What's in YOUR Mouth?

(picture from thisisinsider.com)

^{The other day, our pastor made mention of something John Osteen used to say, “There’s a miracle in your mouth.” I’ve heard variations of this over the years, but yet every time I ponder it, I recognize all over again just what a powerful my mouth I have.}

^{Sure, I make jokes about how much I talk, but, if I pay attention to what I’m saying, I realize I need to slow things down and guard my mouth; I get to be the one in control of what comes out of my mouth. Am I speaking truth? Even when, and perhaps, especially when - I’m the only one there to hear what I have to say, it’s important that I speak the truth, and that I speak it in love.}

^{“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” – Ephesians 4:15 (NIV)}

^{Yes, I want to grow into all that Jesus has for me. I want to bring glory to His Name, and I want to edify the body of Christ. But, I need to be a healthy member of the body of Christ in order to bring that edification to the table. If my thinking is tainted by some flaky wind of doctrine or lies from my past, I’m being deceived and I’m sharing that deception. I need to be renewing my mind with the Word of God all the time.}

^{Sometimes we can be in conversation with someone and think thoughts like, “Does this person even have a clue what they’re talking about?” – or, “This guy’s short a few marbles.” Truth be told, others have had these same thoughts about us.}

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^{In scripture we read, “The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But, we have the mind of Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 2:15 (NIV)}  

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^{If we fail to engage our own brain in our conversations, how much less do we tap into the mind of Christ? God has told us we have access to His mind, yet so often we rely on self, or worse, we just allow whatever happens to happen without considering what we can do to impact the situation.}

But, what about when I’m talking to myself? How am I impacting my life by speaking out things that are negative and destructive? I’m crippling God’s precious Princess. I’m creating handicap in my own life. I’m also acting in rebellion, denying the very power of God working in me.

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^{In Romans 8:11 we read. “…if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” (NIV)}

^{How can I deny the truth if the very Spirit of God lives within me? I’ll tell you how. If I’m still living a carnally-minded life. If I’m not renewing my mind with God’s Word – I have nothing else to fall back on except the lies I’ve always believed. By the way, a carnal life doesn’t have to mean a sinful life, it simply means a life perceived by natural means; through our five senses. There are things more reliable than our sense of seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting. Once we give our lives over to Jesus, He promises that His Spirit will live within us. We can tap into that, we can receive from His Spirit, and we can rely on Him, trusting Him completely. He’ll never leave us, no matter what. His love is unconditional, and His presence is as real as His love.}

^{James 1:26 tells us, “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.” (NLT)}

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^{I’m a talker and I admit it. Sometimes I allow my words to get ahead of me and I say things I shouldn’t, to myself and to those around me. But, to say I can’t control it, would be a lie. I might be lazy about guarding my mouth, I might be slack in renewing my mind with the Word of God, I might be uneducated about the power I possess, but that’s all on me. God gave me control, I get to make the decisions regarding my life and how I live it. He gave you the very same control; the very same choices.}

^{“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.” – Deuteronomy 30:19-20a (NIV)}

^{“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words.” – Proverbs 18:21 (AMP)}

^{Are you speaking truth? Are you speaking life? If not, you can choose to change that, through the Word of God.}

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A Sneakier Kind of Crisis

(quora.com)

What kind of a crisis goes unidentified; unlabeled?

A health crisis might be faced when we or a loved one is given a frightening diagnosis.

An emotional crisis might rise up against us when suddenly a rug is pulled from beneath us; life takes a turn in an unexpected direction.

A financial crisis may loom over us if we lose our job, or if some insurmountable expense is hurled our way.

But, how do we define a crisis we feel sneak upon us, with no tangible beginning and no see-able cause?

Sometimes we just feel as though we’re going through something that rattles us or throws us off course, when nothing around us has realistically changed for the worse, at all.

We might call it depression – or oppression. We might simply call it a case of the blues, or a pity party. We could refer to it as “falling off the wagon” – when we’ve cleaned up a part of our lives for a significant period of time and we relapse. But, how does that relapse happen when we can’t point our finger at an action that caused it; the trigger that caught us off guard?

(stevensstrategic.com)

What about when this “crisis” occurs due to something in our subconscious that we’re not even aware that we’re carrying around with us?

If I was drowning, trapped in a car that was rapidly sinking and filling with water, surely I’d be in a panic. But, the ecstasy I’d experience should someone rescue me would be hard to put into words. So, right here, right now, I won’t look for that description.

My car, so rapidly sinking and filling with water, was my mind. I felt as though I was trapped there, spiraling to the bottom of an abyss too dark to fathom.

(newsongwomen.com)

When rescued, I took on new life.

Even my email address exudes the victory as resqued1. I once displayed a vanity plate on my car which read, FORGVN1.

In my enthusiasm, I allowed myself to believe it was a one-time rescue; that I’d never be trapped in a car like that again.

But, the truth is, I’ve need to be rescued most every day. On the days I seem to sail through without a hitch, I surely ride on autopilot in my own vanity or on the tailwinds of a recent victory of some sort.

Daily, I need to immerse myself in the Living Word of God, or again I’ll begin to sink into a frailty I prefer to leave behind. I sink, not because I cannot swim, but because I have an enemy that would tie a weight around my neck to pull me from joyful freedom, only because he sees God living in me, thriving and lifting up the very hearts of those around me. He hates that.

(allsaintscharlotte.com)

Yet, oftentimes I allow myself to “forget” where my strength and joy comes from. As if I could forget to eat or breathe, no; I’d die. I ponder, how can I have so much disregard for the spirit in me?

Ah, no. I am the spirit in me.

So is this then, a lack of regard for my very self? I am not merely flesh and blood; that simply houses who I am. I’m not only the thoughts I think and beliefs I hold dear or the fears that sometimes seek to take control; that would be my soul, what makes me unique among humans.

Yes, the spirit I am, lives in this mortal house; why do I allow the needs of the house or the soul to usurp my need spiritual need for nourishment?

O foolish Helen! Who has bewitched you? …. How are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? (See Galatians 3:1-5)

Though I exhort you all to remain in the Word of God, how do I sometimes think I can get by without it? Forgive me, Lord!

(pinterest.com)

I am God’s forgvn1 and His resqued1 – but, it’s a daily thing; moment to moment. I need to remain connected to the very Source that gives me life and rescued me. And in this, yes, God is faithful. He will always draw me into His arms and hold me and empower me and forgive me and fill me with His joy. He believes in me, even when I stop believing in myself. He lifts me up and surrounds me, in His Word.

  

(etsy.com)