Mouth, Mind, Motives

-
April 4
Standing on my husband's elliptical machine I began to pass the time by praying (I prayed first that I could survive 20 minutes on this machine). After I went through praying for all of our children, I looked up to the ceiling where there were three canister lights and said, "God, I am here to listen. What do You want to work on?" He was quick to respond, "Your mouth, your mind and your motives." Whew, He put the spotlight right on me and three areas that always seem to be up for a make-over.

The Bible is chocked full of godly advice to keep all three of these areas of our lives fine tuned.

Ephesians 4:29 advises: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Philippians 2:1-3 speaks well to how like-mindedness and godly motives equate to joy.

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in 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 of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.

When we allow God into the examination room of our lives, He becomes a gentle physician with a light shining into the dark spaces revealing areas which are detrimental to our spiritual health.

PT
Father, You are holy and we are oh, so lowly. Today we face another week of unknowns, but because of Your faithfulness to generation after generation we can step into this week confident that You are near. Trials may come and fear and trepidation may set us into a spiraling action. Please Holy Spirit be our prompter and keep our mouths, minds and motives Christ centered, allowing the aroma they emit to bring a watching world closer to a relationship with the Father.

Popular posts from this blog

She Fought the Good Fight

-
Image
February 27 Bible Gateway's verse yesterday was: This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him . 1 John 4:9 A fitting verse for the day my everyday friend, soul sister, monster of the faith and mischievous partner in crime, Kaye, left this world behind and headed to her heavenly home. My husband was able to be by her bedside and said he knew she heard the words of our faith that he shared. Her sweet daughter held the phone up to her ear so I could say good-bye and the brightest single star you have ever seen shown through my bedroom window as she exited this earth! Yesterday, my heart literally ached so badly that I told the Lord, "Take me too!" Wouldn't she have been surprised if I had snuck up on her in heaven and said, "Thought you were going somewhere without me, did ya." When we received the call she was ready to go, I called out to the Lord for comfort and He led me to the Bible Gat
Read more

Marriage Matters #1

-
Image
One of life's deepest hurts is when the one you love is unfaithful. Forty years ago, I remember an older friend, whose wife had been unfaithful and left him for another man saying to me..."Boo, I hope you never experience having the person you love and are married to, living 8 blocks away loving someone else." Deep hurt. They divorced. The wife of another friend of ours was having an affair with a fellow church member and a neighbor of theirs who lived 5 blocks away. She moved in with this man and our friend said one evening he was walking by the house where they were living together and saw them sitting at a table having a candlelight dinner. Ugh. The torment. I've always said it would be aweful to find out the person you were married to and  loved deeply loved another.  Hmm. We are the bride of Christ.  Is He our first love? 2 Peter 2:14 says: They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed
Read more

Are You Sinking... Being Tossed About?

-
Image
  A text came in from our neighbor recently, on a cold blustery day, when I was home with a stomach bug and awful headache. He said, "My canoe blew off our dock and has floated over to your shore."  And I'm thinking..."And you want me to do what?" I explained my husband was at work, but could help in the afternoon. I went to the window and could see the boat being tossed back and forth along our shore line. One minute it was close to our main dock and the next the winds had shifted and it was 200 feet in the opposite direction.  What I then realized is it had been taking on water. A text came again that he was in his car and driving around to our property.  Climbing out of my night shirt, I put on warm ups, UGGS boots and a hooded coat and limped outside to see how I could help. When I arrived to the shore line, the neighbor had tossed a 3 prong hook tied to a rope into the boat and was pulling it to the shore with one hand.  He had recently had hand surgery and
Read more