R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - Bloom Where You Are Planted

A little less than two weeks ago we moved from Irvine to Mission Viejo. Yesterday I was reading the passage from John 15.

This particular passage is very precious to me as it was something the Lord spoke to me in 2006 when we were at the International Foursquare Pastors Conference. It was at that time, I was still grieving the closure of our church New Horizons that we had planted in Irvine. The Lord was gracious to place us at Cornerstone in Anaheim so that we would not have to move. In my heart, I truly felt the Lord had called us to Irvine and was so confused as to why our church did not survive.

While sitting in an evening session, I was listening to a pastor speak on Joel 2 and the greater days ahead. As I looked down at my name badge, it had written on it, “Jayme Hamilton, Irvine, CA”. Apparently, those in administration had not changed our location to Anaheim yet. As I looked at that, my heart ached because even though I lived in Irvine, our assignment to pastor there was no more. It was at that moment the Lord spoke to me, “Jayme, spell Irvine.” As I proceeded to spell it, all of the sudden I realized, “I R – vine.” The Lord said, “I R vine, U R branch, apart from me you can do nothing. Continue to bear fruit.” The Lord was telling me to continue to do what He had called us to, even though our church location was different.

It’s now August of 2010 and as of last week, I no longer reside in Irvine. The name of the city alone reminded me of my purpose. First of all, change is very difficult for me. I’m not one who transitions easy. Not to mention, this particular move has been incredibly difficult. Moving to Irvine seemed so smooth and yet this move just 13 miles south to Mission Viejo has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Not only in location, but it seems as though Mission Viejo is resisting us. We can’t get our mail, we’ve had a hard time getting our children registered for school, not to mention many other challenges.

Yesterday, I opened up the special devotion Pastor Jeff has asked us to do this week which was in John 15. John 15:1-8 says, “‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ⁸This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.’”

The verse that particularly spoke to me was verse 2 about cutting off the dead branches and even cutting off the fruitful branches. If you are familiar with gardening, the branches that die on the plant or vine, literally suck the life away from the plant. It’s kind of a gardening oxymoron. The dead branches have to be cut off if the plant is going to survive. On the other hand, the branches that do produce fruit or flowers have to be cut back so that they will produce more the next time around.

This move to some degree has been like that for me. I’ve had to purge so much of me in this move, not just materially, but emotionally too. I currently am feeling lost and as though I am bare. My heart seems to be empty and the dreams I once had for Irvine I’ve had to let go. But in reading John 15, verse 7-8 were comforting. As long as I stay connected to Jesus, I will live and new desires will be planted in my heart. His promise is that I will bear much fruit and the Father will be glorified.

Gardenia’s are my favorite flower. A month before we moved, I bought a gardenia plant and put it in a pot. It did not bloom for the whole month that I had it while I lived in Irvine. Three days after we moved into our new “temporary” home in Mission Viejo, that plant bloomed its first flower. That was no coincidence. That was God telling me, I’m still connected to Him and that I can still bear fruit. Since then it has sprouted new growth and another flower. I need let Him prune “me” so that I may bear more fruit. I need to bloom no matter where I’m planted.

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - Climb Every Mountain

Last Friday would be marked as one of the most "unknown" day's of my life. Most of you know we are in the process of moving. This move has not been particularly smooth. It has been the longest local move. It has taken 2 weeks to move 13 miles. As I said to someone the other day, the mountain seems to be getting higher and higher and now I'm at the place where the air is thin. I actually found myself taking deep breaths. I'm not a mountain climber and I know why. I don't like heights and I don't like the unknown. Jeff is more adventurous. He chose to climb Masada when we were in Israel rather than take the tram.
(See photo: Jeff is in the red shirt. It was 112 degrees that morning)

Without going into too many details, let's just say that last week we became scattered, literally. We had been taking boxes over to the rental house. Last Friday was supposed to be the day I would clean and begin unpacking. We had packed up a trailer with furniture that was headed to the new home. After a few short hours, some news came that caught us off guard and seemed to paralyze us. It all happened before the trailer load arrived so when it got there, we stopped everything we were doing and asked our friend if it would be possible for him to take the trailer home for the rest of the weekend. My heart dropped to my feet and my emotions were frazzled at that moment. Jeff told me to go home. As I walked into my home, an emptiness filled my heart. I was standing in an empty living room in the home that God surprised us with 3 years ago. Some furniture was missing from other rooms, but boxes still lined my hallways. My life seemed to be at a stand still. Nothing for my family seemed stable. Like climbing a mountain with loose rocks. My son tried to console me by saying "Mom, remember all the stories have a struggle, but remember the endings are always good." I turned to him and said, "I know look at Cinderella, Snow White, and Pinocchio." He said, "No mom, the stories in the Bible!" Needless to say, it was a sleepless night. The mountain seemed to get taller.

Saturday morning as I opened my chronological Bible for some hope, it was no coincidence that I was at Jeremiah 29. When I looked at my reading plan that Jeff had put together for the church at the beginning of the year, the reading plan for Saturday was Jeremiah 29! God wanted me to read this!

Jeremiah 29 holds a promise that many of us hang on to. It is verse 11 that says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Those words are like oxygen to my spirit. I read this passage over and over. The first 10 verses prior to 11 say so much more as to why 11 is so important. You see, this was a promise to the exiles from Jerusalem who were in Babylon. God wanted Jeremiah to let them know things were going to be good for them. That although they had no idea what their future held, the Word of the Lord was a promise that their future was going to be hopeful.

The Word the Lord spoke through Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon, spoke to me as well. This process in finding a home in south Orange County has not been easy. It has been more like climbing a mountain. After five months, I'm exhausted and worn out. But it was what the Lord said beginning in verse 5 that settled my spirit as to where He was leading us. It says"'Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶ Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. ⁷ Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." (Jeremiah 29:5-7) The past 11 years have seemed very temporary. He's now showing us where He wants to plant us.

Sunday Pastor Jeff explained what Babylon represents. It represents the world's system and way of thinking. As I have thought about this over the last few days, I realized that in a spiritual sense, we as children of God are like the captives in Babylon in the world today. Ephesians 2:19 says, "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household." Like Jeremiah, we have been set apart. Jesus said, "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (John 15:19) Like God's people who were in captivity to the Babylonians, God told them to go ahead and "live" their lives. We as children of God need to do the same. So many times we separate ourselves from the world. Instead we need to be out there living and climbing every mountain because God is leading us. I know I find myself in isolation, especially when I'm "climbing a mountain." I put my life on hold because it's all I can do to focus and breathe. But it is better to climb the mountains of life with others. We need to climb with Believers so they may encourage, and with unbelievers so they might discover God in the journey.

No matter how much adversity we face today, tomorrow's hope is that it rests in the hands of God. His promise is that if we pray to Him, He will hear us. If we look for Him with all of our heart, we will find Him. (Jeremiah 29:12-14) Whatever challenges you might be facing or mountains you might be climbing, know that God knows the plan. God does have a sense of humor because the city He chose for us has a very mountainous terrain. I like the way the Message Bible translates Jeremiah 29:11 and I will close with this, "I'll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. " Don't be afraid to climb the mountains, they are only as high as His feet.

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - Joy to the World

Now that we are in the book of Jeremiah, every time I read his name, I start singing that oldie, "Joy to the world, all the boys and girls..." No, Jeremiah wasn't a bull frog, he was a prophet and from what I can tell, he wasn't spreading much joy to the Israelites. In fact, the more I am reading about the prophets of the Old Testament, rarely were they bringing good news to the people. It seems that most prophets were loners in life. God even told Jeremiah that from the beginning of his existence that he was set apart and appointed a prophet to the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Not only is Jeremiah a loner, but he is known as the weeping prophet. Not a very joyful title either. Jeremiah's purpose was to warn the people that if they would not turn from their evil ways, they would be taken captive by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. It was under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar that Solomon's Temple was destroyed and the Holy articles of the Temple were taken to Babylon and defiled. I imagine Jeremiah being like Robert Redford in that movie from the early 70's "Jeremiah Johnson." I don't remember much of that movie except that Jeremiah was a scruffy man, living off the land and was faced with many challenges and had to endure them alone.

Often Jeremiah would stand at the city gates speaking the Word of the Lord. Jeremiah 7:1-11 says that the Lord told him to proclaim some, not-so-good news to the people. It says this, "The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, ² “Go to the entrance of the Lord’s Temple, and give this message to the people: ‘O Judah, listen to this message from the Lord! Listen to it, all of you who worship here! ³ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “‘Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land. ⁴ But don’t be fooled by those who promise you safety simply because the Lord’s Temple is here. They chant, “The Lord’s Temple is here! The Lord’s Temple is here!” ⁵ But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; ⁶ only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. ⁷ Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever. ⁸ “‘Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It’s a lie! ⁹ Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, ¹⁰ and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, “We are safe!”—only to go right back to all those evils again? ¹¹ Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the Lord , have spoken! " (New Living Translation)

Just the other day, while I was out I passed by a building that had been a church for many years. At times there were two churches meeting in that location. On this day, as I passed by, no church was to be found. Instead a false religion that worships other gods and burns incense to them. I was suddenly reminded of this passage in Jeremiah. No longer is that building a place of worship to the Living God. Little by little the foreign gods are beginning to over take our land like what happened when Babylon took over Jerusalem. I believe Jeremiah's words spoken then are relevant for today. It would seem that today we Christians are in the same place God's people were then. Subtly we are conforming to the ways of this land. We are like "a frog in boiling water." We don't even recognize our little compromises and disobedience.

No longer do we live under the Old Testament covenant. Jesus brought the good news that he came that we might have life and have it to the fullest. (John 10:10) Jesus came to bring the good news that if we know the truth then the truth will set us free. (John 8:32) That if the Son, sets us free, we are free in deed. (John 8:36) No longer are we destined to be captive to the things of this world. Why is it then we live like captives? I know I do at times. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus, the One who sets us free so we can be the Church, full of grace and truth with love. We need to keep each other encouraged because we are the Church. No longer does the Lord's Spirit dwell in a building, but in people who are followers of Jesus. Ephesians 2:22 says that we are being built together to become a dwelling place for God's Spirit. I realized that the difference between the prophets and apostles was that the apostles had Good News to share. Our purpose as followers of Jesus (in contrast to Jeremiah assignment), is to spread the Good News that Jesus came to bring joy to the world.

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - Scars and Stripes

In 1947, a young Bedouin farmer was tending his flock in the desert area called Qumran near the Dead Sea. It was there he discovered several caves in which he found clay jars. In those jars were scrolls which are dated back (about 150 B.C - 70 A.D.) to the Essenes. The Essenes (known as the Sons of Light) was a communal group of men who dedicated their lives to God in preparation of the coming Messiah. One of their practices was to write onto scrolls the Old Testament. In these jars were portions of their writings. The only book that was found in these scrolls, in its entirety, was the book of Isaiah.

I have had the privilege of seeing these scrolls three times. Twice here in Southern California and once at the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem. It is amazing to see these writings that date back before the birth of Jesus. I find it very interesting that the only book that has every page is the book of Isaiah. I remember standing in front of Isaiah 53 and being in awe of what I was seeing.

As we have journeyed through the scripture over these past months, we can clearly see that man was unable to be completely obedient to the Lord. Isaiah was the prophet who God used to introduce the Messiah to His people.

This week as we read through Isaiah 49-66, I was reminded of the scars and stripes that Jesus took for all of us. I love Isaiah 49:16 that says, "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;..." This reminds me of the conversation Jesus had with Thomas. Jesus was standing there with his disciples after his resurrection with the scars of the nail piercings in his hands. (John 20:25-27) Not that Jesus ever forgets our names, but we sure easily forget what he did. Those scars are our reminder to us, that he never forgets us.

Isaiah 53 is a very familiar passage. For those who have seen the movie, "The Passion of the Christ" have a very visual picture of this description. In the New King James translation, chapter 53:4-7 says this, "Surely He has borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth." This sounds so poetic in writing, yet this act, when it happened was so violent. To think that Jesus took a beating that made him even unrecognizable, that eventually lead to his death, is truly the ultimate sacrifice.

If we ponder on some of these words that are used to describe this act, it becomes such a visual of sin. The word wounded describes the infliction of the sins of others done against us. The word bruised is a visual of the sin we have committed. We know that blood is precious to God because it represents life. Did you know the reason you bleed first when you get a cut is because the blood is the body's natural way of cleansing the affected area. The same goes with a bruise. Blood is released to cleanse the damaged area. And for every lashing Jesus took on his body, it was for our healing. Not only our physical healing, but our emotional and spiritual healing as well. He also dealt with our shame so that we no longer carry that scar. If you truly think about it, the pain you feel emotionally, spiritually, physically and even shamefully, he carried and felt for everyone that has been, is and will be at that moment! We can't even imagine. What a heavy burden!

I hope you will read Isaiah 53 again. I also recommend you to read Isaiah 61 as it is the healing and restoration we have received from His sacrifice. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you through his eyes and understanding a more personal connection. I pray that that passage will come to life for you and that by his scars and stripes you are healed.

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - No Visibility: Faith

This morning, the weather on my homepage read, "visibility: 8 miles." For those who live or have lived in California know that the first 4 to 6 weeks of summer there is this weather pattern called June gloom. It is when the clouds decide to hide the sun for most of the day. Most of the time, the view from my windows are of the Saddleback mountains. (Photo to the right) But on these cloudy mornings, the visibility of those mountains is zero.

At the beginning of March we were notified that the owner of our home was going to sell our house. We believed that this was God giving us permission to buy our own home so we began looking right away. When we started our home search, the visibility was so clear that we thought we would find a home in no time. Now we are heading to the end of July and still no home in sight. We've made 15 offers and all have been denied, not to mention we even have submitted offers on houses we haven't seen. God is choosing our house now.

This week as I read the book of Isaiah, I came across the promises that I have written on cards and posted around my house. The first one being, "My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest." (Isaiah 32:18) The second scripture I've been holding on to is Isaiah 45:2 & 3 that says, "I will go before you and will level the mountains, I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. 3I will give you treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by name."

In the beginning my faith level was at a visibility level of 50 miles. I have seen God do some incredible things in my life so I had no lack of faith that He would do something on the timetable we are on. As the weeks pass, my clarity has become limited. My faith is often like the view from my home. There are days that I can clearly see the mountains and then there are days I don't see anything. Even though I can't see the mountains, I know, without a doubt, they are there. Maybe I need to change my view when I don't see the mountains. I need to look at it as though God has leveled them instead of hid them. The Lord used this visual one morning to illustrate where I am currently at. He showed me that not only do the clouds block my view, but as we head into the summer months, the smog blocks it until we get the first autumn rain. Smog, which we Southern California residents know all too well, is similar to the pollution that clouds my faith. The day to day events of life that begin to build up if I'm not regularly washing my mind with the Word. And even when I am washing with the Word daily, like the air fights against the daily exhaust fumes from cars, trucks and machinery, so do the pollutants of life that come against my faith. Keeping our faith view clear is a fight.

Hebrews 11:1 says that "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." I think that is a good description of the view out of my window during these seasons when the heat is turned up. Much like the summer is hot. Paul says that the righteous will live by faith. (Romans 1:17) Romans 10:17 says that "faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God." It doesn't say that it comes from what we see, but what we hear. Jesus healing the blind man is probably important visual illustration to those of us who choose to live by faith. He had never seen Jesus to know whether or not Jesus was who he said he was. But by the words Jesus spoke, recognized his voice and received them and because of that faith he was healed. Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight, your faith has healed you." (Luke 18:42) Maybe I'm not physically blind, but there sure are days that my faith is challenged with blindness. Yet in God's process of working all things together for good, He turns my faith into something that eventually I will see.

I don't know what the visibility of faith is in your life right now. Maybe you have a clear view or maybe you are at the zero visibility mark. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God..." It is hard to be settled in your spirit when in the natural we cannot see. As I am growing in my faith, I'm learning that the less visibility, the more faith and hope that is required. I sometimes wonder if God allows the zero visibility days to open our eyes of faith. Maybe life seems uncertain for you right now. Personally, I am at a place that I can't see tomorrow. It's like that game of trust we played as kids. One person is blindfolded and the other person leads you around. What if all of this uncertainty is God's way of working my control issues out of my life. My expectations disappoint me more than God does.

I'd like to close with a verse that I read this past week as well. It is Isaiah 49:23b. It says, "...those who hope in me (God) will not be disappointed." If you, like me are living life with a lack of visibility, then hold tightly to God's hand because He knows exactly where He's leading you. "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. ⁴ And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." (Romans 5:3-5 New Living Translation)

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - The Great Divide

By the end of Solomon's life, the nation of Israel was not what God had intended. Solomon's disobedience was the beginning of Israel's division. Jeroboam, who Solomon made a special project foreman, had great leadership skills. The Lord told the prophet Ahijah to contact Jeroboam and tell him that He would punish David's line by making him ruler over ten of the twelve tribes and that his line would be destroyed if he failed to obey the Lord. Solomon was not happy about this and tried to have Jeroboam killed. Jeroboam fled to Egypt until Solomon died. After the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam took the throne. Israel was now divided into two kingdoms. Northern Israel was known as Israel, which was ruled by Jeroboam. Judah and Benjamin stayed in Jerusalem and was known as Judah and ruled by Rehoboam. God preserved Judah because of his promise to David, yet he was not pleased with many of the next succession of kings. From this point on, rebellious kings ruled over Israel and Judah and the nation of Israel was divided and at war with one another. There were a few good kings, but the evil kings out numbered them.

This week reading in 2 Kings 17, the children of Israel were in the midst of war with each other. They were in chaos. The kings couldn't keep it together. For the most part the kings did their own thing and the scripture says, "did evil in the eyes of the Lord."

In 2 Kings 17:29,37-41. It says, "Nevertheless, each national group made its own gods in the several towns where they settled, and set them up in the shrines the people of Samaria had made at the high places." It sounds so much like living in the United States today. Each state in the U.S. has the option of choosing its own laws. Let's skip down to 37, "You must always be careful to keep the decrees and ordinances, the laws and commands he (God) wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38 Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. 39 Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies." 40 They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. 41 Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their fathers did." This sounds so much like our country today. One of the things that we are fighting to keep is "In God We Trust" on our currency and "One nation under God" in our pledge of allegiance. What our currency should say is, "In Us we Trust" because America really doesn't trust God. Our country is so divided that we should be called the Individual States of America.

Earlier in this chapter, in verse 18, it says, "So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from his presence." Only Judah was still in good graces, but they too followed their brother Israel in practices of idol and Baal worship. Eventually, Judah too lost God's presence. It would seem we are headed in that same direction. They say, history repeats itself.

This whole picture of God's chosen people looks much like the Body of Christ today. We are divided by so many denominations. I recently was told by a friend, who is a follower of Jesus in one denomination, was accused by another follower of Jesus who is in another denomination, of being in a cult. Not only is this happening in the Church, but it is happening within churches. People are at war with one another all the time. Sunday after Sunday people show up, to worship the Lord, who are offended with others in their congregation. Sometimes it's even family members who are at war with one another, and yet they come to church expecting to enter the presence of the Lord. It's no wonder the Church is weak today. I once heard T.D. Jakes say that the one thing Satan has better than us, it's that he and his demons are in unity about destroying the Body of Christ. Think about this, he uses us as his weapon to destroy each other, therefore bringing division to the Church.

Jesus said in Luke 11:17, "... Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall." Jesus did not say in the great commission to go and make denominations of all nations, but to go and make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19) 1 Corinthians 4:20 says, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power." God's plan for His kingdom is one of power. Power only comes when there is unity. The nation of Israel always won their battles not only being in unity with God, but with one another. Imagine the power of God in the Church if we joined as one. Jesus said that he and the Father are one. One divided by one equals one!

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - No More Words

Years ago I read an article by Dorothy Nevill. She said and I quote "The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment." This particular article said that women "talk" three times as much as men. Women use at least 20,000 words a day and men only use about 7,000 words. Wow! But having a daughter, I'm not surprised. She talks at least three times as much as my son.

What is it about women and words? As you can see I have many words, that’s why these devotionals are so long. We have this idea that we have the liberty to say whatever we want, and in the Christian vocabulary, we feel we can say it "in love". I recently heard a Christian woman, who in the same breath claimed to be filled with the Holy Spirit, speak horrible words to someone close to me. We don't realize sometimes the words we choose can leave deep wounds and although they heal over time, often leave scars. Why is it we always remember the negative things that are said to us? I wonder how many of those 20,000 words a day are negative and how many are positive. We might be able to cut our word count in half! Ecclesiastes 5:2 & 3 says "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. 3 As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words."

We really need to guard our mouths. We need to speak more "loving words" to one another than words "in love". We need to allow the Holy Spirit to be the filter in which we run our words through before we say them. I heard Joyce Meyer say once that it was interesting that the fruit of the spirit "love" and "self control" book end all the fruit in the middle. Sometimes love and self-control go hand in hand. I would challenge us to begin to look at what words we choose to use. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to bring it to our attention. He will do it in a gentle and loving way.

I admit I struggle in this area. Especially when life seems really heavy. It's like the pressure squeezes things out of me that would not be normally be said. To some degree that is good as it is releasing the toxins within my heart. But it all depends on "who" am I expressing it to. When we spew these toxins on others, it poisons them too, but when we recognize them and hand them over to the Lord, He can purify them. Take some time regularly to bring your heart to the Lord for purification. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, "...out of the 'overflow' of the heart the mouth speaks."