the most powerful and pervasive of all idols is the idol of the self. All of us struggle with that idol in one way or another. God’s focus is not primarily on our actions, but on our hearts and our tendency toward idolatry. Like Adam and Eve, every sinner has the desire to be in control and to have the world operate according to their pleasure and will, Jesus lived, died, and was raised again to break our bondage to this idol. As God’s ambassadors we must speak with the heart in focus. Most of the time our words reflect our attempt to get what we want or our frustrations when we fail. All of this communication focus on the physical world and flows out of the heart that worships and serves the creation more than the Creator. God’s agenda in these moments is fundamentally spiritual. God knows that only when He owns our hearts unchallenged, will we relate to the world in the way He has ordained. God wants our hearts to be revealed because we need to see them in order to repent. We must always remember that God is focused not only on the momentary solution to … READ MORE

God has created us as relational beings that can communicate in a way that we aer understood. We are given the ability to communicate so that our words would help us do His work and bring Him glory. He is the source, standard, and goal of all our talk. He is the Lord of our mouths, so it is vital that we have a clear sense of His purposes for us in this area. When we talk about God’s mission for our mouths, we are taling about a responsibility we havfe bee4n given to carry out. A mission is a particular set of objectives that gives orde3r and puorsposse wo what a person or goup does. It is a special assignment, to pursue a particular activity. No passage more clearly and succinctly defines God’s mission for our talk than 2 Corinthians 5:11-21. Paul’s words in this passage explain in detail the practical principles regarding how God wants us to use our mouths and the words that come from it. Le me begin by saying that according to this passage we have been called to be ambassadors of the King. As ambassadors we are not free to advance our own interests … READ MORE

Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one LORD:” The word “here” means to hear in order to understand and consider, and it leads to hear with the purpose of action. I remember as a boy, my mom would tell me to take out the trash, and I would keep playing. As I ignored her command, she would say to me, “James, look at me and answer me, “Did you hear me?!” I would say, “I heard you, mom” She would respond, “Then do what I have told you to do.” It is not enough just to hear what is being said, we must be willing to hear for the purpose of personal application and growth. The privilege of hearing is telling others about what we have heard. Matthew 5:16 tells us, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Our actions are a reflection of our hearing, when we don’t know what to do, we do what we know to do. Learning is important, and if we are going to be characterized by changed behavior, we need to have heard the … READ MORE