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“I call to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me.” Psalm 57:2 CSB

We all wonder if we have a purpose in life.  When things seem crazy around us, nothing seems to be going right, it’s easy to ask the simple question:  What is the purpose in all of this? I’m sure Mary thought that when she became an unwed, pregnant teenager.  She had no idea her purpose was to give birth to the Savior of the world. An angel appears to her, tells her she will become pregnant and give birth to the “Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:28-33 NIV).  I love her reply: “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34 NIV).  After the angel explains to her exactly how this will happen, Mary gives us a lesson in accepting our purpose in life with these words: “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38 NIV).

Mary didn’t have an easy purpose in life.  Joseph, her fiance wanted to kick her to the curb when he found out.  Being pregnant ruined her reputation in the community. I’m sure friends and family turned their backs on her. Mary would have been treated as an outcast, she might as well have had leprosy. If God hadn’t sent an angel to Joseph he wouldn’t of married her. The story of her pregnancy is  just a few short verses, but to Mary it was her life. It was nine months of living with people whispering about her, accusing her of ungodly things. It was nine months of being judged and outcast.  People are mean, religious people even meaner, just look at the Pharisees and Sadducees in the Bible, they lived to make people feel bad. But Mary knew her purpose. She knew she was chosen by God to do something no one else in history can claim, give birth to His Son.

You and I, we’re like Mary.  We have a very special purpose, one that God knows. Our purpose is one that He reveals to us.  You may not know what your purpose is like Mary did, an angel may not appear to you with a specific message, but you do have a purpose.  We all share one purpose together, the Great Commandment: Love God with all you got, love others as yourself (Mark 12:30-31 NIV). This decree was given by Jesus when He was asked what the most important commandment is for all of us.  The Great Commandment is a starting point for finding your purpose. Whoever God places before you, you are to love them to the best of your ability. In order to love people as God intends us too, we have to get that love from Him. We have to put Him first and let Him fill us up, it is the only way we can love others.  Our purpose is to love God and love others, it will take a lifetime to complete. If you want to act like you have purpose it’s easy, just love God and whoever He sends your way.

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.” Colossians 4:6 CSB

Morton Salt gives these household tips for its use:

Stain Removal: use salt to clean stains from coffee pots and vases. Salt removes rust from household appliances and bicycles.

Wellness: gargling with salt water alleviates mild sore throats. Soaking in warm salt water soothes tired feet after a long day.

Odor Elimination: salt can remove odors from hands, cutting boards, even garbage disposals.

Salt has many uses, from keeping meat from decaying to removing odors, it’s simple but powerful.  Our words can have the same affect. Our words can remove the stain of sin by giving forgiveness to others.  Words can take the rust off of an old relationship and give it new life. What we say promotes health and wellness.  When we speak life giving words to the people God places before us, we’re giving them positive energy that helps them live a healthier, more balanced life.  And lastly, our words remove odors, they remove the stench of sin when they speak love into people’s lives. When our words are full of loving kindness, forgiveness and mercy, encouragement and belief they are seasoned with salt.

The daily recommendation for salt in America is about 1 teaspoon a day.  However, the actual amount used by Americans is approximately 50% more than what is recommended.  We love our salt in America, and we should love it in our words. We should think of it as seasoning in all we say, whenever we say it.  Seasoning all of our language with God’s grace, His mercy and His love will mean we always know what to say and when to say it. It means we will also know, if we have nothing nice to say, we shouldn’t say anything.  It’s a simple filter we can all use to season our words. Before we say it, ask this simple question: Is what I’m about to say uplifting and encouraging? If it isn’t, then we shouldn’t say it. In fact, we shouldn’t say anything UNTIL it is uplifting and encouraging.  By putting this one simple filter into our speech, it will ensure that our timing is always perfect. 

In all reality, there will be times we say things we shouldn’t say.  Words will slip out of our mouths that were never meant to be heard, only thought.  When that happens, ask for forgiveness and learn from it. Learn what you can do to prevent it from happening again.  Seek God and His wisdom, ask a friend to hold you accountable, put your hand over your mouth. Do whatever it takes to learn from your mistake, then move on.  Don’t let it hold you back. We all make mistakes, none of us are perfect. We should always listen more than we speak, but when we don’t, learn the art of forgiving yourself.  God already forgave you, it’s ok to let yourself off the hook too.

“Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and truth.” 1 John 3:18 CSB

St. Clare of Assisi was a Franciscan nun.  She was born into a wealthy aristocrat’s family in 1194.  At the age of 15, when she was engaged to be married, she heard the gospel preached by St. Francis of Assisi which caused her to refuse to marry.  When she was 18 she escaped from her father’s home and took refuge in the Benedectine convent. She traded her jeweled belt for a rough woolen habit.  She cut off all of her hair, which at this point in time meant she could never marry. Her father and brother’s stormed the convent to retrieve her. She clung to the altar, saying nothing.  Then she revealed to them her cut tresses. They knew, at this point, she was never coming home.

St. Clare left the convent only twice after this event.  Once to attend the funeral of her longtime friend and mentor, St. Francis.  The other time was when the Saracens invaded her small town, surrounding the convent.  Clare, after praying with her fellow sisters, grabbed the crucifix and ran out and confronted the army.  Her efforts succeeded in turning the army away and saving the convent. St. Clare lived a life of poverty, she lived barefoot, sleeping on the ground, eating no meat and living in almost complete silence.  Yet thousands of years later she is still impacting lives. Her convent is the only one which has continued to flourish over all these years. St. Clare ministered to people in two specific ways. She cut a hole in the wall of the convent, she put her hand through the hole and she would pray for the people who came to her, never seeing their face.  And she wrote letters, hundreds of letters that have survived the test of time. Letters that carry her words on to this day.

St. Clare loved not with verbal words, but with action and truth.  Our actions do speak louder than our words. Acts of love and kindness extend far further than words we say.  As we’ve been learning these last few days, it’s important to listen more than we speak. St. Clare gives us the next step as we learn to keep our mouths shut, we need to be doers of the word.  If we want to share the love of Jesus, we must remember, love is a verb. It’s an action. Not only must we listen more than we speak, we must act in love. St. Clare is an example of what those actions can do.  Actions conquer armies, they heal the sick, they speak louder than our words ever will.

“A person takes joy in giving an answer; and a timely word, how good it is.” Proverbs 15:23 CSB

Recently I had the opportunity to travel with my husband for his work.  I’ve done the trip with him many times before to Pawley’s Island, SC. We always do the same thing when we go, same route, same routine.  A store he does retail systems for is there. Usually it’s just a quick in and out trip, we never stay in that area because it’s in the furthest location, typically we stay closer to Myrtle Beach because he has larger stores there he manages.  This time though, we stayed near the store at Pawley’s Island.

On this quick overnight trip, we decided to do something we had never done, we decided to turn right and actually go to Pawley’s Island.  In all of the years we have gone there, we have never actually gone to the island.   What we discovered was an amazing little town nestled close to the ocean front. The island had a tiny church that overlooked the marsh. The town hall was a step back in time, a small building that shared its roof with the police station.  The houses all close together created an intimacy that immediately made us feel part of a secret hideaway. Just miles from the hustle and bustle of Myrtle Beach, it was apparent the island is a refuge to those who spend time there. We discovered a little piece of heaven, all because we decided to turn right.

We can discover the same thing when we choose to turn right with our words.  When we don’t say everything we’re thinking, when we stop and think before we speak, we’re turning right.  For years, I was quick to speak and slow to listen. But then I discovered James 1:19 which instructs us to take a different road.  James tells us to be quick to listen and slow to speak. I decided to turn right, I decided to put it into practice. What I discovered was less conflict in my life, less strife, less regret.  I found I never regretted what I didn’t say. I found it doesn’t hurt to wait 24 hours before making a reply. I found that in turning right it helped take the emotion out of my reactions and replace it with reality and logic.  I found a way to create peace in my relationships instead of conflict. My words became more timely, less reactive. 

Choosing to turn right with our words isn’t always easy.  It will be a lifelong choice we will have to make over and over again.  But it will bring more peace and less strife. Choosing to be quick to listen and slow to speak gives you the opportunity to find joy in your answers.  Choosing silence will bring a timely word when you do speak. Your words will be life giving instead of life taking. You will never regret what you don’t say when you listen more than you speak.

“It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a person” Matthew 15:11 CSB

Jesus knew what psychologists have learned: “People spend 60% of their conversations talking about themselves, 80% when chatting on social media” (Dishman, 2015).  We love to talk about ourselves, all of us. Until I was researching for this devotional, I didn’t realize how much.  But it does make sense. One scroll through our social media pages will confirm we love to talk about ourselves. Researchers found the reason we talk so much, especially about ourselves, is because it helps us survive and thrive. In other words, we’re wired that way. Talking about ourselves makes us feel good. The problem is we talk too much.

When we talk too much we don’t hear what the other person is saying, simply because we’re not even giving them a chance to speak.  When you study the life of Jesus, you realize He was a good listener. He didn’t spend His days talking about Himself. We find an example of this in Luke. Jesus is replying to a mother who has just called out a blessing on Him and His mom (Luke 11:27 NIV).  Jesus’ reply is telling: “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28 NIV). Jesus immediately deferred the attention away from Him and centered it on God.  He did it with very little words. When we are spending over half of our time talking about ourselves, we aren’t listening to God. If we aren’t listening to God, how can we obey Him?

The other problem with talking too much is we don’t get anything done.  We spend all day talking about it and no time doing it. James tells us we’re to do more than listen, we’re to do as well (James 1:22 NIV).  If we’re doing all the talking, we’re not listening. If we’re not listening, we’re not hearing what we’re supposed to do and doing it. When we’re doing, we don’t have time to talk about it, because we’re too busy doing.  Last week I had a friend stop over unexpectedly. In our conversation I learned she had hurt her back, and she had an outdoor project she wanted to get done. I had a few hours free, so I offered to help her. Instead of sitting around talking about it, we got up, went to her house and did the project.  It took us less than an hour working together to accomplish it. She didn’t hurt her back anymore and we had a wonderful afternoon together doing, not talking.  

If we want to grow in the Lord we need to learn to talk less, listen more and ask questions.  When we do, we’ll find unexpected blessings we otherwise would have missed. We’ll hear what God wants us to hear, we’ll do what God wants us to do.  But not until we stop talking.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21 CSB

People die because of the words that come out of other people’s mouths.  When the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima Aug. 6, 1945 approximately 90,000-146,000 people died over the next 2-4 months from radiation.  Over half of them in the first day. President Harry S. Truman ordered the bomb to be dropped in anticipation of a speedy end to the war.  Three days later another one was dropped on Nagasaki, killing another 40,000 plus people. Within days, Japan surrendered and the war ended.  In 1948, Truman instituted the Marshall Plan, a $15 billion plan that helped Europe rebuild after the war, giving them their lives back. Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

We are like Truman, the words that come out of our mouths can cause death or can cause life.  It’s up to us which we choose. Words end marriages or make them flourish. When we are constantly pointing out everything wrong with our spouse, we’re bringing death.  When we focus on all of his good qualities, we are bringing life. The same happens in all of our relationships. The words we use will either build them up or tear them down.  The key to what comes from our mouth starts with what is in our hearts. “Above all else, guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23. I was reminded of this recently in my own life.

The hardest people to love sometimes are those closest to us.  I had been struggling with a family relationship that was stirring up hatred in my heart.  For a Christ loving girl like me, it was a real struggle. I was seeking God, praying hard and keeping my mouth shut, knowing God would guide me through this.  And He did, but in the process I spewed out some of that hatred on a dear friend in a text. Gratefully, she is a woman of grace and love and forgave me. But that moment changed my life.  It made me realize I was filling my heart with hate and I didn’t even know it. Words have power to give life or death. From the well of our heart is where they originate, we have to be sure we’re filling our hearts with love so the words we speak are full of life. 

Fill your hearts with love today by soaking up the presence of God.  Keep the Son squarely in your eyes, remember all He has done. Remembering how Christ forgave me is what helps me forgive others.  When I begin to forgive, hatred is replaced by love. I begin to see the person through Jesus’ eyes. I’m able to pray for them, and yes, even to love them.  I’m able to let my words bring life instead of death. You can do the same too, by filling your heart with Jesus. When you do, your words will always bring life.

“The mind of the righteous person thinks before answering, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil things.” Proverbs 15:28 CSB

We are entering the dog days of summer, otherwise known as August.  The heat is at its highest, the sun is at its brightest and the kids only have a few weeks of summer left before they head back to school.  In honor of this very special time of year, we’re going to take a look at Scripture through the lens of a dog’s philosophy:  

Listen More Than You Speak

Always Act Like You have a Purpose

Appreciate a Simple Life

Give More than You Receive

Be Happy with what You Have

Be a Best Friend

There is a lot of wisdom in those topics we can all use.  Starting with thinking before you speak. An article titled “Think Before You Speak” by Shirley Vandersteen, Ph. D., R. Psych. Sums up the power of words beautifully:

“Your speech shapes your life. Time and again you find yourself in situations where the outcome depends on what you say and how you say it. Your words are a reflection of who you are. If your words are getting you into trouble, you’re showing others the very worst parts of you. You’re presenting yourself as being thoughtless, careless or just plain hurtful.”

What we say shapes who we are, it shapes what others think of us. Have you ever realized how much of your relationship with God is God listening to us?  He listens more than He speaks. We hear people all the time waiting to “hear” from God. God is an active listener, He’s not an active speaker. I’m not saying He doesn’t speak, He absolutely does, but if you compare it to the amount of listening He does, listening wins.  We can learn from His wisdom, we can become better listeners, less speakers. One way we can do that is by stopping and thinking about what we are saying or want to say. Often times, when we do this one thing, we’ll listen more than we speak. We realize quickly, what we want to say isn’t going to help the situation, only hurt it.  We also realize, we can’t take it back once it is said.  

As we kick off the Dog Days of Summer, let’s learn from Man’s Best Friend, God AND Dogs.  Let’s listen more than we speak.

“The wounds of a friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.” Proverbs 27:6 CSB

We are at the end of our month of prayer. I will not lie, this has been a challenge to write.  Each day it’s been hard to be honest about how much I struggle with all of these different things. But God has carried me through.  He has taught me a lot along the way, I pray He has done the same for you.

As we look at this one last Scripture for our month of prayer, I wanted to end with truth.  It is always best to seek the truth, over anything else. Truth can be hard to take. We may not want to hear it, preferring the lie, but it will always set us free (John 8:31-32).  It will always make you better. I’ve spent the last 6 weeks working on a project for my class. It was an analysis of a non-profit organization. I did all of my research, I answered all the questions, and when it was finished it was 21 pages long.  My first big project for school. I was so excited to turn it in, I was the first one, just knowing my work was good. I couldn’t wait to share it with my class.

My work was good, but it wasn’t great.  The presentation could have been better.  I’m not great with all of the graphic designs people use these days.  I’m still learning. As others began to share their projects, I saw these beautifully laid out presentations.  I don’t even know how to make a presentation look like that. One of the first feedback I received commended me for my research and writing, but he said I should have created a more visually interesting report.  I know he’s right. I just didn’t know how to do it, but I prefer his truth. I’m not going to receive the grade I was hoping to get, but I have learned a valuable lesson. Next time, I will make it visually more appealing.   I prefer the wounds of a friend than the kisses of an enemy. Because he told me the truth, I will do better next time. I won’t forget his words.

The truth isn’t always easy to receive, but it is what will make you better. It will help you grow and be all God has for you.  It will help you find your purpose. It is better than a thousand kisses from the enemy who does nothing but lie and deceive. Let’s end this month focused on the truth of God’s word.  Let’s be all we can be with this prayer:

Lord, we know You are truth.  We know the truth can be hard to hear sometimes, even wounding, but it is better than lies.  Help us as we move forward from this month of prayer, seeking Your truth in all things. When our enemies are lying to us, reveal it to us so we can know the truth (Proverbs 27:6 CSB).  In Jesus precious name we pray. Amen

“Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked.  For whatever a person sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” Galatians 6:7-9 CSB

When I was younger, struggling through the loss of my Dad, I had this motto in my life:  The only person I’m hurting is myself. When I would go out partying and wake up the next morning with a hang-over or spend money I didn’t have, I would tell myself that line.  I liked the pain. I was hurting so much inside, the pain made me feel alive. I thought life was about pain. But then I learned a truth that changed my life. I wasn’t just hurting myself, I was hurting others.  I was hurting God, I was hurting my Mom and my family, I was hurting all the people that loved me. I just didn’t know it. I was sowing in the flesh, I was reaping in the flesh. I was reaping destruction.

What was the wake-up call?  I had a vision of myself in a car accident, late at night, by the side of the road.  I thought of my Mom having to find me like that. It haunted me. For the first time, I realized what I was doing to her. The woman who loved me more than anyone else in the world, who would do anything to protect me,and help me, I was hurting her.  Then I began to realize, she wasn’t the only one I was hurting. I began to realize I was hurting others as well. I realized there were a lot of people praying for me, rooting for me, trying to help me find my way. That is when the journey back to God started.  That is when I started to let Him heal my broken heart. That is when the light started to come back into my life.

That ten year period from 16-26 years old was a very dark period for me.  There are times, even today, when I think back on it and pray to God I never turn my back on Him again.  I pray He always reminds me that He takes our pain and makes something beautiful out of it. He uses all things to the good for those who trust in Him and believe (Romans 8:28).  I’ve gone through more painful things since I lost my Dad, but in all of them God’s been with me. And He still is. I’ve learned, God can’t be mocked, He can’t be deceived. We really do reap what we sow, and because of that, I want to make sure, I’m always sowing in Him.

Let’s do that today with this prayer:

Lord, we’re sorry for the times we’ve tried to deceive You, mock You even.  Help us not sow in the flesh, help us sow in the Spirit. Help us always sow in You, in Your eternal life.  Let us not sow in destruction. We give our pain to You, knowing You will make beauty from ashes. (Galatians 6:7-9).  In Jesus name we pray. Amen

“The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable, who can understand it.”  Jeremiah 17:9 CSB

Brene Brown, in her video, “7 Super Tips” talks about our emotions.  Our emotions come from the heart, which as it says in the verse above is more deceitful than anything else.  Our feelings lie to us. For instance, when something bad happens, our emotions get first crack at trying to make sense of it.  When emotions are driving, thought and behavior are in the trunk. The first thing we do is tell ourselves a story about what happened; we’re trying to make sense out of it.  We lie to ourselves when we’re emotional.

Years ago I was helping a single mom regain custody of her children.  She was divorced and had made some poor decisions, but had turned her life around.  I went with her on one of the visits to the lawyer. I sat there as the lawyer told her she was doing all the right things:  active in church, getting her finances in order, not dating anyone. He told her to keep doing what she was doing and all would go well.  I will never forget what happened next. We walked out of that meeting, got in the car, the first words out of her mouth were, “I have to find a husband.”  I looked at her in shock. “Did you hear what the lawyer just said to you?” I asked. She didn’t, she was so emotional, she wasn’t thinking straight. While she was emotional, her thoughts and behavior were in the trunk.  She couldn’t see the reality of the situation because her emotions were getting the best of her. She felt providing a father for her children was the most important thing she could do. It was only after the wave of emotion passed that we were able to talk about it rationally.  Emotions lie. Feelings lie.

If we are going to make good decisions based in reality, we have to learn not to trust our emotions.  We have to find a way to put them in the trunk and get out thought and behavior. We have to stop and ask ourselves, “What is actually going on here?  What am I feeling? What do I know for sure? We have to work at staying focused on the truth and not let our emotions lie to us. Thankfully, we have a God who will help us stay on track with the truth.  Let’s pray and have Him do just that:

Lord, we know our heart is deceitful above all things.  We know our feelings and emotions lie to us. Help us to see clearly, help us get beyond our emotions to the truth of the situation we’re dealing with today.  Help us find Your truth always. (Jeremiah 17:9 CSB). In Jesus name we pray. Amen