You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12:34
For the longest time I just thought this verse was talking about cursing and saying mean things to people. But, I read this the other day and the second sentence struck me in a different way. I think when Jesus said this He was talking about more than just dropping the f-bomb or saying something nasty about someone behind there back.
I think He was talking about our everyday conversations. What is the first thing we talk about when we meet someone new? A band that we our currently enjoying? The great movie we saw the weekend before? Jesus tells us right here that whatever our heart is overflowing with is what will come out of our mouths. You'd think that if we loved Christ as much as we say we do, we would talk about Him a whole lot more. If His grace is everything that we claim it to be then we should be shouting it from the rooftops. It's my fervent hope and prayer that Christ will always be spilling over the walls of my heart and ready to leap from the tip of my tongue.
For the longest time I just thought this verse was talking about cursing and saying mean things to people. But, I read this the other day and the second sentence struck me in a different way. I think when Jesus said this He was talking about more than just dropping the f-bomb or saying something nasty about someone behind there back.
I think He was talking about our everyday conversations. What is the first thing we talk about when we meet someone new? A band that we our currently enjoying? The great movie we saw the weekend before? Jesus tells us right here that whatever our heart is overflowing with is what will come out of our mouths. You'd think that if we loved Christ as much as we say we do, we would talk about Him a whole lot more. If His grace is everything that we claim it to be then we should be shouting it from the rooftops. It's my fervent hope and prayer that Christ will always be spilling over the walls of my heart and ready to leap from the tip of my tongue.
So, this weekend I'm going to Chicago for the first time ever. I am so excited. I've always had a desire to visit this city and I can't wait to finally get there. I'm going to watch the Blue Brothers and listen to a lot of Wilco to get in the mood. If anyone has been to Chicago and has any suggestions of places I should visit please let me know because right now my site-seeing list is pretty much a blank slate. Sorry if this blog wasn't deep enough for everyone. I just realized my past few blogs have been pretty serious so I thought this one could be more light-hearted. I'll leave you with this:
I overheard two people debating the existence of God tonight. The man who was arguing on the "anti-God" side used this as one of his reasons why God didn't exist: "You can't 'hear' God". This got me thinking and I realized that I had never actually "heard" God either. The question is, "Is that a good reason to believe that God doesn't exist?" and the answer is "No."
God is like our heavenly pen pal. Allow me to explain: Many people have pen pals that they have never met in person due to distance or whatever else. Yet, they believe that this person exists. The letters recieved are proof of this person's existence. So, our letters from God are His word along with how He touches our hearts. Instead of a state or an ocean separating us from God it is our sin that is the barrier. We've lost contact with Him in that sense but we keep holding on and hoping for that day when we will meet Him face to face.
So, basically, if you believe that never hearing someone is proof that they don't exist then you'd better use that logic when it comes to your pen pal. I don't know how theologically correct this idea is but it makes sense to me. Much love---Ben
God is like our heavenly pen pal. Allow me to explain: Many people have pen pals that they have never met in person due to distance or whatever else. Yet, they believe that this person exists. The letters recieved are proof of this person's existence. So, our letters from God are His word along with how He touches our hearts. Instead of a state or an ocean separating us from God it is our sin that is the barrier. We've lost contact with Him in that sense but we keep holding on and hoping for that day when we will meet Him face to face.
So, basically, if you believe that never hearing someone is proof that they don't exist then you'd better use that logic when it comes to your pen pal. I don't know how theologically correct this idea is but it makes sense to me. Much love---Ben
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."-Jesus Christ
This passage has been on my mind and heart for the past few months. It's something that I keep coming back to in my life. A lot of times I think we pray to God, in hopes that He will just fix our problems. We hardly ever just come to Him. That's what Jesus is commanding us in Matthew 11:28-30. We get so caught up in thinking we know the solution to our problems and asking God to provide it when in acutality He is the solution. Our hearts will find peace if we just confide in Him. This is something I struggle with tremendously. So often, I just want God to fix the things that are wrong in my life and rarely do I really seek His comfort. I'm doing a lot better with that now but it will definitely take some getting used to. I think it would do all of us a lot of good to just pray for His peace and let Him do what He does best...be God.
This passage has been on my mind and heart for the past few months. It's something that I keep coming back to in my life. A lot of times I think we pray to God, in hopes that He will just fix our problems. We hardly ever just come to Him. That's what Jesus is commanding us in Matthew 11:28-30. We get so caught up in thinking we know the solution to our problems and asking God to provide it when in acutality He is the solution. Our hearts will find peace if we just confide in Him. This is something I struggle with tremendously. So often, I just want God to fix the things that are wrong in my life and rarely do I really seek His comfort. I'm doing a lot better with that now but it will definitely take some getting used to. I think it would do all of us a lot of good to just pray for His peace and let Him do what He does best...be God.
