Cover Your Mouth

 

"The lips of the wise disperse knowledge, but the heart of the fool does not do so."  Proverbs 15:7 

When I was fairly young, I saw a movie on healthy living that had a huge impact on me. They were trying to get the point across that you should cover your mouth when you sneeze. To teach this lesson, they filmed a guy sneezing in slow motion. The lighting they used in filming the sneeze highlighted all the moisture  (I won't say spit), that dispersed out of the 'sneezer's' mouth.

The image has stuck with me, and whenever I'm around anyone who is sneezing, my mind automatically flashes to that picture of a slow-moving cloud of moisture moving toward me. Since that movie, I have also begun doing what I am told is a bad habit...I hold my own sneezes in. I've been told that this could cause a heart attack, or a herniated disc, and one teacher even told me I could pop my eyes out! I hold my sneeze with the good intention of not dispersing anything bad to any bystanders.

I would like you to keep the image of the slow motion sneezer in your mind as we reflect on the words we speak from our mouth.  When we speak, we can speak as the wise or as the fool. The wise will disperse knowledge, encouragement, wisdom, and edification. The fool will sneeze forth discouragement, division, disputes, and worse.   

Let's all wise to cover our mouths, or perhaps hold our words in so as to disperse only words that bring health.

Staying Faithful

"So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority."

Genesis 39:4

One of the greatest examples of faithfulness is found in the life of Joseph. In the book of Genesis we see young Joseph sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. He is a slave in Egypt, his life seemingly shattered, in a predicament he did not cause nor ever imagine he would end up in. Joseph didn't quit on life, he didn't sulk or fall into self-pity. He remained faithful to the Lord and became the best servant at his master Potiphar's estate. He trusted and determined to be the best he could be no matter the circumstances and it became clear to all that God's hand was upon him, and he was given great responsibility.

Later in Joseph's life, we see his character and faithfulness revealed again after he was wrongly imprisoned. While in jail, he prospered not by complaining or grumbling, but by trusting in and waiting upon God. Of course we know the end of the story as Joseph is eventually raised up to be second in command under Pharaoh, and his family is spared from famine and reunited. Because Joseph remained faithful even under harsh and unfair treatment, God was able to use him in mighty ways, and take even what was meant for harm to bring about good.

God has called you to be faithful in whatever place He would have you, even if it's difficult and you don't like it. You need to be faithful and allow God to take care of the results.

Glory in Tribulations

"And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations,
knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;" (Romans 5:3).

As I write this, I realize you might think I'm a tad silly, but August mornings have had a unique affect on me for quite a while. The warm humid feel and unique scent of the new day give it away. Even without a calendar, my body tells me it's August, and my adrenaline starts to flow a bit.

When August hits, my ingrained memory kicks in and reminds me that this was the time of year I needed to work harder, be more disciplined, to push myself a little more, to lift, run, sweat, and hurt, because football was just around the corner!

You see, for me, August had become the time to really train seriously for the upcoming football season. I would purposely begin to introduce tribulation into my life by adding resistance to my weight training, distance to my long runs, and upping the tempo of my short runs. The extra work was difficult, but I knew the labor was worth it, as it built my endurance and made me stronger for the season ahead. This tribulation was, actually, good for me.

God allows, and sometimes introduces tribulation into our lives and this is not a dreadful thing, for we are assured that in Christ tribulation produces good things. This is one of the great wonders of walking in Jesus, even difficult circumstances, hurtful trials, and tribulations are used to bring forth good fruit. We are promised that all things are used to strengthen and mature us, to conform us more into the image of Christ.

How odd it sounds, but we are to glory even in tribulation, for God is faithfully at work, and even that trial will produce great fruit in you. Trust the Lord and...have a fruitful August!
 

Remember No More

"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."  Hebrews 8:12

I have been blessed to help with VBS for a good number of years, I've determined teaching first and second graders is good medicine for my faith. This year was like previous years, the week went by very fast, I got very tired, and as usual it seemed I learned more from the children, than they learned from me. 

One of the evenings during the Bible study time, Pastor John was sharing the gospel with the children by using colored helium balloons. Each colored balloon represented a part of the message, and one of the balloons, the black one, not surprisingly stood for sin. As John held the black balloon and explained how sin keeps us from heaven and blocks us from seeing God, a young boy leaned over to his teacher and quietly said, I think he should just let that black balloon go. I was so blessed that this little guy was in a simple way grasping the heart of the gospel. This boy had a healthy dislike for the darkness and ruin of sin and would have liked to see it just float away. Of course it may not be easy to let go of sin, but by Jesus' blood (red balloon), the curse of sin is done away with, and our sins are remembered no more. 

What a sweet reminder for us all, there is no need to be bound by sin any longer, as we let go of sin to cling to Christ, the crippling affect of sin floats off like a helium balloon.