"Our tongues are like matches / our ears are like trees /
our words are like sparks on dry summer leaves.
It doesn't take much / for the flames to rise /
And turn a soul into a forest fire...Be careful what you say. Oh, be careful what you say."
Josh Wilson performs this thought-provoking song on the CD "See You." I appreciate the reminder in the lyrics. We all need to be reminded of the basics every now and then. One of the best "basics" I know is the 2/3 Rule. Before you speak your words, weigh them by this rule:
1) Is it true?
2) Is it necessary to say or repeat?
3) Is it kind?
A 2/3 majority should prevail. If it doesn't, then don't say it. I try to apply the rule daily, but sometimes I fail. When this happens, I repent, try to fix it as the Lord directs, and then I forgive myself, and allow Jesus to set me on a better path so I can try again. It's a good rule, and when applied, it actually works.
It really struck a nerve with me this past week. Someone said something to me that was completely untrue, absolutely unnecessary, and very unkind. My pride was injured and I'll confess that in a private moment, I cried. And then I realized why I was so upset. It wasn't for myself after all. I was deeply saddened by the condition of the heart of this person...someone who was once, and still is, very dear to me.
It's as though they are another person altogether. And I'll admit that I don't like who they have become. Their words were once used to encourage and uplift, but that seems like a long time ago now. The things they say now are mean and hurtful. But, my sweet Lord knows how to help us remember the best, and forgive the worst in each other. So, I called out to Him for comfort. He gently reminded me that I hold the keys to the prison that my "friend" is chained up in. My words are powerful, too.
James, the apostle, reminds us..."Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasts great things, Behold how great a matter a little fire kindles. And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, (other body parts) that it defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of human nature; and it is set on fire by hell....With the same tongue, we bless God and curse each other...Yes, out of the same mouth proceed both blessing and cursing; my brothers, these things should not be so." (James 3:5-10)
That was not a new thought..."A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth...Death and life are in the power of the tongue..." (Proverbs 18:20-21)
Instead of allowing this person to stay in bondage and burn down everyone around them with their fierce exclamations, I can use my words to help set them free. There is an awesome power in heartfelt prayer.
"Pray for one another...The effectual fervent prayers of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)
I believe that. I believe that PRAYER CHANGES THINGS!
So, there we have it...the choice is ours...we can allow ourselves to be burned up and injured or we can burn down the prison and set the captives free! With the power in the very name of Jesus, the thorough redemption provided by His sacrificial blood, and the Angel-Armies above, there is no fortress that can withstand the attack of powerful words of LIFE. He's waiting to release all the power that heaven has against that old enemy of our souls, that great deceiver, Satan, who is only interested in turning us against each other. Let's resolve to deny him that victory. If you want to start a fire, pick your real enemy, attack his fortress built of lies, doubt, fear and unbelief...and burn it down!
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
it's too 'jelly'
By the time my grandson was three or four, he had developed quite a discriminating palate for both the taste and texture of the food he ate.
For example, he liked chicken nuggets very much, but he was very particular when it came to the dipping sauce of choice. He liked ranch-style dressing the best, but he tried other things too. I particularly remember when he tried dipping the tasty chicken bits in cream gravy. He rejected it immediately and declared, "It's too jelly." I finally determined that "too jelly" had more to do with the viscosity than the taste! I still smile whenever I think of that time.
For some reason that incident has remained clear in my mind. Recently, I remembered it again. And this time, it got me to thinking...
Sometimes, life gets 'too jelly.' Somehow the foundation fails and we find ourselves on shifting sand...unstable. I have discovered that this theory is particularly accurate when it comes to our spiritual lives. When the circumstances of the day reduce us to tired and anxious, stressed-out individuals, the foundation we are standing on has shifted, it's become 'jelly.'
I am learning that as long as I keep my eyes on Him, the Lord is always there to bring peace and apply a healing balm over the situation, no matter what or who it involves. When I focus on Him and His will for my life, the storms of life fail to alter my foundation...it's firm.
Therefore, it behooves me to stay so near Him that I can hear His heart beating, and know that it is beating for me, His beloved. At the first sign of a shift in any direction, except His will for me, the foundation suddenly becomes 'too jelly.' I don't like the way it feels!
At that point, I take a giant step backward, free-falling on His mercy and grace. When I let go of self and fall into Him, I always land on stable ground again. It's hard to walk on jelly! It's much easier to find your footing when someone else is leading you.
The next time you find yourself feeling alone or anxious or afraid, or just plain tired and stressed-out, stop and check your footing...you may be trying to walk a path that is just 'too jelly!'
For example, he liked chicken nuggets very much, but he was very particular when it came to the dipping sauce of choice. He liked ranch-style dressing the best, but he tried other things too. I particularly remember when he tried dipping the tasty chicken bits in cream gravy. He rejected it immediately and declared, "It's too jelly." I finally determined that "too jelly" had more to do with the viscosity than the taste! I still smile whenever I think of that time.
For some reason that incident has remained clear in my mind. Recently, I remembered it again. And this time, it got me to thinking...
Sometimes, life gets 'too jelly.' Somehow the foundation fails and we find ourselves on shifting sand...unstable. I have discovered that this theory is particularly accurate when it comes to our spiritual lives. When the circumstances of the day reduce us to tired and anxious, stressed-out individuals, the foundation we are standing on has shifted, it's become 'jelly.'
I am learning that as long as I keep my eyes on Him, the Lord is always there to bring peace and apply a healing balm over the situation, no matter what or who it involves. When I focus on Him and His will for my life, the storms of life fail to alter my foundation...it's firm.
Therefore, it behooves me to stay so near Him that I can hear His heart beating, and know that it is beating for me, His beloved. At the first sign of a shift in any direction, except His will for me, the foundation suddenly becomes 'too jelly.' I don't like the way it feels!
At that point, I take a giant step backward, free-falling on His mercy and grace. When I let go of self and fall into Him, I always land on stable ground again. It's hard to walk on jelly! It's much easier to find your footing when someone else is leading you.
The next time you find yourself feeling alone or anxious or afraid, or just plain tired and stressed-out, stop and check your footing...you may be trying to walk a path that is just 'too jelly!'
Thursday, April 4, 2013
seldom is heard
When I was a kid in school, we had our own classroom, with our own teacher, and she was amazing. She did everything! Not only was she responsible for teaching us readin', writin', and 'rithmetic, she was also the PE teacher, the Art teacher, and the Music teacher.
I particularly remember the music times. It was thrilling to see who would get what. She would open the mysterious box and begin handing out the 'instruments,' while we waited to exhale. Surely, this time, I'd get the shiny little cymbals with the elastic bands that slipped over my fingers!
It was there, in our own classroom, lined up (as usual) desk-behind-desk, that we learned all the great music of the world! Our world, anyway. I believe we were taught the beautiful patriotic songs first, and rightly so...'The Star-Spangled Banner', 'America, the Beautiful', 'My Country, 'Tis of Thee', 'God Bless America'. (Yes, even in "Public" school, we could actually sing about the wonderful God who made America what she was...the greatest country on the whole earth.)
We even learned the music from the current show tunes, like 'Oklahoma!' And that catchy little tune came 'sweepin' down the plains' right into our classrooms in Texas. Oh, yes! We had it all.
I still recall the funny songs we learned too: "Old Dan Tucker was a mighty man...washed his face in a fryin' pan..." and of course, "Have you ever heard of sweet Betsy from Pike..." and then there's "Rachel, Rachel, I've been thinking, what a queer world this would be, if the men were all transported far beyond the deep blue sea..." And who could forget, "Henry! Fetch me some water!"
We 'drifted along' with the cowboy ballads and our favorite music from the orchestra was the "William Tell Overture" but we ALL knew it was really the theme from 'The Lone Ranger.'
I don't think there was anyone who didn't love Music. It was an easy "A." All you had to do...was sing!
Thinking about all the wonderful memories from those days, my mind recently wandered through the cowboy ballads and nestled up against, 'Home on the Range.' You remember, don't you...
"Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play, where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day...Home, home on the range..."
It got stuck in my head, and suddenly I realized why it was brooding there! One little phrase: "seldom is heard a discouraging word." That's Yoda language for "you don't hear anything that's discouraging very often."
And that got me to thinking...
What if we took the time to consider what we said BEFORE it became audible? Would things change-for-the-better if we actually APPLIED the 2/3 rule [Two of the three must apply before you say it: 1) Is it true? 2) Is it necessary? and 3) Is it kind?]? What would happen if we tried, really tried, to stop saying things that discouraged ourselves, and others? Perhaps, that is what needs to happen more often in our daily lives...speaking encouraging words to one another.
It's not a new principle, far from it. For example, in Proverbs 25:11, we are reminded, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold framed with silver." Words 'fitly' spoken are encouraging, they have healing qualities in them.
Just for one day, why not try to speak encouragement to someone? Let discouraging thoughts and words be far, far away. Right now, it's just the opposite...seldom is heard an encouraging word...it's time to turn it around, the way it used to be when, "seldom was heard a discouraging word."
Go ahead...put a song in your heart, and see if the words of your mouth sound sweeter.
I particularly remember the music times. It was thrilling to see who would get what. She would open the mysterious box and begin handing out the 'instruments,' while we waited to exhale. Surely, this time, I'd get the shiny little cymbals with the elastic bands that slipped over my fingers!
It was there, in our own classroom, lined up (as usual) desk-behind-desk, that we learned all the great music of the world! Our world, anyway. I believe we were taught the beautiful patriotic songs first, and rightly so...'The Star-Spangled Banner', 'America, the Beautiful', 'My Country, 'Tis of Thee', 'God Bless America'. (Yes, even in "Public" school, we could actually sing about the wonderful God who made America what she was...the greatest country on the whole earth.)
We even learned the music from the current show tunes, like 'Oklahoma!' And that catchy little tune came 'sweepin' down the plains' right into our classrooms in Texas. Oh, yes! We had it all.
I still recall the funny songs we learned too: "Old Dan Tucker was a mighty man...washed his face in a fryin' pan..." and of course, "Have you ever heard of sweet Betsy from Pike..." and then there's "Rachel, Rachel, I've been thinking, what a queer world this would be, if the men were all transported far beyond the deep blue sea..." And who could forget, "Henry! Fetch me some water!"
We 'drifted along' with the cowboy ballads and our favorite music from the orchestra was the "William Tell Overture" but we ALL knew it was really the theme from 'The Lone Ranger.'
I don't think there was anyone who didn't love Music. It was an easy "A." All you had to do...was sing!
Thinking about all the wonderful memories from those days, my mind recently wandered through the cowboy ballads and nestled up against, 'Home on the Range.' You remember, don't you...
"Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play, where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day...Home, home on the range..."
It got stuck in my head, and suddenly I realized why it was brooding there! One little phrase: "seldom is heard a discouraging word." That's Yoda language for "you don't hear anything that's discouraging very often."
And that got me to thinking...
What if we took the time to consider what we said BEFORE it became audible? Would things change-for-the-better if we actually APPLIED the 2/3 rule [Two of the three must apply before you say it: 1) Is it true? 2) Is it necessary? and 3) Is it kind?]? What would happen if we tried, really tried, to stop saying things that discouraged ourselves, and others? Perhaps, that is what needs to happen more often in our daily lives...speaking encouraging words to one another.
It's not a new principle, far from it. For example, in Proverbs 25:11, we are reminded, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold framed with silver." Words 'fitly' spoken are encouraging, they have healing qualities in them.
Just for one day, why not try to speak encouragement to someone? Let discouraging thoughts and words be far, far away. Right now, it's just the opposite...seldom is heard an encouraging word...it's time to turn it around, the way it used to be when, "seldom was heard a discouraging word."
Go ahead...put a song in your heart, and see if the words of your mouth sound sweeter.
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