"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." ~Psalm 19:14
The words we speak begin in the heart,
whether pure, or full of hate.
The heart is deceitful, prideful and vain,
and difficult to change.
Without the power of The Holy Ghost,
It's vain to hope for good,
For from the heart the mouth will speak,
'Tis written in God's Word.
Who can know the ways of the heart?
No wisdom of earth can reveal them--
The scars a bitter heart can cause,
Only God above can heal them.
Oh, be careful what you allow in your heart,
Believer, pray for wisdom!
Meditate and speak on things that are pure--
Seek ye first the kingdom.
Only God looks on the heart,
He sees the hidden thoughts.
He knows the secret motives,
Whether intentions are good, or not.
May those hidden thoughts be clean,
before the words are spoken.
For by words that come from a heart that's wrong,
A spirit can be broken.
~Anonymous
Oh, this is so good! I was just reading through James, concentrating on chapter three because of something you mentioned in your card about words having power, and your advice to use them wisely for the Lord's glory. :) The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, and from it proceeds our thoughts and conversation. In James 3 we can read all about how the tongue, while such a small member of our bodies, is "a world of iniquity" and "defileth the whole bodies." It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison, which no man can tame." It is two faced, for from it come both blessings and cursings, both sweet praises and bitter comments. As an older sister..okay, as a bossy, sinful older sister, I am constantly amazed at how quickly my mood changes. One minute I'll be praising the Lord for His blessing me with such a big, wonderful family, comfy home, and amazing area to live in, and the next minute my siblings and parents come home, leaving all their stuff scattered across the house after I've worked so hard to tidy it. Almost immediately my heart changes directions, and my thoughts turn dark and selfish as I spew out hasty orders and bitter complaints. Instead of being "swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath" as James 1:19 commands, I rarely take the time to truly listen to my younger sisters for the amount of time that it takes for them to open their hearts and minds to me, yet I am so quick to tell them all they ought to do, generally getting angry after it doesn't get done. Then I read a post like this, or I come into contact with convicting verses, and I determine to mend my ways and start ruling my tongue. (This phase typically lasts from five minutes to one hour...soon I'll go back to my cursed hastiness.) Anyway. This truly made me stop and think! Please pray for me..how does that song go? "He's still working in me, to make me what I ought to be!" And boy,am I a work in progress!! :)
ReplyDeleteJenny, I think you are a mind reader. ;P All of this is sooo true of me as well!! I have a great devotion time, am at peace and dedicating my day to God, and 5 minutes later I have failed utterly. :( I am so thankful for the longsuffering of the Lord!!!
DeleteI'm not a mind reader, just an older sister! ;) Amen! I am grateful for His patience with me as well!
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