Before we begin today, I have to give a shout out to Biblica, formerly the International Bible Society, which has been around for more than 200 years, for their very well done Community Bible Experience Bible reading initiative. We are two days past the halfway point for my church’s involvement in it and all I can say is that it has been a real blessing.
I can see the blessing in those who have taken up the challenge of reading the New Testament completely to start this new year off. I can see it in the small groups of my church as they fellowship together around the word of God, letting it bathe them in God’s wisdom and plan for all of us. I see it in the renewed energy of many of my church, relative to the call of God on their lives. Honestly, I am so glad we did this.
If you have not joined with me and my church to take up this challenge, I would encourage you to still consider getting involved. It is never too late to pick up the word of God and start reading. If you would like to give it a whirl, let me know by a comment and an email address and I will make sure you get the link to our campaign, so you can join us.
Today we continued with Jesus’ physical ministry on the earth, as told in the book of Matthew.
Here is what I got from it.
Matthew writes something, in our reading today, that convicted me so much, I considered not writing about it. In fact, it is so close to home for me that I feel embarrassed to share it. But no one has ever accused me of keeping my mouth shut…in Spanish (I know that language because I was a missionary in South America) they say that someone like me “no tiene pelos en la lengua.” (which means, literally, he doesn’t have hair on his tongue or can’t keep his mouth shut). So “here’s” (pun intended) to open yappers!
Jesus says, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” In other words, our hearts hold the key to what comes out of our mouths. If it is a blessing, there must be blessing surrounding our hearts. If it is a curse, then, by extension, the curse has taken our hearts captive. What flows out of the spigot, comes from a source.
I once heard Tom Elliff, pastor of many years and the former head of the International Mission Board for Southern Baptists, say that he had learned a lot on the farm growing up. He said that one of those things was what comes up out of the well is what is in it. You are not going to see something else come out of the well, if it is not already in it. If there is no water in the well, you will pull up dirt. If there is a supply of water dirtied by what may have been thrown into it, that is what you will pull out of the well. And if you have a well full of water, protected and clean, that is what kind of water you will pull out of that well.
In the same way, the well of our hearts, full of the goodness of God, His word, His grace, His hope, His faith and His love, will provide the same as it comes out of that receptacle through our mouths and into the world. Likewise, if the well of our hearts is full of something else like fear, anger, hurt, envy, fatigue, greed, malice or any other shortcoming, then that heart will provide the world and those who are around that mouth with the same.
I stand convicted. I talk too much, sometimes without a governor on the old mouth and I apologize. Proverbs 10:19 is smacking me in the head right now. “When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.” NASB
Enough said.
Until tomorrow. May you be blessed and may we all check our hearts, before we open our mouths.
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