Thursday: Sticks and Stones 4

Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that MY MOUTH WILL NOT SIN.

Today is Family Thursday on the Carry The Light Ministries pray, praise, and message line, and I wish you a blessed and wonderful day, my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus. Please pray today for "Jim" who is going to Iraq. I have withheld his last name, as he does special work for this nation. As you pray for Jim, pray also for his unit and all our other BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN who serve our great country. Yesterday I was blessed by offering prayers at our local "Tea Party". Before I went to the Lord, I made this statement, I am not a democrat nor a republican, "I am a born again, washed in the blood, Christian American and really proud of it." And a few voices in the crowded yelled out as loud as they could ... preach it, pastor, preach it. It felt good to be there.

One last thing, in about an hour, Verizon is coming to switch us back from Comcast, to their service, but far about the DSL, we are going with the Fiber Optic or what ever it is called. So if you do not hear from us tomorrow, then we picked up a bug. So please pray that the transfer goes smoothly.

Sticks and Stones 4: Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never harm me. Yes, I have repeated that today, but the truth is, name calling does hurt people, some have been damaged for life. Think of it, if you were, or since we have kids who read this line, if you are one who is overweight and have those names put at you when you were young like, give him two seats, he is too wide for one, or I don't want him on my team ... or when are you starting your next diet ... and they go on and on. Let me tell you that names can make more scars on a person than a stick or stone.

Psalm 17: 3 - Though you probe my heart and examine me at night, though you test me, you will find nothing; I have resolved that MY MOUTH WILL NOT SIN. (NIV)

The more I read the Bible, and the more I look for words on this subject, the more I find. Your mouth can do damage, it can cause hurt, it can cause sin, and it can keep you out of heaven. Yes, it really can, just keep cursing out the Lord, and never asking for forgiveness, and you will land in Hell.

I am sure that even in the workplace you have seen the mouth or what comes out of it make and/or break many an employee. People have gone up the ladder in the business world because they are a good talker, and some of those same ones were hurt because of the things they said.
My message for this week is called "Before You Open Your Mouth, Engage Your Brain."
Brothers and Sisters, that is what I am praying today that I do, and remember, since we now have computers, email, text messages, etc., our fingers are indeed an outreach of our mouth, are they not?

I did learn very early in life that I did need to engage my brain before my mouth, for as a lad, if my mouth would get me into trouble by saying the wrong things, there was a price to pay, and sometimes that price might have been the "Stick" and other times it was just eating a little bit of "Soap". If I told a lie, my mother would wash my mouth out with soap. Gosh, if she was alive today, I think I would send her to WASHINGTON. But she sure would need a lot of soap. Oh, enough of the jokes, I am serious about this and so is our good Lord. If He was not concerned about how we speak and what we say, it would not be in the Bible, nor would He have made the world by speaking.

Dear Father in Heaven, again I ask that You help us to control our speaking and control what we say about others, control what we say. All too often we are more concerned about what we put in our mouths than what comes out, it should be the other way around. Lord bless this line, and Lord, help it to come through the changeover today. Lord, please protect Jim as he serves this nation, and also his unit and all who are serving in our military. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Now go forth, and be sure your mouth is not a fertilizer machine, say nice things or keep it shut, and remember to share your blessings ... love ya, dan.