I maintain that we must be lifelong learners. Continuously looking to increase in knowledge. This morning I was led to the beginning of Proverbs and realize that I have written often on the subject from this passage. I have to remember not to sit and think that I have learned it all I must continue to read in search of learning more and more each day.

“⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” – Proverbs 1:7 (ESV)

All of my knowledge and learning begins with the knowing and fearing of the LORD. When I know Him and fear Him and all that He is and can do, I will be more open to listening to that which He would have me learn. I think of one of my favorite teachers in school who was one that I respected and wanted to attend class. I looked forward to class to learn about the subject and all else that was being taught. Learning from the LORD is something that I must be looking forward to and it all starts with knowing Him.

I have to be open to instruction and learning. I feel as though in society today, there is a thought that everything needed to know has already been taught and it can be found at our fingertips to use when the time comes. But is that really knowing? It is in the instruction that real knowledge is transferred. I can watch a video to see and replicate the steps to replacing the brake pads on my car, but do I really know and understand all of the workings of them. I can watch someone paint a masterpiece and follow along with the brush strokes, but am I an artist at that point. There are things that are internal and those things are learned from others and transferred into the heart. The LORD is where we will find our instruction for life and in order to truly dig in and understand, I have to fear and know the Him to want and internalize the instruction.

I have to want to learn and when I do, I am open to instruction from those that know. I want to know how to be more like Christ and therefore I must be open to instruction from Him. I have to know that He is the leading authority and will guide me where He wants me, through my openness to instruction. The same holds true in this world. I must know what it is that I am looking to become and find the leading resources of that thing and then seek them out to know and learn from them to know. I have to be open to being out of my comfort to find and know them to learn from them.

What is it that you seek to know? Where are you seeking to find that? What if you were to start with knowing them and being open to instruction from them?

Not sure if all are in the habit of doing so, but speaking truth is the best policy.

“¹⁷Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit. ¹⁸There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. ¹⁹Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.” – Proverbs 12:17-19 (ESV)

There is power in the truth. As noted in verses 18 and 19 above it “brings healing” and “endure forever”. These ideas make it worthwhile for me. Speaking the truth is the way to transparency and growth.

In the healing arena, I like to think of the truth in this way. Without the pain, there is little to no gain. When a doctor is tasked with fixing a broken leg, he must first set or in some cases re-break the leg to begin the healing process. This is not a pleasant experience for the one with the broken leg in the first place. There is more pain to endure. On the other side though is a leg healed more properly or at least in the best way to bring about a fruitful life going forward. The truth is the same. It may be painful to hear and realize the truth. And even in giving the truth, there may be some backlash and disconnection as a result of the hard being given and received. On the other side, there is healing and growth that occurs from not having to deal with what might be detrimental.

On the endurance side of things, speaking the truth keeps me in a position of not having anything to hide. I do not have to explain away things or justify actions taken. I am able to speak the truth and be comfortable and without concern for trying to make up for something that I may be called on later. Similar to the healing part though, there may be consequences to speaking the truth. It may not be what others want to hear and that will lead to discord. But, it is worth it on my end to have others know what they are getting from me is not just what they want to hear.

I believe, as I am reminded in the verses above that the truth will bring about healing and will endure forever. It is my work here in the world to do the work of God and part of that work is to bring the truth to this world. As we are reminded in the following verse, Jesus is truth.

“⁶Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” – John 14:6 (ESV)

When in the world and interacting with others, what is your propensity to speak the truth? Do you find yourself holding back to save from creating discord? What if you were to speak the truth to “bring healing” and allow for to “endure forever”?

As I read Psalm 119:169-176 this morning I saw and was reminded to speak with God. Yes, prayer is interacting with God and telling and asking things. What I am really referring to here is to really speak or talk with God. Have a conversation with Him. Open up to Him and let Him into your life.

“¹⁶⁹Let my cry… ¹⁷⁰Let my plea… ¹⁷¹My lips… ¹⁷²My tongue…” – Psalm 119:169-172 (ESV)

I have only placed the first parts of the verses above to show the action that I should be taking in my conversations with God. I have to give to Him as He has given me so much. I have to open up to Him and allow for our relationship to grow and blossom. I have to bring Him the good, the bad, the uncomfortable, and the exciting to release that which is bottled up. I have to allow Him to hear me.

I know what you may be thinking and it is true, God already knows. What I am referring to here is that I have to let Him know so that I can hear it and know that I have communicated it. Too often I have been the one to just keep silent and feel as though someone already knows, and they may, but it is not until I bring it up that it becomes real and can be dealt with.

In the instance of speaking with God, I have to remember to bring it up out loud, not so He can deal with it, but so I can. I have to openly say things so that they become real and are now actionable. Take the instance of goals I may have for accomplishing things. I can think them and they are there, but whether or not I work to achieve them is arbitrary. Now when I write them down and have to stare at them knowing that I have missed the mark, then I will work to take action. My interactions with God are the same. I have to get them out so that I am forced to stare them down and deal with them at that moment.

Thanks be to God that He just lets me speak and He listens. When I am done He will guide me and present items that I am now ready to work with as I have opened up to taking action.

“¹⁷³Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.” – Psalm 119:173 (ESV)

What have you bottled up or kept internal thinking that God already knows? Are you waiting for Him to act? What if you were to get it out by speaking with God and being ready to take action?

I hear all the time the phrase, “Fake it til you make it.” I maintain that if you re genuinely working to make it, then you are not really faking it after all.

“¹⁴Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. ¹⁵O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.” – Psalm 51:14-15 (ESV)

In these couple of verses, David is declaring that with God’s forgiveness, he will declare aloud to God the praise due Him. Notice where that praise starts, aloud from the tongue and lips of David, not an empty gesture of sacrifice or going to church so that people may draw inferences from what they see. David is overt in his actions of vocal praise and adoration of God so there is little question as to what he is doing. He is genuinely working for all to see and HEAR of his repentance and glory declarations to God.

Now, once he has openly declared his repentance and praise to God he now takes on the actions associated with those declarations.

“¹⁶For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. ¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” – Psalm 51:16-17 (ESV)

The actions of the declarations are driven into and from the heart. Words are just words until they are from the heart. As mentioned in the title of this posting, “It begins with the tongue”. I must first make the out loud statements and then make sure that those are brought into and cascaded from my heart. The action for me is to be “broken” as mentioned in verse 17 above. I have to use my words to elicit action from my heart and then from other visible actions.

“¹⁹then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.” – Psalm 51:19 (ESV)

Only when I have the broken heart will my sacrifices to God be received. I have to first announce my transgression and seek forgiveness. Second I must have brokenness in my heart for the transgression and third, my sacrifices to God will be received. So when I say that faking it til you make it is really working to make it, what I believe is that the actions that begin with saying things and then allowing them to permeate the heart, create actions that are from the heart and generate realism as opposed to the feeling of fake.

When out there in the world what are you “faking til you make it”? Are you just going through the outward motions each day and/or time? What if you were to say it out loud, allow it to permeate your heart and then work on those outward actions, would it create a more real and genuine action?

I have difficulty all the time and find myself venting related to that difficulty. I have found also that no one really cares what I have to say in those instances. They are only interested in what they think and do. My interests are not taken seriously and by venting I am only making myself look as though I am not willing to take on the challenge. Whereas I know that not to be he case, those around me, blinded by their own perspective, only see their way and as I do not fall into their way, I am simply the complainer.

“¹I said, ‘I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.’ ²I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse.” – Psalm 39:1-2 (ESV)

In these verses, I see that holding my tongue is the right approach. I should not allow myself to be the “bad mouth” in those situations. I am to keep things to myself related to the difficulty and vent up to God and allow Him to take care of that which needs taking care of. As far as I know, and that is the most difficult part, God has this suffering in His plan for me so that I am able to reach others through my actions and not just my words. And that is where the next part of the passage come in.

“³My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:” – Psalm 3:3 (ESV)

That emotion that builds up inside, I need to get it out. I am allowed to vent, but not like one would think. I should be letting out the steam and emotion of the situation and lift up praise and worship to God. I should be singing and shouting to Him and not to those around me. He is the only one that will truly hear me and will take action to comfort and protect me. He will wrap His arms around me and let me know that He has got it and will take care of it. He may not let me in on the when, how, or even why I was going through it, but He will take care of it and I will be rewarded for my endurance.

When things seem to be out of my hands, I have to remember to turn them and my eyes to God and allow for His work to be done. Frustrations will come and I have to remember to lift them up in the form of praise and worship to God as opposed to complaints to those around.

When you are met with challenges, what is your approach to dealing with them? Do you find yourself in the mindset of letting everyone know how you are feeling? What if you were to turn to God and vent to Him in the form of praise and worship with your tongue?

I have heard in my youth, and even use the phrase today, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”. Whether you have heard it or not, this is really a great phrase to live by.

“¹³Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.” – Psalm 34:13 (ESV)

The verse above may not be exactly the same as the phrase I mentioned, but another great example of minding what you say. It is important to remember that others will certainly remember and hold us to what we say. By keeping away from evil with out tongues, we reduce the amount of items that others can hold against us.

Think of today’s society and how many time have we been made aware of something someone said in a private conversation. That which was said was recorded in the attempt and then actual use to catch someone expression something deemed evil and/or even not evil, but taken out of context to be determined to be evil. Now I am not looking to express my thought on whether or not it is right/or wrong to record a conversation, but I am concerned with what is said when we are not minding our tongue.

It is important to express ourselves with what we believe to be right, but we must keep that to that which we believe to be right in the eyes of God. I have to remember to stay away from evil talk and do that which will bring God into the lives of others while living my mission to improve lives through growth and learning. That learning may include hard truths, but it should not include evil statements. “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything.”

When have you said something that you regret afterward? Are you aware of what you say in the moments you say them? What if you were to really mind your tongue and watch what you say to be sure that you are bringing God not evil into the conversation?

I have been/am a part of organizations or groups that are cold and lifeless without any emotional attachment. I have been/am treated as though I am just a machine that only gets attention when it is breaking down and needs to be replaced (yes I said that right, not repaired, but replaced).

“⁸How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. ⁹I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.” – Hosea 11:8-9 (ESV)

I see the total opposite approach in the verses above. God has such an emotional relationship with Israel that He refuses to give up on them. Yes He is hurt and angry with them for their actions and betrayal, but His love for them will not allow Him to destroy or seek a replacement for them as seen in verse nine. God loves and cares for the nation of Israel and love is replicated with me as an heir to heaven thanks for the salvation I have accepted from him.

God pours Himself into me all the time. He blesses me, provides for me, and most of all He forgives me when I sin against Him. Unlike the bulk of the world that gives up on others, God’s compassionate, emotional relationship with me does not allow Him to give up on me, His love only grows stronger and is more evident.

When you look at the relationships you have, what actions do you have when something goes awry? Are you one that looks for replacements to the machines that you work with? What if you were to dig into your compassion as God does and demonstrate your emotional relationship with others to repair them?

This morning as I was studying in Lamentations the word “compassion” I was reminded of a comparison to God’s approach with us to my approach and actions with those around me, namely my family. As I have made public a number of times, my mission is “To improve lives through growth and learning as and example of Christ’s love”. I ask for things a number of times, recognizing that what I am looking for may not be high on the priority list of others at the time. When what I am asking for becomes critical, I ratchet up my asks and become a bit more assertive, dare I say demanding, to “light a fire under someone”. This is all in the interest of impacting the movement to accomplish something. Christ was very patient in His approach to others, however when things were not being done accordingly, He would ratchet up His approach to get things done.

“³¹For the Lord will not cast off forever, ³²but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; ³³for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.” – Lamentations 3:31-33 (ESV)

In the passage this morning, I see the what God does not do in verses 31 and 33 above. I feel like a lot of the time I only see the first part of verse 32, “though he cause grief” and then I wonder why He would do such a thing. As I read in the commentary of my ESV Bible, “God’s first instinct is not to punish, he does so only when his patience with sinners does not lead to their repentance.” God does what He does to impact change in my life. He assists me in creating discipline so that He does not have to discipline me.

My asking for others to take action prior to asserting the action “need” to take place is my use of God’s example of working to create discipline in the lives of others so that they can avoid being disciplined for inaction later. No, I do not consciously think this way, at least I don’t think I do. I have to remember that God’s compassionate love and actions are to impact change in others and I should continue to think of the impact I can/can have on others by seeking to live out my mission.

Out there in the world, what approach are you taking with others? Are you out for yourself without thought or concern for those around you? What if you took God’s compassionate approach to instill discipline in others to aid them in avoiding discipline later?

“⁷’For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. ⁸In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD, your Redeemer.” – Isaiah 54:7-8 (ESV)

Will God be disappointed in me and my actions, yes. Will He turn away from me, yes. Will it be forever and abandoning of me, NO. And I capitalized on purpose. God will never abandon me. He is with me always even in those times when I am not following His plan for me or not doing the tasks He has for me.

Notice the words from God in the verses above, “for a brief moment” and “for a moment”. God may shake His head at those things that I do that are less than becoming. As a father, I have those moments when I wonder what my boys were thinking to get themselves into something. I stand there shaking my head and hide in my hands in “the moment”. But, in the next moment I am picking them up and dusting them off in a show of compassion and love for them so that they know they are my child. God does the same with us. He looks down to see me make the mistake and shakes His head only to then reach down and help me up. He is forever my father and demonstrates His compassion and love for me at every turn.

When you find yourself in a tough spot, what are you feeling? Are you thinking that you are all alone? What if you were to lean on God, knowing that He saw you, shook His head in disbelief and then was reaching down to help you up?

I have seen instances where the winner of a contest has consoled those that were not on the winning side. An example is a baseball game that was finished with the pitcher besting the hitter that was a former teammate and friend. While the winning team celebrated the pitcher immediately, without hesitation, went to the hitter, his friend to console him in the loss. All other things of the situation took a back seat to the relationship between the two. This is compassion in action.

“¹³Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.” – Isaiah 49:13 (ESV)

Notice the compassion of God demonstrated, not on the winners, but on those that are defeated by Him. God wins and when He does, He is understand to those that suffered in the instance, showing comfort to those on the “winning” side, and those that are defeated He shows compassion.

I have to remember the compassionate part of God’s actions here. It is good to be on the winning side of things, but on the other side there is heartache and sadness. It is up to me to bring love and compassion to those. It is not the time for boasting, but a time for caring. It is the time to truly demonstrate the example of God’s love. I am to live out the compassion that the Lord gives.

I have to remember also that the afflicted as noted in the verse above is not just those that are defeated in the instance where I may be considered the victor and they not. The afflicted are those that may be seen as disadvantaged and in need. It is my duty to show compassion for them and do that which is unexpected and contrary to the societal norms. Like the pitcher who did not celebrate the win right away, but immediately consoled his friend while the rest of the participants celebrated or mourned the outcome of the contest.

When you are engaged in a scenario, what is your feeling toward those on the other side? As the “victor” are you conscious of the feelings and emotions of those that are not the “victors”? What if you were to show the compassion of the Lord to all those on the other side of your situation as opposed to only thinking of your own side?