ThreeSixFive: Let’s Talk About Careless Words

There is no better judge of a person’s heart than the words he allows to come forth from his mouth. Just like good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce bad fruit, so does the mouth reveal the heart’s condition.

I remember one night I got so angry at God and what He had allowed me to go through that I said “I hate you God.” I didn’t even feel bad at the moment I said it. Then one day I came across Matthew 12:36 which states “Men will have to give an account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken.” 

The good man speaks good things out of the good stored up in him. 

So , it’s not saying that you are bad if you speak bad things, but simply there are some ungodly things in your heart that we need to cleanse and only God can do the cleansing. 

You see, the only reason why I said I hated God was because I was angry that things weren’t going my way. I was so angry that God allowed all these bad things to happen to me that I resented Him. I needed to cleanse the thoughts that my plan was greater than His, or idolizing things God didn’t want for me. If I trusted God with all my heart, I wouldn’t have been upset at Him for not allowing or allowing somethings to happen in my life . 

Everyday we should ask God to search our hearts. Everyday we should be at our father’s feet giving Him all of our cares, worries, issues and idols. If we put everything in God’s hands, there would be no room left for anger .

When I read Matthew 12:36 it put a fear in my heart and I wanted to take back every word I ever spoke that was not of God but thank God for Jesus . Thank God that we can repent. 

I urge you to repent of any idle words or careless word you ever spoke and be intentional this year of the things you say. Words are powerful, and the things you say can affect you as well as other people. 

Proverbs 18:21 Life and death are in the power of the tongue. 

Let’s be intentional about how We speak over ourselves, others and God. 

ThreeSixFive: God always shows up

Today I am reminded of how good God is and that He will never leave us nor forsake us. 

 I was on my way to work with my husband and all of a sudden on a super busy highway our truck stopped running. My husband quickly maneuvered to the shoulder of the highway. We could not get the truck to start and all of a sudden his mom appears in front of us in her car. She was on her way to  get her hair done and she, by the grace of God , drove past us at the right time. She was able to help us and was able to get to work at a reasonable time. 

Be strong and courageous.Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6 

God will never leave us without help, and even when it seems like He did, He has help on the way. If it isn’t good, it isn’t over. 

Remember that God never promised things will be easy or we will have a great life , but he promised these things amongst many more: 

He will never leave us Deuteronomy 31:6

All things will work together for the good  Romans 8:28

Eternal life John 3:16

Do not let these temporary trials of life get the best of you. Be strong !

Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” … until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. Joshua 1:9 

ThreeSixFive: Treat others how you Want to be treated.

Ever since I could remember, I have always been taught to treat others the way you want to be treated, but did you know this comes from biblical principals? In fact, we see in Luke 6:31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

I work in a customer service job and have worked in customer service jobs since I began working at the age of 17. There was one instance where I used to work at a hotel as the Front Desk Agent. Working the front desk was one of my absolute favorite jobs. That job challenged my people skills and allowed me to meet people from all over the world. Weekends were particularly busy especially when we had conventions or large events. One day I was working by myself at the front during a large event and this woman asked me about the printer in the business center. The printer was down and there was no way for guests to print. I initially simply told her that I was sorry because the phones were ringing off the hook, the line was beginning to get long and I did not have time to help her. She was also extremely needy her entire stay. The woman would not budge and I knew I had to either come up with a solution or the situation would get a lot worse. Here I go.. I put the entire desktop on the counter and turned it around so she could use it. Then I went over to the other computer and helped the other guests while she turned my front desk into her personal office for a few minutes. I was totally not supposed to do this.

She then printed out what she needed to print and I guess she sensed that I was flustered, so she told me thank you and as I was situating the computer back to it’s spot she said she writes books on customer service for a living and I went above and beyond and came up with a solution to fix the issue. She then told me how appreciative she was and gave me $100.

As I accepted her kind gesture, I still felt convicted for not even wanting to help her to begin with or feeling like she was asking for too much. I was reminded that we should come to serve as Jesus said in Matthew 20: 28.

Matthew 20: 28 Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

There was another instance when I was in bible school. As a part of the program, students serve in different departments during the school year. During the retreats the school would have, sometimes we had to be the ones to clean the bathrooms and clean the entire campus for the next group of people that bought tickets to the retreats. One particular day I was on bathroom duty, and we got to one stall that was a complete massacre. It was feces spread all over the enter toilet, the toilet seat and everywhere you could ever imagine.

We all looked at it, and simply said “No.” No one was cleaning it, and we did not care at all if we were going to get in trouble in anyway. Then, there was this one young lady. She was always known to have the biggest smile, she was always so helpful and she was always just a joy to be around. Her name was Olive, and she heard everyone from a distance making a big deal of this bathroom stall. She said “I will do it,” before she even saw the toilet! I watched her as she walked in there, did not grunt, complain, or say one word. She cleaned that entire stall. Probably cleaner than any other toilet that day and it not only had me floored but it humbled me and convicted me.

Now, I do not know if I will do that even after seeing how much of a servant she acted like that day and the lesson it taught me, but it showed me what a true servant does.

We are to serve without expecting a return. Serve without question and minimal complaints (because we are all human.) We are to be ready to help and treat people better than we want to be treated.

ThreeSixFive: A Word on Wisdom Part 2

The bible says, Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.This struck me when I read it in Proverbs. The book of Proverbs contains a lot of wisdom essential to moving forward in Christ.

Complacency means you are content or in the Latin, “very pleased” with where you are. A lot of times a complacent person neglects duties and is pleased with being stagnant with where he/she is. When you are complacent you reject wisdom and submit to a life of being a fool.Complacency can be the death of a powerful christian, and this is what the devil wants. Sometimes the devil makes us feel comfortable because he does not want us to move forward and not only stop us from growing in Christ, but stop us from fulfilling our purpose as well.

Proverbs3: 19 By wisdom the lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens.

This is why we need to remain in the word, and learn as much as we can. The devil knows how dangerous a wise christian can be, and wants you to remain complacent.

Rubies are compared to women in the bible, but it is also compared to wisdom. So as women and men of God,we need to be wise and discerning. Proverbs 3:5 Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.

You cannot be complacent with where you stand in your walk with Christ, grow so that you can feed on the meat of the word , not just the milk.

ThreeSixeFive: A Word on Wisdom.

How does one obtain wisdom ? 

The Bible is extremely clear when it says , if we ask for wisdom,  He will give it to us.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

James 1:5 NIV

Wisdom is needed to walk this Christian walk especially in a world not made for you. 

I encourage you to read Proverbs 1:20-33 , this is a warning against rejecting wisdom. 

In a world like today’s world where only half of the truth is said on social media and news platforms, I urge you to seek God for wisdom because He will make it plain and He will clear any confusion you might have. 

The word says complacency kills fools. Do not be complacent in your search for truth and knowledge. God and His word is the root of all truth and knowledge. Seek God daily on that and watch Him work and reveal. 

Pray for our President tonight as his political standing gets voted on tonight. Ask God for wisdom and truth to be revealed.