Ah, That Tongue Thing Again

Today’s message comes to us from Psalms and Proverbs 15. Psalms 15:1 Asks the question: Who shall be welcomed and able to dwell with God, in His presence; and who will be able to walk in the power of the Kingdom of Heaven, or the Holy Spirit? We have a whole list that begins in verse 2, and ends in verse 5.

“The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.” (NIV) *Most other versions do not include the word poor in that statement about lending money without interest. Also, that word despise means to avoid, in this sense. God hates the sin; but He loves the sinner. However, we can fall into some dire straits by hangin’ out with the wrong crowd; and by letting the wrong people into our inner circle…*living proof, I am.

When we move on to Proverbs 15, we find all kinds of revelation and admonition about keeping our hearts pure and our speech edifying, and honorable (Eph. 4:29) “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Verse 15:19 addresses sloth. Sloth is laziness. When we get lazy-in doing, in learning, and in being perfected in love, we’re in dangerous territory. Sloth/laziness will immobilize you, imprison you, and incapacitate you. All three of those are interchangeable in order.

I hope this song by MercyMe blesses you today. We don’t have to fall to the circumstances; we can, in Jesus’ Name, overcome them all.

Love you from Cafe du Mondicu

Rule Them, Indeed

First, back to Psalm 2:9 -“Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them into pieces like a potter’s vessel.” If you look at all the nations of the world, all the different cultures, beliefs, religions, standards and boundaries (moral, social, familial, etc.), you’ll see why it’s important that you be able to break them and dash them into pieces.

This verse tells us a couple of things. First, the nations and the ends of the earth are our heritage. That means they can be of benefit to us. We can learn from other cultures, beliefs, and religions. We can also be led astray by them, as the nation of Israel was through intermarriage with people of foreign cultures. (The lands they journeyed through and were supposed to dispossess) Some cultures have very different standards and boundaries, social and familial practices, and some religions are idolatrous, and may even involve witchcraft and sorcery. Some of the ancient religions involved human sacrifice, especially the sacrifice of children. We know that this is not Godly. We also know that some things considered the norm for others, are not going to work for us. Just because a bunch of folks do it, doesn’t make it right; or even beneficial. This is where the rod of iron (Word of God) and dashing things into pieces comes in. The things that are of no use to us, those that will harm us, those that go against God and Godly wisdom, etc., are the things we need to throw out. This works the same way in generational curses. Those things that are/were harmful need to be thrown out and replaced with God’s ways, according to God’s standards and boundaries.

That brings us to Psalm 3:1-7 “Oh, Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.” Have you ever been laughed at by peers because of your faith, or because you wouldn’t do something they thought was o.k. to do? Many will try to tell us that God’s ways are old fashioned, outdated, actually even oppressive and hateful. But God is a shield around us, and the lifter of our heads. It almost always turns out in the end, that obedience to His Word, and sticking to His ways, was the right thing to dos. I say, “almost,” only because some of those results we won’t know until we get to Heaven. Verse 7 of Psalm 3 tells us that God will silence and disarm the enemy. It never fails, when the enemy causes you to doubt or fear, God’s Word will show you the truth, and empower you to stand on the truth; dispelling the fear and the doubt.

Finally, Proverbs 3 gives us a lists of all the benefits we gain from allowing God to teach us, and keeping to His teaching, and keeping His commandments in our hearts. Whenever I read about God’s commandments, I think of Jesus’ words: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Thank you, Casting Crowns, for this inspirational song!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

He Loves You More

eden08122015

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, reminds us that God loves us, and longs for our love and companionship, as much as we do (or should) His.

I began to see God’s way of reaching out to me in the little birds I love so much. I’ve shared some of the funny things that have happened-and I just know He was behind them. Then, there are those quiet interludes of peace. He makes His presence known in so many ways, if we just pay attention-look, listen, and live with our hearts. I believe the best way to cultivate that intimacy with our LORD/Lord is to make time to seek Him; time to be alone with Him.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

Interludes Of Peace

eden08122015

Today’s message from God Calling – A.J. Russell, bids us to protect our peace at all costs. We’re told to stop everything and regain our peace whenever it’s been disturbed. As I read this message, I think about Proverbs 4:23, which tells us to guard our hearts above all else because everything we do flows from it.

I found, some time ago, that little interludes of peace throughout the day help to keep me unruffled. These can include a few minutes of some quiet instrumental music-I love bamboo flute music for calming and refreshing my spirit. I used to take a short 30 minute “awake nap” after work each day. This helped me to switch gears and get back into Mom mode. Of course, an evening drive after dinner, or even a sunset picnic out in a quiet area make for a wonderful interlude of peace. I wrote a song titled “Little Wild Rose,” after a drive in the country with my then husband. See how that works? Creativity is always refreshed after an interlude of peace.

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu

The Other Version

eden08122015

So, I there I was, in the ladies room at the courthouse, when I heard this lady singing, what I thought, at first, was Blessed Assurance. But she sang, “Triple insurance, the Countach is mine…I’m a rich woman, because you crossed the line…I got your mansion, the boat, and the car…Oh, thank you, Jesus, it’s been a good day so far…” I almost laughed out loud, but I managed not too.

I don’t think she knew I was in there, because she went on to pray. “Thank you, Lord, for blessing me so richly today. But, Lord, when you said blessings would overtake me, I sure didn’t think you meant that guy would almost run right over the top of me in that intersection. I’m just glad I had the car in park, or I might have rear ended someone too. I almost choked on my handbag! It was the only thing I could find to stuff in my mouth, so she wouldn’t hear me laughing. OMG!!!!!

Love you from Cafe du Mondieu