- araratchurch
- Feb 12
- 3 min read
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
Proverbs 4:23 NLT
Last time, we were discussing the importance of the words that come out of our mouth. Indeed, our words help create the world in which we will live.
Today, we turn to look at where our words are originating. For surely, if we are to speak in unison with what God has said, we must make sure that the well from which our words are drawn, is not corrupt.
Now, Jesus said that our words come out of the overflow of our hearts.
“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”
Luke 6:43-45 NLT
Now, as we can see from what Jesus said, the problem with our words coming from our heart, is that we can have an evil heart or a good heart. And we know that because of sin, the basic sway of the unredeemed, unchanged, human heart, is evil.
Indeed, the Lord, through Jeremiah, says something very sobering about the propensity of man’s heart.
““The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.””
Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT
Wow! The Lord says that the tendency of the human heart is so evil that we can’t even begin to understand the depths of its depravity.
On the other hand, we see that the Lord declares that He does know the human heart. This fact is one of the many reasons we don’t have to worry about whether God is going to judge someone too harshly, or for that matter, not harshly enough.
The writer of proverbs indicates that the reading of the human heart is no challenge for He Who knows all things.
“Even Death and Destruction hold no secrets from the Lord. How much more does he know the human heart!”
Proverbs 15:11
Jeremiah declares to the Lord that he knows that we’re not even capable of choosing the right path for ourselves.
“I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course.”
Jeremiah 10:23 NLT
Let’s take a look at the same scripture in The Amplified Bible:
“O Lord, I know that the path of [life of] a man is not in himself; It is not within [the limited ability of] man [even one at his best] to choose and direct his steps [in life].”
Jeremiah 10:23 AMP
The depravity of the unchanged human heart, makes choosing the right path, beyond our reach. And, to our starting point, makes speaking good words impossible.
But with the issue of our heart being what it is, we have more to worry about than whether we can speak what we should speak.
Our opening scripture presents another sobering statement: Our heart will determine everything we will do. As such, an unguarded heart, can produce all kinds of unimaginable actions. Alternatively, a heart in line with God‘s heart, can walk into all the things God has prepared for us to do and have.
Friend, we do well to heed the warning to keep our heart guarded. Because, whether we know it or not, what goes on in our heart is planning our future.
Next time we will consider exactly what the heart is, how we can overcome its evil sway, as well as how to keep our heart in line with God’s heart.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Feb 11
- 3 min read
“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. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”
James 3:7-10 ESV
An examination of the creation story will reveal that the Lord spoke everything into being with the words of His mouth. In fact, we are told that “God said,” or some variation of the same, 10 times concerning the creation.
Indeed, the word of God has the power, the creative power, to bring something to be, something to exist, out of nothing.
Now, whereas we may not see things being created out of thin air by the words of our own mouth, the truth is, our own words have much to do with creating the world in which we will live. Yes, our words, when they line up with what God has said, can build the blessed life He has promised. But make no mistake, rash words, spoken from an uncontrolled tongue, often tear down, often destroy, the blessings God has offered.
The writer of proverbs warns that we will have to live with the consequences of our words, for better, or worse.
“Wise words satisfy like a good meal; the right words bring satisfaction. The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.”
Proverbs 18:20-21 NLT
Knowing the importance of our words, the psalmist sought the Lord to help him make sure that his words weren’t undoing the word of God in his life.
“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.”
Psalms 141:3 NKJV
In another place, David offers this:
“I said, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, While the wicked are before me.” I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; And my sorrow was stirred up. My heart was hot within me; While I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue: “Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am.”
Psalms 39:1-4 NKJV
David knew—as we all should know—if you are in a bad situation, in the midst of provocation, you definitely don’t want to make things worse by digging the hole you’re in, deeper, with your own tongue. Indeed, our words can form a snare in which we may well find ourselves trapped.
Peter warns, saying this:
“For “He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.”
I Peter 3:10 NKJV
In our opening scripture, we see that James explains the potentially destructive power of the tongue. Note, James presents the scenario of blessing and cursing, evil and good, coming out of the same mouth. Friend, you can’t get a faster track to deeper trouble than doing the devil‘s work with your mouth. As such, we are allowing the power of God’s word to be negated in our life with the words of our enemy!
Child of God, we should always seek out what the Lord has said, making sure that our words aren’t negating His words. We must be particularly careful with what we are saying when we find ourselves in a tight spot, in the midst of trouble, in a place of confusion. We definitely don’t want to make things worse with our own tongue.
Remember, we can’t go wrong speaking what God has said, even when it doesn’t seem—at that point in time—that our circumstances are lining up with what He had said.
In fact, what God has said, His word, has the power to bring us through our personal storms; whereas, speaking out of emotion, speaking impulsively, speaking thoughtlessly, speaking contrary to what God has said, will only lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy of more trouble.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Feb 10
- 4 min read
“But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.”
Philippians 3:16, 18-21 NLT
In 1970, Peggy Lee won a Grammy for the song, “Is That All There Is?” Here are the words to the chorus of that song:
"Is that all there is?
Is that all there is?
If that's all there is, my friends, then let's keep dancing
Let's break out the booze and have a ball
If that's all there is.”
The sentiment expressed here is not new. Indeed, Paul in his letter to the church of Corinth, references this very type of thinking.
“And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.”
1 Corinthians 15:32-34 NLT
Just before what Paul says here, he makes the point that if our hope in Christ Jesus was just for this life, we would have every right to be miserable. But our hope in Jesus Christ doesn’t end here; it takes us from this life into the next!
“And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.”
1 Corinthians 15:19-22 NLT
Last time, we discussed the fact that expectantly looking for the return of Jesus Christ, as well as our life with Him thereafter, is our “blessed hope.”
“waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,”
Titus 2:13 ESV
Yes, far from having no hope for the future, no hope for life after this life, we have the greatest hope of all. Think about it, this blessed hope takes away the fear of the coming Judgment.
“And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.”
1 Thessalonians 1:8-10 NLT
Another benefit of being mindful of the Lord‘s return, is that it encourages us to purify ourselves, encourages us to live lives that will not make us ashamed at His coming.
“Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.”
1 John 3:2-3 NLT
Additionally, being mindful of the Lord’s return, helps us to endure what we must, as we navigate life’s uncertainties and difficulties.
“Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.”
James 5:7-8 NLT
In our opening scripture, we see that living our lives mindful of the Lord‘s return, helps us keep our thoughts anchored in heaven, where we have our true citizenship..
Yes, being mindful of the Lord‘s return, has great benefit. Alternatively, not being mindful of His return, puts our soul in great peril. Oh, friend, let’s love His appearing!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!