How Powerful are Pleasant Words!

Pro 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

Whether we speak or write, our words powerfully affect those in our realm of influence. I know I tend to have a sharp, critical tongue if I am not careful. I need to be filled with the Spirit of God so that He is in control of my words. I also must be careful to filter what comes into my thinking though the gates of my eyes and ears, because the mouth speaks what the heart has been pondering.

How do you feel when the boss is in a good mood, saying complimentary things to you about your work? What happens when your spouse speaks loving words to you, encouraging you? You just want to be the best you can be. You are more productive, life is just a bit easier, you even feel better.

You have that power over people with whom you deal... your children, co-workers, spouse, neighbors, parents. They yearn for you to speak pleasant words to them.

Today, just be nice to people, give them a nice compliment, say something pleasant. Like honey, it is sweet to the soul and health to the bones.

Drive Between the Lines!

Pro 16:17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.

Many, but not all of our problems are self-inflicted. The highway of life keeps us moving steadily and speedily toward success, but our sin and lack of wisdom bog us down in the roadside muck.

It is then we only have ourselves to blame for our lack of progress.

So, keep the vehicle between the lines today for some nice progress. Be careful of the common pitfalls; distracted driving, roadside hazards and falling asleep at the wheel.

A Little or a Lot

Pro 16:8 Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.

Picture a gent hunched over his pock marked little table in his modest little home, eating a bowl of Ramen noodles. The hovel is quiet except for his slurping of the soup. A kitty squeezes between the table leg and his, wanting a little human interaction.

The man's Bible is open to the Psalms where he has just read about the goodness of the Lord. He is quietly giving thanks for his blessings.

According to the world's standards, the man is a loser. He has no set of wheels that would turn heads, no bank account to speak of, no large screen TV, no gaming system.

But he has the Lord, his well-worn Bible and assurance of eternal life. He never misses a meal, his work has been steady, his church is small but loving, supportive and very inspirational. Health ain't all that bad either.

Considering the options, if you offered him a fortune, he'd probably give it all away anyhow. His church would get that badly needed Sunday school addition, he'd see to it the pastor got a livable wage, the missionaries would be greatly blessed and his extended family would get some help. He'd be the first to say that a big house would mean a bigger tax burden and more to take care of. His old truck is all he needs to get from home to church, the grocery, work and the hardware store.

So, when everything is considered, this man is better off than the ultra-rich rap star who just passed away with a heart malfunction. He is really happier than the hotel heiress that is super famous for being famous, partying hard every night and shopping with a vengeance every day. He has more deep down joy than the rich folks a couple of neighborhoods over who have huge houses echoing with bitter words and selfish arguments.

It isn't so much about what you have as it about how you got it and what you plan to do with it. Be content with such things as you have and don't concern yourself with ill-gotten gain.

Choose Wisely!

Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

HATCHED IN HELL
Deep in the bowels of the nether regions, imps and emissaries of evil continuously plot fiendish blueprints to foil the good and the right at every juncture.

Destruction, darkness and doom feed their vile imaginations. Leprous bile flows through their veins. Ghastly wisps of breath pour from their mouths and nostrils as they hatch unimaginable strategies against the human wretches and their Creator.

Their pitch-black fantasies imagine burning babies, drunken sots lying in vomit at the curb, sin-hardened women vying for the erotic fancies of imprudent men. They envision broken homes, wayward children, carnal churches, corrupt governments, duplicitous preachers and slothful saints. Their wicked goal is to steal, kill and destroy. They seek the annihilation of humanity and the overthrow of heaven.

Yet, God in His heaven will have them chasing their pointy little tails, dizzied by their maneuvers. He will laugh at them as they are foiled repeatedly, knowing that they will have their day, or rather, eternal night. He made them for such a time. He fashioned them with their impish appearance, foul odor, devilish imagination, sulfurous breath and pea-sized hearts and brains that they might have a ministry. They even have the ability to dress up their darkness to appear as light. They are able to morph from demon to delight.

OPTIONS
God created man with the capacity of choice. Man opts to love God or not. But God refuses to bribe man with overwhelming goodness and blessing. That is too easy. Love is not love unless it is chosen and the choice cannot be a set up. He has also provided the flip side, the false advertising of hell, so that man could have a volitional option; good or evil, life or death, the true God or false pleasure.

IN A NUTSHELL
Jesus condensed the choice in the following verse: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10

THE PLOT THICKENS
Both sides, clamoring for your loyalty, go to great lengths for your allegiance. Hades crossly offers you that which it can't deliver. Heaven offers deliverance by a cross. The wolves prepare to devour the sheep. The Good Shepherd laid down His life for the sheep. Satan offers you heaven and gives you hell. The Savior went through hell to secure your heaven.

You stand at a crossroads. Glitzy, glamorous billboards on a wide boulevard hail you toward destruction. A rocky narrow path beckons you to find abundant and eternal life.

CHOOSE WISELY!

If Heaven's Happy, Everybody's Happy

Pro 16:7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Do you know how to please the Lord? Really, there is a verse that is very clear on this. Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

If you want to please the Lord, have faith! Not faith in your own abilities, not faith in faith, but faith in the promises and ability of the Lord.

I often hear people bragging about faith. "I have my faith." "I have a strong faith." Well, bully for you! Faith has a lot to do with God and not so much to do with us. Yet, it is our part of that equation which pleases God. Someone said, "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it for me." Well the truth is, it ought to be, "God said it and that settles it." But that, "I believe it" is the part that proffers God's favor upon us.

Once we have trusted God, believing on His promises, then our ways will align themselves according to that belief. For instance, if we believe God's promises concerning our finances, we will be faithful in our tithes and missions giving. If we believe God's Word concerning the rapture, we will live in the light of His coming by being pure, holy and trying to bring others to Him.

This is how God is pleased, by expressing our faith. And once we have accomplished this, we get a bonus...even our enemies will get along with us.

Now, I'm a nice guy. If you don't believe me, just ask me and I'll tell you. :<) But, believe it or not there are some people out there who just despise me. They don't like it that I smile a lot. They say, "He's got to be faking it." They hate it that when I sing for the Lord, I sing from my heart and my face shows it. They say, "He's just too dramatic, every song has to be some huge production." They don't like my preaching because, "He's not even qualified to be preaching." One guy hates me because his step-daughter ran away and we helped the police find her! Imagine that! I know another preacher hates me because, well, he hates everyone who doesn't dot their I's like he does. I know he pops into my blogs now and then to look for other reasons to be my enemy, Hi Todd!

Now, don't get me wrong, I want to please the Lord first, foremost and always. But I like it when people like me, even if they are jerks. :<) So I am going to make it my goal to please the Lord so much that these people can't help but say, "Hey, he ain't so bad a guy after all." So, time to me to put all my trust in the Lord like never before and live accordingly.

And that's that!

WHO STARTED CHRISTMAS?

I read this awhile back and wanted to share it today. Merry Christmas!

This morning I heard a story on the radio of a woman who was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable. And after hours of hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on those many shelves, she finally made it to the elevator with her two kids. She was feeling what so many of us feel during the holiday season time of the year. Overwhelming pressure to go to every party, every housewarming, taste all the holiday food and treats, getting that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, making sure we don't forget anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure we respond to everyone who sent us a card. Finally the elevator doors opened and there was already a crowd in the car. She pushed her way into the car and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and stated, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot." From the back of the car everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, "Don't worry we already crucified him." For the rest of the trip down the elevator it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Don't forget this year to keep the One who started this whole Christmas thing in your every thought, deed, purchase, and word. If we all did it, just think of how different this whole world would be.

Preparation of the Heart

Pro 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Don't judge a book by its cover. That's the old adage. I still do! I'm just saying...

God does His work from the inside out. Men look on the outside of a person. That is what is evident and easy to discern. But God prepares the heart first.

CHOOSE THE RUNT
The prophet Samuel was tasked to search for the next Israeli king among the sons of Jesse. But God cautioned him to be careful not to dwell on the outward appearance too much. It is the heart, that which God discerns, which matters most. David, being the youngest brother, didn't have the brawn to be the king, but God knew he had what it took to lead.

OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART
Once the heart of an individual has been prepared, it is evidenced by the answer of the tongue. And we know that what proceeds from the mouth has been prepared in the heart.

The Lord taught us in Luke 6:45, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Slips of the tongue are generally just overflow from the heart. Usually, we say it because we thought it.

PARDON MY FRENCH
As a preacher, I get the following a lot, "Oh, pardon my French!" Well, it is evident the heart has been dwelling on the French language lately and has not been prepared properly.

That which we think upon is going to evidence itself eventually. The prophet Isaiah had been ushered into the presence of the Almighty in a vision. He was concerned that he'd misspeak because he dwelt in the midst of an unclean people (no offense to the French people intended). He recognized the possibility that he might use vulgar language before the Lord.

GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT
If you've ever worked construction or in a factory or served in the armed forces, you know exactly how Isaiah felt.

Therefore, we must pray with the Psalmist, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." And we need to determine that, "My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding."

It is one thing to guard our words, yet it is a better thing to guard our hearts.

THINK ABOUT THE GOOD THINGS
Psalm 45:1 My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.