Monday Morning Encouragement -- Taming The Tongue

 

"For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison." James 3:7-8

With the advent of social media the description James gives of an untamed tongue, that it is a "restless evil, full of deadly poison" rings so true. Content creators, going for the clicks, have meltdowns in front of the camera and post them, hoping they'll go viral. They rage publicly over some perceived offense and suddenly their popularity surges. Perhaps never before in our collective experience have we witnessed the truth of James' proclamation so profoundly.

As disturbing as this is, it is also an opportunity for followers of Christ to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit and to glorify God. We are called to "be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." (James 1:19-20)

James tells us in chapter 3, verse 16: "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice." And this is exactly what we see in the worldly popular culture today. Then James gives us the anecdote, it is the wisdom that comes from God. It is "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere." (v. 17) The result of acquiring God's wisdom in this matter is that "a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."  (v. 18)

God is the one who gives wisdom, and if we ask Him to give us His wisdom in how to speak in a way that honors and glorifies Him -- which should be our desire -- He will do it. How we speak reveals what's going on in our hearts. If we cannot control our speech, if our first response to an offense is to lash out with vile words, then our hearts need to be cleansed. In humility we must first confess our sin to God and ask His forgiveness. Then ask Him to tame our tongue for His glory and our good.

Today's music video Lord, Tame My Tongue by Serenity @ Syldivina is "A powerful worship song inspired by James 3, calling for divine guidance in our speech. This song is a heartfelt prayer for transformation, asking God to purify our words and heal the wounds our speech may have caused."

I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- I Don't Need To Understand Everything God Does

 

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

I'm what you would call a sporadic journaler. There have been seasons of my life when I journaled daily. And then years have passed without a single entry. In a sense, this blog has been a sort of journal for me, so I guess all is not lost. This week I came across a blog post where I shared a journal entry from August 2019. It really struck me as just appropriate for today as it was then, and I ask your indulgence as I post an excerpt here.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- Love His Appearing

"Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing." 2 Timothy 2:8

Today's verse is taken from what is most likely Paul's final letter before his death. From the Damascus Road experience to the end of his life, Paul remained faithful to Christ. The great evangelist constantly reminded those he wrote to that they should remain constant in their faith, keep their eyes fixed on Jesus, and live in obedience to Him as they awaited His return and the "crown of righteousness" they would receive from His hand. This crown was not just for Paul, but for all who loved to see Jesus appear.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- Praying For The Lost

 

"This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." 1 Timothy 2:3-4

I don't know of a Christian who doesn't have an unsaved friend or family member. Some of us have been praying for decades for those who have not yet received Christ as their Savior, and it's heartbreaking to see the years pass without an answer to those prayers. It's tempting to think prayers are useless, and to give up, but we must never do so. God is not deaf to our pleas. He hears us. 

Monday Morning Encouragement -- The Spirit of Truth

 

"even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor know Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." John 14:17

In the last decade there has been a rapid decline in the teaching of sound doctrine in some of our churches and seminaries. Not all, of course, but enough to begin the descent of true Christianity as taught in the Bible, and the ascension of blasphemous versions such as "Chrislam", which is a blending of elements of Christianity and Islam, with the supposed purpose of promoting religious unity. (For more information about Chrislam, read this excellent article on Biblehub. Here's the link:   https://biblehub.com/q/what_is_chrislam.htm)

It's clear to me that those who buy into such teachings have no relationship with the Holy Spirit. They have not received Him, nor do they know Him. They look at all matters of faith through the lens of worldly desires. Satan has blinded them to the truth, and he's able to do so because the Holy Spirit is not present to lead them to the truth. 

To those who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior, and have placed their trust in Him for eternal salvation, Jesus promised He would ask the Father to give them another "Helper" to be with them forever, "even the Spirit of truth." The Holy Spirit -- the third person of the Trinity -- indwells true believers, and His role is to comfort, guide and empower us. As we yield our hearts and minds to Him, He opens up the scriptures to us, in order that we may understand what is written and apply it to our lives. He gives us discernment, so that we recognize false teaching, and power to proclaim the truth. 

Now more than ever we need to be grounded in our faith, convinced that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. We cannot let down our guard for a moment, for "our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8) We don't need to fret and worry about these things, but rather invite the Holy Spirit to comfort us with the words of truth from the Bible. Scripture is one of the most powerful tools we have in our arsenal of spiritual weapons. The devil will flee when we quote it, so we must allow the Holy Spirit to implant biblical truth into our minds.

Today's music video John 14:15-18 Song (NKJV) "The Spirit of Truth - I Will Not Leave You Orphans" (Esther Mui) is scripture put to music. May it encourage you in your walk with the Holy Spirit.

I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- The Delight Of Delighting in God

 

"but the Lord delights  in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love." Psalm 147:11 (NIV)

If we ever wonder what delights God, we only have to look at scripture for the answer. In today's verse we find that the Lord's pleasure, His delight, is found in those who fear Him and hope in His steadfast love. According to StudyLight.org The Hebrew word translated as "fear" is yare, derived from the root word yirah, it signifies a sense of deep reverence, awe, and profound respect for God's majesty rather than sheer terror."

Is God some kind of egomaniac who needs constant yare from His people? No! That's not at all the truth. God doesn't need our reverence, and awe, and respect to feel important. He IS important because of the very fact that He is God. The Creator. The Sustainer of life. He is altogether lovely, pure and holy. He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. He is unique. There is no other being like our God.

What I find interesting and inspiring about delighting in God is that the more I delight in Him, the more delighted I become. The more I meditate on His blessings to me, and the relationship that we enjoy because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, the more joy I find in life. The more I look to Him for guidance and strength for the day, the more at peace I am when things don't always go as planned. And at the end of the day, when I look back on the hours that I spent under His watchful eye, I know that I am "living my best life." I am not rich in material wealth, yet I am rich beyond measure because I belong to Him. He knows me and loves me. Everything that comes into my life is sifted through His kind, merciful hands. Even though I may not see it immediately, I know that just as Romans 8:28 tells us: "all things work together for good to those who  love God and are called according to His purpose." 

God has called me for His purpose, and if you are a follower of Jesus Christ He has called you for His purpose, too. Knowing this should cause us to delight in Him, and as we do so we find that we receive the blessing of delight in return. There is an old saying that "we can never outgive God." It's often used to encourage generosity in tithing, however I believe it covers more than just giving of our money. I submit that we can never outgive God with our delight in Him. He will increase our delight, and our hearts will respond with an overflow of gratitude.

Today's music video I Will Delight (In the Law Of The Lord) with lyrics by Maranatha Music encourages us to follow "the way of the Lord." In this we will truly be blessed.

I love you, I'm thinking of you, and I'm praying for you.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- Everlasting Love

 

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." Jeremiah 31:3

Speaking of God's love, Charles Spurgeon had this to say:

"Whenever I attempt to speak about God’s love, I feel that I would rather hold my tongue, sit down to muse, and ask believers to be kind enough to join me in meditation, rather than wait upon my feeble expressions."

Monday Morning Encouragement -- God Will Do What He Has Promised

 

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"For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Genesis 28:15b

In Genesis 18 we find the account of Jacob's dream of a staircase connecting heaven to earth, with angels ascending and descending. At the top of the staircase God stands and reiterates to Jacob the Abrahamic Covenant. Just before Jacob awakens from his dream, he hears God declare that He will not leave Jacob until He has accomplished what He promised. As we continue to study the life of Jacob, we see that God is faithful to His promise, even when Jacob's faith in God is less than perfect.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- Quiet Trust

 

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,

“In returning and rest you shall be saved;

    in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15

At the time of Isaiah's prophecy, the Assyrians were attacking Israel and Judah. Soon the northern kingdom of Israel would be conquered and the Israelites taken into captivity. The Assyrians would then turn their sites on the southern kingdom of Judah. Out of fear instead of trust in the Lord, the leaders of Judah looked for salvation from Egypt whom they believed had the power to protect them. But an alliance with Egypt was not in God's will, and Isaiah told Judah's leaders that the results would be disastrous (Isaiah 30:1-5). He was correct.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- No Greater Love Than This

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."  John 15:13 

After the Civil War, Americans began paying tribute to the over 600,000 who lost their lives in the war; 2% of the population. They decorated graves with flowers, said prayers, and paid their respects to the fallen. This day of remembrance came to be known as "Decoration Day'' and eventually would morph into "Memorial Day", which is now a federal holiday in the United States. Memorial Day is different from Veterans Day in that Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who have died in service to our country, while Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, both living and dead.

Monday Morning Encouragement -- Rooted, Built Up and Established

 

"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." Colossians 2:6-7

In his commentary on today's text, Alexander Maclaren tells the story of a "little child that said as to his father that 'he was a Christian, but he had not been working much at it lately.''' Maclaren goes on to say, "Do not laugh. It is a great deal too true of—I will not venture to say what percentage of—the professing Christians of this day." Maclaren spoke those words over 100 years ago, yet they could just as easily be spoken of "professing Christians" today.