my treasury

A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.    Luke 6:43-45

 

Jesus’ words here resonate with me. I like what he’s saying. Good fruit. Bad fruit. It makes sense and I’m in agreement (as if it matters that I agree). I like the language of a good person and an evil person. Surely, I am a good person…

 

I know I have things to work on and certainly all of my “fruit” isn’t good, but most of it is, right? This particular passage doesn’t cause me too much concern until I get to the end. I’m feeling pretty good about it and then I read these words:

 

What you say flows from what is in your heart.

 

I say a lot of things I don’t like to hear myself saying. I say a lot of things I regret. I speak and the words reveal my selfishness, my anger, my pettiness. Perhaps these words cut particularly deep in light of my recent need to seek forgiveness from my son for words I shouldn’t have said. Is anything harder than going to your own child and admitting wrong and seeking forgiveness from them?

 

What you say flows from what is in your heart. It is all too telling—these words I speak. And I don’t like the ramifications. I like to dismiss things I say. I like to excuse careless words.

 

I didn’t really mean it.

 

I’m just tired right now.

 

You shouldn’t take things so personally.

 

That sounded better in my head.

 

You just took that the wrong way.

 

The list goes on and on, but the reality is far more simple: what I say flows out of what is in my heart. And my heart is my treasury. It reveals what I truly value. Unfortunately, what I usually value turns out to be me and mine and not much else. My words betray me. In subtle ways they reveal that even the good I do is small in comparison to the treasury of my heart, which is often being drawn to things of this world and things of my gain and things of anything but what is good.

 

But we are not without hope! Thankfully, we have a God who rescues. A God who changes hearts. May these Psalms can be your prayer for a changed heart and lips that reveal a treasury of God, not ourselves.

 

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

                                                            Psalm 139:23-24

 

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

                                                            Psalm 19:14

 

may God give you…

This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy.
  We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  May God give you grace and peace.   1 Thessalonians 1:1

 

“Dear John…”

 

That’s how we open letters. That’s the way in our current culture we start speaking to someone in written form. And that’s if we are being formal. Or, if we are really being formal and writing to someone we don’t know we might throw out the old standby: “To whom it may concern…” But we don’t start letters like they did in the days of the early church. Maybe that’s partly because we aren’t writing the very words of God by the inspiration of the Spirit. That’s definitely some of it, but I think there is also just something to the time and culture that had a different idea of how to start a letter to another person. The way Paul starts his letters to the churches always seems to carry such weight and insight. His letter to the Thessalonians is no exception.

 

May God give you grace and peace.

 

We don’t talk like this to each other. We don’t proclaim or “bless” one another with this type of language today; at least not most of us. Probably due to the rise of formalized, institutional church and the fact that we live in Christian cultures that have lost some of the belief in the power of words.

 

The power of blessing someone with words—or cursing them—is found throughout the Scriptures. From Jacob stealing Esau’s blessing (which had simply been spoken words) to King Nebuchadnezzar’s speaking of curse upon himself when he took the credit from God, words hold powerful sway in the lives of people throughout the Bible. I don’t know that we see it quite that way today.

 

It seems the only way we see the church giving preference to words these days is within the movements that have turned this idea into little more than an almost magical way of getting what we want. Say the right things, use the right words, and God will give you what you want. But that’s not what it shows us in the Bible. When it comes to getting what we want from God we can certainly twist the idea of words being powerful and influential. Most of the time in the Bible when we see words being most powerfully, it has to do with how they are spoken over others. The whole idea of blessing others gives a great deal of weight to words and speaking.

 

God himself leads us in this when he brings out a priestly blessing for the priests to speak over the people:

 

Then the Lord said to Moses, ”Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:

 `May the Lord bless you
  and protect you.
 May the Lord smile on you
  and be gracious to you.
 May the Lord show you his favor
  and give you his peace.’

                                    Numbers 6:22-27

 

God is giving power and value to the words we speak over one another. And Paul is following suit in his letters to the churches.

 

May God give you grace and peace.

 

It’s really like a spoken prayer for others. Paul is calling for grace and peace to be experienced by his readers. What would it look like for us to pray this way for one another? To pray with the belief that our words of blessing spoken over one another are powerful?

 

I have to admit, there is a skeptical side of me. A side that cringes at the idea of making this sound magical or that gives us the power or recognition. Make no mistake, this is not a call for us to embrace the power of our own voice, or to distract from the fact that anything we say or do only finds value in as much as God himself steps in and makes it happen. I just have to acknowledge that the God-followers of Scripture recognized that speaking words of intent and blessing over one another was something to cherish and practice. Perhaps it’s time to reclaim this way of speaking—this way or praying for one another.

 

redefining freedom

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”             Galatians 5:13-14

 

Over time we have this way—as people and cultures—of redefining what words mean. Based on how we use them and what we attach to them we can take a word and narrow its meaning. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In some ways it’s helpful. If words have a narrow scope of use and meaning then we are much less likely to be misunderstood. But when we come to Scripture this can leave us confused or disconnected. After all, God’s inspired words were written to at a specific time and in specific places. They were written out of (and in to) cultures and people and circumstances. Words had certain meanings.

 

Add to this our need to translate it into our own languages and it’s easy to understand, from a very practical standpoint, our need to tread carefully and think critically about what we read; what God intended. Not to mention that we are speaking of a living word—God’s very words—a message that will forever challenge and inform our thinking, emotions and ultimately our hearts. We alter the meaning of words and so comes the challenge of hearing—not just reading—what God is saying when he uses words that we use today, but uses them with a different perspective.

 

The word I’m mulling over today is the word freedom. As an American I can see that we have a fairly weird relationship with this word. Just short of obsessive, I would say. And the way we like to embrace freedom is not at all the way Paul utilizes it in his letter to the Galatians. For us as Americans—and truthfully for many people living across the globe as well—freedom means many things that contradict the way Paul (and ultimately God) understands the word.

 

For us, freedom often incites visions of doing what I want and being able to simply play and relax. Freedom implies not being told what to do and not doing anything I don’t enjoy. Freedom can mean options upon options and never being given less than what I choose. Freedom can easily be seen as a soaring above and beyond the kinds of responsibilities that just seem to weigh us down. Don’t get me wrong, freedom isn’t all bad in our current way of thinking. It can also mean fair treatment for all, equal access, a fight against prejudice and so on. But none of this is what Paul focuses on when he speaks of freedom.

 

“But you have been called to live in freedom…”

 

That sounds so great! Let’s just stop there. Time to start the party. I hear the echoing cry of Braveheart, “Freedom!!!!….” But look at what Paul says about our freedom:

 

Don’t use it to satisfy your sinful nature.

 

Use your freedom to serve and love one another.

 

Don’t make your freedom in Christ about yourself. Make it about being what others need. Make it about living for the good of another instead of always thinking in terms of self-preservation and self-promotion. Is it just me or does this sound more like work and less like freedom?

 

Serve? Focus on other people’s needs? It’s counterintuitive to see this as freedom. And yet, living without always worrying about self, living without the tyranny of pursuing material gain, living out of a deep interest in others is freedom. It is stepping out from under the slavery to self that so quickly and continually seeks to entangle us.

 

Just last night I sat on my porch with a friend and talked about the struggles that go into being in community with others. Let’s be honest—being in relationship with people is not always a walk in the park. It’s not always fun; it’s not always easy. People are messy! Freedom feels like it would be a shedding of the duties of loving others. Freedom feels like it should involve no longer considering others, just worrying about our own needs and interests. But it doesn’t work that way.

 

Freedom is found in giving rather than hoarding. It’s found in serving rather than promoting my own needs. True freedom is found in being in relationship with those who are also seeking the freedom found in loving well. This is what it looks like to truly be free in Christ: to be open to the changing of hearts that he is doing. Ultimately, freedom that comes from Christ is a freedom from guilt and shame, a freedom from selfishness and the fear of being forgotten. So we are free to focus on others. Free to love them knowing that we are already loved perfectly ourselves.

 

It may require redefining the word a bit, but I think it’s high time we reclaim freedom and bring it in line with what God thinks of when he offers it to us.

 

words to offend

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.      Luke 14:25-27 

 

If these words of Jesus don’t make you a bit uncomfortable then perhaps nothing will. These are harsh words—really harsh. And I think they are meant to offend, meant to make us uncomfortable. Jesus goes on after this to talk about counting the cost of following him and so I think this is an intentional lead in to ensure that we can say with Peter that we have left everything.

 

So I say again, Jesus is intending to offend here. He is looking to find our limits, our boundaries. So he uses words like hate and references our family. He speaks of carrying our own cross; an instrument of torture and a curse. But he is not just trying to offend, he is also speaking truth. He is tipping his hand, letting us in on the secret: following Jesus leads to abundant life, but it does not lead by the high or easy way. It does not follow the path of the casual or the fair-weather. It is real, it is raw, and it demands first place. No exceptions. Not for family or for self; not for reputation or pride. First or nothing.

 

This is something I love about Jesus. He pulls no punches. He isn’t selling anything. This is just how it is. You don’t need to sell life. You don’t need to sell peace. You don’t need to sell real connection with the real God. These are the kinds of things that self themselves. But Jesus doesn’t want us to start following without getting it; without understanding that the price is high and the life comes at the death of all else.

 

And I think this is where the church has failed. The church-turned-amusement-park where counting numbers is king and being cool and hip is…well cool and hip. I’m not saying we shouldn’t want as many as possible to come and join us. We should. We have the message of life after all! And I’m not saying we shouldn’t be cool and try to connect culturally and socially. Again, we most definitely should. I am sick of the perception that in order to be a Christian you have to check your clue at the door and become socially irrelevant. I don’t think that’s necessary. In fact I’d go so far as to say it’s ignoring an essential part of the gospel all together. We are expected to be in touch and relevant.

 

But the church today has shied away from speaking harsh words, even though they are true. We’ve bought in to this mentality that the world is right (at least the American world) and being politically correct really is most important.

 

Now I will say, not all churches are like this. This is a generalization. I am thrilled to belong to one that isn’t this way. And I’ve led churches that strived not to be this way. But I’ve also walked away from ones that wouldn’t speak the harsh words. The disappointing truth however is that far too many are this way. And with so many churches that only want to woo and never rebuke, with so many that only want to attract but never hold accountable, more and more young believers get left in the lurch. It feels like a bait and switch to only speak lovely and lilting words and then try to live that out in a harsh and unforgiving world. It doesn’t work.

 

And yet somehow we have sacrificed harsh words that help people know that being a disciple of Jesus is hard. Maybe we do it for popularity or because of a fear of rejection. What ever the reason, all too often we as the church we have done this.

 

There is a multitude of loving and gracious and hopeful words in the Bible. And I love them. I cling to them. But they have to be balanced with the harsh reality that truly following Jesus is only done by making him first. Following Jesus means we die, everyday to everything. Following Jesus means there is only Jesus and those are harsh words.

 

God, we need strength for these kinds of words. We need courage to speak these words to others. And we need eyes to see where in our lives we still put ourselves first. Help us make you first.

 

 

words to practice

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.         Matthew 7:24-27

Sometimes I wonder about how well I’m putting his words into practice. Sometimes I wonder: where is my house being built?

 

Sure, I’ve got some of his words down. I don’t murder and I try not to hate. I don’t want to judge people and I am faithful to my wife. But those are the “easy” ones. I say easy because I’m just not prone to committing those as much. But what about the other words? The words about not worrying and not seeking honor for myself? What about the words regarding faith and not doubting?

 

And there are those words about where our heart is and seeking God’s kingdom first. And don’t get me started on those words about being last instead of first and being great by serving. Yes, sometimes I wonder about how well I’m putting his words into practice. Sometimes I wonder about where I’m building my house.

 

Jesus makes it pretty clear. Sometimes life is going to flood. The rains are going to come, the water is going to rise, and just like with that first, earthly flood back in Noah’s day, the waters are going to wash away everything that isn’t as it should be.

Jesus says that if we hear his words and put them into practice it’s like building our house on a strong foundation—a rock foundation. Those rains will come and they will wash away a great deal, but not what we’ve built on his words. Not what we are living out.

 

Following Jesus isn’t just about knowing stuff that’s in the Bible and it isn’t just about singing songs on Sundays. It’s about living out his words. And I like the way Jesus puts it. He says we need to put his words into practice. Practice. That’s a hopeful word because I’ve tried to live his words out enough times to know I don’t do it well and I don’t have any of it mastered. But I can practice.

 

Even as I write these words, though, I’m aware of how often I’m the foolish man. I hear the words and then go off and do my own thing. I build my house on sand instead of putting his words into practice. Who would have thought that the call to love your neighbor as yourself would have been the hardest call?

 

And yet, I will continue to practice, continue to build my house, continue to seek the rock foundation.

his words

I love the rain. I love the heavy, hard rain that is accompanied by thunder and lightening. I love the way it smells, I love the way it sounds, I love to just watch the wind and rain blow. And I love the green that seems to follow, especially in spring. A good rain just seems to make all the green even more green. So as I sat watching the rain this morning I began to think about its effects on the earth and it reminded me of this place in Isaiah that compares the rain to the effects of God and his Word.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11

 

I wonder how often I actually open and read God’s Word with this much expectancy. I wonder how often I actually anticipate that as I read it is like the rain pouring down and making green.

 

I see the words, I hear them. They are God’s words and as they enter my heart and mind they are accomplishing his purpose. They are, in a sense, making green and bringing growth.

 

Just like the rains to the earth God’s words may not bring instant growth. It may take time. But as I read I should remember the promise, “[My Word] will not return to me empty, but will accomplish…and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

 

What’s the purpose today? What’s the purpose of what I’m reading? What does God desire it to accomplish?

 

So I will read, and anticipate. I will be open and listen. And I will watch—maybe not today—but in the days to come, I will watch God’s purposes take root and grow and make green where only dryness now exists.

 

Will you look at his words today? Will you read as if they really are his words from his mouth? Will you believe that even if it doesn’t stir you in the moment, even if it does ring with clarity and hope today, will you believe that those very words will accomplish something in you? That they will achieve a purpose?

sticks and stones

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

If only that were true. Anyone who has lived long enough to be the recipient of hurtful words—and that’s pretty much anyone older than a day—knows that words can and do hurt. And they often hurt far worse and for far longer than sticks and stones would. I’ve received hurtful words in my life that I would gladly trade for getting knocked upside the head with a rock!

Words are powerful. They speak, not to the body, but to the soul. They lodge themselves in our minds and hearts and are not easily—if ever—removed once they’ve been spoken.

The wonderful thing is that this is not only true of hateful or cruel words. Gracious ones are powerful too. Proverbs 16 says that gracious words are sweet and healing.

Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.         Proverbs 16:24

 

Sweet to the soul. It’s amazing the way words can affect us like nothing else. Words are so incredibly powerful. They can tear down or they can build up. The problem is that we typically use our words for both.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?            James 3:9-11

 

This message from James 3 is very familiar to those of us who have studied the Bible much or been around the church for long. And that may make it all the more tragic.

We know our mouths are a problem. We know that we scream harsh words at those we love. We know we mutter gossipy words about those we envy or dislike. We know we speak careless words without thought or regard for those they wound. We know we speak the worst of words under our breath assuming none will hear. We use words as we shouldn’t and they injure. They injure the targets of our words, and they injure us as the speaker of the words. And yet still we speak these words.

 

Jesus said that the real problem isn’t the mouth though—it’s the heart. When we speak hateful, hurtful, tearing down words, it’s a heart problem.

We need to commit our mouths to the way and heart of God, but not just our mouths. Our hearts as well. Until I can learn to love others well, I will only be able to control my words for so long. Eventually my heart will catch up to my mouth and over take it again.

So today I’m praying with the Psalmist:

 

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

 

And I’m praying to let go of the hurtful words that I still hear in my head. Words I still replay from times long past. Words spoken or written by others; words that have hurt and torn down; words that have had longer lasting pain than any stick or stone ever would.

 It’s true that words can hurt, but it’s equally true that they can heal. We carry a great and mighty power right on the tip of our tongues.

words

Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God. 
Your sins have been your downfall!

Take words with you
and return to the LORD.
Say to him:
“Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.

                                      Hosea 14: 1-2

 

Words are powerful. We know this because of the emotions they evoke within us.

If someone says, “I love you.” Our own heart is stirred. If another says, “You have done well. We need you around here.” Our confidence soars. “I am disappointed in you.” This brings its own powerful influence to our spirit.

 

Words aren’t only powerful from human to human, but also, apparently between us and God.

 

Last night while tucking my daughter in to bed I asked her if she wanted to pray. She responded by saying she didn’t know if she really wanted to, after all, “God already knows it all.” Haven’t we all been down this road before? Why do we spend time exerting the effort to pray and speak and explain so many things to God, all of which He already knows?

My wife’s response to our daughter was so wise: “Do you know that I love you?”

To which my daughter responded, “Yes!”

“But don’t you still want to hear me say it?”

Of course she does. We all do.

Words are powerful. Words are significant. Somehow, within the fabric of our being, within the intricacies of being made in the image of the Father, words hold great sway with us. And apparently with God as well.

In Hosea 14:1-2 we are called upon to first of all recognize our downfall and our downfall is us. Or more precisely: our sins. So we need to take ownership of this. When we have wronged God it is true that there is grace for us. It is true that God’s mercies are new every morning. But we need to take ownership of the fact that it’s our sin. We need to Own our sinfulness without letting it own us. Okay, that’s a topic for another day. But look at what comes next:

 

“Take words with you and return to the Lord.”

 

God wants to hear our words. He wants to hear us say it. He wants to hear us seek forgiveness.

Isn’t it tempting to think, “Well, I’m sorry and God knows my heart. Let’s move on.” And it’s true! He does know if we are really sorry, really repentant. And it certainly would be easier to just move on, wouldn’t it? But maybe that’s part of the point. Saying the words takes some humility. It takes some willingness to own up to our fault. It shows a level of priority to the relationship we have with God. It says this is important enough to me to say the difficult things.

 

God cares about our words.

 

So when we go to him, whether in times of reconciliation, in times of daily devotion, or in times of crisis and care, let’s pay attention to the words we take with us.

 

What’s in my heart that I haven’t spoken to Jesus yet?

What words do I need to take with me as I return to God today?

Thankful words?

Confessing words?

Angry words?

Loving words?

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