Hold your Tongue

Guard your Tongue

What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

Psalms 34:12-13 (KJV)

Gaurd your Tongue

Guard your Tongue

 

What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? 13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.

Psalms 34:12-13 (KJV)

Mere Talk Leads only to Poverty

Mere Talk Leads only to Poverty

 

In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips

tendeth only to penury (This means poverty).

Prov 14:23 (KJV), parenthesis added

 

   There is a great disconnect in America today between talking and actually doing something. The Proverb above is absolutely true—American’s like to sit and talk about everything. We watch talk shows that bear absolutely no fruit in our lives despite the many hundreds of hours that we have sacrificed to view them. We listen to radio programs and so on. Now, I am not saying that listening to someone or something is ever wrong. It can be very fruitful at times! However, what Americans need learn is to stop talking and start laboring.

    No longer are Americans known for being people who do something as our ancestors were. The Pilgrims, the Puritans, the Settlers of the West were people who worked hard. Today, we don’t see that very much. And in my generation it seems virtually non-existent.

    The Bible is very emphatic that hard work and diligence bring rewards. Here are a few:

Much food in tillage of the poor

Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is

 that is destroyed for want of judgment.

Prov 13:23 (KJV)

 

Know the state of thy flocks and herds

Be thou diligent to know the state of

thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

Prov 27:23 (KJV)

 

Lambs for clothing and goats for price of the field

The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.

27 And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food

of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.

Prov 27:26-27 (KJV)

 

    These verses refer to animals and crops that are daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly tended to. Today, our average lifestyle in America means get up, eat, get a shower and go to work/school. There is not much routine that we must do to provide for ourselves and our families. We aren’t milking the cows and gathering the eggs, but spending fifteen seconds to get the milk and pour it on our cereal. Many then sit in offices all day—doing very little physically.

     This does not appear to line up with God’s plan. Despite modern conveniences, we still need to apply effort in our daily lives. Americans have one of the, if not the highest, standards of living in the world but without getting back to hard work it will ultimately crumble.

     During my time in an office environment, I was in and saw meetings take place far too often. We talked and talked and talked about the problem and solutions but so little was usually done. Months later, the same things would simply be repeated and action delayed once again. Some meetings can be fruitful if decisive action is taken, but mere talk (simply talking about the problem for the sake of talking), as the Bible says, leads to poverty. There is no productivity or great result. Paul warned us to avoid foolish controversies—I’ve been learning that a lot of conversations about politics and even doctrine is usually a foolish controversy. I think that Facebook posts and articles are more effective it seems to actually reaching people with truth in small snippets. Yet, a lot of Facebook “debates” need to be avoided. In other words, learn to detect when someone is genuinely asking a question and open to hear what God’s Word has to say and what the facts of history are and when they just want to argue. When people just want to argue refuse to waste time talking with them and move on. There may be some cases where God prompts us by His Holy Spirit to boldly confront the arrogant fool, but generally speaking, talking with a fool is a foolish controversy, mere talk that should be avoided.

But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions,

 and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

Titus 3:9 (KJV)

 

 

  

We need to be doing things. Too long in America, we stay children. The average man isn’t grown up by thirty years of age, maybe even older by now, in this country. Children do not need to just play and be entertained (although there is a proper place for that), they need to be growing up, given small responsibilities to prove faithful in, experimenting, and trying out entrepreneurial endeavors while kids. Lemonade stands, lawn maintenance, and garage sales teach lessons to kids that last a lifetime. And learning to be faithful in small, daily tasks and responsibilities teaches character that is rare to find today.

The Mouth

The Mouth

          Are you kissing demons? That is, are you speaking the things that the Enemy wants you to speak and aligning yourself with Satan’s will rather than God’s? Life and death disseminate out of your mouth (Proverbs 18:21). Proclaim blessings instead of curses!

Will you be different from the world in how you talk?

Take some time and listen to what the Holy Spirit has to reveal to you about the condition your tongue and mouth.

 

Thought 226: Contentment from Ryan's devotional book series Thougths

Thought 226

Contentment

  We need to be content. Christ emphasizes the need contentment when He refers to the Pharisee’s as a generation of vipers who don’t know that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34). The problem of discontentment is in our heart, it is a lack of trust in God.

Take some time to examine your heart before God. If their discontentment in your life, what wrong passion of the heart had not been dealt with? The Holy Spirit is your teacher, He will show you.

Thought 220: Benefits of Blessing from Ryan's devotional series Thoughts

Thought 220

Benefits of Blessing

        You can either bless, or you can curse. Think of it in these terms: building up or tearing down. It takes time to build, but hardly any time to tear down. The foundation of the Bible, of Jesus Christ (the chief cornerstone, the capstone) must be laid down first, because it “will not be shaken” (Isaiah 54:10, Psalm 62:6, Psalm 16:8, Acts 2:25).