Sunday 17 Mar 2013

Sunday Reading: Proverbs 13:2

Key Verse: Proverbs 13:2
2  A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.

Devotion:
If there is one stereotype that I enjoy to think about it is that the Irish should be good at speaking; personally I love the Irish accent, but it should be their ability to talk about great things that makes the biggest impression on me. So to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day I thought that I would make a tentative link to the Irish in my heart.

What comes out of our mouths is either going to build up or put down. If we are not careful then what we think is meant to build up may well be breaking down before we realise it even if we do mean well. It does not take great skills to talk to others and it certainly does not take any skill to upset someone with a careless word. It not so much a case of trying our hardest to build up people all the time but rather what is in our hearts that will normally come out. We may have the best intentions to say the right thing but if we do not feel it in our hearts then what comes out will most likely be from the heart.

If we keep on putting our feet in and saying the wrong things even though we may not mean to, we will give the impression of upsetting people all the time rather than building them up. That is certainly not where we should be aiming as Christians because God has told us that we should be showing love to our neighbours. If we settle God’s Word in our hearts then the way we act will more likely be in line with Christ’s teachings because that is what is in our hearts. God wants us to know His Word but more importantly He wants us to be able to express His love through what we say. Jesus Christ gave us the example by living the way that He did and saying some pretty amazing things. Not everything was well received because there are people out there who did not want to hear the truth because they were avoiding it at all costs!

When we show honesty with God through being more open with Him and keeping in constant contact with Him, then we will fill our hearts with His love. It is then that love that will come out of our mouths and also through our actions. When we keep God in our hearts, He will shine through the way that we live and the way that we talk… we then become effective witnesses for Him and He can use us more.

Points to Ponder:
What do you think is in your heart?

Are you letting God’s love shine through?