Lord, Help Us Bite Our Tongue!

“When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” Proverbs 10:19

How many of us have walked in the shoes of thinking or even saying something about someone only to find out that those thoughts and words were so far from the truth that we felt ashamed that we ever even went down that road? You know the road I’m talking about, the road that leads you to open mouth, insert foot and then ever so quickly proceed to swallow! It is such a humiliating place to find ourselves standing in and yet some of us tend to end up there more often than we care to admit. I know that I am guilty of this one for sure! I think we have all been in this place to some degree or another. Scripture tells us that he who holds his tongue is wise. Sometimes I wish I could just hit the rewind button and start over again only when the scenario replays the second time I would hold my tongue! Yes, probably even physically take my pointer finger and thumb and pinch my tongue just to keep those dreaded words from rolling right out. Oh, how I wish I were wise enough sometimes to catch those undesirable words before they came spewing out only to make a mess that I will need a mop and a bucket to clean up! This is where I am so thankful for the word of God. Not only does it say that “he who holds his tongue is wise” but it also says what to do when we lack the wisdom in our moments just before our possible mishaps.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5

All we have to do is ask! How simplistic our Father makes our escape route for us in those moments of temptations! We just have to stop and ask. Sounds so easy, right? The asking part is easy, it’s the remembering to ask part that is the doozy here! I thank the Lord that no matter how many times I open mouth, insert foot and swallow, He is always there to bring conviction to my heart in hopes that I will come one step closer to stopping and asking the next time my slippery words want to slide right out and do a world of damage. Our Heavenly Father is so patient with us. He is willing to work with us in each moment that we trip over our own tongues. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I feel like I should walk around with a post-it note on my head that reads “Did you ask God about this yet?” Wouldn’t it be nice to have such a reminder.  

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

We must realize that for as many times as we spew out unchecked words that we are NOT the only ones struggling with is same dilemma. We are not left to ourselves to tame our wild beast of a tongue. The Lord is faithful! He will provide a way for our tongues to maintain a level of God control (as opposed to self-control). Every time I try to take over my own tongue I fail. But when I allow the Lord to come in and take over my tongue I begin to realize that the words flowing from my tongue are no longer those of division or strife, but rather encouragement and blessing.

“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.” James 1:26

The “God control” is not a religious thing. It is not a religious way of life full of rituals and rigorous routines and patterns, because the Lord knows I would fail that that just as much as I fail at holding my tongue. “God control” is a Holy Spirit thing. The Lord sent His Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us into truth (John 16:13). In order for us to keep our tongues under control, we must be willing to allow the Lord to work in our hearts and our minds. If we consider ourselves to be a Christian yet do not work at keeping a close watch on the words that flow from our lips scripture says that our “religion” is worthless. Ouch! I surely do not want to be labeled as worthless all because I was reckless with my words and not guarding my tongue.

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“...For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Matthew 12:34 b

One way to keep a close guard on the tongue is by making sure that what we have stored away in our hearts is Godly and trustworthy. Whatever it is we have locked away inside our hearts hoping that no one would find it, see it or hear about it, eventually, whether we want to or not, it is going to come out in one way shape or form and nine times out of ten, it comes out through the mouth. The other place it will show up is through our actions. You know that actions speak louder than words, so we only have to act on the sin stored up in our hearts one time for it to scar someone’s heart for a lifetime.

The tongue can be such an evil instrument, but when we are diligent about storing up the word of God in our hearts and we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us then we can ultimately do far less tripping over our own tongues and do far more blessing and encouraging. I think that’s the way God intended for it to be all along. I think God intended our tongues to be a blessing not a curse.

How about you? Have you ever regretted words that have flowed right off your tongue before you have gotten a chance to catch them? I challenge you to lay your tongue before the Lord and see just what he does with the power of your words. I will guarantee that if you allow Him to take control of your tongue, you will be amazed by the outcome! Feel free to share with us in the comments below about how God used your words as a blessing in someone's life. You never know, He just might use them to bless someone else once again.

For more on the power of our words please visit: "The Power Of The Tongue"

Lord, I thank you for this beautiful instrument of the tongue. Help us to line it up with your word so that in times of testing that we can bite our tongue and not say something we shouldn’t. Help us to go one step further and engrave your word on our hearts so that in those moments of testing that the words that come to our remembrance are your own and not ours. May we be careful to listen for the leading of your Holy Spirit to give us to right words to say, words that build up, encourage and strengthen others. In Jesus precious name.

Challenge #10 - Pursuing Prayer

My last post was devoted to the importance of praying without allowing doubt to hinder our minds. I am using this post on prayer as a springboard for our first challenge of 2017. This challenge is our prayer challenge. I am not setting any specific guidelines in terms of the amount of time or how often, but I do want us to make prayer a part of our daily routine. The Lord is our friend and like a friend we should desire to converse with Him regularly.

“pray continually” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

What exactly does “pray continually” mean? We can not always be locked away in the prayer closet in intense prayer, but we can have a spirit of prayer about us everywhere we go. We can have the Lord on our mind throughout our day and I truly believe that this concept is what this verse is referring to. To be ready and available to stop what we are doing to pray for those whom God brings along our path throughout our day; to stop what we are doing and just thank God for what has just taken place. These are examples of what it means to pray continually. Having God at the forefront of our minds in whatever we are doing and wherever we are going, in our conversations and in our times of quiet.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4

I don’t know how you view prayer, but I tend to think it should be a healthy mix of thanksgiving, praise and requests. God is not our grocery store list that we can sit down and read off all the things that we need and be done with our prayer session for the day. He desires communion. Sometimes that requires more effort on our part. Sometimes that requires us to cut out the distractions of life, get to a quiet place and seek the Lord’s face with all that we are. Sometimes it means for our minds to be (as mentioned earlier) continually on the things of God.

I am encouraging you to pray continually, with thanksgiving in your hearts each and every day to your Lord and Savior. See what transpires from a month dedicated to focusing on prayer. May your walk with the Lord be radically changed as you determine in your heart to seek his face each day.

Prayer

Our trip to Liberia was filled with impromptu prayer sessions. We prayed for a lame man, a blind man, we prayed for parents, children, leaders, teachers, and families. With our experience in Liberia, we found that there was never a bad time to pray. We would be visiting a church, and the next thing we knew the church members had gathered around and we were laying their needs at the feet of Jesus Christ. These moments truly were powerful experiences. This is something I feel like we don’t take advantage of near enough of here in the States. The Librarians seem to have come to a place of realizing that it’s either God or death. There is no other choice for them. Here in the United States we have packed away a nest egg for emergencies and extra food in the pantry for when the next storm hits. We don’t really have a reason to rely on God like those who have nothing. When we get sick we have the ease of mind of knowing that help is just a phone call away, or a short trip to the doctor’s office. In the third world, if there is a doctor even available they are fortunate! Most of the time the doctor is not even an option and for many of them even if the doctor was available, they would never be able to begin to pay any of the bills from their visit. So, the only hope that they have is in the Lord! Here in the States we have a tendency to rely so heavily on ourselves that we can push God right out of the picture. For many of us, we are not in a position where we have no other options left. We are not desperate enough. This is so disheartening because the Lord desires for us to long for Him, to need Him and to desire Him to move in our lives!

God has given us so much and yet we can have a tendency do so little. In Liberia, we saw people with so little doing so much for the Lord. It truly humbled our hearts to know that out of their nothingness God was moving among them! We heard stories of God’s supernatural healing, provision and moving flowing from the testimonies of their lips. They were so thankful and grateful to the Lord for moving on their behalf. This is entirely different than here in the States. When we see God move we can be quick to justify it away because our medicine is advanced, funds are usually available and we have friends with influence. We rob God of the joy of even trying to move supernaturally in our lives because we are too busy taking care of the situation ourselves instead of relying on God to move on our behalf. And when we are faced with a situation that we have no other choice but the Lord, we approach God in a prayer mixed with doubt. We come to the Lord hoping that he will move on our behalf rather than believing by faith that He will! Oh we of little faith! I share this because I too am guilty of allowing doubt to rob God of the ability to move. Scripture is very clear about what we can expect from the Lord when we mix doubt with our prayers:

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” James 1:6-8

God is not a liar

We should not pray Lord, “if” but rather Lord, “your word says…” We need to hold God to His word! The Lord is an unchanging God and what He says He will do, HE WILL DO! God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). He does not say one thing and do the complete opposite. So why do we pray as if He is a liar? Why are our prayers riddled with seeds of doubtful thinking, wishful thinking, and hopeful thinking? Why do we have such little faith? Is it because the miracles that we read about in scripture have not transpired before our very eyes? Is it because we have not actually prayed for a lame person and saw them get up and walk with our very own eyes? Let’s just be real here for a moment shall we? Jesus walked with the 12 disciples and made the lame walk, the mute talk and the blind see right before their eyes and yet they still doubted. So what makes us think our minds will change by seeing these things transpire in front of our own eyes when the 12 lived it everyday and yet still doubted? Our faith does not come from seeing. Our faith comes from hearing.

Faith comes by hearing

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Romans 10:17

When we hear the word of God, not just with our physical ears, because we all know that things can go in one ear and out the other, but with our spiritual ears then faith is truly imparted! May I be so bold as to say that when we pray with doubt it is because we are lacking faith. We are lacking the faith that comes from hearing the word of God with our spiritual ears. In other words, if we truly had faith, we would have no problem praying for the lame, mute, deaf and blind. It’s when we hesitate that we can truly see our level of faith. Sobering isn’t it! I have to admit, I have shied away from many moments of prayer because the voice of doubt was greater than the voice of faith.

Let me give you an example of how bad that voice of doubt has influenced my prayers or stopped me from praying altogether. When we were in Liberia I met a man who had survived a stroke, just like I had. The difference was that his stroke had left some very apparent outward evidences where mine had not. You would think I would have been gung-ho about the opportunity to pray for someone whose shoes I have walked in and understand oh so well. But instead of jumping at the opportunity, I let fear and doubt be my companion in this situation. The fear and doubt flooded my mind as I thought, “look how much worse off he is than you were. God may have been able to heal you, but he certainly can’t heal this man.” At this I should have looked fear and doubt right in the face and reminded them both of the fact that just a few short years ago I was just like him and no different! I should have shouted at my fear that if God can do this for me surely, He can do this for someone else! The Lord is no respecter of persons! (Acts 10:34 and Romans 2:11) But instead of building myself up with faith I simply let fear and doubt have their way that day and to this day am kicking myself for not taking the opportunity that was placed before me.

Our prayers truly have the power to open the floodgates of heaven. We do not need to see physical evidence of God’s power to have faith. Our faith does not come from physical evidence, our faith comes from hearing the word with our spiritual ears. So, let’s open our spiritual ears so that we do not miss out on hearing the word. This may mean we need to close our natural eyes for a little while and forget about what we see going on around us. Seeing is not believing. Hearing is believing.

For more on how God answers prayers and is still working miracles see: "Miracle Working God."

Lord, we  can be so full of doubt sometimes. Help us to be hearers of your word in such a way that it builds in us a faith that destroys all doubt and fear. Help us to rehearse the promises found in your word so that in those moments of prayer we will know how to pray because we are able to pray out your promises. We know fear and doubt is not from you. We know that the enemy is trying to keep us from praying for others by filling us with thoughts of doubt. Fill us with your spirit in those moments that we can overcome the enemy and pray for those who need a touch of your spirit. Help us not to shy away from those situations that seem impossible. We know that nothing is impossible with you! We pray this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Miracle Working God

When I have looked at some of the miracles Christ performed, they were nothing short of mind-blowing. Jesus made the lame walk (John 5:1-15), He gave the blind sight (John  9:1-12), He made the mute talk (Mark 7:31-37), and He even raised the dead to life (John 11:38-44).

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8).

Christ has not changed

Since Christ has not changed, then surely He is still the same miracle working God He was in the scriptures. As I was thinking about the miracles I listed above, I found myself quite flabbergasted when I realized that Christ did each and every one of these miracles in my life. I would like to explain what I mean because I’m sure by now some of you are thinking, “When did you die and Christ raised you back to life?”

As many of you already know I had a stroke over four and a half years ago at the ripe old age of 31! (For more details see: Welcome, Recovery Road, and My By Faith Shoes) Yes, you read that right, 31. I lost my ability to walk and to talk at various points in time. I had blind spots in my vision, so that if I tried to look at a person in the eyes, I could only see the outline of their face. Their face was nothing more than one big black spot. So in essence I had partial  blindness.

I’m sure some of you are probably still asking, “how were you raised from the dead?” Please know that while I did not physically die, my heart never stopped beating, and my lungs never stopped breathing it does not mean I was not knocking on death’s door. People who have died from a stroke, especially those who had suffered massive strokes, can do so in a matter of hours. I however, managed to drag my undiagnosed stroke out for almost two weeks! All because the doctors did not think I fit the “normal” age range for a stroke patient. Listen, death is no respecter of age. I found that out first hand. Christ took me from being the doormat lying in front of death’s door and into life. So when I say Christ brought me back to life, I mean just that. I was teeter tottering on the edge of death Christ pulled me out.   

Jesus gave me back my ability to walk! Jesus restored my sight completely! Jesus brought back my voice and last but not least, He kept me from the grave! So, you can see why I can say... “Jesus is still a miracle working God!”

Christ did not do these miraculous things in my life just so I can keep them to myself. What Christ has poured in I would be foolish to hoard away selfishly. Christ pours in so I can pour out. I am designed to be nothing more than a conduit for the kingdom, a channel that Christ moves through to minister to others. The miracles I have experienced are merely my testimony that I am called to share with others.  

Miracle working God

I have heard people say that the age of miracles stopped after the new testament church was established. But I beg to differ. I am a product of Christ's miracle working power. These words I type are nothing short of Christ’s handy work of miraculous power in my life. If it was not for Jesus Christ working some major miracles on my behalf I would not be here today! So, NO, the age of miracles has not ceased. Does it look different? Absolutely it does because we no longer have Christ here on earth in the flesh, but just because He is not here in the flesh does not mean He has stopped working. Christ sent His Holy Spirit so we can continue to experience a miracle working God! What a precious gift!

So be assured that in your darkest hour, in the moment when life feels as though you are loosing everything, that you can not go on any longer, that the worries and troubles of this life are more then you can bear, please know that there is a God who works miracles! He will hear your cries. He heard mine, even in the moments when I had no way to communicate them clearly, when all I could do was say “Lord help!” He heard me. He will hear you too! Our prayers don’t have to be anything elaborate and complex.

Lord, I thank you for continuing to be the same miracle working God that you have always been. Thank you for not changing! Thank you for hearing our cries when things are beyond what we can bear. Thank you for making a way where there is no way. Help us not to lose sight of the fact that you are still our healer, our deliverer, our strength, and our ever present help in time of trouble (Psalms 46:1). We love you so much! In Jesus precious name we pray.

Joy

"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” 2 Timothy 3:12

I know, what a heavy verse to start off a post that is talking about the topic of joy, but I promise you there is a good reason for it. Bear with me as I share a tough pill for all of us to swallow, but one that I feel is so very important to each of us in our walks with the Lord.

Each one of us is bound to go through trials, tribulations and even persecution in this life, in fact, scripture tells us that we should expect it. The Lord is not going to wrap us in a Holy Ghost bubble and not allow us to walk through the fire a time or two. If He did, then all that would become of us is a bunch of spoiled rotten brats who are disillusioned to how much Christ had to sacrifice for us so that we can now live in freedom by His redeeming blood.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 2:2-4

Joy is not something we can produce. I think many of us, myself included, are guilty of trying to create a false sense of joy. I guess we figure that if we look the part, then eventually it will become our reality. For some of us, we are just so good at hiding our broken hearts and suffering spirits behind a smiling face and bubbly personality, but true joy only comes from one place. True joy flows our Heavenly Father Himself and it radiates out of us from our innermost being. True joy is planted by the Lord, grown by faith and then flows out of us uncontrollably. There is no button we can push to control our joy. Joy is not something we work towards or can earn for the sole reason that we as human beings cannot produce true joy. True joy catches the attention of others. It’s enticing and contagious. True joy makes others question what it is that they are missing. True joy leaves people wondering how someone can go through numerous rounds of chemotherapy treatments without being angry at the world. True joy leaves the unsaved scratching their heads when someone gets fired from their job and walks out the door excited for the next opportunity God is bringing their way. True joy baffles the bystander when someone has lost their only child to a drunk driver and instead of getting angry they are praying for the driver’s soul. True joy allows us to walk through the darkest valleys and come out the other side with a greater measure of faith. True joy gives us hope in the hopeless times, peace in the time of war and faith in the impossible. This is why joy is a fruit of the spirit. Fruit of the spirit cannot be faked, it cannot be duplicated and it cannot be copied. True joy is a God-given gift.  

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

My husband and I have the blessing of being friends with a couple who have walked through the valley of multiple sclerosis. When we first met this precious couple the wife was completely mobile. Now, she is in a wheelchair and slowly moving toward the world of blindness. Yet, through this challenge that they have faced together, I have never in my life seen a better example of joy flowing out of anyone like the two of them. It is truly contagious! Just to spend five minutes with them is enough to see that the joy of the Lord truly is their strength. There is no earthly explanation for it! They glow with joy. It is written on their faces. Their circumstances do not define their level of joy because it is truly given by God. I pray that each of you comes across someone in your lifetime that the joy of the Lord just explodes out of them, or better yet that the Lord fills you with such joy that you become contagious.

“...Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10b

Just like this couple, it truly is possible for this God-given joy to flow out of us like a raging river and for that joy to carry us through our greatest trials and persecutions in strength. Encapsulated within that raging river of joy is the Lord’s strength. In the natural, when a river overflows its banks, it is full of great power. It’s this great force that causes levies and dams to break in times of flooding. When the joy of the Lord is flowing out of us with this type of force and we can no longer contain it, that is when God’s strength is evident in our weakness. This is why we can say “the joy of the Lord is my strength.”

I have been hearing a song recently that has been encouraging to me in this area of joy and I wanted to share it with you. The song is called Joy of the Lord by Rend Collective. I hope you get a chance to follow the link below to listen to it. May it encourage you in this area of joy as well.

Rend Collective: Joy Of The Lord (Youtube)

Lord, I thank you for the gift of joy. I pray that you work in our lives in such a way that your spirit of joy becomes enticing and contagious, that it catches the attention of others. Work your joy in our lives in such a way that it draws others to your throne of forgiveness and grace. May our lives be a true representation of what your joy truly looks like. Lord, we pray that in those moments of tribulation and persecution, that your joy becomes our strength. We pray that in those moments when our circumstances become too much for us to bear, that your joy is going to overtake us like a flood and fill us because it is in our moments of weakness that you can show your power and your strength. We thank you, Lord! In Jesus precious and mighty name.

Liberia Trip Part 2

Trying to share the extent of our trip in one post is about impossible so this week's post will be a continuation from where we left off of part 1 of our Liberia trip.

Along with crossing a scary truck collapsed bridge we also found ourselves trekking through swamps, rivers and even crossing over a “monkey bridge” to visit one of the churches. The "monkey bridge" is nothing more than a long jungle gym of logs and sticks that spans the width of an entire river. The “monkey bridge” trip is done by a pastor every weekend for Sunday services. This is a two-hour walk for him from the mission and believe me when I say Liberians don’t mess around when they are going somewhere. I had trouble keeping up! When we took this particular trip we were met on the trail by a woman who knew my husband's grandparents. When she found out who we were, she literally shrieked and wailed with tears of joy. It was such an emotional moment I cried for about ten minutes after we left the woman. Oh, the heritage of Christ! What a beautiful thing it is!

"Monkey Bridge", swamps and rivers we crossed getting to one of the interior churches.

Another big part of our trip to the mission revolved around the school. My husband and I both have our teaching certifications. So because of our backgrounds and experience in education we spent some time doing a teacher training for the mission school teachers. Most of the teachers we were working with had no formal education beyond high school, and some had not even graduated high school. Their education system is extremely rote and completely different than the way our American teachers are trained to teach children. We were so blessed to see their desire to want to learn new ways to effectively educate their students. We are praying that the Lord opens more doors to be able to bring further teacher training to Liberia.  

Presentation of various teaching strategies at the training.

Yet another adventurous part of our trip was the food. I have to say, I truly do like Liberian food, but there was for sure some stretching going on in this department as well. Their cooking takes place outside over a fire in an outdoor kitchen. We ate village chicken, which by the way, is not at all like our American chicken, lots of rice, plantain, fish, snail, crawl fish, collard greens, pineapple, cucumber, and a couple things that we were not sure exactly what they were. We ate what was placed before us because we knew that much love and hard work went into the preparation of our meals and we in no way wanted to disrespect that! We truly were blessed beyond measure as far as the food went.

We ate this bush snail and these crawl fish.

The first half of our trip to the interior was both a blessing to our spirits and humbling to our hearts all at the same time. We were so encouraged and moved to see the Liberians that the missionaries sowed seeds into years ago are still serving the Lord with every ounce of their being. On the same token, it humbled our hearts because we have also seen that the needs are so great! We truly found ourselves laying things at the feet of Jesus because we realized that we do not have enough resources at our human disposal to meet the vast quantity of needs we saw during our stay. The needs are so enormous that the only thing we can do is to rely on God to be the provider. Otherwise, we would walk away shaking our heads and throwing our hands up in discouragement. If we did not hand over our burdened hearts for these people to the Lord we would end up drowning in the overwhelming sense that we are in fact inadequate to begin making an impact on the endless needs set before our eyes. Everywhere we turned, every place we looked, every person we met, there were major needs.

The second half of our trip was not as adventurous, but just as important to accomplish what God had called us to do. We spent time with the Liberian national church leadership as well as the American national church leadership. We spent some time viewing churches in the various towns closer to the major cities. We were able to get a clearer picture of how the Liberians operate, and they, in turn, they got a better understanding of the role that the American side can play in supporting them.

God desires to come back for a united body. He desires that we work and function in a capacity that accurately portrays the love of Christ in all we do in and for the body of Christ. And sometimes that requires us to sit down and get a clear understanding of how we can best support one another’s needs with the resources that we each have. God desires for us to come together, not to push one another away. It is our hope and prayer that as we continue our work in Liberia that we can continue to unify the body of Christ and portray His love accurately.

See Liberia Trip Part 1 and for more details from our trip.

Father, I thank you for opening my eyes to the needs of others. I pray that as I share these stories with others, that their hearts are pricked to reach out to those in need. Lord, I thank you that we do not have to travel overseas to be missionaries. We can be missionaries in our own backyards, in our work places, at our schools, at our local parks, and at our grocery stores. Let your love be evident in our lives no matter where we go. Let your love flow out of us and penetrate others around us. Help us to be everyday missionaries for your kingdom. In the precious name of Jesus Christ.