw them to church.” Television, radio and newspaper all have an impact as do visits from congregational teams, but the most effective method is one-on-one personal communication with a family member or friend. Church advertising and outreach methods clearly take a back seat to personal testimony and invitations. And consider one final extract from LifeWay’s data, “At particular points in life, people are more open to considering matters of faith, the survey (2009) found. The Christmas season is the most common time for people to be open to spiritual matters. Nearly half (47 percent) are more open to considering matters of faith at Christmas. Americans are also open to matters of faith during the Easter season (38 percent).”
Hebrews 3:15 cautions us not to harden our hearts when we hear while James 1:22 admonishes us to be doers of the word. And we know that Matthew 28:19 commands us to go, teach and make disciples. I’m thinking perfect storm – THIS is the ideal time for you to hear this word just weeks before Easter, the season when many hearts are open and eager to hear God’s truth. THIS is the ideal time for you to share!
THIS WEEK pray asking the Holy Spirit to lead you to the right opportunity and the right methodology to share your faith. Unsure how to get started? Explore the following resources. Share your experiences as well as your encouragement for others using our blog’s comment feature!
In the 70s Lynette Hawkins Stephens, a member of the famed Hawkins Family Singers, sang:
“God has not promised me sunshine.
That’s not the way it’s going to be
But a little rain…mixed with God’s sunshine
A little pain…makes me appreciate the good times.
Grateful. Grateful.
God desires to fill your longings.
Every pain that you feel, He feels them just like you.
But He can’t afford to let you feel only good.
Then you can’t appreciate the good times.
Grateful. Grateful. Be grateful.
Be grateful because there’s someone else that’s worse off than you.
Be grateful because there’s someone else that’d love to be in your shoes!
Be grateful. My God said He would never forsake you.
Be grateful. God said He would never, never forsake you.
Be grateful.
Be grateful. (Repeat)
For it will be alright!”
But sometimes, we get it twisted!
Indeed the Scriptures are saturated with God’s promises – great and precious, but they are not all about sunshine and roses or blue skies and happiness; they are good promises and they are promises for our good – through all the circumstances of life. (Read 2 Peter 1:4 and Joshua 23:14, NIV)
Matthew 11: 28-29 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” and Isaiah 40:29-31 says, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles.They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” These passages tell me that we will experience burdens and we will grow weary. If we didn’t, we would have no need of rest. Weakness, weariness and exhaustion are ours but also promises of rest, power, strength and the ability to soar like eagles.
Undeniably, no one likes trials, troubles or tribulations. But we all have experienced them, are experiencing them or will experience them. It is just a matter of time. But because of the promises of God, Christians can look with different eyes at their challenges. James 1:2-4 tells us “count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; [trials] Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” We can look with joy at our challenges knowing that they will result in our growth – increased faith, boundless patience, greater power, enduring strength… We can be grateful for these growth experiences and the love of God which will sustain us through each working them for good.
Gratitude is not easy. Bonnie McMaken says, “It is an intentional, courageous undertaking, challenging our assumptions of what God’s faithfulness looks like in good times and in bad. If we are only grateful during good times, our response hinges on God’s gifts to us, and our gratitude becomes conditional and weak…,” but “[b]ecause God is faithful, we can be receptive to [H]im even during difficulty. This doesn’t mean we like the situation or that we have to find some sort of good in it while we’re in that situation. Sometimes the only good thing we will meet is God himself, and [H]e will sustain us.” That alone, the assurance of meeting God and knowing that He will sustain us, seems to me enough to be grateful for.
Yesterday I watched 8 hours of television. I watched until the cable box automatically shut down to go into power save mode Even the cable company couldn’t believe someone would be actually watching television that long!
Yesterday I prayed 1 hour.
The Daily News says, “The average American watches more than five hours of live television every day. More if you’re African American. Quite a bit more. Less if you’re Hispanic or Asian American, but not that much less. For all ethnic groups, TV viewing time increases steadily as we get older, according to the March 2014 “Cross-Platform Report” released by the Nielsen media ratings company. Once we pass 65, we watch more than seven hours a day.”
The American Time Use Survey says that Americans spend on average 2 to 17 minutes each day on “religious activity.” In my home state, North Carolina, the average is 11 minutes per day.
I guess I could tell myself that I am “above average,” for a North Carolinian and for a Southerner. The Survey notes, “Southerners are more likely to say religion is “very important” in their lives than people from any other region, so it’s no surprise that they report spending more time per day on religious activities.”
But I cannot make peace with these numbers.
Why don’t we pray?
The most popular excuse is time. We don’t have time. Well, I watched 8 hours of television. Trust me, it was not life-altering, mind-enriching, world-changing television. And I’ll wager that what you watch is not either. Mine was more of the home decorating, new cooking techniques, travel to an exotic land variety with a sprinkling of good health and diet suggestions. The truth of the matter, we have time.
The second most popular excuse is that it’s really not necessary. Really? Think of the many examples in the Scriptures when victory came through prayer – and when defeat came because of a lack of prayer. Two contrasting examples – (1) Elijah praying that it would not rain (and it did not for 3 1/2 years) and then his prayer for rain (and the sky poured causing the earth to produce fruit) and (2) the defeat of the Israelite army when they fought against the city of Ai. Confident in themselves, they did not pray or consult the Lord before going into battle. They were bold. They were self-centered. They were defeated. (See 1 Kings 17-19 and Joshua 7.)
We know, too, that while He was on earth, Jesus was faithful in spending vital time in prayer with the Father. Just as He sought time alone to talk with His Father, shouldn’t we? Hebrews 5:7 reveals the passionate prayer life of our Lord. During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him. The truth of the matter, we need to pray as Jesus prayed.
The third most popular excuse is that prayer does not make a difference. Sure, if we think prayer is magic, it doesn’t make a difference. Or if we think prayer is about presenting our shopping list or Christmas list to Santa God, it doesn’t make a difference. If we think prayer is about us and our sole benefit, it doesn’t make a difference. Finally, if we think prayer is about showing off – using fancy, 50-cent words and parading our theology before people, it doesn’t make a difference.
When we get that prayer is about a relationship with God, it makes a HUGE difference. Prayer is talking with, spending time with, loving and worshipping our Holy Father. Yes, we share our hearts and may make requests, but we also confess our faults, thank God for His love, praise Him for who He is, intercede for others and more. And prayer is knowing that God hears us, loves us and will answer us. The truth of the matter, prayer makes a difference. The difference is the relationship. The difference is the peace. The difference is the love.
Contrast this with television.
When I think about it, I don’t have time to watch that much television! There are too many people hurting and too many people lost; I need to intercede. There are too many shortcomings in my life; I need to confess. There are too many blessings in my life; I need to worship and adore my God.
When I think about it, television is not that necessary. Much of what I watch is pure entertainment. Now, I am all for laughing. I like learning new recipes and seeing new decorating ideas. I like escaping to other worlds. But none of that is essential to my survival, my success or my salvation.
When I think about it, television does not make a difference in my life. Yes, I learn a little because, more often than not, I choose programs that will teach, but can I compare those to time spent with my Lord? Think about your much-loved spouse, child or friend – would you rather spend time watching television or with them? Now, I have some colleagues that regularly toss their spouses aside for episodes of Scandal or Monday Night Football, but I am confident that when the end comes, they will not be wishing for more time with television, that they had not missed that touchdown or that one episode. They will be wishing they’d spent more time with the ones they loved and the ones that loved them. And no one loves you more than the Father.
Am I planning to give up television? That would be a, “No!” But I am rethinking what I watch and how much time I spend watching. I am also rethinking my prayer time. My focus won’t be how many minutes and hours I can spend praying so that I can hold them up before the Lord and say, “See, Lord, television 2 hours; prayer 3.” My focus will be about spending quality time engaged in necessary prayer talking to the One who loves me and who makes all the difference in my life!
Too often we let how get in the way of what God has called us to do. For the life of us, we cannot figure out how a thing is going to happen.
You know, too much month and too little money. How will you ever make it to payday?
The school has called you six times this week, and it’s not Friday, yet. How are you going to survive this thing called parenthood?
A spouse that has a taste for too much drink, eyes for another and a passion for gambling. How can God fix this mess of a marriage?
Negative doctor reports and a truck load of confirming symptoms. How on earth can God heal you?
How? That’s God’s business.
Impossible? That’s His specialty.
The Scriptures are full of examples. Consider one – the story of Elijah (1 Kings 18: 23-24, 31-35 ESV) and what we can learn from him.
“Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed.And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.”And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time.And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water…“
You don’t have to be very smart to understand that wood plus water is not a formula for fire. Elijah had the people fill four jars with water and douse the wood. He then had them repeat it two more times for a total of twelve jars of water. Now, we don’t know the size of the jars, but the Scriptures tell us that there was so much water that it ran around the alter and filled the trench that had been dug around it.
You know the people thought Elijah was crazy. First, a “burnt” offering with no fire. And then, wood doused with twelve jars of water. How will God ever answer this prayer?
Elijah wasn’t worried. He knew that the how was God’s business. His business was to be obedient. And when he had constructed the altar and commanded that the wood be doused, he simply prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God…” (1 Kings 18:36-37 ESV)
And God answered as only God can for in verse 38 we read, “Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.”
What has God called you to do? That’s YOUR business. How will it happen? That is none of your business; THAT is God’s business!
THIS WEEK reflect on your business for God – what He has called you to do that you are not doing. Mind your business, and get started – on your knees. Look at Elijah’s prayer as an example. Pray, believing and asking God to provide what is needed and that He be glorified, and He will answer as only He can. THAT is His business!
“Once upon a time, there was a village called Smoldering Pines. Smoldering Pines… lay at the foot of the great sleeping volcano, Mt. Discordia. Spoken words in Smoldering Pines take on a physical form. Whenever people talk, their words appear in the air and then fall haphazardly to the ground. Homeowners then rake their discarded words into piles at the edge of their property. Over time, these piles…become fences. Thoughts, like words, can become visible, too. Granted the town does like dangerously close to a volcano. But this isn’t a concern for the residents. After all, Mt. Discordia has been dormant for hundreds of years.”
Bet you can guess the rest of David Hutchens’ story. Listening to the Volcano is a marvelously funny yet thought-provoking fable about many things including the power of our words.
Research says that women speak about 20,000 words a day – some 13,000 more than the average man. That alone ought to caution us because Proverbs 10:19 (ESV) says, “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.” Admittedly, I have to agree. Somewhere among that many words we are bound to find some that would have best been kept behind the teeth.
In Hutchens’ fable, spoken words actually materialize into wooden placards and fall to the ground. They mound up into piles and form fences around the speaker. Likewise their thoughts. Guess what? In reality our words and thoughts form fences, too. We do not see them as readily as in Listening to the Volcano, but it might be a good thing if we did because they would be a very visible reminder to us. How powerful if we actually saw that hateful thought, that sarcastic word, that vengeful or vindictive contemplation and that spiteful, spirit-killing word – materialized and lying right before us at our feet. I can’t help but believe we might have some pause before speaking again and that we might be more obedient to 2 Corinthians 2:5 and actually take captive our thoughts.
As wedding presents my maternal grandmother gave me gifts of her wisdom. One tidbit I remember is, “Choose your words very carefully. All the “I’m sorries” in the world cannot take them back. Even if your husband tells you he forgives you, he will remember what you said.” That was good advice for me as a newlywed, and it is good advice for anyone. We can say we’re sorry, that we didn’t mean it or that we weren’t thinking. We can offer a ton of other excuses about not feeling well, misunderstanding and being confused. But once a word is spoken, it’s out there, and you cannot take it back. No one can ever misunderstand a word not spoken! Proverbs 21:23 (ESV) says, “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.” Another way to think about it might be as my grandmother put it. “The Lord gave you two ears and one mouth; that ought to tell you something!” Practice listening and speaking proportionately.
Sometimes we feel pressured to speak. Someone angers us, falsely accuses us, slanders us. This is one that I have struggled with. As a retired school administrator, I’ve had more than my fair share of false accusations – some, stretches of the truth; others, just out right lies. Proverbs 26:4 (ESV) teaches us, “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself,” but I had a friend that summarized this lesson with his own adage, “When you argue with a fool, you become the fool.” Ecclesiastes 5:6a (ESV) says, “Let not your mouth lead you into sin,” and Proverbs 17:27 (ESV) adds, “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” Proverbs 21:23 (ESV) goes further, “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.” When I taught Junior High School (where there were a lot of hot, angry, teenage tongues) I posted an African proverb on one of my bulletin boards, “Must you turn around and look at every dog that barks at you?” It was a good reminder for my students to ignore the lies, accusations and gossip their classmates spread. More than 25 years later, that is still good advice.
Finally, we sometimes get caught up in conversations and dialogue because we are around others who talk too much. I am convinced that a loose tongue can be caught – something like a cold or the flu! Do you work with colleagues who tell “off color” jokes? Do you have family members that curse like sailors or girlfriends that should be on gossip television? Perhaps you have friends that are super negative – every spoken word is a complaint or a put down; they see (and point out) only what is wrong; their throats are open graves and their mouths are full of curses and bitterness (Romans 3:13-14 ESV). We do not have to be unfriendly, and we need never act superior to others, but 2 Timothy 2:16 (ESV) teaches us to “Avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.” You need only remember this childhood ditty, “Loose lips, sink ships.” They will sink you, too. When we dwell in the presence of these individuals, it is often not long before we sink to their level – we repeat the jokes, begin cursing and spread the gossip.
Words are powerful. Consider the following Scriptures understanding that there are at least a dozen more found in the pages of the Bible. God’s word is never in vain. It always achieves its purpose (Isaiah 55:11). Surely there is purpose in so many Scriptures addressing our tongues and our words.
“Rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” (Proverbs 12:18, ESV)
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” (Proverbs 18:21, ESV)
“Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.” (Proverbs 17:9, ESV)
“By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:37, ESV)
“Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” (Proverbs 29:20, ESV)
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:39, ESV)
“But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.” (Matthew 15:18, ESV)
THIS WEEK, observe your speech and consider your words. Are you talking more than listening? Do your words heal or thrust as a sword? When you speak, are you building up or tearing down? What do your words reveal about your heart?
Remember, “On the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.” (Matthew 12:36, ESV) Don’t you want to stand before our Lord knowing your words restored, built up and made better?
For weeks I have been partnering with a dear friend, several fellow church members and a hurting mother in prayer for her son. I don’t know the details just that he became suddenly ill and was airlifted to a hospital far away. Regularly mom has texted updates; occasionally we have spoken by telephone, continually we have prayed.
We have prayed fervently. We have prayed specifically. We have prayed the promises of the Scriptures. We have prayed in our hearts and aloud; standing, sitting and on bended knee. We have prayed believing.
This evening mom texted an update that was not good. And for a brief flash of a moment, I questioned all that praying and all those prayers. Doesn’t God see us? Didn’t God hear us? Why this response?
Likely you know instances where prayers for healing were offered and you did not witness healing. Sometimes it even appears that the opposite happens – the condition worsens. Perhaps you’ve had your own questions. If you’ve experienced this, I suspect one of your questions might have been “Why?” followed by “Why bother? Why bother to pray for healing?”
We pray for healing because our Heavenly Father wants us to be whole – in mind, spirit and body. Whenever and wherever there is sickness, there is an opportunity for God to display His glory. He will heal. The struggle comes for us because God does not always move in our timing or in ways that we have imagined. Whatever the illness, we have an image in our minds of what the healing will look like. We also have an idea about when the healing should occur with our thoughts typically being, “No time like right now, God!” We believe that if we believe, we pray and there should be an immediate response and that response should look like just what we asked for. Instead of “Thy will be done,” we are, in truth, thinking more along the lines of “My will be done!”
Sometimes we fault ourselves when prayer appears to go unanswered. The Scriptures instruct us, “Ask, and it will be given unto you” (Matthew 7:7). If we do not receive what we expect, we sometimes assume we have asked incorrectly. Perhaps we did not pray long enough or hard enough or using the right words. Surely we ought always to examine our hearts for doubt and unbelief any time God answers “No” to our prayers. We should ask Him to search our hearts and to reveal any areas of sin or any doubt that we might harbor – knowingly or unknowingly – and to help us deal appropriately with it; then we should continue to pray because not only is praying for healing a privilege, we are instructed to do so (Acts 20:28, James 5:13-20). We are to pray with fervor and boldness. We are to pray believing (John 14:14, Mark 9:23, Jeremiah 33:3, 1 John 5:14-15). Sometimes we worry that if God doesn’t respond just as we have requested, it will appear as failure on our part. But our job as believers is to take a hurting person’s needs to the Lord, to intercede on their behalf and to trust God. He will choose when and how to respond.
The truth that I know for sure is that some of the blessings Jesus purchased through His suffering on the cross will not be fully realized until we are in His presence one day. Sometimes this includes healing. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Those who come to God must believe that God is.” That means that we not only believe that He can and will answer our prayers, we also trust His timing and that His response is the right response. Always He will heal. The healing may be immediate; it may be gradual or it may be ultimate – when we see Him face-to-face.
What, then, are we to do? Take a cue from Luke 18:1 (CEB) – “[Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up).”
Didn’t God hear us? Yes. And He will answer. He will heal.
FULLY ALIVE! 