Proverbs 21:23 – “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.”  NKJV

            I often have people quote this to me and demand that it means only the spiritual man but I would challenge you to examine the word translated ‘soul’ in the Hebrew.  It is nephesh and literally means a breathing creature and would include (any appetite, body, desire, etc.).  If you follow that it means if we ‘guard’ keep our ‘elephant mouths’ from overloading our lives we will avoid unnecessary troubles and problems that result.

             How many issues can you think of in your life were the result of a ‘rash’ or ‘harsh’ word spoken?  Probably many!  The Bible teaches us to guard our hearts because everything flows from it.  No wonder the Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  Is it not sensible that we should ask the Holy Spirit to help us ‘bridle’ our tongues?  The tongue is a small member but capable of causing more trouble than you can easily get out of.

            Yet if we take that to the spiritual we also realize that if we are hasty with our words making vows and promises to God that we cannot or do not keep it brings trouble to our lives.  I would suggest that it is possible to talk oneself into such negativity by allowing unbridled and unfiltered words to flow that we plunge into depression, doubt, fear, and faithlessness.  Words are important and they are powerful.  Not just the words we hear but the ones we speak.  Words have meaning and if God did not consider them important He would not have placed so many references in the Bible about the tongue and what we speak.

             We have all witnessed the disruption through words and sadly words cannot be retrieved once uttered.  They can be repented of and attempted retraction but once released they are forever there and can be incredible weapons of the enemy against our souls or lives.  While I understand that we will never be successful in preventing all such words from coming forth we can continually seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit in ‘guarding our mouths and tongues’ that we speak words of life not death.  You may be one that takes pride in ‘telling it like it is’ but I would pray that you will learn to ‘season your words’ with an understanding that just being brutal is not always the best approach.  I dare say you do not like it when someone gives back in kind.

             So as you go through your day let your words be yes and amen and allow the Holy Spirit to put a few seconds delay on your lips before you speak.  God bless you richly and may He empower you to fulfill your dreams and desires!  Blessings!

Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God…”  NKJV

             I do not normally like to take isolated portions of scripture and build a message or even a devotional but I feel compelled to do just that today.  In the first four words of Genesis 1:1 we find the very best place and the only logical place to start in our consideration of life and anything that it affords – – “In the beginning GOD…”

             I know that some who claim to be atheists or agnostics rail at that and are offended by the mention of God and some insist that we cannot know or be sure.  I knew a guy in Vietnam who would vehemently attack anyone who even mentioned God and on one occasion when it appeared that he might be about to meet death began to whimper and called out to God.  Sadly, none of us were equipped to help him spiritually and I do not know if that was a life changing experience for him or not but I have never forgotten the event. 

            I grew up believing God existed but did not grow up serving God and there is a vast difference.  After Vietnam my dissatisfaction with life continued to grow and in Palestine, Texas a couple of families were nudged by the Holy Spirit to make my salvation a matter of intercession.  They slowly erased all my excuses, demonstrated no ill feelings at my verbal abuse and rejection, and showed me love and compassion when I gave them no reason to do so.  The people of that little church had something I knew I did not have but I resisted strongly.  Finally through a series of events upon receiving a note from one of them suggesting that I read a particular passage of Scripture my world changed about midnight on a Saturday night sitting at the kitchen table.  Prior to that night I had come under such conviction that I knew I was lost and going to hell if my life did not change but the devil had me convinced I had done too much and was doomed.  That passage from Proverbs 3:5-6 was the catalyst that God used to penetrate my wrong thinking and bring me to freedom spiritually and I WAS SAVED.  I did not have to tell people there was a change they knew it.  I did tell them but people would come to me that knew nothing and ask, ‘What happened?  You are not the same.”

            When I finally began at the beginning I found LIFE and HOPE.  I had to begin with God.  I am so incredibly thankful that He spared me through Vietnam and allowed me to live long enough to come to a full knowledge of Him and receive His grace and mercy.  I am thankful that I have had the opportunity to share my experience and the love of God with countless people that I knew and influenced during my life before SALVATION.  I am thankful for the years of walking with the Lord and would not take anything for my journey.  He has demonstrated His faithfulness even in my unfaithfulness and failures.  NO, when I think of Life I can only think of THE BEGINNING and that beginning is GOD.

            May God be with you as you go through your day!

Acts 2:46-47 – “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” NKJV

            I know you are wondering what part of this I’m calling revolutionary.  Well….  Notice the first few words, “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple….”   They got along in Church!  Wow!  Sadly, I have seen more than ‘infighting’  than I would like to remember within the local congregation where people were jockeying for position and control.  I have watched as churches split over internal disagreements that could have and should have been solved by biblical principles.  I have watched as those outside the faith were so alienated by this type of attitude and activity that the church virtually lost its witness in the community and become a clique rather than a church.  But, I have also seen churches that were so harmonious that they touched their communities powerfully and impacted the lives of members in a positive and dynamic fashion.

            Imagine this fledgling entity called The Church after Jesus’ ascension having such unity that they could meet together DAILY and still get along, be in one accord, and press toward the common goal.  They fellowshipped and that is not just getting together for a social event but a blending of lives, hearts, minds, and faith.  They were people of simplicity, gratitude, and praise and as a result they had a dynamic impact upon their community.  I suggest that we would have like results if we had like minds as they.

            I have no problem with people having different ideas on many things within the church but to allow it to become a wedge that divides is not a good thing.  I’m not talking about compromising your convictions or winking at sin and disreputable behavior.  I’m talking about power struggles, positions and titles being allowed to become more important than the purpose for which the church was originated.  Notice the last sentence where we see the LORD adding to the church DAILY those who were being saved.  That says something about their daily lives and witness. 

            Some have the idea that you have to be in the church building to get saved but you don’t have to be in a hospital to get sick or well and you do not have to be in a mortuary to die.  If the church were unified in purpose and touching its community as these we would find that Sunday morning was less of a preaching service and more of a reporting service of what transpired during the week.  I’m not against preaching.  I am for reaching our communities DAILY.

             So as you consider the church and examine the early church, allow the Holy Spirit to mold your thinking so that your prime objective is the central purpose of God.  May the Lord be with you and bless you as you go through your day!

1 Timothy 2:1-7 – “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, 7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle — I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying — a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”  NKJV

Frequently I will have someone castigate me because I am involved in the world of politics and am a preacher.  I have been told that I cannot have a dissenting view or expression concerning those in leadership because God said we were to submit and pray for them.  He did both, in a measure, and to fully dissect that would take more time and space than we have for this devotional.  But, I want to take this passage and make a statement that I hope will help in understanding ‘life’ and how ‘life’ touches all dimensions of our world.

The apostle Paul instructed his son in the faith, Timothy and anyone who would hear to ‘make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks for ALL MEN (women included).’  He did not stop there he included kings and all who are in authority, “that….”  There was an objective, ‘that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.’  This was an objective not a conditional promise that if we do this that will be our lot.  No it was an expression that we have a responsibility and duty to pray for those who have authority that they might walk after God’s will following His precepts and thereby a condition exist that we could live peaceably in godliness and reverence.  Hopefully you realize that this is sometimes not the outcome in life?

The ultimate objective in Paul’s message was SALVATION!  When those in authority reject or disregard God’s word and precepts there will be no peace or tranquility and we who live in those situations, seeking to live godly reverent lives will face severe persecution as the Bible warned and has been evidenced in human history.

If you take Paul’s instruction to the full you will find that just uttering a quite prayer for the leaders falls far short of the directive.  The instruction is ‘supplications’ [petitions], prayers [indicates our worship of God and even oratory in public], intercessions [interview and pleas] are to be offered.  We must also not omit the ‘giving of thanks’ for ALL MEN not just the leaders and realize that it is God’s desire not for us to become mere puppets to human despots but that we pray for their enlightenment and their salvation.

I have no desire to be political in this devotional only to say, LIFE is LIFE and involves EVERYTHING you face and that touches you and your family.  So if LIFE is important and valuable is it not worth engaging in ‘supplication, prayer and intercession’?  I pray for the leaders of my nation and my world that they SEE THE LIGHT of God’s Word and allow Him to become LORD of their lives.  My prayer is not one of concession but intercession battling hell for their souls and the lives they affect in their execution of their authority so that we might realize the objective of ‘peaceable lives in godliness and reverence’ that the Gospel could be preached freely to all in peace.

So as you consider your world, social, material, political, and spiritual ask God to guide you in your response to Paul’s declaration and direction.  May God be with you as you go through your day!

Galatians 6:14-15 – “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.” NKJV

Not long ago I was in a meeting where ministers gathered and discussed the works they were leading.  I heard words like ‘the work I have built’, ‘my church’, and ‘my ministry’.  Almost every statement contained the word “I”, “My”, or “Me” and my heart was grieved.  Even as those leading the meeting began to introduce and recognize some of the prominent people, there was praise and recognition of what each one had built or the work they were doing.  What they meant, I am certain, was not to be disrespectful to the Holy Spirit but what I heard was ‘flesh’ and ‘boasting in the flesh’.  I fully understand the human element in the work of God on earth and that God uses people but for me it runs deeper.

When I was lead pastor in congregations I would sometimes be guilty of referring to the local congregation as ‘my church’ and frequently the Holy Spirit would bring conviction to my heart and I would in sincere repentance correct myself and say, ‘The Lord’s Church that I am charged with providing human leadership.’  I never want to ‘boast’ in the flesh because there is nothing in the flesh to boast about.  Were it not for Calvary I would be nothing and it is only through the Work of the Cross that I have life and that life more abundant.

I have an ego like everyone else and continually ask the Lord through the Holy Spirit to keep it in check.  Flattery can shipwreck virtually anyone and a man of God once stood before me and warned that I was falling prey to ‘flattery’ and at first I was angered by that suggestion but as I weighed it in my spirit I realized he was correct.  The church was doing well, people were giving me accolades and I was being recognized by others outside the church and was, without being aware becoming a little full of myself.  God engineered a series of events that brought me back to reality and reminded me of how dependent I was and am upon Him and instead of wringing my hands and lamenting I rejoiced as I recognized the work of the Holy Spirit.  Victory came as did my deliverance from ‘flattering tongues’.  Understand I’m not talking about giving people compliments I’m talking about flattery.  I’m talking about allowing the accolades of man shift your view of total dependence upon the Lord to your accomplishments.

The old song with the words ‘without Him I could do nothing’ is appropriate here.  Jesus said, “I (Jesus) will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  I’m just a laborer together with Him.  Any gift or ability I have is directly from Him and I am and will always be TOTALLY DEPENDENT on Him for all that I am, doing, or hope to be or do.

I hear people in today’s world talk about ME (self) and it bothers me so naturally when I hear people in the faith talk about ME (self) it bothers me even more because we know better.  Some believe that God gives the inherent ability and then just leaves it all to us and others believe that He micromanages everything in our lives.  Regardless of what you believe tell me what do you have that you did not receive as a result of His work in your life?

            May God be with you as you go through your day!  Blessings!

Joshua 6:20 – “So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.”  NKJV

I have heard this story related and people read it somewhat nonchalantly without even a raised eyebrow or question mark in their eyes but I don’t.   I have never read this story without a pause in my reading and thinking.  I do not pause in the fact that the Hebrews took the city.  I do not pause in the method of God for victory – SHOUTING and BLOWING the trumpets.  No!  I pause at the few words, ‘the wall fell down flat.’  

Stop and consider what happened here what happened.  The mound or ‘tell’ of Jericho was surrounded by a great earthen rampart, or embankment, with a stone retaining wall at its base.  That wall was 12-15’ tall and on top of that was a mud brick wall about 6’ thick and 20-26’ tall.  At the crest of the embankment was a similar mud brick wall shoes base as roughly 46’ above the ground level outside the retaining wall and loomed high above the Israelites as they marched day after day.  All that ‘fell down flat’ and the Israelites charged in without hindrance.

But there is more!  When I was in Israel a number of years ago we came to the city and the guide informed us that archaeological evidence had found what appeared to be a discrepancy between the Biblical timeline and where the artifacts were found from the ruins of the walls.  But, as I’ve studied it I have discovered that the Hebrew statement that the walls ‘fell down flat’ carries the suggestion that it ‘fell beneath itself’ which could mean that God pushed the walls into the ground.  I am not saying that is what happened but I do know that this is a major miracle to have the walls ‘flat’ when there would have or should have been an incredible amount of rubble which would have caused significant difficulty for the Israelites to simply rush in.

Archaeologists have also found a section of the wall standing with houses attached and that could well be where Rahab’s house was.  This would be another significant miracle.  What we have in the defeat of Jericho is one miracle after another and that is God’s method of operation.  He is not bound by the Laws of Nature or our frailty HE IS GOD! 

So, I do not know what you need in your life and labors but we are serving a God who can do anything and will do anything to provide you your needed miracle.  So as you go through your day go knowing that OUR GOD is a MIRACLE WORKING GOD.

            Blessings!

Proverbs 27:1 – “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”  NKJV

The gospel song “I don’t know about tomorrow but I know who holds my hand” has been on my heart and mind for days.  Most of us make plans for the future and sometimes we talk about what we are going to do in the days ahead.  We should take to heart this passage and the wise words of wisdom offered in James 4:13-17 where the apostle instructs us not to boast about the future as though it were dependent upon us.  Our lives are like a vapor and as Job declared we are of few days and our days are filled with difficulty.

So, although we cannot know what tomorrow holds we can know who holds tomorrow and that is the most important thing.  An important truth in this is doing daily what we know we should and doing it.  It is living life to the full in obedience to the directive of Scripture and the Spirit of God.  It is walking with a clear conscience.  It is savoring each moment of this fleeting thing called life.

I have had people say to me, “I wish I knew what tomorrow holds” and each time I have suggested that rather than focusing on ‘knowing the unknown’ it is more important to know the one who ‘controls the unknown’.  If I know God and trust Him then tomorrow will take care of itself and I do not have to spend one second fretting over it.  God’s promise is that He will NEVER leave us nor will He forsake us and when I read such passages as Psalm 91 I face all my tomorrows and today’s issues with complete confidence that I am sheltered safe in the arms of God and that provides perfect peace.

I wake up each day with the declaration, ‘this is the day the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it” and then get out of bed and prepare to experience the day.  I do not endure life I live it.  I do not cope I enjoy life.  My shepherd leads me through all things and to all things and I have complete confidence in His ability to keep me and navigate the troubled waters of life.

So as you go into this new day go with a renewed confidence that God is there with you every step of the way and no matter what comes HE IS THERE!   If He is there you have no reason to be anything but thankful, joyous, and anticipatory of the unfolding of this day!

            May God be with you as you go through your day!

Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” NKJV

I will never forget when I first began to travel in itinerant ministry as an Evangelist I went to get some business cards printed and wanted to use this passage on my card.  The man who took my order looked at it and said, “Why would you want to put ‘a word filthy spoken’ on your card?”  I DIDN’T!   I realized quickly how easy it would be for someone to misread the verse and chose another instead.

However, the passage is a powerful message on speaking ‘right words’ at the ‘right time’ for the ‘right reason’ and being a man/woman of your word.  My parents and grandparents instilled in me that if you gave your word you gave yourself and it was to be honored.  Both my father and maternal grandfather were men of such integrity that if they gave their word and shook hands it was more binding than any legal contract.  It was their bond!  They considered someone who broke their word of the basest sort of person.  I recall once making a pledge for a small amount of money but being in college I had no means to accumulate the extra money short of a miracle from God.  I told my father about my pledge and he wrote me a check and told me that next time not to make a commitment I was not sure I could keep.  I tried to explain that I would get the money somehow but he would have none of it because I had given my word and the due date on the pledge was at hand.  In his mind if I did not meet the ‘faith promise’ I was breaking my word and that would tarnish both my name and reputation and he could not abide that.

I have found this passage relevant in situations where a ‘calming word’ at the right moment diffused a potentially volatile situation and brought peace.  I have seen it when a ‘wise word’ was offered that prevented a life from being shipwrecked by a terrible decision.  I have seen it when an ‘encouraging word’ was given and a heart was rescued out of despondency and depression.  A ‘right word’ at the ‘right time’ for the ‘right reason’ is truly like an apple of gold in a setting of silver.  It is not only beautiful but a treasure!

We each should carefully measure our words and allow the Holy Spirit to set a guard at our mouths so that when we speak we speak light into darkness and life into death.  So as you go through your day go with the knowledge and confidence that God will give you the right words to say at the right time no matter the situation.

            Blessings!

John 21:20-23 – “Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”

 22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

 23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”

NKJV

I have often read this passage and been reminded of how deeply our egos are involved in everything we do and how deeply the quest for ‘fairness’ and ‘equality’ runs in our human psyche.  Here I believe it is evidenced in Peter’s questions of the Lord regarding John.  Jesus had informed Peter about Peter’s life and death and as humans will do, Peter wanted to know ‘What about John?’  If this is my lot; what about him? 

Some have suggested that Jesus pampered John but rather I believe it had more to do with John’s spirit and attitude.  God had a work and ministry that required a certain mentality, attitude, and disposition and John embodied all the requirements.  He could be silent when silence was required and vocal when speaking up was required somewhat unlike Peter who was often rash with his mouth and impatient.  Yet, Peter appears to not just have an interest in finding out what John was going to face but wanting to be sure that John was not getting a better deal in his human view.

I have watched ministers, church people, and people in general fret over what someone else has either in material possessions or gifts of God.  The idea of ‘fairness’ by human definition is foreign to Scripture.  God never said that life would be ‘fair’ but He did promise to be ‘just’.  Life may hand you some terrible lemons and require you to endure horrific situations to survive but if you look at what others are or are not going through or have you will fall into DECEPTION and DESPAIR and lose heart.  Jesus said it clearly and we should carefully heed His words, “If I will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?  You follow Me.”  Peter twisted Jesus’ words and told the others that John would not die but that is not what Jesus said.  Jesus was turning the focus from ‘comparison’ and ‘human fairness’ to HIS WILL and PURPOSE.  What God chooses to use you for has nothing to do with His purpose for me.  I will rejoice in God’s using you and refuse to focus on my lack or allow any sense of being short-changed come into my thinking.

We have a world full of people who are DEMANDING their ‘fair share’ based on comparisons to others.  There is little consideration to what God’s purpose might be only a sense of entitlement and I want mine.  That is foreign to the biblical description of the Christian walk so STOP IT.  Stop worrying about what someone else has or does take stock of what God wants to do and is doing in your life.  Your life is the one you are responsible for and will give account for. 

            May God be with you as you go through your day!