A Sentry for our Lips

Psalm 141:3 "Lord, place a guard at my mouth; a sentry at the door of my lips."

How often do we feel like hitting our mouths and saying why did I ever say that or I should have never said that! We then try motivating our thought life and speaking pattern and determine within ourselves that we will be careful the next time of what we say or how we speak.

Sometimes when we're going through trying times and we need a sympathetic ear we share our burdens with those close to us; yet we tend to go overboard: when sharing our burdens become sharing complaints. The Psalmist David says in Psalms 141:3 - Lord, place a guard at my mouth; a sentry at the door of my lips. David realized the danger of talking too much and speaking irresponsibly and probably struggled from time to time with this problem. He understood that he could not overcome this by sheer determination or will power but asked the Lord himself to set a guard over his mouth so that the right words would come out of his mouth. As the King of Israel he knew how important it was to have control of his tongue.

The saying goes "some things are better left unsaid". Many times we hear things about other people; we have people confide in us their burdens. How do we react to these? Do we tell other people or do we keep it in confidence and prayer. Sometimes if we just leave what has been told to us in confidence and in God's hands things would be just fine; instead when we do not, we end up making the situation even worse.

James 3:2 says .If any man offend not in word the same is a perfect man. Today's English Version says "If a person never makes a mistake in what he says, he is perfect and is able to control his whole being." The fact of the matter is, we do make mistakes in what we say! It seems such a difficult task to not ever make a mistake with our tongues. There are times seemingly we think we say all the right things but yet speak out of insensitivity and do not realize that we offend our loved ones.

King David as mentioned before came to the knowledge that even before the words proceeded out of his mouth he needed a guard over his mouth. In the natural a guard or sentry stops us from entering a building or moving on. So too, we need God's Holy Spirit to be the guard over our mouths to ensure that the words coming out of us is precise and proper for whatever situation we find ourselves in.

A Giving Heart

Mark 14:24 "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," He said to them.

When we think of giving, we often times think giving comes from a "Giving Heart". While the ultimate giving, the giving of one's whole heart and life, comes from such a heart, the giving most of us know and practice daily, actually work to produce such a heart rather than emanate from such a heart.

Many times when we think of giving, most of us think of giving material things. In actuality the giving of material possessions is the most basic type of giving encompassed within the principle of giving. There are many types of giving and these all reflect the heart attitude of man while it is yet unchanged by the Holy Spirit, as it is being changed, or after it has been changed by the Holy Spirit. There is the giving of material possessions, the giving of one's time and labor, the giving of one's compassion and joy, and the ultimate in giving, the giving of one's heart in love and one's very life.

At various stages in our walk with the Lord, as the Holy Spirit sanctifies us and takes us from glory to glory, we may notice our heart attitude changing. It is a change from within that is effected through outward action. We give. God then corrects our motives as we allow Him. As we start giving in obedience, He takes our giving through various levels, one level at a time.

People give for many reasons. Most of these do not glorify God. As the wrong reasons for giving are obvious, I will list some the reasons we think are good. We sometimes give out of the plenty we possess simply because we can afford to give. We also sometimes give because it makes us feel good to help others. Many of us give because we think it is the right thing to do and it pleases God. How we do err in our thinking. None of these motives are pure in God's eyes, or pleasing to Him. Yes, God requires us to give, but our giving must be done through obedience to Him alone, not through our own self motives, however good our intentions. When our motive is cleansed by the Holy Spirit, God takes us through stages in changing our hearts, through our giving. Every time you extend of yourself to give, God brings about a change in your heart. In Acts 20:35 the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' It is more blessed as giving opens up our hearts so that we can receive into our hearts from God directly or through man both spiritual and material blessings. For example if a heart is locked up in pain, hurt, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, and suffering, it cannot receive healing from God or man. "Forgiving" releases that heart, as that heart releases pardon to others. Our giving always precedes our receiving. We see this when The Widow at Zarephath was asked by Elijah to bring him a piece of bread, she made him a cake from the last bit of flour she had, and it opened the door to the abundance the Lord blessed her with.

The entire process the Holy Spirit takes us through is designed to give us a heart that is totally like the Lord's and fully surrendered to Him. It is a heart that will sacrifice anything for God and a brother or sister. It is a heart that will pour out even it's very own life for others when asked by God, just as the Lord poured out His life for us as stated in Mark 14:24. He asks no less of us, for we must become like Him. He gave us the only two commands that encompass all the commandments of the old Testament and so much more. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength, and Love your neighbor as yourself". This is our destiny. We must possess a heart that is so transformed that it will love like Him and be willing to sacrifice like Him. John 15:13 says it all. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Giving is an act of faith that must be exercised to bring about the change in our hearts necessary for it to become "A Giving Heart". A giving heart that will pour out freely whatever, whenever, and wherever God so desires it to.

Lord, may You continue the work you have begun in us. Turn our hearts into "Giving Hearts", make us like You, for Your glory and honor. In Jesus name I pray. Amen

The Mind of Christ

Before we are born again the Word says, we have the mind of sinful man. Our mind is set on the desires of our sinful nature and these desires all bring death. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. Romans 7:5.

Every thought, every desire we have had, have led to actions which brought death to our spirits and eventually to our bodies. Even in trying to do good, we end up doing evil for we are either pleasing our flesh or the flesh of others, and not God. The Bible says, the only way to please the Father is to be obedient to His will. God is not pleased with anything we do, good or bad, unless it is done according to His perfect will. When we are not born again, it is impossible to please God for we are yet sinners, separated from God. It is impossible then for us to know His will, since we do not know Him.

But when we are born again, we are reconciled to God through the atoning blood of His son Jesus Christ . We are given the Holy Spirit to indwell us, to reveal to us Jesus Christ, God's will for our lives, and to empower us to obey God's commands. How does the Holy Spirit enable us to know God's will you may ask? He does so by giving us the mind of Christ. The word of God says we now have the mind of Christ. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:15-16.

We are NOT GOING TO have the mind of Christ, but we ALREADY have the mind of Christ. What is the mind of Christ you may ask? The Bible says, the mind of Christ is simply to do the will of the Father. Jesus says, I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. John 5:30. It is so simple, for the gospel is simple. To know and to be obedient to God's will, we must have the mind of Christ, for the mind of Christ is knowing and obeying God's will. God has already given us the mind of Christ. We have all we need to please God and be in His perfect will.

We have the ability to know God's heart and will concerning our lives and our service to Him. We now have the ability to read the hearts of men in order to bring salvation, healing, and deliverance to them. We can now make judgments that are right in God's eyes, for they are His judgments not ours. We are no longer under the curse of the sinful nature, but we are free from the power of sin. Sin is no longer master over us. Jesus is our master. We no longer walk after the desires of the flesh, but we walk after the desires of the Spirit. We do not speak after the desires of the flesh, but we speak of spiritual things as revealed to us by the Holy Spirit through the mind of Christ we now possess. Thus our thoughts, utterances, and actions are right and just.

Why then do we still struggle to know God's will, and to obey? Why do we still struggle with sin? It is simply because we do not yet know what we possess, the mind of Christ. We do know who Christ is, and we do not know who we are in Christ because it is only through the mind of Christ that all things spiritual are made known to us. Our heavenly Father says in Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. The knowledge we need only comes through having the mind of Christ. We need to know what we possess in order to possess our possession.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray that the revelation of the having the mind of Your son Jesus, be revealed in the hearts of each believer, that they may know Your perfect will and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, be obedient to Your will for their lives, forsaking all flesh and seeking after the things of the Spirit, revealed through the mind of Christ in them. I thank you Holy Father that it is done in Jesus' name, Amen.

The Only Constant

Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.

Change, do we embrace it or do we run from it? It seems as though in today's world things are constantly changing. Now more than ever in the corporate world innovation has become a greater challenge. How quickly we have moved from Long Playing Records to Cassettes to Cd's and to Ipods. Products and new inventions become obsolete at a faster pace now more than ever. Even in the church things change: methods of preaching, teaching, various styles of songs and music. Some changes we embrace, some we shun. As adults we reflect back to the days when we were kids and it looks as though life was so much simpler.

We face changes everyday: in our jobs, with our families and friends. Yes, sometimes the changes are good, but sometimes along with the changes comes loneliness, hurts, anger, frustrations and depression. Hebrews 13:8 says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. People tell us they love us today and the next day they don't; friends sometimes are there for us and then they are nowhere to be found. Even our husbands and wives, our children, our brothers and sisters whom we love so much are not constant in our lives. Sometimes when we feel as though we've reached our last straw and look around for someone to be there: guess what? no one is around.

How wonderful it is to know though that despite all the changes we face Jesus Christ is the only constant person in our lives. In the Bible in Luke chapter 7 the widow of Nain is mentioned. She had lost her only son; whether it was due to sickness or an accident, the bible does not say. She had no husband; perhaps she had brothers and sisters, perhaps not; maybe she had daughters, maybe not. It seems though that the only constant in her life was her beloved young son who was now dead and about to be buried. But wait, up comes someone who is not only constant but is "The Only Constant"! He looks to her with compassion; yes he really feels sympathy for her and is moved by her tears. Hebrews 4:15 says "Our High Priest is not one who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses...". Jesus moved with compassion for her went to the coffin and touched it and commanded her dead son to get up. The young man got up and was restored to his mother.

Who is the one constant we really look to? Do we look to our husbands, our wives, our children, our best friend? Let us look to The One who is the same yesterday, today and forever, Jesus, "The Only Constant".