DON’T TRIP OVER YOUR OWN TONGUE!

It is bad to think ill, but it is much worse to speak it, for that implies consent to the evil thought and a willingness to infect others with it. -Henry

Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Psalm 34:14

Boy sometimes I’m just like Andy Griffith, I want to pull the words I just spoke right back into my mouth. Now, I know you’re always perfect with your words and never make a comment out of place but I do and many times, I pay for it for a long time! (Now be honest, you do to…)

Friend, it would do us good to listen twice as much as we speak today. I mean, the Lord did give us two ears and one mouth! If we did, maybe, just maybe we wouldn’t trip over our own tongue as much as we do!

OPEN YOUR LIPS!

The Multitude Wondered, Mary Pondered—but the shepherds went out yonder and shared the Good News of the Gospel!

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. Luke 2:20

            Do you remember when you first got saved, you wanted to tell someone? You couldn’t keep quiet! You had the joy of the Lord deep down in your heart and you had to share it? You had the joy that passes all understanding and you wanted others to know about it as well? I imagine when the shepherds saw the baby Jesus they had to tell it as well! I don’t imagine the shepherds just moseyed back to their field quietly. I imagine they were pretty excited as scripture says, “glorifying and praising God”. I don’t imagine they were whispering, “Praise God”. I imagine they were quite loud as they returned, “Hey, the Messiah is born!” Hey, our Saviour was born this day in Bethlehem!” “Hey, Praise God!”

When was the last time you opened your lips and shared the Good News of the Gospel? When was the last time someone heard you say, “Praise God!”? If it’s been a while, why not start this new week off by telling someone what Jesus has done for you!

TOOTING YOUR OWN HORN?

If you're tooting your own horn, sooner or later you will give out of breath!

Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips. Proverbs 27:2

There are some who like to tell everyone what they have done for the Lord. Day after day they proclaim; I washed the church van, I cleaned the bathrooms in the church, I mowed the yard, I preached to 500 people, I have taught Sunday School for 40 years, I grew a church from 10 to 1,000, I pastored the same church for 50 years. While many of those examples are solid reasons to “brag”, who are you bragging on?  When many of those same people get to Heaven, they will find out the list they were keeping up with wasn’t as long as they thought it was.

Child of God, quit keeping up with what you do for the Lord. It’s not like you’re getting into Heaven for your good works anyway, so why brag and promote self. Just do what the Lord has asked you to do and be happy He knows what your motives are—FOR HIS GLORY and not tooting your own horn!