Watch Your Tongue

Then Jesus called to the crowds and said, "Listen to what I say and try to understand. The food that you put into your mouth doesn't make you unclean and unfit to worship God. The bad words that come out of your mouth are what make you unclean. Matthew 15:10-11

Wouldn't it be nice if we could make ourselves pure simply by eating the right things? It is hard to eat the right things. But it's a lot harder for most of us to say and do the right things. We have all sorts of problems with our speech: we say too much, we gossip, we lie, we take the Lord's name in vain, we exaggerate, we distort, we slander, we wound, we curse. The list could go on and on because the tongue can get away from us. Part of the problem is that our mouths often let fly what is unredeemed in our hearts. Another part of the problem is that we don't think about what we are going to say before we speak it. Still another part of the problem is that we do think what we would say to wound, hurt, or get back at someone; then, when we are given the opportunity, we say it. Purity is an ongoing struggle. Jesus is saying don't make it so simple, so external, as just a matter of what you eat.

Father,

Forgive me for wanting a cheap, quick fix to the problems of my heart's purity. I want you to redeem my heart. So I commit today to avoid what can pollute, putrefy, and poison my heart toward you and your children, and I ask for the power of the Spirit to help me with this commmitment.

In Jesus' name I ask.
Amen.

We always thank God that you believed the message we preached. It came from him, and it isn't something made up by humans. You accepted it as God's message, and now he is working in you. 1 Thessalonians 2:13