Maturing in a Godly Manner with Gratitude and Grace - Guard your words & heart

We seem to have two choices for everything we do.  Let’s look at what we think or what we say when we speak.  We can either:

• Lift up someone up in prayer or tear them down with gossip.
• Share our faith with them or deny our faith by ungodly actions.
• Be thankful or critical and judgmental.
• Be truthful or dishonest.
• Admit our mistakes, or blame someone else.
• Apologize for or ignore our bad behavior.
• Help someone in need or neglect them.
• Give a sincere compliment or insincere flattery.
• Be optimistic or negative.
• Be an encourager or a discourager.
• Tell others about God’s good deeds or take the credit for yourself.

There I no doubt the choices we should make if we want to please God.  Let’s see what the Psalms say about this.

Psalm 19:14 – “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, ,my Strength and my Redeemer.”  

I mentally repeat this scripture when my critical spirit rears its ugly head.  I find it very difficult to think in a critical way about someone or some situation at the same time you are asking God to accept what you are about to think or say.

Psalm 34:1 – “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”  

James addresses this same problem:

James 3:8-10 – “But no man can tame the tongue.  It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.  With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in His Image.  Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not be so.”  

Replace criticism with praise:

Psalm 35:28 – “ And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness and of Your praise all day long.”

Determine to think before you speak:

Psalm 39:1 – “I said, I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my Mouth with a muzzle.”   

Sin breaks God’s heart and our heart should also be broken.

Psalm 51:15-17 – “ O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth your praise.  For you do not desire sacrifice or else I would give it;  You do not delight in burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart.  These O God, you will not despise.”  

Don’t brag about yourself.  Give God the credit.  It’s not about us.  It’s all about Him.

Psalm 71-7-8 – “I have become as a wonder to many.  But You are my strong refuge.  Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory all the day.”  

Keep in mind that God knows what you are going to say before you say it:

Psalm 139:4 – “ For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.” 

We should also think twice about what is in our heart, before we open our mouth.

Psalm 139:23-24 – “ Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my thoughts; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in Thy way everlasting.”

We have been looking mostly at our speaking words; now, let’s zero in on what God has to say about our hearts.  Our hearts and our words are both so important to God that we often find them linked together in the same Scripture.

In Matthew 12:34b and Luke 6:45b,both say “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” 

God gives us the following scriptures as His directions to our hearts:

Psalm 15:1-3 – “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?  Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his  heart; He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend.”

Psalm 16:7-9 – “I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.  I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.  therefore my heart is glad and my  glory rejoices, my flesh also will rest in hope.”

I would like to end this second lesson with a prayer based on Psalm 141:3 – "Set a watch O Lord before my mouth, keep the door of my lips”.

Dear Lord Jesus,
I pray that my words and thoughts will promote life and encouragement, not destruction nor discouragement.  Soften my heart and my words.  Please give me a tender, forgiving heart.  Help me to be a grace giver instead of a fault finder.  I want others to see You in me that they would also seek to develop the same kind of relationship with you.  Thank You Lord!

Thank you for reading this,

Great Granny Witt