2022-04-10
Matthew 12:34 NCV
When Mary Southerland came down with a raging fever, her doctor suspected viral meningitis. In the course of examining her, he checked the colour of her tongue. Mary was puzzled. Why did that matter? The doctor told her that the tongue can actually tell us a lot about our health. And a similar idea applies to our spiritual health.
The Bible tells us, ‘The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart. Good people have good things in their hearts, and so they say good things. But evil people have evil in their hearts, so they say evil things’ (v.34-35 NCV). Our heart, our attitude, our outlook, and our temperament are all reflected by our tongue through the words we speak and the way we say them.
Mary Southerland wrote: ‘The tongue is a spiritual thermometer that reflects the condition of the heart… Words are power tools that can build… encourage… destroy and cause confusion. We have all been hurt and even defeated by words spoken in anger or words rising out of a wounded heart… If my words are boastful, my heart is insecure. If my words are filthy, my heart is impure and if my words are critical, my heart is filled with pride and anger… Solomon said, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11 KJV)… The right word, spoken at the right time and in the right way can bring order in the midst of confusion and light on a very dark path. “Good people know the right thing to say” (Proverbs 10:32 NCV). God gives us spiritual “radar” so we can assess a situation and speak the right word for that circumstance. We just need to check the “radar screen” before we speak.’
Matt 21:1-16; Ps 118:19-29
Matteus 12:34 NLV
Toe Mary Southerland ‘n vreeslike koors ontwikkel het, het haar dokter vermoed dat sy virale meningitis opgedoen het. ‘Hoe lank het jy al die soliede wit laag op jou tong?’ het hy gevra. Die dokter het voortgegaan: ‘Die gesondheid van die tong is ‘n baie sterk aanduiding van die gesondheid van die hele liggaam.’
Geestelik gesproke is dieselfde beginself op ons van toepassing. ‘…Waar die hart van vol is, loop die mond van oor. ‘n Goeie mens bring uit die oorvloed goeie dinge in sy hart goeie dinge te voorskyn en ‘n slegte mens bring uit die oorvloed slegte dinge in sy hart die slegte te voorskyn’ (verse 34-35 NLV)
Southerland gaan voort: ‘Die tong is ‘n geestelike termometer wat die toestand van die hart reflekteer. Woorde is kragtige gereedskap wat kan opbou en bemoedig, of kan afbreek en verwarring kan saai. Ons is al almal deur woorde wat in woede of uit ‘n gewonde hart gespreek is, seergemaak of selfs oorwin. As ek met my woorde spog, is my hart onseker. As my woorde vuil is, is my hart onrein en as my woorde krities is, is my hart met trots en woede gevul.
Salomo het gesê: ‘Woorde op die regte tyd gesê, is soos goue appels in ‘n silwer houer’ (Spreuke 25:11 NLV). Die regte woord, wat op die regte tyd en op die regte manier gespreek word, kan orde te midde van verwarring en lig op ‘n baie donker pad, meebring. ‘Die regverdige weet wat die gepaste dinge is om te sê…’ (Spreuke 10:32 NLV). God gee vir ons geestelike ‘radar’ sodat ons ‘n situasie kan oorweeg en die regte woord vir daardie omstandighede kan spreek. Ons moet net eers die ‘radarskerm’ raadpleeg voordat ons praat.’
Sielskos: Matt 21:1-16; Ps 118:19-29
Matthew 12:34 NCV
When Mary Southerland came down with a raging fever, her doctor suspected viral meningitis. “How long have you had the solid white coating on your tongue?” he asked. Mary was puzzled. Why did that matter? The doctor continued, “The health of the tongue is a very strong indicator of the health of the entire body.”
And spiritually speaking, the same principle applies. “The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart. Good people have good things in their hearts… so they say good things… evil people have evil in their hearts, so they say evil things” (vv. 34-35 NCV). The problem isn’t the tongue itself; it’s more serious. The problem lies in your heart, your attitude, your outlook, and your temperament.
Southerland continues: “The tongue is a spiritual thermometer that reflects the condition of the heart… Words are power tools that can build… encourage… destroy and cause confusion. We have all been hurt and even defeated by words spoken in anger or words rising out of a wounded heart… If my words are boastful, my heart is insecure. If my words are filthy, my heart is impure and if my words are critical, my heart is filled with pride and anger…
Solomon said, ‘A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver’ (Proverbs 25:11 KJV)… The right word, spoken at the right time and in the right way can bring order in the midst of confusion and light on a very dark path. ‘Good people know the right thing to say’ (Proverbs 10:32 NCV). God gives us spiritual ‘radar’ so we can assess a situation and speak the right word for that circumstance. We just need to check the ‘radar screen’ before we speak.”
Soul food: Matt 21:1-16; Ps 118:19-29
2022-04-09
Ezekiel 36:26 NIV
When you have been hurt, it’s easy to put up barriers. But be careful – a protective shell can turn into a “heart of stone”: resistant, unreceptive, impenetrable even to God.
One Christian author writes: “The only thing more painful, and with… more serious ramifications than a broken heart, is a frozen one… Paul warns us [about]… allowing our hearts to harden. ‘They are darkened in their understanding… separated from the life of God… due to… hardening of their hearts’ (Ephesians 4:18 NIV). A soft heart is not weak or naive. To the contrary, wisdom, experience, and faith make for a strong heart, weathered by compassion and seasoned with mercy. A hardened heart is not protected, it’s merely encased in injury, and it is painfully obvious to everyone but you…
After a weekend that felt like one painful test after another, I called my best friend in tears. ‘Why won’t this end? How strong does God want me to be? I can’t take it anymore!’ Being a godly woman… she replied, ‘Perhaps it’s the other way around. You have been strong enough. God wants your heart to be soft and open.’ I hadn’t thought of it that way.
In response to heartbreak, betrayal, or shame, it is… easy to develop a heart of stone. We think this will protect us from… more pain. The problem with stone is… it feels nothing – no pain, but no love. It is a trap that feels like self-preservation, but it is actually self-destruction. [God] wants to give you a heart of flesh. With His love you can emerge from a painful season of loss with a heart that is yielding, porous, and ready to receive the gifts He has… for you.”
Soul food: Lev 15-17; Luke 22:54-62; Ps 25:1-7; Pro 10:1
Ezekiel 36:26 NIV
When we’ve been hurt, it’s natural that we’d try to put up barriers to protect ourselves. But we need to be careful that our protective shell doesn’t turn into a ‘heart of stone’ that’s resistant, unmoved, and doesn’t even let God in.
Author Kristen Armstrong writes: ‘The only thing more painful, and with… more serious ramifications than a broken heart, is a frozen one…. Paul warns us [about] allowing our hearts to harden. “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts” (Ephesians 4:18 NIV). A soft heart is not weak or naive. To the contrary, wisdom, experience, and faith make for a strong heart, weathered by compassion and seasoned with mercy. A hardened heart is not protected, it’s merely encased in injury.’
A hardened heart makes us immune to God’s promptings. We lose compassion for the needs He’s trying to show us. We miss opportunities to make a difference in the lives of those around us because our hardened hearts won’t allow us to be moved by feelings of sympathy. We can’t empathise with those who are hurting. God softens our hearts with love.
He might allow us to go through a season of testing, and while we may see it as nothing but a struggle, He sees it as an opportunity to break through the heart of stone and replace it with one that’s pliant, tender, and ready to respond to Him. Kristen continues: ‘[God] wants to give you a heart of flesh. With His love you can emerge from a painful season of loss with a heart that is yielding, porous, and ready to receive the gifts He has… for you.’
Lev 15 -17; Luke 22:54-62; Ps 25:1-7; Pro 10:1
