A Recipe for Revival in 7 Steps

God’s people are searching for revival, but all we need to do is start by looking at our own lives.

Revival comes from the root word revive.

Revive:  to return to consciousness or life, become active or flourishing again

Has your walk with Jesus become routine, stale, or shallow?  Do you hunger for more knowledge regarding who God is?  Do you want to go deeper into truth so that you become refined? Then follow this ancient recipe which is from Nehemiah chapter 9, and it will lead you down a personal path of revival.

Ingredients Needed:

A heart that is committed to Jesus

Desire to change

Step 1 -Prepare your heart for repentance

Step 2 -Begin with fasting

Step 3 -Choose to separate yourself from on-going sinful behavior

Step 4 -Confess to God personal sins and sins of generations past

Step 5 -Read the Bible

Step 6 -Worship the Lord

Step 7 -Close with standing up and praising the

Lord

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God's Valentine Invitation

In Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus talks about what the kingdom of heaven is like. 

He compares it to a wedding banquet, or a wedding reception. 

I like to think of it as a Valentines Party. 

Here’s my more modern rendition:

The King is having THE party to end all parties to celebrate his Son and his True Love.  He invited a group of people, but they refused the invitation.  The King then told the servants to open the invitation up to EVERYONE.  He told his servants to go out and stand on the street corners, telling everyone about this fabulous party and that they are ALL invited.

Every single person was invited this time, not just a select group.

They found all the people both good and bad and invited them to come into the Grand Hall to wait for the party to start. Just as the King came in to the hall, he noticed a man there who wasn’t wearing the proper party attire.  The King called out to the man, “Friend, how did you get in here without being dressed properly for the party?”

The man was speechless.

He was totally caught off guard.

He thought he was dressed properly, he thought he was prepared for the party just like all the other invitees.  The King then told the attendants to kick the man out of the party outside of the palace walls while everyone else went in to celebrate the love between the King’s Son and his True Love.

The party that everyone is talking about in this parable is a reality.

It’s God’s Valentine Invitation to the whole world.   The King is God the Father.  The Son is Jesus Christ.  His True Love is his church; believers in Jesus as well as the attendees.  Those who choose to reject his invitation of Love will not be clothed in the proper

attire and will miss out on the celebration.

Everyone is invited!

John 3:16 is one of the most popular verses to show God’s love for us.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son.  That whoever believes in him will have everlasting life.”

In Galatians 3:27 it shows us how to be ready with the proper party attire, “for all of you who were baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

How will you respond?

Diving into Deliverance

People are fascinated with the term DELIVERANCE. 

Maybe it’s because of all those supernatural themed television shows and movies that freak everyone out.

Or maybe it’s because everyone knows there could be something lurking inside wreaking havoc in their own life and they need freedom.

Either way, it’s a great subject because whether 

you are a Christian or not, it’s possible for demons 

to influence your soul and at times your physical body.

When I say soul, I mean your mind, your will, and your emotions.

When I say physical body, I mean just that.  As an example, many times demons assigned to sickness and disease can manifest in our physical bodies.

Are you still with me?  

I don’t want to freak anyone out.  In fact, if you are a Christian (that’s someone who’s decided to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior), then the demons are AFRAID OF US! 

I know that my title is Diving into Deliverance and I could write for days on this subject……but I won’t….at least for now.

#1 The thief, the Devil, desires to 

do only 3 things to us in life.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  John 10:10

#2 Jesus has come to set us free.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,” Luke 4:18

In those two truths is the beginning of the knowledge and the understanding of deliverance.

You must begin to sort out what in your life is being stolen from you, trying to kill you, and destroy you and what in your life brings life and freedom.

I highly recommend a book that I began my journey of educating myself on deliverance.  It’s called “When Pigs Move In” by Don Dickerman. Which is found on Amazon.

It not only is full of testimonies, but also a step by step process to become free.

If this is a subject that proves a lot of interest, then I’ll continue to share more.

My husband and I have ministered in 

deliverance for several years now and 

have seen many set free from illness 

and other afflictions.

Brave

When your answer is “I feel the Lord is calling me on in a new direction (a new place) (new relationship) (fill in the blank__________)” why isn’t that enough?

We all have journeyed to a place throughout our lives where we’ve felt this tug in our spirits to do something new.

Whether this is changing jobs, changing who we spend our time with, changing where we live, changing churches, and changing ministries and more!

When asked, “Why” I’m choosing a new direction I tend to hesitate.

Can I trust that this person will support my vision?

Are they going to be critical?

Will they even “get it?”

Often, I give a much simpler answer to protect myself from what the person who is asking may or may not say.

Am I really protecting myself?

The truth is, they may not understand my “why” and they may feel all sorts of emotions regarding my “why” but at the same time it’s not fair play either.

Everyone deserves a truthful answer no matter if they fully understand the “why” behind it all.

AND it will have to be enough.

I’ll stand strong and do my part.

I’ll bravely tell my “why”.

In Genesis 12 Abram was called by God to a new place

Where is God calling you that will take courage?

A Demonstration of Deliverance

When Jesus entered the temple courts in Matthew 21:12,13 he drove out all who were buying and selling and he flipped a bunch of tables.

Not only did Jesus get physical, he made a statement which was a harsh rebuke. 

“It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’”

Once Jesus died for our sins and redeemed us, paying the ultimate sacrifice, we no longer as a society need to sacrifice at a temple.  

Our bodies are the temple of God (2 Corinthians 6:16) and host the Presence of the Lord.

So what does this mean for us today?

Jesus drove out all the merchants who were taking advantage of the people who needed a last-minute sacrifice; over-pricing their goods.  

They were doing whatever it took to make a profit.  

They were thieves.

The temple had become a home for thieves to come and live and hide.

What is the enemy, the thief, stealing and hiding from your temple?  

Has he made a home there as well?

Jesus says that this house, the temple, is to be called a house of prayer. 

This is simply communication with God.

We need to ask Jesus to cleanse our temple by kicking out the den of robbers so that we may become solely a house of prayer.

Ask Jesus to reveal to you those things that should not remain in your temple.

First repent for those things having a place in your life.

Then get mad and tell those things to leave you and not return in Jesus name.

Jesus delivers and sets us free!

Post-Partum Depression & Spinning Plates {Part 2}

I cried out to Jesus for help.  He must have heard my cry, but it still felt impossible to sense his presence at all. 

All along this journey I had been spinning plates; trying to keep up appearances of the perfect mother and wife. 

It just all came crashing down so suddenly.  Then it happened.  I realized that I had fallen down the rabbit hole.  

I wanted out so desperately and as I cried out to God daily with my baby in arms and my toddler hanging on my knee I wondered if God could hear me at all.

I was so far down.  So very far down that hole.  Was I going to be able to come back?

At the urging of my husband I went to the Doctor and he gave me several months supply of samples of anti-depressants. 

I was on those pills for two months.  I didn’t cry, rage, or have suicidal thoughts but I also didn’t laugh, smile, and feel…anything.  I felt numb.

Then one day I just decided that I couldn’t live like that anymore.  I didn’t want to feel depressed but I also wanted to feel again. 

I stopped taking those pills cold turkey. 

A week had passed and I was feeling like my old self again; the self I once was before this post-partum had taken hold of me.

I distinctly remember what happened next.  I went to change my baby’s diaper just like I had done a dozen times before.  Everything felt normal until suddenly I started to feel anger and rage.  It felt like something hot climbing up from my feet and slowly rising up my legs.

I thought for a moment why would this be happening?  I don’t want to live like this anymore!  This is NOT who I am and who I am meant to be!

I whispered the only words I knew that would hopefully give me victory. 

“Get off of me in Jesus name!”

As suddenly as it had come on it had left. 

I felt joy again.

I felt freedom.

I was done spinning plates.  I was done with that rabbit hole.

From that moment on, I knew there was something more that I had personally experienced.  I experienced a tool for freedom from a spiritual enemy.

A tool that is also known as deliverance. 

This has been the path I’ve walked.  If you or someone you know is struggling with post-partum depression, I’d love to pray for you. 

Feel free to leave a comment or contact me through my Facebook page @Pathoftheblessing or Twitter @1BlessedPath 

{Links can also be found in the upper right hand corner of this blog site}

4 Ways to Start on the Path of Blessing

Blessing flowed in and out of the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and 

Jacob.  Just before they were walking a path full of blessing, they all 

followed the same pattern.  

It’s what I call The Compass and it’s also the name of my soon to be 

published weekly devotional.

Front Cover Art from Path of the Blessing:Abraham, Isaac, Jacob 

The Compass consists of these 4 elements:

1.  Worship God.  Worshipping God is about exalting him above all others by approaching The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit honestly and allowing yourself to expose your heart before him humbly, resulting in glory to our God.

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  John 4:23

2. Inquire.  Inquiring of God is about bringing our requests to him. 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Philippians 4:6

3. Listen. Listening to God is best accomplished when the atmosphere is full of worship and void of distraction.  Although many times God will break through the most chaotic atmosphere in the way of a thought, idea, word, someone’s name, or through visual cues to get his direction across to his creation. 

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27

4. Obey.  Obeying God is the most challenging aspect of The Compass.  It’s simply about surrender; surrendering our ideas, plans, and ways of living life to his plans.  It’s about living life on God’s terms and not our own, all the while applying faith.  Believing that God loves us and ultimately wants us to live out our lives to the fullest, which is only accomplished through obedience.

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”  Luke 11:28

Want to know how Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob navigated their paths with The Compass and how their story is our story too?

Then find my book on Amazon; Path of the Blessing: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob by Tasha Johnson

How to Posture Yourself to Hear God Speaking to You

When I was a little girl attending Sunday School, one of my favorite stories in the Bible was the story of Samuel.  I connected with the story mainly because it was about a little boy who fell asleep in the temple and heard God’s voice audibly speak to him.

In 1 Samuel Chapter 3, Samuel had been assisting Eli, the priest in the temple for many years in worshipping the Lord.  Scholars estimate that Samuel was around 12 years of age when the Lord called out to him.  

Verse 7 says “Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.”  I found this verse quite surprising.  

Samuel, day after day and for years was going through the motions; the act of everything required to demonstrate worship to the Lord and yet he didn’t know him.  How many of us are doing the same thing?  Saying our meal time prayers, our bedtime prayers, going to church on Sundays, doing all the “right” things, living a “good” life, being a “good” person and even reading the Bible.

  

Checking off all the boxes and punching in the time card. Is that what Christianity is all about?  -No, it’s not really about any of those things.  It’s about knowing the Lord through relationship.

Samuel didn’t recognize the voice of the Lord because he didn’t have a relationship with him yet.  He only knew God through the lens of rules and regulations.  He only knew to make sure to do the “right” things and check off all the boxes as he did them.

When the Lord called to Samuel, notice his posture; his position. Samuel positioned himself in such a way most likely because he was keeping an eye on the lamp of God to ensure it wouldn’t go out before it was supposed to.  In verse 2 it says that the lamp of God had not yet gone out.  This is something key to note because it was one of the laws to make sure it didn’t go out before morning. (Exodus 27:20, 21)  Also it’s key to note because it shows us just where Samuel had positioned himself.

The Lamp or what we now call the Menorah, represents fellowship with God.   Directly across from the Lamp stood the Bread of the Presence.  The Bread of the Presence represented fellowship and communion with man; speaking to him.   Verse 3 says that Samuel was lying down where the ark of God was.  The Ark of God represented the power and the presence of God himself. All three of these objects were surrounding Samuel.

Spiritually he positioned himself as close as anyone could possibly get to God, directly placing himself in his presence so that he could be in relationship with him and hear his voice.  That posture and position was where he needed to be to hear God, and he did.

Over time, Samuel understood how to keep the relationship close.  He kept hearing the word of the Lord time and time again.  I know I want that for my life.  I don’t want to live focused on the rules and regulations. Instead I want my focus to be on relationship; getting as close as I possibly can to the heart of God.  I want to rest in his presence like Samuel.

If you want to know the Lord and hear his voice leading you, then rest in his presence.  Get as close as you can.

How to get started: Slow down and read the Bible one verse/story/chapter at a time if need be, rest on that thought and meditate on it throughout your day.

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Don't Give Up, Stand Up!

•             When Hannah felt like giving up, she stood up.

•             When we feel like giving up, choose to stand up!

•             When you want to give up, stand up!

These thoughts flooded my mind after reading 1 Samuel 1:1-20.  It’s a true account of a woman named Hannah, her husband Elkahana, and Elkahana’s other wife Peninnah.  Peninnah was jealous of Hannah because Elkahana always blessed Hannah with twice as much when it came time to journey to make the annual sacrifice for the covering and cleansing of sins.  Hannah received twice as much because she had no children.  I find it strange that Peninnah acted this way towards Hannah due to the fact that Peninnah was the one who was able to bear children, while Hannah had none.  Peninnah was blessed but it wasn’t enough.  Hannah was afflicted by two hardships; she was bullied by a jealous woman and she wasn’t able to have children.

I’ve been in Hannah’s shoes many times in my life from elementary school and onward and I’m sure you have as well.  Girlfriends jealous of what you have, who you’re friends with, and intellect on a subject that somehow they feel inferior in.  When women act out these emotions of jealousy it looks a lot like lying, gossip, bullying, verbal and physical abuse.  Hannah was experiencing some of these reactions from her rival Peninnah.  Peninnah had purposed to irritate Hannah to the point that Hannah would cry and not eat.  Year after year this scenario would play out and Hannah would be bullied by Peninnah while the ever-present reminder that she was barren was on the forefront of her mind.

Then one year, one day, Hannah changed everything.  Hannah was at the Temple and when she had finished eating and drinking, Hannah stood up.  She did something different than in years’ past.  Hannah not only wept, same as before, but she prayed to the Lord and made a vow to dedicate her son to the Lord in service for his whole life; that is if the Lord was to give her a son.  She was extremely distraught as she prayed in her heart and the priest Eli sees her lips moving but no sound is coming out and therefore accuses her of being drunk. 

Not only is her rival beating her down verbally and now the priest too?  He had no idea what was really going on in the background of her life.  This is exactly what happens today.  People making assumptions about you without knowing what you’re going through.  Here Eli assumed that Hannah was drunk out of her mind in the Temple.  Instead, as she explains, she is “deeply troubled” and that she was “pouring out my soul to the Lord” and also that “I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief”.

 Has there ever been a time, a situation, and a relationship that has been of great anguish to your soul; a time where your heart aches inside of your flesh that it almost feels like you just can’t take it anymore?  Hannah got to that point and she made a choice.  She made the choice to not to give up, but stand up and do something different.  She decided to break the cycle, take a risk and in her desperation for breakthrough, risking her self-image before the priest in the Temple she laid her soul bare before God.

Hannah could have looked at the priest in all her hurt and pain and could have walked away feeling like the world was against her, but again, she pressed through.  She stood up for herself by explaining her demeanor.  After hearing Hannah’s explanation, Eli blessed her with words of encouragement.  Many times all we need is someone to just listen and encourage us.

This is our chance to view this situation from two different sides.  1) We can be the “Eli” in someone else’s life by listening and bringing an encouraging word at just the right moment or 2) We can be the “Hannah” who is in desperate need of an encouraging word, take that word and use it to pull us out of our despair. Hannah didn’t give up, she stood up.  At any given moment we are either one or the other.

The story of Hannah’s struggle ends with a son whom she names Samuel which was “because I asked the Lord for him.”  It ended because she asked the Lord for his intervention in her life.  Possibly this heartache could have been resolved sooner if she had chosen to stand up and pour her heart out to the Lord in any of the given years prior.  Don’t wait any longer, choose to be like Hannah; stand up.  Don’t shut God out when you are deeply troubled, choose to invite Him into your situation. Don’t give up, stand up.

I’m choosing to not give up on finishing a weekly devotional I had started years ago and as of this week I’ve stood up against feelings of frustration and failure.  I tried something I had never tried before, a new women’s group who prayed words of encouragement over me.  Just like Hannah, I believe my breakthrough is on its way. 

Transcending Earth to Heaven's Transforming Light

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is –his good pleasing and perfect will.

Our thoughts, words and actions can take us places we’ve never been.  We can think, talk, and act our way into a dark place and allow our souls to dwell there or we can choose to think, talk, and act our way into the light where everything is fresh and new.  Only on mountain tops can you see the furthest vistas, the sun rise and set and what once looked like the largest obstacle now seems minute.  I want my mind to live there, on the mountaintops. But what if there was a better view?  Heaven, yes, from Heaven’s perspective, that must be the best view where even Earth finds its place amongst the stars and the planets dance in perfect harmony. 

From Heaven’s view all of the worries of Earth seem but a speck on the massive scale of time of which is eternity.  

From Heaven’s view, you might ask the question, what is worth holding onto and what is just sand slipping through our fingers?  The dark places still exist on earth but the light, that light that illuminates those dark places, that everlasting light from Heaven’s throne, surely there is no better vista.  I want my thoughts, words, and actions to not only live there but be propelled from there bathed in the light of my Creator, who’s transforming me from the dark places and into his glorious light. 

My thoughts, words, and actions need transformation to keep me from the dark paths and places.  God’s word has the answer.  Colossians 3:1-2 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

It begins with setting our hearts and minds on things above.  

Focusing on what is lasting and eternal verses the temporal.  To put this another way, what are we going to take with us when we die?  Those things that we can’t take are the temporal things, the sand that will continually slip through our fingers.  No matter how hard we try to grasp, those things will always evade eternity.

Once we shift our focus to the lasting and eternal, then we as believers are to choose to put on our new self which is in the process of renewal by the knowledge of God.  God’s knowledge is found in every word throughout the Bible.  Next we are to daily put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  We are also to forgive each other and to put on love as a part of this daily renewal.  Colossians 3:12-14 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Transformation by renewing my mind is a process and it’s a journey worth taking.  This journey will take me to new places I’ve never been.  I’ve challenged myself to focus on the transformative knowledge of God that I wrote about in this blog above.  I’m focusing on one virtue a week, meditating on that virtue and letting it sink deep into my soul and allowing it to transform my thoughts, words and actions. I’m choosing to do this until I can put on these virtues daily whilst keeping them in mind throughout my day. Will you join me?

Week 1: compassion

Week 2: kindness

Week 3: humility

Week 4: gentleness

Week 5: patience

Week 6: forgiveness

Week 7: love

What other ways, through the knowledge of God, do you renew your mind?  What are other ways you focus on things above verses the things of earth?

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Anxiety and Other Storms

Anxiety:

Distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune (Dictionary.com)

Anxiety is rooted in Fear.  We’ve all experienced one or both at some point in our lives.  Maybe you are experiencing anxiety right now?  Recently, I’ve been on some cold medicine and I’ve noticed anxiety afflicting me, especially at night.  I’m tired, but my thoughts seem to keep going.  My body feels hyper-sensitive along with my hearing.  I worry that I’m not sleeping, so then I find myself in a cycle of worrying that I’m not going to get enough sleep before morning which then causes me to think and problem solve the reason of why I’m not sleeping soundly which then keeps me more and more awake.  (Woah, I’m feeling anxious just reliving this!)

In Luke 8:22 this passage has been subtitled “Jesus Calms the Storm”.  It’s the familiar story of Jesus crossing over in a boat when a major storm arises.  Jesus is sleeping through the whole event as the disciples are fearing for their lives because the boat is getting swamped with water.  They wake him up, and he simply speaks to the storm and then peace occurs.  The way I’ve heard it, and the way I’m describing it here, makes it sound so simple.  You might end up thinking that the lesson might be, “You shouldn’t ever be afraid if you have Jesus in your life”.  This is a misconception of the life of a follower of Jesus.  Storms will still arise and storms are scary.

In this passage you can relate this to your life, so let’s take a look at what was really happening…The followers of Jesus, his disciples, are on a journey with Jesus and they were crossing over into something and somewhere new.  As they were moving forward a storm approaches.  A storm not only approaches but is bent on stopping the journeyers from reaching their destination.  Now in verse 23 we can see the character of Jesus and he had an attitude of peace with absolutely no fear of what lies ahead.  The disciples however felt total fear.

Fear wants to stop us from reaching our destiny.

Now don’t think too poorly of the disciples, after all, at this point the boat was being swamped with water as the wind and the waves were blowing over the boat.  They were going to drown.  This was the circumstances that they not only saw but the very tangible physical experience that they were feeling. 

Remember my description of my anxiety?  I was experiencing and feeling something very real.  This was my storm in the midst of my peaceful night’s sleep.  Fear was rising up with the purpose to overtake me, to have me drowning in fear so much so that I wouldn’t be able to function the next day and accomplish my destiny that I was moving toward.

The disciples wake Jesus and he speaks to the wind and the waves.  He calms the storm.

Colossians 3:15 “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.”  The Holy Spirit revealed to me one of those nights in the midst of my storm to thank God.  Here I was, alert, my mind going, my body buzzing and I’m reaching for whatever I know to use to battle this anxiety.

I reach for prayer. 

So I am rebuking the spirit of anxiety and asking for the Lord to fill me with peace.  –I felt nothing.  I felt absolutely no change.  So I thought, maybe I need to repeat that prayer as if maybe I didn’t say it right, or God didn’t hear me…again, no change.

“Can’t you see I’m drowning here Lord? I just need to sleep!”

Now the more I think about it, the worse it gets.  I get up and walk around and pray again, but more simply this time, “Jesus, please tell me what to do.”  Then the thought of thanking him entered my mind.  As I headed back to my bed, I started thanking God for specific family members, I felt instant relief from anxiety, then friends and by the time I got two friends in, I was out for the rest of the night.  Jesus calmed the storm.  This same incidence happened again, except this time I started right away with the thankfulness.  I only was able to express my gratitude to Jesus for about three people and then total peace.  This is amazing, thankfulness is tied to experiencing the peace of Christ!

Back to the disciples in Luke 8, they too were now experiencing peace.  Peace was restored to their journey.  They now had a renewed confidence in who Jesus is, and how he is able to bring peace to any element that will rise up.  For the disciples at that time, those elements were the wind and waves, but for us it can be anything.  For myself, recently it’s been anxiety that Jesus has calmed through thankfulness. 

What elements or storms do you have in your life that are rising up to stop you from reaching your destiny?  Ask Jesus to tell you what to do.  It just might start with thankfulness.

Stability in the Storm {Part 3 of 4} Speak Good

In the early 90’s Martha Stewart had her own cooking and crafting show which she always ended it by saying, “It’s a Good Thing”.  She had all of us viewers instantly agreeing with her that what she said was a good thing.  That is a powerful phrase that Martha Stewart coined.  It was positive and it got everyone to think positively about what she had just demonstrated and said to us.  Words have the power to change our world for the good of mankind or for the worse.

Luke 6:45 “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks.”

Are we speaking good or are we speaking evil?

When I pondered this, I certainly didn’t think that I ever spoke anything evil.  When I think of evil, I think of images of the Dragon in Sleeping Beauty trying to destroy everything beautiful, or impish demonic creatures running around trying to lure people into temptation, or people who pre-meditate murder.  No, I’m not like these things, I’m sure I don’t have anything to do with evil.  But, when I broke down the Greek meaning of the words for “good” and “evil” in this passage, I find something different than what I considered “evil”.  It’s not as distant from my life as I first thought.

English/Greek

Good/Agathos:  1. Of good nature 2.  Useful, salutary 3.  Good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy 4. Excellent, distinguished 5. Upright, honorable

Evil/Poneros:  1. Bad, of a bad nature

The key to this passage is found in the last part of the verse “For out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks.”   To find out what’s in our heart, good things or bad, all we have to do is listen to what we are saying.  In the King James’ version of Luke 6:45 it is expressed this way, “…out of the good treasure of his heart…out of the evil treasure of his heart…”

Our mouth is the gauge to our treasure room

What is your heart speaking today?  What has it said in the past?  It’s time to re-evaluate the treasure room.  Clean out the areas holding onto the evil and release that to Jesus and fill up our hearts with “Good Things”. 

How to release those dark areas:

-Begin with a relationship with Jesus by asking him for forgiveness, believing that you are forgiven and ask him to change you.

-Whether you’re a brand new follower of Jesus or not, say these words, “Jesus, I give you permission to clean out the dark areas of my heart and I release those areas to you.”

How to fill our hearts with “Good Things”:

-Read the Bible (It’s full of good words for our lives)

-Pray these words, “Lord Jesus, fill me up with more of you and the good things you have for me”.

Now when the storms of life come, I’ll already have my heart full of good prepared to encourage not only myself, but others.  “It’s a Good Thing”.