Pants too Tight, Mouth too Loose

Posted on February 20, 2018 by daaorg1214

My grandmother would say to me, “Your mouth is going to get you in trouble.” She accused me of talking way too much for a youngin barely able to make up a bed. In her day, kids were to occupy themselves with quiet play, and never to be so brassy as to interject in grown folk’s business. As with every new generation, mine was viewed as a new opinionated breed. This, coupled with an insatiable curiosity, presented a sassiness that often shocked my grandmother. By the time I was a skin-tight jeans wearing teenager, she was utterly stunned by the antics she witnessed on TV and saw reflected in me and my siblings. We were completely outside the box, and nowhere in the contextual framing of her thought process was she able to connect the wires that made us act the way we did.

The combination of pants too tight and a mouth too loose never diminished my grandmother’s love and care, but it earmarked the differences between us. Of course, compared to today, the antics of my generation were mild to say the least. Talk about jeans too tight, today they’re a little more than stockings. Some of the things that bothered my grandmother about my generation are championed in today’s society, and perhaps necessary for progression and freedom of expression. But as with most generations, ours lacked the patience to weed out the less useful, while cherishing many of the priceless jewels from those before us.

My grandparents, and foreparents before them, had a boatload of what many people lack today, common sense and wisdom. Proverbs 4:7(NIV) tells us, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” Plenty of people have knowledge, but few seek the wisdom and understanding that comes from God’s Word.

2 Peter 1:3 tells us that through His divine Word, God has given us everything that we need for living a Godly life. His Word teaches us that restraint and modesty contribute to the foundation of moral character, and moral character pleases Him. It keeps us from being arrogant, which is something that God strongly dislikes.

Proverbs 18:21(NKJV) tells us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” Words are incredibly important. What we do, think, and say are the defining characteristics of our personhood. Heavenly Father warns us that talking too much is dangerous business, and He assures us in His Word that if we don’t use wisdom, we will have to eat the consequences that tag along with a lack of consciousness about what we say. And not only this, once we release our intentions verbally, the enemy gains information better left inside our heads, between us and God. Saying the wrong things at the wrong time allows the enemy greater leverage to undermine our good efforts.

1John 2:6 (ESV) tells us, “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” God has shared much instruction in His Word that is designed to keep us safe, fulfilled, and thriving; part of this instruction teaches us to be disciplined in our words and actions, because being disciplined is a part of His nature, and as Christians we’re to be like Him.

My grandmother was endeavoring to teach her grandchildren to be people with good moral character, and rightly so. Her approach was one of instilling the notion of an economy of words, and now that I’m much older, I wish I had paid more attention to her wisdom. As a teenager, my pants were too tight and my mouth too loose for my grandmother’s taste. She loved me to pieces any way, but I learned to watch what I say the hard way; after many embarrassing situations, lost friendships, and troublesome circumstances. The best approach is to seek the wisdom of God’s Word and walk in it. This way our words will be seasoned with wisdom, and skin-tight will be the defining characteristic of our relationship with God. ■

The Journey Forward

Posted on February 13, 2018 by daaorg1214

All of us are on a spiritual journey, whether we admit it or not. The evidence to back this up is in the very beginning of the bible, in the Old Testament. Genesis 1:26(NLT) tells us that God had a conversation with Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit. He said “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.” You and I, and everyone else, are made in the image of God. Most of us gloss over this tremendous piece of knowledge without taking the time to digest it, but we should. John 4:24(NKJV) tells us that “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Our Heavenly Father is Spirit, and He has created us to be spiritual beings, made in His likeness. The highest and greatest level of existence that can be achieved in any person’s life is one in which we experience God through worship and fellowship. Heavenly Father makes no bones about the reality that this must be done Spirit to spirit, and it must be done in truth. Through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, God has given us the distinct honor and privilege to be able to achieve this most holy state of worship and fellowship while we’re on earth and in human form. It’s the greatest perk of eternity, and we should be amazingly thankful to Him for the opportunity.

No one ever goes before God’s throne, and comes away from it the same way that they came. Embracing Him with our whole hearts leaves us changed in a way that is miraculous. We learn in His Word that there is some fruit produced from walking in His goodness. Galatian 5:22-23(NLT) tells us, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Walking in oneness and communion with God through the Spirit of Christ will extend these yummies, but a staggering amount of us are still walking around sad and unhappy with our lives. God wants us to know that there’s a way through Him to change this.

“Feeling good is everything!” It’s an old saying, but boy does it ring true. Good feelings of joy, love, and peace are our birthright. It comes with the inheritance we have received through Christ. This is very, very important for us to know, because it gives us a measuring stick for understanding where we are, and where we’re going. You may be sad in this moment, but make no mistake, the joy of the Lord is your destination.

A journey is the action of moving from one place to another, and sometimes we humans don’t like that idea. We want to stay where we are because it’s comfortable. It’s what we know, and very few of us readily embrace a move to the unknown. There are a few non-negotiables that come with being a spiritual being, and faith is one of them. Faith is the DNA of moving by the Spirit. So we’re never going to get to the place that God has destined us to be by staying put. Our journeys in Christ have only two trajectories, forward and upward; and both will require us to make a change.

We need to marinate in this truth because it is the springboard of hope when feelings of sadness are hard to shake. God did not base the production of fruit on how we feel from one day to the next. He made it an absolute sure thing by decreeing that walking in the Spirit is the only way to produce fruit. So if our emotional state is one that is outside the realm of fruit, a spiritual change is on its way and we need to move toward it.

If sadness, loneliness, or any other emotion is causing us to feel down, we can be assured that this state is not our final destination. Sometimes these feelings are an indication that we’re not moving forward at God’s divine pace, and that our faith muscle is not getting the workout it needs. In Romans 12:12(NLT), Heavenly Father tells us how to remedy this. He says, “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.” We must place our hope in God, because He will not fail us. No, this Christian journey isn’t always easy, but we cannot allow ourselves to be stagnant. God’s Will is that we continue to go higher in Christ, and He’s given us the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us every step of the way.

A Thump from a Bump

Posted on January 23, 2018 by daaorg1214

The proverbial school of wisdom teaches that warning signs of impending trouble come in degrees. First, there’s a sign that equals the effect of a thump on one’s head. If that isn’t heeded, which in most cases it isn’t, there’s a whack that’s enough to leave our heads spinning a bit. And if that doesn’t get our attention, the last and final sign might come in the form of a big ol’ boulder that’s about to land on top of us. The long and short of it is that Heavenly Father has woven warning signs throughout each of our lives. It’s truly amazing how He does this, because these warnings are tailor made to fit our unique and individual circumstances. If we’ll pay attention, they’ll help us navigate through some of life’s rocky terrain, so that we always come through with our well-being intact.

Philippians 4:8-9 The Message (MSG) tells us, “8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” God has made a very clear distinction between the things that bring Him glory, and the stuff that is just a waste of time. He tells us to keep our minds filled with thoughts, ideas, and imaginations that represent His nature; those things that are true, noble, beautiful, and excellent.

These verses greatly aid our discernment, because they tell us what’s on the mind of God. They show us how harmoniously He moves, and that we can do the same as we put on the mind of Christ. Philippians 1:17 (NLT) says, “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.” We’re citizens of heaven, and we’ve been commanded to act like it. God has called us out and set us apart to be different. This means that we ought to have an understanding about the place we call home, and we must also carry ourselves as true ambassadors of that heavenly place.

There’s no confusion, doubt, fear, darkness, bondage, or ignorance in heaven. It’s a place of love and light. We need to let this sink in the deep recesses of our inner sanctum. We’ve given far too much room to ambiguity, because ambiguity is safe for many people. It doesn’t require a fully persuaded, sold-out commitment, but there’s none of that wishy-washy business in our heavenly home.

In order for any person to discern properly, they must know the truth. They must be able to discern a thump from a light bump. When you don’t know the truth, you might think that something from the pit of hell is from Heavenly Father, or that a gift from heaven is dark and evil. God said in Hosea 4:6 that His people are destroyed because they lack knowledge; they reject it. This is how so many of us are tricked by satan, because we don’t know the Word well enough to recognize the difference between light and darkness.

Most of us have a lot going on. We’re pulled in a thousand different directions from day to day. God knows our grind, but we can by no means allow it to interfere with our commitment to carve out some time for our relationship with Him. James 4:8 (NLT) tells us, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” It is critically important that we begin the practice of spending quiet and quality time with God. It’s a matter of sitting peacefully and inviting the presence of the Holy Spirit into your space in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

The noise of our worlds can drown out His still voice and the peace He offers if we’re not careful. We’re not making the time for Heavenly Father that we should, and that’s why we mistake the thump as a bump, and miss those wake-up calls to tighten our walks in Christ. In Hebrews 4:12, God tells us that His Word is alive and powerful, that it’s so sharp that it divides the joints from marrow. He’s given us His Word so that we’ll be equally on point, and have razor sharp clarity to pump the breaks before the thump.

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Tag Archives: How to love myself

Pants too Tight, Mouth too Loose

The Journey Forward

A Thump from a Bump