Watch Your Mouth!

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21 NKJV

James reminds us that the tongue–that little member–holds much power and the only person who controls it–is the person to whom it belongs.

With the tongue we can mend relationships or destroy them forever.

With the tongue we can construct greatness or ignite destruction.

With the tongue we can have peace or chaos.

With the tongue we can create an environment that brings about prosperity or fuel abject poverty.

With the tongue we can speak life–to our bodies and promote healing and wholeness or we can doom ourselves to sickness and disease.

With the tongue–we are responsible for all we say and we must watch what we say because once we say it–we cannot recall words out of the air as easily as we can recall cars that need repair. When we are foolish–we can apologize and ask forgiveness, but it doesn’t take away the sting and hurt of words that linger in the air and in our minds. We must watch our mouths.

When we speak positive things–our words are not often remembered, but the negative things we say, are remembered by others long after we have forgotten what we said.

We have an obligation to ourselves and others to make sure that before we speak, we have prayed and given much thought to how we want our tongues to function. We are to be slow to speak and quick to listen to all God has to say to us and if we listen and obey, we cannot go astray.

Watch your mouth! Think about how words function–to heal or hurt, to spring life or trip to death, the tongue–the tiny member over which we have complete control–must submit to God and only say those things that He says.

We are healed and whole, peacemakers and not peacebreakers, the head and not the tail, providers of those in need and not  manipulators of greed. We are His children, members of a royal priesthood, created to do good, not bad and we shall praise Him for His mighty acts as we live according to His Word so others might see our good works and praise Him,too.

We have shaken off the deeds of darkness and choose to live in the marvelous light of The Lord. We are encouragers to others to live by faith and will not discourage any to live the life God has destined for them.

We are more than conquerors and have victory in Jesus at every turn where the enemy has laid a snare.

We live according to the hope we have in Jesus, not in expectations of mere mortals for they have no power outside of His power to make a positive, lasting, difference in our lives. And we will watch what we say–speaking only as He speaks–so we can obtain what He has already planned for us.

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According To The Will Of God!

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:25-28 NIV

If we do all things according to the will of God, then we can expect all things to work out well for God’s children.

How do we know when we’re doing all things according to His will–what He wants? That’s the easiest question to answer. We obey His Word because His Word is His will. As long as we obey His Word, we are acting on His Will.

When we honor our parents–respect those in authority–we are promised long life.

When we love others as much as we love ourselves–we are doing so according to His Will.

When we obey God rather than men (the laws man makes in opposition to God’s Word) we are acting according to His Will.

When we listen to Holy Spirit and obey His direction, we are acting according to God’s Will for Jesus said, “He will remind us of all we have been taught and show us things to come.”

Of course, if we haven’t been taught according to The Word of God, we cannot be expected to live according to The Word. In the Body of Christ–we operate on so many traditions that have nothing to do with The Word of God that we miss being in His Will. We say things that God didn’t say and then wonder why we don’t see God moving on our behalf.

Where in The Word do we see,”If The Lord says the same” when we plan to do something? If we know what The Word says, we know what The Lord says, and we don’t need to say, “if” anything about our plans. This type of trite response attempts to make a person sound religious, but only reveals a lack of understanding of God’s Word. Jesus warns us in His Word that we “have made the Word of God of no effect because of our traditions.” How about we say, what God says about everything instead of waiting for Him to say what we say? That makes more sense to me.

Do we plan what we will we do next? Absolutely! We have to consider all that encompasses a plan and then plan accordingly. We do not have to see if The Lord will say so. If our plan is not according to His Will, it won’t come to anything anyway. But before we plan, we pray–according to The Word–and whatsoever we ask of Him, in Jesus’ name will be given. Do we believe it?

I guess, as I get older, I begin to see how traditions have kept people from receiving God’s best in their lives when they don’t trust The Word and God’s intent for us. I plan to live to see 95 years of age. If God has different plans, then my plans won’t matter, but it won’t stop me from planning how to live to get to that age. That means I have to take better care of my body, eating right and getting exercise, seeking Him for all things and doing all things to His glory. I’m not planning by saying, “if The Lord says the same.” Reaching 95 is what I’ve asked Him for and it is my declaration on a consistent basis. We have what we say we have. And since I believe that He has heard my prayer, I believe He will honor my request.

Whenever we say, “if” or “but” about anything pertaining to doing what God has put on our hearts, we open the door for doubt and faith is put on the shelf. We must believe and not doubt! That is acting upon things according to His Will.