SpringCleaning! O My Word! March 11

SpringCleaning!
March 11, 2021

O My Word!

Matthew 12:34-37, ‘”You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything that is good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”’ (NIV)

Moving through our ‘Home’, one of the most commonly used corners is our mouth. Out of it comes a blessing or a curse depending upon the condition of our hearts. For me, this requires daily upkeep, not SpringCleaning! But, no matter! we can start any time, right? And if you think about it, it takes just as much energy to give a blessing as it does to spit a curse. But the consequences of either action can be vastly different.

I was devastated years ago when a mentor and employer emphatically reiterated that the filthy words my then-husband would toss at me when he was drinking were the true intent of his heart toward me. I unequivocally insisted he was mistaken; that I was only abhorred when he was intoxicated. How ravaged I was when I realized what my friend told me was true. That is when I learned what the Message refers to as, ‘It’s your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words.’ (Matt 12:34)

2 Timothy 2:23 says, ‘But have nothing to do with foolish or ignorant speculations [useless disputes over unedifying, stupid controversies], since you know that they produce strife and give birth to quarrels (AMP).’ America birthed instead a generation this season that was conceived in the minds of angry and striving people, and being nourished on foolish and ignorant controversies, this growing strife is trying to suck the life out of all people if allowed. Everyone has a voice, and it seems we are all trying to outtalk one another, and when we are talking so much and so loudly, we cannot hear what is really being said, nor can we hear the still, small whisper of our Father.

Elijah, a great man of God, had some CaveCleaning to attend to. ‘The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing, Elijah?”’ (1 Kings 19:11-13, NIV)
His zeal for the Lord had sent him to the very back of a cave to hide but what drew him out was the summons of His God in the form of a quiet whisper. I think God speaks often in a small voice to me because He desires me to draw close enough to hear Him. He won’t yell at us to get our attention or to be heard, and neither should we…yell, scream, rant. We should represent Him well even in our speaking. After cleaning up this corner of mine that needs attention, I am going to try harder to use my inside words more and rest my outside voice every chance I get. How about you?

Come with me in March and let’s clean house!

If you are anything like me, you have kept some things around far too long and now they got to go! And with the Lord’s help, they can!