Daily Devotion

Refuse to Use Your Mouth for Death

“The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” Proverbs 18:21
“The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” Proverbs 13:3
“Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps his soul from troubles.” Proverbs 21:23

Have you ever been around someone that just complained and complained about the poor quality of life they had? They could find no good in their life so they would sometimes even wish death on themselves. These types of people eventually talk themselves into an early grave, either by illness unexpected yet traumatic deaths, or even at the hands of someone else. But if they had only realized how truly powerful those words were, they could have changed their situation and their outlook on life.

I love Donald Lawrence’s CD, “The Law of Confession.” One of the key points he strives to make is that we are what we speak. If we speak life, health, and wealth over ourselves, we eventually make decisions that align with what we are asking for. This was something else he said: we have conditioned ourselves to not trust what we say, by confusing good thoughts and words with the meanings for bad thoughts and words. In the wise teachings of Solomon above, several times he mentions the importance of guarding our mouths. And here’s why: when we say something, we hear it by three separate ears—the two outer ears sitting on the sides of our heads, and that inner ear, and by far the most important one, our heart. By saying things, you plant seeds that become thoughts, ideas, habits, decisions and these things become engrafted in your mind and heart. Saying things that do not line up with the word will cause you to be deceived and guided in the wrong direction. Matthew 15:18 says “But the words you speak come from the heart–that’s what defiles you.” So by speaking these words, you defile yourself, you sin against yourself, and as the Word says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Think about it, God gave us all these promises, healing, eternal life, prosperity but how can you benefit from them if you have taught yourself to not believe them in the first place! Do not allow your mouth to guide you in the wrong direction. Do not be misled because you have been cultured to think that God’s Word is not true! Learn to keep your mouth and tongue by feeding your spirit with the truth! God says that He will give you your heart’s desire and will provide all of your needs so if you speak that you can keep yourself from any form of lack! (Psalm 145:19, Psalm 21:2, Psalm 23:1, Philippians 4:19)

“Jesus answered them, “I can guarantee this truth: If you have faith and do not doubt, you will be able to do what I did to the fig tree. You could also say to this mountain, ‘Be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen.” Matthew 21:21 GWT

Daily Devotion #2

Contextual Christianity

“Do your best to present yourself to God as a tried-and-true worker who isn’t ashamed to teach the word of truth correctly.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (GWT)
“Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” (NLT)
“Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.” (AMP)

I know that I have been guilty of sometimes quoting a scripture out of context and making it apply to whatever I was saying. But NOOOO!! We cannot do that! We miss out on the true understanding and overall message of a particular passage by henpecking through the scriptures. True indeed, that is how a lot of so-called “moral wrongs” have been excused through the ages—that’s right, by misquoting the bible. Reading in context means gaining understanding and comprehension in terms of when it was written, why it was written, who that particular passage may have been written for(the audience), and what is actually being said.

I was watching Bible Study online—well, actually a Financial Empowerment seminar—and I had actually realized about a week ago how I have been missing out on the truths in God’s word by not reading in context and by not truly understanding what has been said. I ask God for healing, health, deliverance and prosperity, but truthfully, I am not doing everything He asks. I mean really, how can you expect to be healed if you do not heed the full warning? How can you ask for prosperity if you do not know that it is necessary to be fully obedient? How can you want to be delivered if you have not studied to know what is needed to gain that deliverance? Many people have begun to easily doubt and question God and some of His messengers because they simply have not followed directions. The main things God tells us is to love and trust Him wholeheartedly, love others unconditionally, and believe even when the whole world has accepted defeat. God takes care of His people; but how can He do that if you haven’t at least taken the medicines He had provided you with? Reading and spending time in God’s presence guarantees that you have the relationship necessary to call Him correctly on His word! The key here is that mostly everything in the Bible has already happened.

Challenge yourself to go deeper in the Lord by simply reading the whole story so you can get the whole truth and nothing but the truth! Trust that God will give you the understanding He wants you to have!

“Acquire wisdom. Acquire understanding. Do not forget. Do not turn away from the words that I have spoken. Do not abandon wisdom, and it will watch over you. Love wisdom, and it will protect you. The beginning of wisdom is to acquire wisdom. Acquire understanding with all that you have.” Proverbs 4:5-7