SPEAKING!

Proverbs 18:21 - Death and life are in the power of the tongue and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it (for death or life).

What are you saying? I've read this scripture many times. I've read books about positive confession, the power of your words, and confessing what the Word says. This morning I also read in a little book, "God's Creative Power" a statement that said, "Jesus said, "I HAVE TOLD MY PEOPLE THEY CAN HAVE WHAT THEY SAY"but "MY PEOPLE ARE SAYING WHAT THEY HAVE.""

They who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it. Eating the fruit of our words... the results. After years of studying the Word, reading faith based books, listening to ministers of the gospel, I feel like I have gotten good at curving what I speak. Instead of, "I have a headache." I may say, "I'm overcoming a headache." of "I'm healed of a headache." - Saying "I have a headache" is taking ownership of that headache, like "it's MINE!" Like I want it, I'm going to keep it. And headaches are not something I want to own or keep! I know that something like a headache is covered by 1 Peter 2:24, "By Jesus stripes I'm HEALED!" - I am HEALED of ALL headaches because Jesus went to the cross for them!

Anyways... I personally feel like I have gotten good at curving what I say, but the key thing I need to work on is SAY MORE! I need to SAY MORE! I need to SAY the LIFE that I want. Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death AND LIFE are in the power of the tongue and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it." LIFE is in the power of MY tongue! Am I living the LIFE that I want? If NOT then I am indulging in exactly what I'm speaking. If I'm not speaking enough, then I am receiving what the scripture says and I will sit right where I am.

I know for me, along with the proper action that is required to get my life where I want it to be, I need to make sure my WORDS accompany my actions. I know "Faith without works is dead." If I'm going to be in "faith," my actions need to show my faith. But I also know that I need to put my words to work more frequently!

What about you? What are you speaking? Are you speaking life? Are you speaking death? Are you not speaking enough? Do you need to SPEAK more?

#73 - Stay On GUARD!

Good morning! Wow! I feel a little bit overwhelmed. Did you feel like that when you read today's chapters? Wow. It is so full. It just filled my heart with a heaviness... but filled it with goodness also. A goodness for direction. A goodness for safe-guards. This morning, let's dive in and look a bit into the life of King David. 


Today's Daily Reading: Proverbs 21, Psalms 21, 51, 81, 111, 141, Proverbs 31:10-31

Proverbs 21:29 - A wicked man puts on the bold, unfeeling face [of guilt], but as for the upright, he considers, directs, and establishes his way [with the confidence of integrity].

Psalm 51:1a,2-3, 7b, 16-17 - HAVE MERCY upon me, O God ... Wash me thoroughly [and repeatedly] from my iniquity and guilt and cleanse me and make me wholly pure from my sin! For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me....wash me, and I shall [in reality] be whiter than snow. For You delight not in sacrifice, or else would I give it; You find no pleasure in burnt offering. My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.

Psalm 81:11a, 12a, 14a, 15-16 - But My people would not hearken to My voice... So I gave them up to their own hearts' lust and let them go after their own stubborn will... Speedily then I would subdue their enemies...[Had Israel listened to Me in Egypt, then] those who hated the Lord would have come cringing before Him, and their defeat would have lasted forever. [God] would feed [Israel now] also with the finest of the wheat; and with honey out of the rock would I satisfy you.

Psalm 141:2, 4, 5 - Let my prayer be set forth as incense before You, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a guard, O Lord, before my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips. Incline my heart not to submit or consent to any evil thing or to be occupied in deeds of wickedness with men who work iniquity; and let me not eat of their dainties. Let the righteous man smite and correct me--it is a kindness.

Proverbs 31:16a - She considers ...

Man! Let me just say... today is loaded! I don't feel I will have a chance to cover everything that I received from the Word today... but it is full. I pray you will have time to meditate on today's Word and see what the Lord is speaking to you about. Revel, marvel, soak in what it says. 


We are familiar with King David being called, "a man after God's own heart." Psalm 51 shows us the heart of David after being called out by the man of God, prophet Nathan. Nathan has just busted David for his sin with Bathsheba. David looked upon her, naked as she bathed on a roof-top, took her as his own, and since she was married, King David had her husband positioned strategically in battle so that he would be killed. The prophet of God, Nathan, approaches David and in rebuke confronts his sin. In Psalm 51, if you read the whole Psalm again, you may read it completely different when you know the heart that is going into the words. David immediately is filled with remorse. He cries, "HAVE MERCY ON ME, O GOD!" David does not try to justify his sin, but he embraces it, he takes it as his own, which it is. David holds it out before God, repentant and cries out for forgiveness. David recognizes that sacrifice is not what God is looking for here. That offering up a burnt offering, or slaying a ram to place on an alter is not what the Lord wants here. The Lords GREATEST desire is for David's HEART! Is for a heart that cries out, "LORD! FORGIVE ME! LORD I HAVE SINNED! FORGIVE ME LORD!" The Lord's desire was for a heart that would cry out for forgiveness, full of repentance and awareness of the sin that was committed. Like it says in Psalm 51, David offers "...a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent]..." Not that we need to remain with a broken and contrite heart, because we can RECEIVE forgiveness because of what Christ did on the cross. But here, David here is penitent. Penitent - feeling or expressing sorrow for sin. David expresses his brokeness here. He is truly repentant. 


When we sin, I believe that is where God wants us to be. He wants the sin to cause our hearts to be broken. That the sin so greatly weighs on our hearts, the sin, so heavy, the feeling of remorse so great, that we FALL ON OUR FACES before the LORD. We CRY out to the LORD, "O LORD! HAVE MERCY ON ME LORD! FORGIVE ME LORD! FORGIVE MY SIN!" That our guilt, our remorse would cause us to RUN FROM SIN the next time it approaches us. RUN FROM SIN the next time we are up against temptation. That the remembrance of the remorse would be so real to us in a time of sin, that it would keep us from sinning again. That our desire to PLEASE THE LORD would be greater than our desire to please ourselves and our flesh. 


Then when we look at what the prophet Nathan really did, we can see where Psalm 141:5 REALLY does play a HUGE part here!! "Let the righteous man smite and correct me--it is a kindness." King David KNEW that Nathan was a RIGHTEOUS MAN! He did not throw Nathan out! He did not REBUKE Nathan. He counted it as KINDNESS! He accepted it as TRUTH. HE accepted the rebuke, and I believe deep down, David was GREATLY THANKFUL to have been rebuked. For his error, his sin to be brought into the light. With his sin being brought into the light, it allows him the opportunity to FULLY RESTORE his relationship with the Lord. It allows him to come back into the FULL blessing of the Lord. And, to this day, we still know David, a man who sinned greatly as "A MAN AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART." 


Look at the RISK in Psalm 141 if WE as Christians, as believers don't take SIN seriously... But My people would not hearken to My voice... So I gave them up to their own hearts' lust and let them go after their own stubborn will. The prompting of the Lord will not be forever. If WE, Christians continue to sin, and run from righteousness, as it says in Romans 6, sin will lead to death. So much for the whole promise of "a long life" if we continue, relentlessly on a path of sin, not hearkening to the voice of the Lord. 


Further in Psalm 141, it says what the Lord WOULD HAVE done if the people would have turned from their sin. The Lord WOULD HAVE SPEEDILY defeated their enemies, and permanently. He WOULD HAVE filled their mouths with the BEST wheat (aka, the best food!), and He WOULD HAVE filled their mouths with honey from a rock. The Lord DID HAVE GREAT things in store, but the people would not HEARKEN unto His Voice. They remained stubborn, they continued to chase their lust. 


In our Proverbs verses, it talks about how the righteous man, or in the case of our Proverbs 31 friend, the righteous woman, CONSIDERS their ways. The RIGHTEOUS do their very best to keep their hearts sensitive to prompting of the Holy Spirit. The hearkening of the Holy Spirit. Even the rebuke of the righteous man or woman of God. The righteous count REBUKE from a RIGHTEOUS man or woman of God, they count that as KINDNESS! WHY is it KINDNESS? Why is REBUKE kindness? Because it is keeping them from DEATH! It is keeping them on the road to life! 


May you walk forth, as it says in Psalms 141 - Lifting up of YOUR hands as the evening sacrifice. May YOU Set a guard, before YOUR mouth; may the Lord help to keep watch at the door of YOUR lips. May YOU incline YOUR heart not to submit or consent to any evil thing. 


A CONSISTENT, DAILY, ROUTINE time with the Lord is so important. The Enemy is out there to STEAL, KILL AND DESTROY... like a ROARING LION seeking whom he can destroy. As a brother or sister reading this, my prayer is that you would STAY ON GUARD. I pray a hedge of protection around you today in Jesus Name, that you would STAY ON GUARD. 


Bless you. Bless you today. 

#55 - Make it Count

Good morning! :) Well.... here I sit, the little town of New Paris, Indiana... outside in the gazebo by my parents pool. I'm sure my mom loves it! :) This is her special place she goes to spend time with the Lord. :) When I lived at home, this was a special place for me too. I remember in the summer during my break from college sitting out here for hours reading my Bible, studying the Word. I was a waitress and often didn't work until 2:00 or 3:00. My mornings would be filled with studying the book of Matthew. I remember exactly what I was learning, and I remember why I learned it at that specific time. During that time of my life was just the beginning of really establishing my foundation in the Lord. Developing that hunger that would continue to grow and grow and grow. Tyler is flying back home this afternoon. Teej (aka: The Boy) & I are flying back home on SUNDAY!!! A whole WEEK from now. Even though I was a bit apprehensive to be away from Tyler for a WHOLE WEEK.... I'm sure we will have a good time here visiting with the family... spending time with grandpa... and maybe just relaxing a bit from an exhausting week preparing for grandma's funeral. So... I will spend the next several mornings in my old spot... my place of early growth nearly 11-12 years ago. 

Proverbs 23:18 - For surely there is a latter end [a future and a reward], and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.

Proverbs 31:28 - Her children rise up and call her blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied); and her husband boasts of and praises her.

Well.... how can I get away from referring to my grandmother? Everything is still so fresh. The feelings, the exhaustion, the memories. So, today's verses were most definitely appropriate. As we have been in the cemetery (I've already been there 4 times!!!).... an epitaph near my grandmothers was of a mother & wife. On the epitaph was etched today's verse.... Proverbs 31:28 - Her children rise up and call her blessed; and her husband boasts of and praises her. What an awesome verse to go out on. To leave your life and people REALLY, truly call you blessed. To boast of and praise you and the imprint you have made on this world. A sure aspiration for me. 

A latter end. There is an end. It will most definitely come for all of us. The excitement about "the end" is that we can have a hope & expectation! How exciting! As believers, we can really know that the end is better than the now! The end entails DANCING on streets of gold! The end is not bad! What a wonderful thing to have a hope & expectation about. A future reward. The expectation of meeting Jesus.... receiving our heavenly mansion! Perfection. No pain. No trials that come along with being in "the world". Perfection. How glorious to think about! A life with Jesus. Imagine how beautiful it will be. 


Despite the funny and naivete of my nephew Karson.... He was recently driving with his dad Lenny. Karson, being 4 is in the "question asking stage". Why? Why dad? Daddy, why? He is full of it! Full of why why why. Full of humor and just funniness! So, experiencing a lot of talk lately of death & dying... Karson was driving with his dad and said, "Dad, will their be trucks in heaven?" ... Lenny, probably half listening (since Karson asks questions constantly) replied, "Son, probably not. I don't think they need trucks in heaven." Karson waited a bit and then asked another question, "Dad, will their be tractors in heaven?" Lenny replied, "Son, I don't think they need tractors in heaven. Probably not." Karson waited a bit then and responded with... "Well dad, I don't think I want to go to heaven then." 


Funny! He is so funny! I think there will be tractors in heaven for Karson. But heaven will be such a glorious place! A place of rejoicing, dancing, full abundance! 


Though my grandma only had one child, my dad Jim.... he most certainly rises up and calls her blessed. And Grandpa has most definitely praised her! She lived a life committed to serving him. Serving him. Ironing for him. Cooking for him. Cleaning for him. Loving him. Meeting his needs. Being his friend. Laughing with him. He most definitely has called her blessed. She lived a life to serve her husband, and he has been blessed. The last 3-8 years have been different. But before she became ill, she lived to serve. And actually... even in the greatest stages of Alzheimer's, she still served. She walked around scratching backs, hugging people, kissing them, cleaning up dishes, straightening things, telling people "I love you". She served til the end. She made the best strawberry pie... and such good crust! :) She served. Lord willing, my grandpa will remember the good times. The tribute video to grandma sure does help remember the good times. (http://gallery.me.com/themccarts#100501) She was so full of life. She was so full of fun. She was spunky & sassy & beautiful. 


Her child, her husband & her grandchildren most definitely rise up and call her blessed! Every day was a good day for her! I don't EVER remember hearing her  just dump negative on people. She was always positive. Always smiling. Always full of joy. Her life was FULL!


I encourage you to think about your "today." How are you living your "today?" What would people say about you when you leave. There is an end. When that end comes, what will be the legacy that you left? What will your spouse say about you? What will your family, your friends say? "Man, she never really smiled. I didn't like to be around her because she was always talking about people. It always seemed to drag me down. She was always negative." Or... will people be able to rejoice about who you were? Rejoice about what a positive impact you made into the lives of others? 


Decide today to model your life after the legacy you want to leave. YOU decide your legacy. What will people put on your epitaph? Make it a good one. Make it count!