Tag: christianity

“Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.” Psalm 71:8

There are two ways that things fill our mouths; things that we put in our mouth and things that come from within. “… of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” (Luke 6:45b) The truth of the matter is what we put in is what comes out. I have heard it put this way. Whatever we are full of spills out when we are jostled. A heart that is filled with gratitude will spill out thanksgiving and praise. It will be a conceding that the Lord knows all rather than a complaint for what I don’t know. Out of my mouth will come faith for help and deliverance rather than a flurry of frustration. The trend of today is a positive affirmation of self and building up one’s esteem instead of speaking praise and honor of the Lord who loves us every day, supplies our needs, stays no matter what, speaks through His Word, guides, and keeps His promises. A mouth full of Worship or …?

“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievious words stir up anger.” Proverbs 15:1

Again, words. I must admit, my reactions have not been soft enough of the time. We hear it said, and I agree, that we cannot control the actions of others but we can control our reactions. Easier, I say much easier said than done. Like me, you might suffer from a syndrome called My-Face-Gonna-Show-What-My-Brain-Be-Thinking-itis. It’s in some medical journal, I’m sure. That can be bad enough but real damage comes when I fall prey to No-Brakes-Between-My-Brain-and-My-Mouth-itis. If the regulators of my mouth are not fully engaged then it is slightly possible that my mouth, not yours of course, but my mouth can escalate a situation rather than defuse it. We could agree that it actually takes more controlled strength, also known as meekness, to keep our mouths under control than to say whatever pops out in a moment. This is a Wisdom that I am still searching for as a permanent condition. Wise or Foolish?

“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.’ Psalm 61:2

How many times have we read and prayed this Psalm? As many days as bills, forecasts, diagnoses, conflicts, tests, disagreements, and decisions have appeared. We become overwhelmed. It is too much. Over our head. Our feet swept away without footing. Sinking. It is not simply the circumstances but the inner strain that captivates and paralyzes our heart. We are reaching like Peter, “SAVE ME!” Then the hand lifts us. The nail-scarred hand. The graven hand (Is 49:16). The keeping hand (Jn 10:28). He Lifts! Higher and higher to His precious bleeding side. He lifts and leads us up and leads us higher and sets us upon Himself, the Rock, where the perspective is above and beyond the overwhelming flow of life.

“A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.” Proverbs 13:1

In one of the constant examples of Wisdom found in Proverbs, the initial impartation of wisdom comes from father to son, mother to daughter. In the cycle of life a child with a godly parent sees them as the source of truth and instruction in their life. Dad knows everything. As age progresses doubt invades. Dad is just bossing me around. He doesn’t know everything. Then the teens and 20’s roll in. Dad is clueless. How did he ever do anything in life. I know better. Eventually real life layers its tentacles around the heart, mind, and body of a person in the form of work, marriage, money, and children. Dad, can I ask you a question? How did you… As the cycles continue to turn, it turns out, my godly Dad and Mom knew everything after all. The same is true with God and His children. If we will not obey and heed the wisdom of a godly earthly parent, we will not heed nor obey the Heavenly Father. Wise or Scorner?