Taming Your Tongue

How serious is the matter of taming the tongue? Well...

James 1:26 - "Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves and their religion is worthless."

So, if you appear to be religious, you attend church all the time and do religious works, yet you complain, you gossip, your tongue is acidic, your works and religion is worthless. It makes all your spiritual stuff useless in God's eyes. You are active in the work of the Lord but your tongue is completely out of control. James is addressing those who are holy, loving and kind but on their jobs, in their families and whatnot, they are gossiping or listening to gossip with a willing ear. They go on murmuring and complaining. Well...whatever they do, it's worthless.

I won't lie. I have said hurtful things to people in the past. I have said words out of pride, I have lied, I have gossiped, I have said words out of anger. But you cannot take those words back. You can seek to restore these relationships through repentance (saying sorry to them) and they forgive you, but once you say words they cannot be taken back. But even the Lord warns us, "Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them."

A Few Tips

1. Rely on God's Strength

With your own efforts, you will fail - "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13

2. Dedicate your heart and tongue to the Lord DAILY

You will face new conversations every single day. Therefore, acknowledging your need for discernment and God's grace will make you more conscious of your words.

3. Read the Word of God Daily

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good words." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

4. Seek Counsel - Ask those around you if your words offend them

Ask those around you if your words affect them. Ask them about how you speak and re-evaluate your words. Try to bare in mind that everything you speak will be taken into account. Matthew 12:36

5. Learn to speak words that will encourage, comfort, inspire and edify.

Ask the Lord to guide you to speak words that will honour Him - "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how to answer every man."

Do you know that your words reflect what is in your heart? What are you putting and feeding into your spirit? In your effects to control your tongue, focus on whatsoever is true, lovely, honest, just, pure and of good report - think on such things. (Philippians 4:8)

David Wilkerson on Taming Your Tongue

The Story of Isaac and Rebecca

Who doesn't like a good romantic comedy ? I know I do. I love romantic comedies. I love romance overall.

This is the story of Isaac and Rebecca.

Genesis 24
Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son, Isaac."

The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?"

"Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. "The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath saying, "to your offspring, I will give this land" - he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there" So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master's camels loaded with all kinds of goods from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. He had camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.

Then he prayed, "Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, 'please let down your jar that I may drink' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too' - let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you will show kindness to my master."

Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milka who was the wife of Abraham's brother, Nahor. The woman was very beautiful, a virgin, no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up again.

The servant hurried to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar."

"Drink my lord," she said and wuickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

After she had given him a drink, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels too, until they had enough to drink." So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful..."

....

Then, the man bowed down and worshipped the Lord, saying, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master's relatives."

Phew! That story is pretty long. I had to cut it short. You can read the rest if you wish in Genesis 24. BUT...in this story, Abraham was an old man and the Bible says that he was in his last years. He wanted a wife for Isaac who was saved. He wanted to sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac and this servant acknowledged God.

He prayed and wanted a sign. He wanted a good wife and he wanted God's direction to find a good wife for Isaac.

Isaac was pretty much older. He is believed to have been around 37 to 40 years of age. Abraham's actions were based on revelation. God promised to make Abraham a great nation and bless the nations through him. It was the WILL of God for Isaac to be married. God MADE marriage. He thrives in marriage.

Genesis 2:18 - "...it is not good for man to be alone, the Lord shall make him a help meet." 

God saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone so he made for him that which was closest to his heart - he made a woman. God saw the need in Adam's heart.

The servant of Abraham committed his mission to prayer. When he found Rebekah, he thanked the Lord and he worshipped the Lord.

What Can We Learn From Isaac and Rebekah?

1.  Seek a MATE when it is certain that marriage will achieve God's purpose in our lives - which is family and children - Genesis 1:28 - "Then God blessed them and said, 'be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky and all the animals that scurry along the ground."
2. Wait on God's Timing - Yes, I know people hate hearing the whole 'wait on God's timing...' but there's nothing you can do. 
3. Look in the RIGHT places - Abraham told his servant to not go in the land of the Canaanites. Why was that? Well, the Canaanites represent the 'unsaved' people. The Bible says "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers." Why don't you get involved in the life of the church, find somebody with a heart for God and get involved in the work of God. If you start to like somebody, pray about it and seek God first. God will guide you. But be in the context of friendship, ministry, get to know that person
4. Seek Godly Qualities - You can date around but it doesn't mean they are the right people. And in your waiting, have you considered your character? Getting marriage is not about your age, it's about your character (Ephesians 5). Are you still selfish? Husbands? Potential husbands? You are supposed to represent Christ. Your decisions will no longer be based on your own merit, but for the betterment of your wives and your children. You are the high priest of the home, the protector of the home and the provider of the home. Strong fathers begin with a strong husband and a strong believer in Christ. Women - are you willing to respect your husband? Respecting him as the provider? As the preacher? Giving him reverence even when he makes mistakes? Are you willing to respect his responsibilities and can you submit? Both of y'all - are you mature enough to submit to one another in the fear of God?
5. Listen and HEED to the instructions of OLDER and WISER Christians - do not keep the relationship a secret. There is nothing wrong with getting to know people. But keep it public. 

Lastly, you will grow old with the person you will marry. The world may make marriage seem very cumbersome but marriage is a serious step. This is a life partner. If you know it will not be permanent, let that person know sooner and gently and stay friends. Imagine going to heaven and how many people you have to avoid due to the awkwardness.

I also realise that people focus so much on marriage. They make lists about what they want in a mate (which is good, because at least you have standards) but some of these lists are so unrealistic. Why don't you seek first the Kingdom of God because without the character of Christ, you're nothing. Why don't you learn to pray and read the promises of God. Pray for God to change your heart and pray for your future marriage? 

Why don't you just relax and not THINK too much about whether the man you're dating is 'the one'? Every guy that comes along, you wonder if he is the one God has sent for you? Why not just go out, befriend people, both men and women and just CHILL? 

Prayer - Women, why don't you pray. 

Lord, I want in my heart to respect my future husband and honour his leadership. Lord, let my judgement be good, my words to hold weight. Please, let me be a mother that has such an impact on my children and my grandchildren. I believe in You, Lord, for breakthroughs in my fear of commitment and rejection. Lord, you died to make me who I am and who I am meant to be. Father, change me and make me less selfish. Take the treachery out of my heart, let us mean it when we go to your altar and let that be deep within our hearts. Let us mean our vows. Let our love be unconditional. I pray that I lay down my life for that person, to not walk away from that marriage no matter how hard it gets.

In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen?!

The Fall Of King David

This is one of my favourite stories in the Bible but it's actually deeper than that. Let me tell you about David. He was a righteous man, a man after God's own heart. A man who wrote and composed music about God, His goodness, His love, His mercy. This is a man who was so supposedly perfect; and committed to God, but he committed some serious sin (which shows that even He fell short and wasn't perfect). I read this again and it was like my eyes were opened. I've learnt something.

Let's see it from Bathsheba's perspective. She was just minding her own business, washing off on a warm night when a messenger from King David told her that the King had seen her bathing from his rooftop...oh, and he wanted to meet her. But, we don't know how she felt. I can only imagine that she was probably glad to have to be in the presence of the King. Her husband, Uriah, was off fighting for WAR FOR David himself in the army, so maybe she couldn't exactly refuse to go.

Anyway, we don't know what she was thinking, but she and David slept together. At the end result of that night, she got pregnant.

From David's perspective; David, one evening, was chilling in his palace, and he saw a woman bathing. He was overcome by LUST and he instantly wanted her. The Bible says, this woman was so beautiful and obviously, David was so intrigued that he sent someone to find out about her. He was told the woman was 'Bathsheba' and she was 'the wife of Uriah'. So, at this point, he knew she was a married woman. That's the first mistake he made.

He then sent his messengers to go and get her, she came to HIM and he slept with her. She got pregnant and informed David that she was pregnant. You can only imagine how David felt. Well, let me guess. He slept with one of his soldiers' wives. He must have felt ashamed, embarrassed, anxious...I can only imagine.

After this, we see a series of events. This GODLY man continuously tried to hide his sin. He sent word to Joab saying 'send me Uriah', he was obviously under the pretence of seeking information about the course of the war, but his main thing was to bring Uriah back to Jerusalem.

When Uriah came to him, he tried to convince him to to back to his house and relax. I mean, seriously, he tells Uriah to go home and relax, he obviously wanted Uriah and Bathsheba to enjoy their evening together. He wanted to hide deeper into his sin and pretend he hadn't fathered Bathesheba's child. BUT Uriah was so loyal to him, he slept outside the palace and did not go home.At one point, he ensured that Uriah got drunk so that he could go home and sleep with his wife. He woke up after that BUT Uriah continued to be loyal and faithful to David and did not go home.

He must have felt guilty, because I know I would, but there is no evidence of guilt here. David, at this point, hadn't even confessed his sins to God, he hadn't even recognised that he had sinned. He wanted to cover it up more and more. This led to him getting Uriah drunk in the hope that Uriah would go home and sleep with his wife, but nope, this still didn't happen.

In the end, he just decided to have Uriah killed by putting him at the front of the war line where the most dangerous and strongest defenders were. He planned all this so that he could marry Bathsheba himself as quickly as possible. Jeez, this guy is bad. LOL. But, it's honestly hard to imagine a man so close to God, so intimate with Him to fall so short. It's hard to imagine a man who composed such beautiful psalms, such great morals, such LOVE for God, so passionate about Him...yet he fell so deep into it.

Later on, Bathsheba's child dies. Bathsheba mourned for her husband for 7 days; but he later made her his wife. At this point, he probably had I think 5 wives...but later had Solomon after marrying him. Anyway, David showed no remorse, no guilty for his sin and God did not take it lightly.

Man, you can obviously see how this built up. David got someone else's wife pregnant and decides to hide it and cover it up. But GOD knew. And, if you read the rest of it, you will see that what He had done had DISPLEASED the Lord. Not only had he broken God's laws, he had shamelessly abused his royal power, which God trusted him with.

David can be seen as a total failure but God called David 'A Man after His OWN heart' in 1 Samuel 13:14. You can see his anguish in the Psalms, particularly Psalm 6, Psalm 32 and Psalm 51. 

What I learnt (with notes from David Wilkerson's Podcast):

• It does not matter what your sin is or may be. But no sin will cause God to give up on you. You are still his purchased possession. Even though David despised God by committing adultery, the Lord did not give up on HIM. 
• God even sent a PROPHET to David - he sent Nathan - to tell David what he had done wrong. He was confronted by a Prophet of God (I think in those days, God sent messengers to warn people). 
• Also, his fall caused him to write some beautiful words (as seen in Psalms). I can only imagine what David felt at that point, embarrassed? Ashamed? I mean, imagine if you did something like that and a Man of God comes and tells you that God knows what you have done.
• It took 40 years to get fear out of Moses and to make him listen to the words of God - but Moses because one of God's greatest heroes. David had to run back to the house of God and cried out for forgiveness and peace. 
• "Jonah retraced his steps and did exactly what he refused to do at first, bringing the City of Ninevah to repentance and deliverance."
• "So DESPITE their failure, these men became great men of God. They kept moving on. It's always after a failure that a man does his greatest work for God.

The bottom line is...FAITH. And faith rests on this one - "No weapon formed against you shall prosper." - Isaiah 54:17.

Even Paul said in Romans 7:14 - 25:

"My own behaviour baffles me. For I find myself doing what I really LOATHE but not doing what I really want to do...I often find that I have the will to do good but not the power. When I want to do good, only evil is within my reach..."

The message is...stay in God's presence. I'm sure you know what happened to Saul. - Read it in 1 Samuel 13 and onwards...

Hope you enjoyed...x

We Are Hosea's Wife

I love the Book of Hosea. I  read it quite some time ago but it's never too late to write what I learnt. Besides...I've got my notes, and it's still clear enough in my head. Okay - this is the story of Hosea's Wife, known as Gomer, in a nutshell.

Gomer was a prostitute. She didn't try and hide this sin. She flaunted it actually, living like a prostitute and sleeping with anyone who would buy her something pretty. She was known as the town prostitute. I wondered why God told Hosea to marry HER.

But He did...and God essentially used this marriage to draw a before and after picture for us. Gomer's sinfulness led her to a life of slavery and it was Hosea's right to get rid of her adultery. But GOD instructed Hosea to do something unusual. Hosea bought Gomer back from slavery and still loved her. Would you do that? Your wife/husband is constantly cheating on you yet you keep getting them back, loving them just as much as before and treating them as wonderfully as if she were brand new, a virgin. After Gomer had treated him so badly...so awfully, Hosea GAVE her mercy and grace she didn't even deserve. I wonder why...


Well, this is reflective of how God loves us. Our sin against Him is hurtful. It HURTS Him just as much as Hosea's wife constantly cheating on Hosea. We may not think that our sin is all that bad, but each time we do it, it insults Him. He bought us with the greatest price ever paid...His own blood and then...instead of treating us like SLAVES (which He is entitled to), He welcomes us back each and every time.

In a way...we are all like Hosea's wife. We are not perfect (but perfect in Him), but we struggle to remain faithful. The only thing that actually surprised me is Hosea's constantly forgiveness despite his wife's unfaithfulness. His love remained. Anyway, regardless of us being unfaithful, God is always faithful to us.

Sinful actions are like concrete to the soul. After a while, your heart becomes hard and heavy, preventing YOU to turn to God for help.

Also, this is not to judge anybody because your relationship with God is so different to my relationship with God. It is personal. Some people believe we can't wear make up as Christian women...others believe we can. Some people don't do their nails, others do. Some people don't believe in speaking in tongues, others do. It's all different. But being loyal and faithful to God is the main thing. Being obedient and loving your friends is the main thing. Being kind to one another and consistency in talking to God is the main thing.

God bless x