Holy Week

     Jesus understands our sorrow and suffering. His emotions match ours in intensity, in fear, and finally, in obedience.  As He moves away from everyone into the Garden of Gethsemane, He is in anguish. Listen to His words and feel the pain.

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from Me, yet not My will but Yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him.  And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Luke 22:42-44

     In suffering, we too, pray more earnestly. We beg. We cry. We moan. We ask God to remove the depth of sorrow. Jesus and His angels are right by our side, coming to our rescue. We find hope in Him and no one else. Jesus, in His anguish, knows what He has to do and He will do it. He did it for you and for me.

Lord,

You know where we are right now, this very minute. Comfort our hearts and minds as we give it all to You. Grant us hope and peace throughout our lives until we are by Your side.

Amen

     The Words of Jesus on the cross give us more insight. We see His heart,

Holy Week

     Holy week is here. Walking with Jesus as He willingly makes His way to the cross reminds us of His human agony, His overwhelming suffering, His love for us and His divinity. He overcame death. He fulfilled the law and offers grace. Everything in the Old Testament points to and foreshadows the Redeemer, Jesus. As we begin to understand the richness, the depth, the complexities of the Word of God, we can get a glimpse of His majesty, His timing and His ability to be personally involved in each of our lives.

     As Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem preparing for His death the following Friday, His timing is perfect. The Passover celebration was upon Jerusalem. The sacrificial lambs were being led into town, just as the Lamb of God is entering. Each lamb brought in to be sacrificed has to be scrutinized and found to be without blemish, just as Jesus was scrutinized by the leaders of the day and they found Him with no bault.

     The Passover supper He shared with His disciples included the wine that represented His blood and the unleavened bread to represent His broken body. How beautiful! How astounding! How miraculous! Yeast always signified sin in the Bible. Unleavened bread means bread with no yeast, or the one Holy man with no sin.

      John the Baptist recognized Jesus when He first began His ministry three years earlier.

The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1;29

     Let us behold Him this week as we prepare for the Holiest of weeks.

Father in heaven,

Keep us mindful of all that Jesus has done and what He will do at His return. We marvel at the timing, the miraculous way all prophecy has and will be fulfilled and that Your Son, the One with no sin, lived with us, died for us and conquered death to save us.

In Jesus name

Amen,

The Power Of The Tongue

     Studying and thinking about the power of our tongues has me thinking and praying. How about you? James has so much to say about the damage our tongues can do in Chapter 3 of the book he wrote. He compares the damage of slander and gossip to the spark that brings about a forest fire!

Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. James 3:5

     Every person on earth is loved by God and His desire is to save each one. When we speak evil about another, it causes damage to ourselves and to a child of God.

With the tongue, we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. James 3:9

     King Solomon adds to the warnings of James. We can avoid the fire altogether and put out the flame.

Without wood, a fire goes out, without a gossip, a quarrel dies down. Proverbs 26:20

     And finally, a reminder that our tongues can bring harm to others, but ultimately our boasts and slander and gossip cause the most harm to ourselves.

Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity. Proverbs 21:23

     Let’s take this next verse as a daily prayer. I need it!

Set a guard over my mouth, Lord, keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3

Amen!!

The Power Of The Tongue

     Gossip is a tough subject. God hates gossip. It is listed with the other things he hates in Proverbs 6. How do we recognize gossip? Another tough subject and question to consider. As Christians, we can tell another person’s story under the guise of needing prayer.

     We can talk about our neighbors or friends as a way to feel better about ourselves. Gossip can become a way of life so easily, and God has been convicting me of just that. When we are in a group talking about others, we feel safe. At least they are not talking about us. It may go all the way back to grade school when we just wanted to fit in, to be accepted. The Bible is clear about gossip. We are not to take part in it and we are to avoid people who wallow in it!

A gossip betrays a confidence, so avoid anyone who talks too much. Proverbs 20:19

     Well, I know I talk too much! Maybe if we turn the conversations in a positive way about the person being discussed, change the subject or walk away, we can make a difference. Gossip causes damage and we can avoid it. Here is a wonderful verse to think about as we consider the way we speak.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

Father,

Keep a guard on our mouths. (Psalm 141;3) Remind us to make sure our conversation is beneficial and uplifting about and to others. You know how hard this is for us, but You will help us. We love You.

In Jesus name,

Amen

The Power Of The Tongue

     As the called-out children of God, we are to be set apart from a world gone mad. Part of living righteously is watching our tongues. We don’t need to fit in. We can be sure God will give us the opportunities to be different, to set a higher standard, to be representatives of Jesus.

The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. Psalm 37:30

     Are we fair when we speak of others? Are we sharing the wisdom we learn from Christ? How about our language?

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. Ephesians 5:4

     Not easy to be set apart, to strive to be an example, to be fair and just, to watch the way we speak. But it’s a worthy cause. Jesus is watching.

Lord,

We want to please You and to continue to move in a way that honors You. It isn’t easy, but the Holy Spirit will help us and convict us when we are in the wrong place or when we say the wrong thing. We are taking in Your Words this week.

In Jesus name,

Amen

The Power Of The Tongue

     As we listen to ourselves speak and take responsibility for the damage our tongues can do, we can take great advice from the Word of God.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. James 1:19

     I don’t know about you, but many times I am quick to speak and slow to listen. We think about what we are going to say next, rather than give our full attention to the one speaking. Listening to others is a gift, to really hear them and try to see their hearts. We jump to conclusions from appearance or actions and don’t take the time to go beneath the surface.

     Be slow to speak, be slow to get angry and be quick to listen. I am going to listen to that and give it a try.

Lord,

Thank You for Your great wisdom. I pray we will listen to Your advice as we look at the power of what we speak. 

Amen

The Power Of The Tongue

     Once the Holy Spirit moves into our hearts and souls and our bodies become His temple, things begin to change. As we deepen our love for Christ, gain knowledge of His mighty word and believe in His resurrection power, He begins to change us from the inside out. We may not notice the subtle changes for years. Luckily, He is patient! His enduring love stays with us, wherever we are, teaching and guiding us into new truths.

     Lately, God has been convicting me on the importance of our words, as we speak to ourselves and as we speak to others. When I think of the things I say, it is not always pretty. I get down on myself for doing stupid things. (Sound familiar?) I speak negatively about others or think about the annoying habits of others. Hard not to, right?

     There are numerous verses about the power of our tongues and we’ll focus on those this week. I need them and when the Holy Spirit asks us to move to a better place, I hope we will all listen.

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21

     What? The power of life and death? Makes me want to think about what I say and how I say it. We have the power to speak words of love, encouragement, and kindness and, as we do, to think the best of others. We also have the choice to think ourselves better than others, to believe we have all the answers, to try to get even, or to speak negatively to or about others. Yikes!

Lord,

Help me, help us to do a better job of representing Your love and kindness even when we and others don’t seem to deserve it. Our tongues have great power to put down or to lift up. Please show us how to make the right choices.

In Jesus name,

Amen