The Mouth Speaks

Are you comfortable speaking about the Lord? Does it depend on your audience? We feel less awkward in familiar territory, so it is easier for us to have discussions about our God with fellow believers. Although we are to exhort and encourage one another, we are also supposed to witness to non-believers. We are to share the hope that is within us.

But here comes the discomfort. For some reason many of us feel embarrassed or inadequate to speak to those who have not accepted Christ as their Lord. We feel we will be misinterpreted and labeled as a fanatic or a fool.

Jesus said to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” Matthew 28:19 (NKJV). It was a command, not a suggestion. We cannot ignore this directive. So how do we address this?

First, we need to pray. We must ask God to forgive us for not being obedient to His call. Second, we need to ask God to prepare our hearts. Meditating on His Word is a great way to keep our hearts focused on His will. When our hearts are full of God’s love and His Word, we are more prepared to share our faith, “For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45b (NKJV).

Next, we need to ask God to show us who we are to speak to. Sometimes we are supposed to let our actions speak first before an opportune time to open our mouths presents itself. Finally, we need to pray for boldness. The more we pray the more God will stir us to obedience, and the calmer we will be when we are to say something.

Don’t let your uneasiness keep you from sharing God with others. Ask Him to help you to let your mouth speak.

How Big is Your God?

Do you limit God? Do you think He is incapable of helping you in your time of need?
Sometimes we feel God is distant; that He is beyond participating in the affairs of mankind. But that is far from the truth.

Look at the Israelites in Egypt. In His timing God delivered them from the shackles and hardships of slavery. Their lack of trust, however, prevented them from enjoying the Promised Land for forty years. Yet even with their wait, God provided food in the form of manna and shelter in the form of a cloud cover to protect them from the desert sun.

When a famine spread throughout the land of Israel for three years, God provided for Elijah. Ravens brought him food and he drank from a small stream. After the water dried up, the Lord directed Elijah to go live with a widow and her son. Food was supplied in the form of a never ending supply of flour and a never empty jar of oil that only stopped when the rains came back to the land.

God takes care of those who love Him and call Him Lord. My God made the universe and everything in it. Nothing is beyond His knowledge or His care. So tell me…How big is your God?

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (NKJV).

Still Waiting

Can you believe it’s been almost three weeks and I’ve yet to get my computer glasses? The lab “misplaced” my frames. They were sent along with the frames for my regular glasses, but somehow they can’t find them now. The opticians have been keeping in touch with the lab. I’m supposed to go try out some new frames if the old ones aren’t found soon.

I can’t do much to speed up the process. My computer glasses would have been great to have this past week as I was working on a book proposal. Perhaps that’s why I had a headache all day Sunday. My eyes have been under some heavy strain.

I have two choices as I wait. I can get frustrated and angry and grumble about the delay, or I can wait patiently for the perfect timing of everything and just deal with the situation day by day. Sometimes circumstances are beyond our control. Since complaining about the incident won’t help matters, I prefer to take things in stride. I get less stressed that way.

How are you at waiting?

First Responder

What do you do with a frustrating day or a difficult situation? Do you moan and groan to your neighbor, best friend, or even the stranger in line at the grocery store? You should be taking matters to the Lord first and foremost.

It isn’t always easy to go to God first. When we are hurting or angry, we want someone to know about it. We want someone on our side. Telling others gives us immediate feedback. We are looking for the sympathetic response. But by going to others first, we put God in the back seat instead of the driver’s seat where He belongs.

God wants us to be dependent on Him. He wants to be our first responder. When we present Him with our hurts and broken hearts, we are showing that we trust Him as our Lord and our God. We are exposing our vulnerabilities and yielding to His sovereignty and will. Only when we give ourselves in such a way to Him can the true healing process begin.

Who is your first responder? Who do you reach out to in time of need? Let God be God in your life.

Double Blessings

I have been blessed twice this week with breakfast dates, each with a very important woman in my life. Both ladies have influenced me greatly, helping me to become the woman I am today. Both bring laughter and smiles, and both offer accountability and great advice.

It’s so important to develop relationships where we can find support and encouragement. Such relationships are a blessing from God, which means we also have to do our part to keep them healthy and strong.

There are some, however, who find such interactions lacking. Circumstances have prevented close bonds with a kindred spirit. If this is you, ask the Lord to bring a special friend into your life who can relate and encourage and uplift. It may take awhile for this relationship to come about, but God’s timing is perfect. He will give you what you need when you need it.

Exercise

The noise was overwhelming. The floor trembled. You would have thought I was in the midst of a busy manufacturing plant. Instead I was in a fellowship hall of a local church where my kids were taking their karate lessons.

It’s important for kids to have some type of physical exercise. Too many times they are stuck watching TV or playing video games, and they lose out on toning up their muscles and building their body strength.

We all need bodily exercise; but we need spiritual exercise even more. Reading God’s Word, praying, and making time to worship are all forms of spiritual exercise. These activities keep us in tune with our Lord Jesus Christ, drawing us closer to Him.

Have you exercised today?

Reaching Out

Most of us live in a very hectic world. We have kids to take to school and help with homework, households to maintain, meals to make, and family relationships to invest in. It’s easy to let our lifestyles dictate how we interact with others. We keep our world so small and focused we aren’t reaching out to friends, neighbors, and distant relatives. But are we supposed to live such isolated lives?

We do have to be responsible for our households, but God put us on this world to share His love with others as well as our immediate family. We are to bring light and hope to a darkened world by sharing the love of Christ in both word and deed. We can’t do that if we never step beyond our small circle of intimate family and friends.

So how do we reach out, especially with our time restraints? First of all, we start small. Pick up a few “Thinking of You” cards on your next shopping trip. It takes a few minutes to write them up and send them to people you haven’t spoken to in awhile. You can leave a message on a friend’s voicemail telling her you are praying for her week. Send over an extra batch of cookies to your neighbor since you were making some with the kids anyway. Have the kids draw some pictures for Grandma who lives far away and send them via e-mail.

Once you get into the habit of taking a few minutes to interact with others, you will learn to be more resourceful and creative with your time. Keep yourself open to opportunities God presents to you. You were created to glorify God and share His love, but you can’t do so if you don’t make yourself available to reach out.