I hope you had a blessed Palm Sunday. I am thankful to God that He brought me out of chaos. I attended Word of Life's 6pm service via Facebook live.
One of Pastor Art's openers referenced Psalm 40:1-3; my blog post here is using the Amplified Holy Bible translation that captures the full meaning behind the original Greek and Hebrew:
"I WAITED patiently and expectantly for the LORD;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear [with great reverence]
And will trust confidently in the LORD."
I am thankful to God that He is of order.
I am grateful to God that He is not of chaos.
I am humbled that God is in control.
The Holy Spirit brought out of the miry clay. He's counseled me how to guard my...
1. Ear gates
2. Mouth gate.
3. Eye gates (window to the soul).
To guard my heart.
We are...
1. Spirit
2. Soul
3. Body
Our soul is the...
1. Mind
2. Will
3. Emotion
Pastor Art's sermon confirmed my devotional on James 1:19 as how God helped me by His mercy and grace to...
1. Be quick to listen (to guard my ear gates)...
2. Slow to speak (guard my mouth gate)...
3. Slow to anger (guard my emotion.. soul.. eye gates).
Meditating on and applying James 1:19 renews my mind and transformed my character.
God pruned me. I was the reverse order of James 1:19 and the inverse of it. In my younger years I was....
1. Quick to anger (did not guard my emotion.. soul.. eye gates)...
2. Quick to speak (did not guard my mouth gate)...
3. Slow to listen (did not guard my ear gates).
That was the old me. Sown unto to me. Thankfully that old me is dead.
In the natural, I was modeled to be quick to anger, quick to speak, and slow to listen.
In the supernatural, Jesus modeled for me how to be quick to listen to the Holy Spirit, slow to speak, and slow to anger. How to guard my ear gates, mouth gate, and ear gates. How to forgive. Be merciful. He's forgiven me, forgiven us. Jesus models for the body of Christ how to forgive. I am so thankful that God delivered and healed me from years of destruction, torment and trauma.
I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. The new me is alive.
Psalm 141:3 is what I pray to God to help me be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, by putting a guard over my mouth...
"Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips [to keep me from speaking thoughtlessly]."
Proverbs 13:3 reinforces guarding our mouth
"The one who guards his mouth
[thinking before he speaks] protects his life;
The one who opens his lips wide [and chatters without thinking] comes to ruin."
and Proverbs 21:23 further reinforces guarding our mouth
"He who guards his mouth and his tongue
Guards himself from troubles."
When I lettered two-years in varsity soccer and judo, I had a literal mouth guard. But this guarding of our mouth is a spiritual guard.
What words are we speaking?
Are we speaking hate?
Are speaking anger?
Or are we speaking forgiveness?
Mercy?
Are we speaking love and the Word of God?
I am thankful each day how God has done a work in me.
Faith with God's finished works is alive.