Directions in life Part 2

"Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. 25Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. 26Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. 27Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil"   Proverbs 4:25-27. NKJV

We need to watch our mouths - what comes out of them, how we speak to people. Our words can be like an arrow that can seriously wound the hearer. It can kill a friendship with not much chance of a reconciliation. Our tongue can be deceitful or devious and this is where gossip can evolve. We can begin to moan, grumble, criticise and point the finger at others when really, the finger should be pointed at us because of how we have reacted. Changes need to be made.

We need to put boundaries on our mouths and on our desires. Course language and even the odd swear word is not acceptable. We have to re-train ourselves in order to avoid getting side-tracked into unacceptable behaviour. Nothing kills our witness more than this. Let's remind ourselves about what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:29-32:

'Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.  30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  31Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  32And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you'. It couldn't be any plainer.

There is a need to consider where we are going and what we are going to do. When we fall into the trap of grieving the Holy Spirit, we know about it and the feeling is awful guilt. There is a need to copy Jesus. Many of us have made our role model a famous person in the past. However, this will get us nowhere. The only one we should copy is Jesus. We need to live our lives around Him and the more time we spend with Him, the more we will begin to be like Him.

bibleref.com puts it this way:

'This chapter ends with a series of instructions on how to avoid straying into this path of the wicked. Emphasis here is on being deliberate, thoughtful, and careful. Much of the language used involves this concept of paying attention, rather than being careless. Similarly, a person's words and speech should be focused and direct, not manipulative or deceptive. It's notable that Scripture warns against turning from the path of wisdom, regardless of which direction one goes. "Do not swerve to the right or to the left" implies that God's wisdom is already perfect. We can't improve on it, nor can we "do better," even if we're convinced our direction is right' (Proverbs 4:20–27).

And this is your word from Daily Life with Jesus

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

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