40 Days – Reflections on Lent: Mouth of Life or Death – Day 7

Yesterday was day 6… I took the word from God on day 5 for silence and tried to be mindful of my schedule, not cram any more into and just breathe the breath of God in. I was stressed with work and time and tried hard to keep the meditation of My heart of the Goodness of Jesus… I succeeded at times and other times failed, but regardless I was still… and I know He is in control.

Psalm 18:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

On day 5 I reflected on the second part of that verse. Today I want to address the first part.

May the words of my mouth be acceptable in your sight, O Lord.

words matter…

Because what comes out of my mouth is directly related to what is in my heart.

I have found that in my most stressed overdone moments, The times where I am just tapped.. All that is left in my is the sludge of my own self. In turn it ends up being that same sludge that I spew out when interacting with people I love. This past week my deadlines have piled up like crazy because my macbook pro died a horrible death. This week was slightly different though because I have really been trying to dig in each day into the heart of God. Somehow, by God’s strength, I was able to.

Nothing mattered more to me than when my wife told me that she noticed that I was trying. I pray I can make a habit of that so that when my heart is turned towards Jesus my mouth glorifies His goodness.

Prov 18:21 “Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Life and death are in the power of the tongue. I have been amazed in the years I have been doing ministry that the majority of damage that most of the people that come in the doors of the church with is from listening to and owning something somebody other than God has spoken over them. Broken people do have sharp edges and we not only get cut easily, but we have become word ninjas ready to chop any one down with our mouth katana so we can protect ourselves.

In the beginning was the word…
With a word the our world was created….

Everything begins with a word. 

This is the situation we find ourselves within our workplace, with our children, in our church family and with our spouses… That we can bring life with a word or we can bring death with a word. The question is do we want to begin with a word of life or death. The consequences are drastically different by our choice.

James 3:4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

The tongue might be small but it has the power to control us. Not only does it have the power to control you but it gives you the power to control and steer others.

Freedom and deliverance begins with a word.
Recovery begins with a word.
Repentance and forgiveness begin with a word.

I want to continue this Lent being mindful that what I say matters and affects more than just me. As I look towards holy week I can rest on the words of Jesus as an example as he hung on the cross, which I can never compare my plight to.

He said with a word: Peace; Forgive; Love…

Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!


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One response to “40 Days – Reflections on Lent: Mouth of Life or Death – Day 7”

  1. Diana Fulmer Avatar
    Diana Fulmer

    Good stuff and the isdea of a thought for the day is really good!!

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