Let the words of my mouth...

I recently had a request for a post on the subject of cursing. After prayerful consideration and some research, I think approaching the subject from a broader perspective would be more beneficial. First, I'll discuss some prominent ways that speech and words can be used for evil. Then, I will contrast the previous points with some God-honoring and positive ways we can utilize the words of our mouth.

Ephesians 4:29 - Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

There you have it folks. The Bible is pretty clear about what's right and wrong to be exiting your lips. Let's take a look at some problems we can run into.

1. Cursing. I think this is probably the most prevalent and easily identifiable violation of biblical standards of pure communication. I don't know of a single person who isn't guilty of cursing at some point or another. Our society as a whole doesn't see anything wrong with it. 4-letter words are thrown around as if they are merely an accepted addition to our social vocabulary. Not too long ago, I was just as guilty as anyone of interjecting mild profanity in with my speech. My excuse was that the Bible never specifically says, "don't say shit or ass or other 'bad' words." Well, that was a lame attempt at dodging blame for my sins. The Bible may not target individual words, but its intentions are clear: we will be held accountable for every single word that leaves our mouth.

It takes discipline and committment to eliminate these words from our vocabulary. It will be extremely difficult, especially when anger, frustration or shock (hammer VS thumb, etc.) comes into play. However, from personal experience, you can successfully remove those words from your mind. Pursuit of holiness isn't the only reason to be cleansing your vocabulary, far from it. Your future employer probably has no tolerance for profanity in the workplace. Your future spouse doesn't deserve to be subjected to it either. I'm sure the last thing you want is to be responsible for your future children to pick up some nice little additions to their word banks.

For the record, it's not that I'm offended by people cursing (taking God Almighty's name in vain in another matter), it's just that it shows a tremendous lack of intelligence. It also displays a total inability to accurately express yourself. Profanity is a cop-out for putting your mind in gear and finding the right word for the situation.

It's a real shame that certain cultures have allowed profanity to become so intertwined with their innate vocabulary that almost blends in seamlessly. I have friends who can't go 1 single sentence without strings of profanity and other crudeness. It disappoints me that we as a society have devolved so far that this isn't even a mainstream issue anymore. People have simply accepted this travesty as normal.

2. Crudeness / Vulgarity. In addition to overt profanity, crude descriptive words and vulgarities have slipped their way into our social consciousness. The moral standards have decayed to the point that these crudities are no longer scorned by the majority. Stand-up comedians now have audiences rolling in laughter over content that would have made the masses turn red with embarrassment little more than a generation ago.

Our standard of purity is the larger issue at stake here. The crudeness present in our collective vocabulary is merely a symptom of pervasive sin in our society. The only way to stop the advance of the vulgarity and these crude words is simply to decide to stop using them. Just determine in your heart to stop giving your ear to crude humor, entertainment choices, conversation, references or anything else you wouldn't be comfortable saying, watching or doing with your pastor and your grandmother. 'Nuff said.

3. Swearing. This is pretty cut and dried. Be a man or a woman of your word. Do not swear by anything on Earth or above or under it. Jesus is very clear on this subject: Matt. 5:37 - "Let your 'yes' be 'yes', and your 'no' be 'no'". Developing a reputation as a man or woman worthy of trust is difficult, but definitely worthwhile. Once you have stood by your word enough times, people will begin to just trust and believe you when you say something. Standing by your word is a big part of integrity. I have a very hard time showing love and mercy to liars, but we have all been guilty of it at one point. It's an area God is growing me in.

4. "Foolish talk". Holy cow. I think Proverbs says more about words and wisdom than any other book in the Bible. Prov. 10:19 - "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." First off, I'm the chief of sinners here. More pointless, idiotic banter comes out of my mouth than most other people I know. I think we can put a whole bunch of stuff under the umbrella of "foolish talk." Many of the conversations that occur in any given spot on your campus probably fall in the this category. I think Proverbs is simply encouraging us to realize the power words hold and not to take them lightly.

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Enough with the bad. Now here's some ways your words can be used for God's purposes...

1. Worship. Psalm 19:14 - "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalm 29:2 - "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness." The single most important thing your mouth can do is verbally give praise, honor, glory and worship to your Creator. Voicing your admiration, love and devotion to a Holy God is one of the primary methods we can worship. Put your mouth to good use, tell God how great He is. Thank Him for any of the myriad of blessings He's so graciously given you.

2. Encouragement. Job 16:5 - "But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief." I've said it before on here and I'm sure I'll say it a few more times before the end. Your words have tremendous power. They can bring life, peace, comfort, forgiveness, blessing, affirmation, sympathy, etc. You can be a light in a dark place. I saw a bumper sticker once that really stuck with me. It said simply...

"Be kind today, everyone is fighting their own battles."

Life is a struggle. No doubt. Even those of us who know the Truth and have found significance have a daily war to fight. Sin and Satan want to destroy us. My friends, you can be a beacon of warm, soothing light in the lives of those around you. A well placed compliment or encouraging word can change someone's entire day or week.

3. Teaching / Discipleship. Col. 1:28 - " We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ." What's the point of becoming a strong and valiant warrior of the faith if you keep it all to yourself? We are commanded to bring up those around us in the teachings of Jesus Christ. My friends, we have a responsibility to speak truth into people's lives. This connects with a previous post about being confident and well-grounded in your faith. I guarantee you can find someone in your circle who could learn something from you. Those younger and less mature in the faith can gain from your wisdom and experience. First, you have to step up and be willing to be used by God in this way. It's not for everyone, God has surely called different people to different ministries. However, almost all of us will be parents someday. Your children will certainly need your guidance. I can't wait for the day when I get to lead my sons and daughters down the paths of righteousness. Prov. 22:6 - "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Joshua 24:15b - "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."


I hope you will ponder and meditate on the scripture and commentary I've offered in this post. Writing it has been a huge blessing to me, as I have been convicted of several areas I can definitely improve on.

"Go forth and do likewise..."

He? She? I don't know...

This is one of those posts where I'm very likely to step on some toes. I'm aware of that and please remember that this blog is a log of my opinions, and that I do not see them as fact. In reality, I'm not sure if there is a definitively right or wrong solution to the issue I will address today.

The topic today is men VS women. I'm talking about gender roles and identities, not celebrity deathmatch. Our society has so completely messed up the traditional gender characteristics that they aren't even clearly visible anymore. So much history and fervent emotion is tied up in this issue that it is difficult have any kind of objective discourse. That's why I'm sitting here typing instead of standing in front of a podium somewhere. I'll try to keep the rambling to a minimum.

For this post, I draw several ideas from "Wild at Heart" by John Eldridge and "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldridge.

I think the best place to start on the whole "man VS woman" thing is in the beginning. The locale is Eden, circa 10,000 B.C. (give or take a millenia). Tree, snake, fruit, sin, death, eternal damnation...we've all heard the story. The important part for this topic is found in Gen. 3:16 -"Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." Another translation puts it, "You'll want to please your husband, but he'll lord it over you." Now this blog's main audience are my fellow believers, so I'm not going to attempt to discuss the authenticity of the Bible here. Having said that, the Bible has very specific characteristics that both men and women are supposed to exhibit. Both the Old and the New Testament have passages describing righteous and Godly men and women (Psalm 112 is a great one for the guys; Proverbs 31 is the most famous for the ladies).

The point here is that women and men are like apples and oranges. They are similar in some ways, but mostly different. Both exhibit qualities that label them as human, but men and women couldn't be more different at a core level.

God made humanity in His image. Men and women both personify different aspects of the personality of God Almighty, (I'm not going to open that can of worms right now, another post will contain that topic.)

Our society has lost its mind. Women are trying to assume the roles and personality qualities of men. Men are turning their back on traditional masculine values. They aren't committing to their God-given roles of husband and father. They are not leading, discipling, mentoring, setting the standard of excellence and integrity for others (women, children and other men) to follow. I think the men can also be blamed for the women taking on much more than their God-given duties. When a man refuses to step up, refuses to play his part, a woman is left with little choice.

Call me old fashioned, but I believe wholeheartedly that a woman shouldn't have to work. First off, let me clarify that all these opinions and arguments are set in "ideal conditions", I fully understand that sometimes "ideal" isn't possible for whatever reason. A woman with lofty career aspirations isn't a bad thing, actually it's extremely attractive to me. However, I don't think she should be setting those types of goals out of necessity. In my humble opinion (IMHO), it's only a woman's job to provide for herself during that (hopefully) brief period between when she becomes completely independent from her parents and when she says "I do" to some lucky man. At that moment, it becomes the man's responsibility to provide for his wife's physical needs. Whatever the wife does should be done to fulfill God's will for her career accomplishments and ministry. She should be free to pursue the opportunities and desires God has placed in her heart, not be concerned with putting food on the table.

The world is full of women who are trying to be men. They may look like women, but they act, speak, think and work like men. They have bought into the lie that traditionally female gender roles are somehow bad or archaic or out-dated. The Bible refers to Eve as Adam's "helpmate" - Gen. 2. Eve is not mandated with doing Adam's job for him, but helping him.

Adam, in turn, is commanded to provide for his family (by farming at that time). Men are supposed to provide, protect, nurture, defend, disciple, mentor and love their family (I have a huge passion to be an amazing husband and father. It's one of the pounding desires of my heart. My wife and children will never be able to doubt my love, devotion and their place in my life.)

I can't write enough words to fully capture the depth of my desire to love my wife with biblical quality and to raise strong, confident, God-fearing children. Surely, God will have plenty of other tasks for me to undertake, thousands of people to bless with my medical ministry, countless others to minister to through speaking or writing, etc. However, my primary ministry will always be to my wife and children.

I have so many thoughts on this subject that I don't want to contain them all in one post. I will definitely be posting about other aspects of this whole gender role and identity topic. I find the whole thing as being integral to better understanding how we can affect real change in our world.

Points to Ponder:

Ladies: You need to embrace your God-given feminine qualities. They are not weaknesses, they are part of who God made you to be. Don't buy into the lie our society tries to feed you that you have to do everything yourself. Trust God, rest in Him, but also trust the men in your life. Allow them to be men. You play an important part in developing and validating authentic, Godly manhood.

Men: Step up and BE MEN! We are called to lead in character, excellence and integrity. We are currently dropping the ball as a gender. We are not treating ladies as ladies. We are not accepting the responsibility God has placed on us to be leaders in our circle of friends, organizations, ministries and churches. We desperately need to improve. Get in the Word, be on your knees, get tight with God and help those around you get there as well. It is the primary reason for our existence.

Be blessed...

Faith in the classroom

I have a teacher this semester who has already surpassed all previous instructors with his ability to be a typically thoughtless, egocentric, far left-wing drone. He has already shown a penchant for presenting the lecture material with the added bonus of illogical, dogmatic philosophy and just plain bad theology. The first class day I was content to sit there and chuckle at the idiocy that found its way out of his mouth. However, on the second class day, after sitting through almost a half hour long argument on the virtues or marijuana usage, I couldn't take anymore.

I raised my hand and questioned how the "unreasonable targeting of marijuana users by the government" had anything to do with the subject matter. He fumbled out some non-answer and continued on with his verbal diarrhea. I questioned him again (respectfully, of course) and he drew his claws and attacked me. He snarled like a puppy backed into a corner. The man was completely caught off guard by my opposition to his blither. He lost whatever small amount of credibility his argument might have held before. He quickly scurried back to the prescribed lecture content and left the incident behind us all.

Now what's the point to this story? Am I bragging that I showed some teacher who's boss? Yay, 3 ego points for me today...right? NO. I stood up for the truth. I stood up for our Creator and the story of our creation. Bear in mind that this is an introductory level class. More than a handful of underclassmen have contacted me since then, expressing appreciation that someone stood up and opposed what we were hearing. They were relieved that someone was able to speak the truth. My friends, I did nothing in that classroom that you are all not fully capable of doing. Let me explain...

1 Peter 3:15 commands us to be ready to give an answer to why we believe what we believe. Too often, we as Christian college students are content to sit back and listen to an activist professor and not say a word. We are called to be a light in this world. Your classrooms are part of the world. Now, I can hear the opposition springing up already. Let me clarify...there is definitely a right and a wrong way to express yourself when you know the teacher does not agree. Remember that you are not commanded to change anyone's mind. However, we are commanded to speak the truth. If your words get in the head of just one of your fellow students and open the door for even a little truth to come in, your work has been worthwhile.

A very large responsibility comes attached with opening your mouth as an ambassador of the faith. You better know your stuff. My friends, this is a big part of where having that strong relationship with Jesus and a firm foundation in the scriptures is extremely important. Unfortunately, that is not enough. If all you have are Sunday school answers and scripture references, most everyone in academia will write you off in a heartbeat. That's where something called extra-biblical resources comes in real handy.

Do you know what you believe? Inside and out? If you don't, how can you effectively relate it to a world that doesn't speak Christian-ese? You need to have your faith so defined and set in concrete that you can have quality discussion on any major aspect of it.

The world we live in is searching for something to fill the God-shaped hole in their life. They are trying to cram other stuff into that hole, but it just doesn't feel right. Secular teachers and leaders are more than willing to give them their version of the truth. In my classroom this week, there were 70 people that just wanted to be told the truth. My friends, we are on a first name basis with the Truth. His name is Jesus Christ. It is our mandate to live out our faith to a lost and dying world.

How do we go from discussing cell biology to sharing about Jesus Christ? I'll tell you...

It's story time with Uncle James boys and girls. So, you're in a study group and you're talking about biology. You throw out the thought provoking question of exactly how all this stuff in the cell got so well organized. People start throwing out evolutionary theories and biological laws and principles. Then you use your knowledge base and bring up the mathematical reasons why evolution isn't just improbable, it's practically mathematically impossible. You throw out that Charles Darwin himself recanted his theory and came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ before his death. You talk about Newton's 2nd Law of Thermodynamics and how the Chaos Theory completely contradicts modern evolutionary theory.

Once you've destroyed your classmates confidence in the lie of evolution, you start to ponder the possible alternatives. Intelligent design by a higher being is the most logical choice given the options. You bring up the biblical account of creation and cross-reference it with ancient archaeological records (they support each other). You bring up your personal beliefs on the subject and get your classmates to talk about theirs. You move from there to hypothetically discussing our responsibility to this higher being that created us. You bring up the concept of absolute truth and "right from wrong". You throw out the big word: sin. Here's where things really start to get interesting.

Most of the people I know that have an objection to Christianity think that a loving God wouldn't condemn "good people" to Hell. However, we all know that our very best efforts are "filthy rags" without some kind of redemption for our sin (Isa. 64:6). A phrase that I believe came straight from God was: "It doesn't matter how good your hands are if your heart is still evil."Any honest person can looks inside the depths of their own heart and soul and realize that they are corrupt. Once that realization is made, finding a cure for that corruption becomes the goal. My friends, that cure is Jesus Christ.

Once again, like always, the answer is Jesus Christ.

The story and the path I used is just an example. It's the path I take when I'm dealing with unbelievers in academia. The extra-biblical path is extremely effective to a generation that prides themselves on their progressive thinking and intellectual prowess.

My friends, we are called to live out our faith. It will rarely be easy. You will risk persecution from your instructor and fellow students. You will risk your popularity and maybe even your grade if you aren't smart about it. Rest assured, Jesus knew all this would happen.

John 15:18 - 18. If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

Get out there. Be a light. Minister to your friends and classmates who are doomed to eternity in Hell unless some Christian somewhere steps out of their tidy little comfort zone and does something about it. Be that Christian.

Search the scriptures. Seek extra-biblical resources. Become a powerful weapon in the hand of Almighty God as He rescues people out of Satan's grasp. Be blessed, my friends. All of Heaven, all those who have gone before us, the "great cloud of witnesses" (Heb. 12:1) is cheering you on.

so what about right now, God?

So, now that you've got all your priorities straight. Where do we go from here?

If you're like me and feeling like you're stuck right smack in between childhood and adulthood, please raise your hand. I swear, as college students, we have most of the responsibilities of adulthood without many of the privileges. (Or if you're financially independent like me and many of my friends, you're currently tasting adulthood itself...minus all the fun stuff.)

Ok, let's play hypotheticals for just a second. You're career path is set, you and God are tight (good prayer and Bible time), God has allowed you to begin looking for "the One". Everything seems to be going right. But, your career isn't here yet, and "the One" that you're looking for will undoubtedly not arrive on your time table. So what do you do until life takes off...?

At this point in life, I believe the most important thing we can be doing is throwing everything we have at knowing God better and becoming more of the person He has created us to be. (In a larger sense, that is the overarching purpose of our entire existence...but that's not the point.)

Attempting to be popular is pointless. Striving for the approval of a fickle and bent people is not only impossibly hard, it is also self-destructive. We should be striving for the approval of our Heavenly Father. The more effort we put into our relationship with Jesus Christ, the more fruit our lives will exhibit. When we as followers of Christ finally understand that Christ loves us as His bride...everything comes into greater focus. Jesus is an actual, literal, super-natural being. He has called the church to be His bride. He died upon the cross to rescue His beloved and reconcile her to Himself and His Father in Heaven.

Look at the entire story of Jesus. Place on it the perspective that the whole time Jesus was on Earth, he was trying to save His bride from guaranteed destruction and damnation. I believe it will help you to better appreciate the motives upon which Jesus acted. Put yourself in His shoes, guys. If someone had captured your wife, your beloved and was going to destroy her...wouldn't you do everything in your power to stop that from happening?

I don't know why this aspect of the whole story gets so badly messed up or just plain forgotten. The church is referred to as the "Bride of Christ" on several occasions. For some reason, I'm completely O.K. with being a bride. It's gotten to the point where I look up at the sky some nights and can almost tangibly feel Jesus looking down on His bride and smiling. It's a shame our society has grown so perverted and homophobic that we can't even discuss this subject in open forum without it being extremely misconstrued very quickly.

Ok, I'm definitely rambling now. Lets get back on track...

Between where you are now and where you will be on the day of your marriage, you have the purpose of becoming more like Jesus. (I use marriage as the dividing line because a job isn't necessarily a big deal.) We are called to be like Jesus because He was the example, the way things should have been from the beginning.

It's really just as simple as this: Unless you're fairly convinced that you have no desire to be a spouse or parent, that you will not struggle with maintaining sexual purity for the remainder of your days...you need to be preparing for marriage. Now, I'm not talking about picking out flower arrangements and dress colors. I mean that you should be working towards being the person God's called you to be in your marriage. Your future beloved has a list of qualities God has instructed them to look for in their mate. It's your responsibility to eliminate the sin from your life as much as humanly possible. It's your responsibility to take the truth that God has placed in your heart and mind and finally do something about it. Hmmm.....

Recently, a friend told me that she didn't want to fall in love. That she wasn't looking for it; she didn't want to flippantly give her heart away when wasn't really hers to give. She knows that when God thinks the time is right, He will move the two people in that direction. My friend is quite correct.

Until that day, we should be taking every opportunity to grow in knowledge and grace. Just because school, job and relationship status seems to be idling, it doesn't mean we shouldn't be working towards the goal of becoming a little more like Christ every day.

Thought of the day:

"Life is enjoyed on the mountaintops, learned in the valleys and lived on the roads between the two." - James B. Jenkins

What book are you reading?

She is not an open book...
She is a library
The Library of Congress
You will spend the rest of your days checking out books on every possible subject
But you can never read every book
You can never know her completely

The question is: What book are you reading today?



(thanks Charles)

And thus it begins.

Finally.

Out of one, many

I don't really have some catchy way to start this post so I'll jump right into the meat of it. God has been teaching me a ton this summer. One of the overarching themes has been learning to abide in Him and find total fulfillment and satisfaction only in Jesus Christ and His will for my life. According to Webster's, abide means to "remain stable" and to "endure without yielding".

One of the biggest struggles for me is when we talk about love. In the past, it has been very hard for me to love someone without taking my eyes off Jesus; to cease abiding in Him as I put my attention on someone else. The point I'm making applies to every kind of love you can have (familial, platonic, romantic...) but for now I'm specifically talking about the romantic type.

In the past, when I've allowed myself to care for someone, things started to revolve around them. They became the object of far too much time and attention. Focus was lost and too much emphasis was placed on them. This is not the way that things should be. I have learned, through a bunch of scripture and some old epiphanies / revelations in the past week or so, that I've had it all mixed up in the past.

We are supposed to love Jesus Christ first and foremost. All other loves flow from our love for Him. He is the fountain in which all other affections find their source. I've been seeking God's will wholeheartedly for a while now. I'd even venture to say that I've been devoted to Him (I hesitate to use such a strong word because I fully know the limitations and faults of my selfish heart). But even in all the days I spent at Pine Cove and since then back in Nac, I couldn't truthfully say that I allowed Jesus to be source of all my love.

I'm at a point in life now where one of the biggest, most likely the biggest, things I'm working on is preparing to be a Godly man and, much more so, a Godly husband. Paul set the bar extremely high for the husband who wants to love as he should, "...love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her..." - Eph. 5:25. It would be a daunting and virtually impossible task if we were to somehow produce a genuinely Christ-like love in and of ourselves. But, if we place all our attention on Jesus and allow Him to work in our lives, we will soon find that love residing in our hearts.

It is not our primary responsibility to worry about loving our wife the right way. However, it's definitely our primary responsibility to love Jesus with all that we have and devote ourselves to His service and plan for our lives. If we are fully submitted to Him, the love that we are called to show will flow naturally from the pure love and spiritual union we enjoy with Jesus.

The same can be said for taking the love we have for Jesus and spreading it out into a lost and dying world. That will be the topic of a post coming soon to a theater (or blog) near you.

I take great peace in knowing that the love I want to show to my future wife, the love that she will crave (a 1 Cor. 13 kind of love), will come straight from Jesus Himself. I will merely be a conduit of Christ's pure and holy love straight into the heart of my wife. Notice, I said a conduit, not the conduit. I am definitely not saying that "husband" replaces "Savior and Almighty God". This is surely not the answer and it was never meant to be. Moving on...

Once again, the answer is Jesus. He is all we need. Devote yourself wholeheartedly to knowing Him more deeply and loving Him more passionately. You'll see a difference in the way you love people. I spoke about romantic love in this post but the same goes for the friends and family in your life. As long as Jesus stays #1 in your heart, you'll be able to see things from a proper perspective. You'll be able to bless, encourage and strengthen those around you like never before.

"After all this...3 things remain. Faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love." - 1 Cor. 13:13