Venturing to Speak to God

Abraham respectfully asked God to spare Sodom. He began his request by saying, ‘If I may be so bold as to ask you [Lord], although I am only dust and ashes …’ We learn two things from this: First, it makes sense to know your place before God. God is Creator of all living things. We are only dust and ashes, physical beings here for a limited amount of time, with limited strength to survive the elements of everyday life. Second, our weaknesses should not prevent us from asking God to give us what we want. Abraham knew that he was nothing when compared to God, but he hoped God would spare Sodom for mercy’s sake, so he asked God to do this for him.

I think sometimes we are reluctant to ask God to do something for us, because we feel we don’t deserve God’s attention or because we feel we can’t repay God for his kindnesses to us. Maybe we assume God isn’t interested in what we want or doesn’t care about our feelings. After all, we’re dust and ashes. Why should God want to do something for us?

Well, the answer is: Because God is! God exists, God cares, and God longs to be intimately involved in human affairs. God knows we haves wants; he made us to have them. So the next time you want God to do something for you, remember your place before God, then ask him to do it. Remember Paul’s words to his friends at Philippi: ‘By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.’
Peace!

Just Because God Is

When David ordered Asaph and his relatives to give thanks to God, he took the lead by giving thanks himself. At one point in his praising he said, ‘Declare God’s glory among the nations; declare his wondrous works among all people because the Lord is great and so worthy of praise’ (1 Chronicles 16). In David’s mind, we don’t have to wait for God to act before we praise him. God is worthy of our praise just because he’s great. God has created the places we live and blessed us with life within them. Why not take a moment right now to thank God for being God, a God who loves and cares for each of us.

Loose Tongue Disease

Dr. Kent Spann believes there is a disease spreading rapidly in our society, and the Center for Disease Control hasn’t acknowledged it. He calls it loose tongue disease, and as with most diseases, it presents itself in assorted ways. The disease compels some of us to spread rumors and gossip, some of us to tell lies, some of us to rant about people who upset us, and some of us to boast about our goodness and accomplishments. It is a deadly disease because it can destroy relationships and ruin reputations.

A little girl asked her mom, ‘Which is worse: to tell a lie, or to steal?’ Her mother replied that both were bad. The child said, ‘I’ve been thinking about it lately, and I think it’s worse to lie.’ ‘Why?’ asked her mother. The child responded, ‘Well, if you steal, you can take it back or pay for it, but a lie is forever.’

It would be nice if we could be immunized for this disease. Unfortunately it’s not that easy. In fact, the only cure is to work with God to build up an immunity to it. We do that first by recognizing the power of the tongue. In Proverbs, Solomon says the tongue has the power of life and death, and James says, Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

After recognizing the power of the tongue, the next step is to resolve to guard it. Again Solomon says, The person who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity. David was so determined to do this he said, I will put a muzzle on my mouth. In Ephesians Paul tells us, Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, and Peter says, Whoever would love life and see good days must keep her tongue from evil and her lips from deceitful speech.

Look for ways to guard your tongue. Try finding something positive to do or say. Weigh your words. The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil. And when you get a touch of loose tongue disease, run to the medicine chest and confess you have it. Isaiah did. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” If confessing the problem helped Isaiah recover, shouldn’t it do the same for you?