Careless talk?

Know how to listen, and you will profit even from those who talk badly. (Plutarch)

You might think you are a very religious person. But if your tongue is out of control, you are fooling yourself. Your careless talk makes your offerings to God worthless. (James 1:26)

I cannot help but think of the times I have droned on and on with someone about a topic I have such interest in, only to realize they have not been listening because I am the only one interested in the topic! I have had to learn to 'read the crowd', so to speak, and listen more than I speak. It was not an easy lesson to learn, but a necessary one, especially as it pertains to sharing the truth of the gospel message. I used to think I needed to preach a sermon, but then realized my life was speaking louder than my words.

Know how to listen - this is our instruction today. The tongue can wag on and on, making it hard to really 'hear' what is being said. The more 'words' we use, the more we think others will get the point. The truth is that we don't need 'big words' as much as we need heartfelt words that encourage trust. An out-of-control tongue can do much damage, turning the 'hearers' into walled off 'listeners'. As Jesus commissioned his disciples to go out two-by-two, spreading the good news about him and the freedom he brought to them, they ask what they should say. Why? They were not 'learned teachers of the Law of Moses', so they didn't think they 'knew' what to say.

Jesus' response to them? Don't worry about what to say but trust the Spirit of God to give you the right words, in the right time, delivered to the right audience. We can glean from this that if we want others to listen, speak what the Spirit gives us in that moment. How do we come to the place of knowing what to speak and when to speak it forth? We learn to listen to Jesus. At first, the disciples actually spent more time listening to Jesus than they did speaking of him. They learned by listening - taking in the teachings and then allowing them to 'ruminate' within. Learn to listen - then you will know when and what to speak!

The more 'learned' one has become is not important - books don't bring us life. The best 'learning' comes sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening intently. It is in listening that we learn to control our words. Just sayin!

Groaning a bit?

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. (Romans 8:26-27)

Do you always know how to pray for whatever the need is that is set before you? There are times a friend will ask me to pray with them, but they aren't specific about their need. At other times, I know I 'need' something to change, be different inside me, or transpire, but I have no clear idea what that should be. When those times of prayer become 'difficult' because we 'don't know', it is time to trust the Spirit of God within us to lift our need to God's ears. Scripture says God even knows the meaning of our groans and sighs, so is it too hard to believe he would give us assistance in our prayers?

Prayer is probably one of my 'weaker' areas in this Christian walk. Yes, I pray, but am I always confident in my prayers? Not always, but I know God hears them, knows what is needed, and goes to work even before I ask. I know the Spirit of God within me is 'in tune with' the will of God and helps with expressing the need. It is true - there are times when words are just not sufficient to express the urgency, depth of a need, or the challenge to our faith that particular prayer is right now. God's plan was always to give us the Spirit to help us when we are not able to find 'sufficient words' to express it.

Have you ever 'put off' praying because you just didn't know what to pray for? You are not alone on that one, but we might want to reference this passage from time to time whenever that happens. I have actually said to God that his Word says I would have help to pray for the need before me. I have quoted back this scripture as my prayer - trusting that God 'gets' what I am saying and knows I am having trouble putting it into specific words. Why? He knows all hearts - yours and mine! He 'gets it' because he knows the depth of our heart's need and wants nothing more than to help with it. When we don't know what to pray, maybe we should remind God that we are trusting him to know our heart and hears its groanings. Just sayin!

Brainwashed or Brain-Cleansed?

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. (Romans 8:5-7)

There are philosophies out there that propose 'positive thinking' is all we need to overcome even the worst of things going on around or within us. The truth of the matter is that humans can 'think positively' all they want, but as long as the mind hasn't been surrendered to Christ, negative thoughts will continue to emerge, as will negative actions. It is more than a 'mind game' that we play - it is a difference in who is in control of our minds!

Let the Spirit of God control your mind and you will soon begin to understand the power of God's presence in your life. The mind is a battleground of sorts and the one who 'commands' the battle matters. In and of ourselves, we cannot win the warfare by positive thoughts. We need an exchange of thoughts - an exchange of control and leadership. The Spirit of God isn't about to let any enemy of our soul win the battle - he will overcome ALL that opposes the holiness of God within us.

There will come a time when each of us is at our breaking point. We won't want to move forward for fear we will do or say something that will create even more negative chaos in our lives. We won't break free of those negative thoughts until we allow the one who can bring absolute peace and assurance into our lives take control. That means we surrender to Christ, allowing his Spirit to indwell our minds and hearts, then allow him to change the way we 'think'. 

Does this mean that we all get 'brainwashed' by some 'religious activity'? No, but it is a bit like having our brain washed! We find out how quickly the way we have been perceiving life has been affected by the way we have allowed our minds to think. In essence, we are all in need of a good 'washing' of our thought life and a replacement of all that is negative, unholy, and dishonoring to God to be accomplished. 

Sin will dominate our thoughts until we invite God's presence into our lives. We aren't being 'brainwashed' by some 'religious activity' as much as we are being 'brain cleansed'. Once the Spirit of God is in control, we begin to see things differently. We don't need to muster up positive thoughts to overcome negative things we are perceiving - we just need to tap into his presence and allow him to help us see those things through his eyes. Just sayin!

What you "toying with"?

Desire:  Those things we long for or crave; the hope for satisfaction of some sort.  I think we would all admit to the fact of having desires - some are quite innocent, while others give us a little bit of a challenge in life.  Some desires are easily fulfilled, while others will be the things we chase after repeatedly and find no satisfaction in ever obtaining.  What we forget is the "hold" desires place on us as we pursue whatever it is which becomes the object of our attention (focus).  It is almost impossible to have a desire and then not to want to "go after it" with some form of passionate pursuit.  In the evenings, I will look over at mom and see her pondering something.  I know this usually means she is thinking about what might be in the house which she can "nibble on" for a wee snack to tide her over till bedtime.  She isn't really all that hungry because we had a good dinner - she just wants something crunchy, chewy, or sweet to satisfy a little desire she has within.  I usually suggest the couple of things we have - one from each of these groups - and she chooses the one which tickles her fancy.  We often find ourselves "pondering" the thing we desire.  It becomes the consuming focus of our mind - thought being the thing which gets us to move toward the desire.  I think this is why there is so much emphasis put on being aware of what we are thinking "upon" - because we don't want to dwell on the stuff which will take us down paths better left unexplored!

People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace. Our desires fight against God, because they do not and cannot obey God’s laws. If we follow our desires, we cannot please God. You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God’s Spirit, who lives in you. People who don’t have the Spirit of Christ in them don’t belong to him. But Christ lives in you. So you are alive because God has accepted you, even though your bodies must die because of your sins. Yet God raised Jesus to life! God’s Spirit now lives in you, and he will raise you to life by his Spirit. (Romans 8:5-11 CEV)

Probably one of the most apparent issues in this walk we enjoy with Jesus is this constant struggle between what we desire and what we know God wants for us. The main thing God wants us to consider is the type of desire it is we are responding to at any given moment.  We have this "mixture" of desires - some very good or honorable; others kind of self-centered and just plain out of the "list" of desires he'd want us to actually pursue.  To pursue only what we desire is to be thinking of only ourselves - a dangerous focus indeed.  Yet, I have run across people who seem to have their head in the clouds - too spiritual for their own good and certainly for the good of others!  Lest you think I am saying we don't need to ponder the good things God has prepared for us each and everyday, I am not.  I am simply saying we need balance between the spiritual and the practical.  We actually drive people away when all we can ponder and discuss is the spiritual.  I have a tendency to look for people who can maintain this balance - knowing "living out" faith is more important than merely engaging in conversation about it all the time!

Here is the thing we need to take away from our lesson this morning:  If we are ruled by our minds, we will pursue desires which are self-centered and likely to be a little far from what God has planned for our pursuit.  If we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts, we are more likely to pursue those things God has prepared in advance for us!  Our own desires don't always align with God's. Apparently Satan understands this fact and monopolizes on it!  When we have this "war" of sorts going on in our minds, pondering this desire against that one, we cannot rest assured that as long as that battle is taking place, Satan is intrigued!  He wants to see which one will win out and he isn't pulling for God's!

Christ lives in us - this is the hope of our "winning" over those wrong desires. It isn't rocket science, my friends.  In living an "exchanged life" we find our own desires beginning to take backseat to the desires of the one we serve (Christ Jesus).  It is God's Spirit living within us which makes all the difference in determining which of these desires will become the preeminent one which gets and holds our attention.  If you haven't figured that out already, the thing which gets our attention will play upon our attention until we begin to toy with the idea of actually surrendering to that object.  Now, if this is a God-thing we are "toying with" in our thoughts - the thing which gets our attention - the surrender will be godly and good!  

With God's Spirit within, the desires we once were consumed by will begin to drop away.  This is a gradual process for most of us - for others, it may come in a matter-of-fact way once and for all.  The truth of the matter is that no matter "how" we see this exchange of desires occurring within us, we all have exactly the same "resources" at our disposal to overcome those desires which are too self-absorbed and which are going to take us down the wrong path.  No one is without these resources if you have said "yes" to Jesus.  The Spirit of God brings all we need to not only change our focus, but to help us differentiate between what is worthy of our continued attention and what is not.  Just sayin!

A different kind of spark

I want us to look at three separate verses today - each carrying a little bit of this vs. that.  In other words, if we act a certain way, this is our reward; act the other way and your reward will be quite different.  Outcome is often determined by the things we set in motion at the beginning of the course - but not always. It is possible to turn an outcome around, even when you are already well down the path toward a certain outcome.  For example, I can determine I want to build a fire.  When I do, I set out to find some kindling - small pieces of dry leaves and wood to be the thing which will catch fire quickly when exposed to the source of fire.  Then I will find other wood for the fire, in varying sizes because some will need to catch quickly and others will sustain the fire a lot longer.  I can stack all of this so carefully, making a nice little mound in the middle of a pit I dig for the fire.  If I don't have anything to ignite the fire in the pit, I have set things in motion for a fire, but there is something still quite lacking in my preparation - the actual spark which brings the fire to life.  We often determine one course of action, but fail to focus on the one important thing we need to ignite the efforts we are putting forth, don't we?  We have all the right stuff, but lack the one important piece which will help us realize the outcome we hoped for.

Live right, and you are safe! But sin will destroy you.   Too much pride causes trouble. Be sensible and take advice.   If you reject God’s teaching, you will pay the price; if you obey his commands, you will be rewarded. (Proverbs 13:6, 10, 13 CEV)

Life is kind of like building a fire - we set out to enjoy it, but somewhere down the road we realize we don't have anything to really "spark" within us so this way of life becomes productive in the way only the "spark" can accomplish. Have a spark not contained within the "walls" of the fire pit and it can set into motion things we cannot contain!  Fire can be quite positive, but it also can be very destructive - depending on where it burns, what fuel it consumes, and whatever boundaries it is contained within.  If the fire burns within us, we see ignited within a passion which is quite "burning" - almost motivating us to action in one direction or another.  The right kind of fire can motivate us toward the right outcomes - the wrong kind can explode into uncontained frenzy!

Live right - be safe.  Sin - be destroyed.  If we go back to our fire example, we find the choice to allow only God's Spirit and his Word to ignite the "fuel" within our lives.  Those passions we desire are those which are produced by the presence of God within.  All other passions are like uncontained fire - creating a frenzy of activity and a plethora of destruction.

Pride causes trouble.  Submissive obedience requires a spirit of cooperation and sensibility.  One willing to take advice will realize a different outcome than one stubbornly resisting the authority of God in their lives.  When we are willing to sit at the feet of Jesus, learning how we should respond to those things which we will encounter in our day, we find the passions we allow to built within are quite different than if we only "fan the flames" of our selfish interests and unreliable desires within.

Obey God's commands - the reward is positive.  Reject his teachings - there is a price to pay.  Each carries a "reward of sorts", but they are quite different.  The fire kindled by God's Spirit produces a different radiance within.  The fire kindled by the winds of self desire gets a little too out of control - hot, glowing, but totally uncontrolled and destructive in the end. 

Where does this realization of "differences" leave us?  We need to kindle the right fires within - not every spark produces the right kind of fire.  A forest fire is kindled by a spark, but one which is out of control and "hungry" for fuel - yet not discriminating about the fuel it consumes.  A fire carefully managed by the hands of a skilled fire builder will produce radiance and warmth, but it does so with purposeful intent, not wild frenzy.  The fire of God does consume the fuel it ignites - it leaves a mark - there is evidence of it in our lives. Not only does the fire produce a radiance of character unable to be achieved without God's spark within, but it consumes whatever is put into it. This may not seem like much at first, but when we apply ourselves toward obedience by embracing God's Word, it takes hold of us in ways which leave a mark.  It isn't an indiscriminate "marking" by the fire of God, but rather the purposeful production of beauty from ashes.  Just sayin!

Where I am weak...

Weakness is viewed in a different ways by different people.  Some will criticize the weakness of another, seeing it as a way of "copping-out" in life - not really doing what one needs to do, but succumbing to the pressure to quit.  Others might see weakness as a sign of not caring - as though the weakness kept the individual from extending themselves.  Many will see weakness as a kind of feebleness or the type of trait exhibited when one is just plain not strong enough for the task at hand.  I know there have been many a jar of pickles which challenged my "strength" in my days, but even though I might have been too "weak" to open them on my own, enough force from a solid rap on the edges of the lid and I accomplished the task!  So, weakness doesn't always have to mean we don't have the "strength" to do something - it might mean we get creative about how we accomplish it!  This might be where we get into trouble in our lives, because when we try to get "creative" about things in our lives we sometimes create a different problem than the one we initially started with (such as a cracked pickle jar).  The good news is that we don't have to deal with our areas of weakness alone - we are given the Spirit of God that we might have a way to not only "deal" with them, but overcome in those areas!

In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God’s people. We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. (Romans 8:26-28 CEV)

We are given the example of prayer - that area in our life where we sometimes set out to pray for the needs of another, but actually have no idea what the true need might be in their lives.  We have been given the Spirit of God to guide our thoughts - because our thoughts are known to God.  Before anyone gets all wigged out about God knowing their thoughts, let me just remind each of us he is the one who made our brain in the first place!  To think we can hide things away in there without him knowing is kind of silly.  Let me also assure you of something else - Satan cannot read our thoughts!  If we look carefully at scripture, we find Lucifer, (an archangel of God charged with the task of worship in heaven), actually "trying" to get to be like God.  He wanted to know what God knows, do what God does, and the like.  He didn't "get" there - God shut him down instead!  Now, he exists as a fallen angel - Satan.  In his wake he took a bunch of other angels with him - those we commonly refer to as demonic spirits today.  So, since Satan is a created being like the rest of us (as all angels are), he cannot read our minds - his mind was created by God just like the rest of ours!  He CAN read our words - as they are spoken.  He CAN observe our actions - as they are brought to fruition.  But...he cannot read our minds.

The only "spirit" who can read our minds is the Spirit of God - the member of the triune godhead who was engaged in this creation process all along.  He is the one "spirit" whose actions are actually "on our behalf" and not set against us in any fashion.  He is the one promised by Jesus to come alongside us and to guide us into all manner of action which is honoring to God and to bring conviction into our spirit when we act in ways which are the opposite.  If you think guilt is a thing from the devil, think again!  Guilt is a result of us being given a conscience - we know certain sets of values we are to adhere to and when we don't, our conscience "pricks" us a little.  This is a "God thing" in us, not a mechanism by which Satan gets us down.  But...Satan does use shame as a way of keeping us in a place of overwhelming guilt - thinking there is no way to be free of our sinful deeds.  Shame is his tool - working with our thoughts to keep us in bondage.  God does not use shame - he uses guilt to bring us to repentance.  Satan uses shame to bring us into bondage.

I think this passage deals with more than just having a "guide" for our prayer life.  Although we can count on the Spirit of God to guide us in our prayers for one another, and even ourselves, we can see a much bigger picture of his action in our lives.  He is there to "always be at work for those who love God".  That means we can count on the Spirit of God to come alongside us whenever we are in a place where we might slip up, go a wrong direction, or when we just are unclear about something.  He is there continually to guide us - we just don't always recognize his nearness.  We find ourselves listening to the loudest voice or thought.  I have said this many times - if we'd learn to listen to the still voice of God, we might just avoid the hazards of the loudest.  God rarely shouts - he exists in the realm of peace, so his voice doesn't need to be all that loud!  He wants us to enjoy that realm of peace, settled into his presence and listening intently to hear whatever it is he might speak.  

God's Spirit is in tune with where it is we are weak - even when we are not. I know I often find myself believing myself stronger in certain areas in my life, then coming to the realization of how futile my own strength was in the end. In truth, if I would learn to rely upon the Spirit of God a little more to guide my actions and reveal my weaknesses a little clearer, I might struggle a whole lot less in this walk!  How about you?  Got any areas where you are weak, but too stubborn to admit it?  Rather than hitting that pickle jar lid repeatedly, maybe we'd do well to admit we are a little too weak to wrench it free!  Just sayin!

And the Spirit brings....

A coward is someone who lacks courage.  When faced with danger or uncertainty, the response of the coward is to shy away or even run from it.  Where there is difficulty or opposition, something we can be faced with nearly everyday, the coward will turn attempt to hide from it.  Pain is too much for the coward and he is easily intimidated by even the smallest of stuff - fearing failure, he won't even begin!  So, why am I so interested in the coward?  Simply because I don't want us for even one moment to think of ourselves as cowards - for if God's Spirit dwells within you, there is no reason for a coward's response to life's dangers, uncertainties, difficulties, oppositions, or pain!

God’s Spirit doesn’t make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7 CEV)

God's Spirit doesn't make cowards out of us - our own thoughts and beliefs do!  By the past responses we have had to circumstances beyond our control, or difficulties too great for us to handle on our own, we often form thought patterns which become the "go to" thoughts when faced with new circumstances or difficulties.  Our learned behaviors are what often determine our response to the difficulties - if we failed before, it stands to reason we may fail again.  Many see the "may fail" as "will fail" and never try again.  God's plan is for us to never give up on the trying - for it is in taking each step forward that we learn to walk stronger and stronger until one day we don't fall again!  Brooke Foss Wescott was quoted as saying, "Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to the eyes of men. Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or weak; and at last some crisis shows what we have become."  There is much truth in his words - for courage is not always perceptible until the moment arises when it is put to the test!

The Spirit of God within gives us three very important attributes - sometimes imperceptible until the moment arises in which each of these is put to the test, showing just how much of his power, love, and self-control really has become a part of our lives.  The first is that of "power".  To some this may seem a little bit like something only those in a high position might have, but let me assure you, if you are a child of God, you ARE in a high position! Power is really the capability to do or accomplish something.  We have this capability because of who dwells within, not because we have things all together in our lives.  Let me assure you, even men and women in places of "high power" in society don't always possess the capability to do things on their own - it is their position and who or what it is they have at their disposal which makes them "power-full" individuals.  This holds true for the child of God - for who and what we have at our disposal when faced with challenges or difficulties is what gives us the capacity to overcome those obstacles!

The Spirit of God within brings with him a tremendous gift of love - something we could not muster on our own toward either others or ourselves!  If you want to love others, you often need a love which is outside of your natural ability - because some people are just downright unlovely!  Their actions hurt us - their intent is not always noble.  Their needs outweigh what we think "normal" people should have.  Their unreasonableness is sometimes only outdone by their unreliable promises.  People fail us - but we are called to love them in return.  This is the principle of turning the other cheek - to give love when faced with disappointment, rejection, or hurtful actions.  Not an easy task for any of us, but because of the gift of the Spirit of God within, we can love with a capacity not our own - it is HIS capacity within us which helps us to love the unlovely.

The Spirit of God within brings about the possibility for self-control.  Apart from him resident within us, our best "will-power" is nothing but us putting forth our best faith effort. If you haven't figured it out yet, our own "will-power" is a little flawed since anything which really puts a strain on us is often able to over-power even our strongest attempt at "will-power".  I saw a commercial last night showing the "new" and "improved" Weight Watchers program - complete now with a "personal coach" to help you through the tough struggles to avoid the temptation to eat beyond the meal plan.  The commercial depicts common objects being viewed as food items - such as the phone suddenly being a rich chocolate bar you can bit off a hunk of and the water dispenser lavishly producing colorful candies for the taking. Our minds and hearts are unreliable - we need something "external" to our own will to help us avoid the "crashes" which send us headlong into failures galore.  To this end, the Spirit of God brings something we call "self-control" - the ability to put "in check" our will and rely upon the grace of God to bring us past temptation into places of victory!

We may not fully appreciate the gift of the presence of the Spirit of God within, but when we see the three attributes of his presence, we might begin to understand the importance of relying upon that presence more and more each day!  Just sayin!