mouth
Magnify the Lord
Oh magnify the Lord with me (Psalm 34:3)
Anytime you use a magnifying glass, it causes the object you’re looking at to appear bigger or larger. We know that God is great and He’s greater than he that is in the world, but we don’t always treat Him as if He is great or greater. In Psalm 34, David was afraid and running from Saul, but after he magnified God with praise and thanksgiving, God delivered him from all his fears. The more he magnified God, the smaller everything else around him appeared. He thanked God while he was in his situation and God was faithful to bring him out of his situation. He didn’t bless the Lord sometimes, but he chose to bless Him at all times, in every situation and under every circumstance. The reason why praise was continually in his mouth (Psalm 34:1) was because it was continually in his heart. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
The book of Psalms is filled with praise, worship and thanksgiving. Write down all of the scriptures giving thanks and praise to God and speak them every day. Hide these scriptures in your heart so that they will come out of your mouth when you face difficulties and challenges. Praise was the answer to David’s deliverance and it’s the answer to yours. Decide today to magnify the Answer (Jehovah God and His word) more than the problem.
Now magnify the Lord with me.
Prayer Is Very Important
Prayer is very important. It is so important that Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray.
When the saints prayed without ceasing for Paul (Acts 12), an angel was released. When the saints prayed without ceasing, the chains fell off of his hands. When the saints prayed without ceasing, the door and the gate that were shut, opened.
The saints never saw the angel. They never saw the gate or the prison door open. They didn’t know what God was doing. They didn’t see what God was doing, but they kept praying until they saw their prayer answered. According to Isaiah 62:7, they gave Him no rest.
In 2024, pray. If you’re already praying, then pray more. Pray more often than you do. Make a list of people to pray for. Who do you know that is bound? Maybe they are not in prison, but their minds and their souls are in prison. Whose hands and feet are in chains? These could be people paralyzed by fear or paralyzed from the things that happened to them in their childhood. Keep praying for them. Why? Because had the saints not opened their mouths and prayed for Paul, the angel would have never moved, the chains would have never fallen off and the door/gate would have remained closed. When you feel like it, pray. When you don’t feel like it, pray.
Closed mouth. Closed door.
Open mouth. Open door.
Happy New Year!
When You Don’t Know What to Say
God didn’t give us His word so that we may just read it, but so that we may also speak it.
God said, Let there be light and there was light (Genesis 1:3).
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made (Psalm 33:6).
For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast (Psalm 33:9).
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear (Hebrews 11:3).
The word of God in your mouth is truth (1 Kings 17:24).
HE has said…so that WE may boldly say (Hebrews 13:5-6).
When you don’t know what to say, say what He said.
My Heart’s Not in It
That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).
When you accepted Jesus as your Savior, you accepted him with your mouth and your heart, but it doesn’t stop there. After salvation, you still have to confess with your mouth and believe in your heart. Not for salvation, but for everything else that you will need.
The woman who had been bleeding for twelve years kept saying, If I can touch his garment, I shall be healed (Mark 5:28, Berean Study Bible and NET Bible).
It is important that you keep saying what God said because the more you say it, the more you hear it. The more you hear it, the more you believe it. Faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17).
I believe we gave our hearts to God initially, but after years of hurt and disappointment – things not working out the way we thought it should, we stopped trusting God with our hearts. We blamed Him for the poor decisions we made. We blamed Him for what people did to us. We blamed Him for what the enemy did – just like in the garden.
Adam: The woman you (God) gave to be with me.
Eve: The serpent deceived me.
For some Christians, we have honored God with our lips, but not with our hearts. We have given up mentally. We don’t believe like we used to. We don’t want to try again because we say that we’ve been trying for years and nothing has happened.
After toiling all night and not catching any fish, the disciples were washing their nets. They were tired. They had enough. Nothing was happening. They weren’t catching anything, but after Jesus finished teaching in one of the ships, he told them to try again. The bible tells us that when Jesus spoke, the disciples heard him and did what he told them to do. They didn’t procrastinate. They didn’t try tomorrow. They didn’t try the following week. They moved when he told them to. Nevertheless at your word, I will let down the net.
During the forty years that the Israelites were in the wilderness, God didn’t test what was in their mouth, but he tested what was in their heart. I know you have given God some things and you have even given up some things for God, but have you given Him your whole heart? Not pieces, but all of your heart.
Let’s be honest with God today. He already knows. Tell Him that your heart isn’t in it like it used to. Repent of doubt and unbelief and whatever else you’re carrying in your heart. Ask for forgiveness and ask Him to help you. Ask for strength and grace to endure. Tell Him that you don’t know what to do and ask for direction.
I pray that your faith won’t fail.
Don’t lose heart.
This is your time to reap, not to faint.
Acknowledge Him
acknowledge: to know or recognize
I am supposed to always acknowledge the Lord, but I don’t always acknowledge him. For most of my life, I’ve been making decisions without consulting Him first. I’ve sought counsel from everyone’s mouth except His mouth.
I’ve never asked the Lord,
Who do You want me to help today?
Who do You want me to marry?
What is the career/business You’ve chosen for me?
Where do You want me to live?
What car do You want me to drive?
What do You want me to wear today?
And do you know why I never asked those questions?
Because I was afraid of the answer.
I was afraid that He wouldn’t pick what I picked.
I was afraid that I wouldn’t like what He loved.
Oftentimes, I don’t think about what He wants. I only think about what I want.
My path goes in circle, but His path leads to success.
To acknowledge God means you recognize that you don’t know it all. You recognize that you need Him. You recognize that you can’t live without Him. You recognize that He owns you and you belong to Him. You recognize that your body is now His body.
Lord, forgive me for not acknowledging You in every decision I make and forgive me for not trusting You with all of my heart.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:6).
Speak To It
When God told Moses that He was sending him to bring His children out of Egypt, that was a prophetic word. That was a promise. But when Moses obeyed God and did what He told him to do, Pharaoh refused to let the children of Israel go.
At first, Moses was discouraged. It seemed like what God said wasn’t going to come to pass. But instead of being upset with the enemy who was opposing him, he was angry with God. Why did you send me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people, neither have you delivered your people at all (Exodus 5:22-23).
That’s what the enemy wants us to do. He wants us to blame God for something he did. He wants us to think that what God told us to do isn’t working and that it will never work.
Had Moses not obeyed God and confronted Pharaoh and speak to him again and again, what God said would have never come to pass, but he kept speaking to that ‘mountain’ until God removed him.
I know some of you are getting a little weary, but this is not the time to quit and this is not the time to be silent.
Don’t stop speaking to whatever is trying to block you, stop you or hinder you. Continue to say what God said. If you don’t speak it, you will never see it. God has given you a mouth and wisdom (Luke 21:15). Use your mouth to create and use your heart to believe what you want to see.
You have been talking about it long enough. Now it’s time to speak to it.
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be removed, and be cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says (Mark 11:23).
Seek Godly Counsel
Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord, that take counsel, but not of me…that walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth (Isaiah 30:1-2).
The Assyrian army was going to attack Israel first and then Judah. God already knew what Judah was going to do. They were going to try to make their enemy, their friend. They thought they would have greater success if they joined forces with Egypt, but it was already prophesied that Egypt would fall to Assyria, which meant that when Egypt fall, Judah would fall also. God didn’t have to send a prophet to His people, but because He loved them, He warned them.
Judah was aware that they needed help, but they were asking for advice from everyone except God. They never asked God if it was okay to go to Egypt. They just made a decision without Him. They thought Pharaoh was the answer, but Pharaoh was really the problem. Egypt couldn’t protect them and in the end, they would only be disappointed and embarrassed because the Egyptians are only men, not God (Isaiah 31:3).
The reason why some of us don’t ask God for advice before we make certain decisions is because we are afraid He is going to say no. We are afraid that God is going to tell us something that we don’t want to hear.
Let’s say for example, you’re dating someone. Because this is the person YOU want to marry, you refuse to ask God for advice because you don’t want Him to tell you that this person is not the wife or husband He picked for you. You’ve already made plans and you don’t want God’s plan to change your plan.
Maybe you’re tired of being single and you think you’re ready for marriage now, but God sees what is going to happen in the near future if you make a decision without consulting Him first. What you think is going to be an answer just may become a problem. Remember, the person you are about to join yourself to is just a man or a woman. They are not God. They are not a Healer and they are not a Savior.
If you’re not sure about anything else, know that God loves you. If He didn’t, He wouldn’t warn you before you go in the wrong direction or convict you when you do wrong. He does care for you and He doesn’t want you to make a decision that will only bring you disappointment and shame.
Jesus is called our Counselor and God has placed counselors around us. I know Proverbs 11:14 speaks about the condition of a nation without wise leadership, but even in your personal life, where there is no counsel, you will fall.
Before you make a permanent decision, seek godly counsel, ask for advice and then follow the advice.
Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you (Matthew 7:7).
From Begging to Believing
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked an alms.
And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have, give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk (Acts 3:1-6).
The lame man asked with expectation for alms, but Peter and John wanted to give him something better – something that would last. Had Peter and John given the lame man gold and silver, how long do you think that would have lasted? At some point, he would have run out of money and the only choice he would have had was to go back into the lifestyle that he thought he left. He would return to begging.
This man had a problem, but what he was asking for was not the solution to his problem. Just like the lame man, I was sitting at the gate of Beautiful. As a result of when I went through, I was crippled with fear, unbelief and doubt. I was sitting in pity when I should have been walking in power. I was on the outside when I should have been in the inside.
Your problems and painful experiences may have brought you to the gate, but it can’t stop you from going through the gate.
I was praying for money, but money wasn’t my problem. My problem was that I didn’t trust God. When Peter told the man to look on him and John, the man immediately looked at them to be his source. And that was me. I was looking to my job to be my source when I should have been looking to God to be my Source. The man was looking at their hands, but Peter wanted him to know that what he needed wasn’t in his hand, but in his mouth. In his mouth was the power to command things, to prophesy, and to change his situation.
I thought it was money that I needed, but I needed wisdom. If I have wisdom, I have riches (Proverbs 8:18). I thought I needed money, but it is healing that I need. God never hurt me and He never disappointed me, but I know that I don’t have the trust in Him that I once had and I need God to build up what the enemy tried to tear down. I need Him to restore that childlike faith.
The lame man spent most of his life depending on people, but God wanted him to depend on Him. When Peter took him by the right hand and lifted him up, it took trust and faith to believe not only that he could rise, but to do something he had not been able to do since birth – walk.
But one thing is needful (Luke 10:42).
What I need and what God wants is for me to seek a better relationship with Him. It’s time to go from begging to believing.
I’ve been giving Him my hands (seeking a handout), but what God really wants is my heart.
Make Time
make time: to find time to do something or be with someone in spite of being busy (Macmillan Dictionary)
I remember one day I shared with an individual that I wanted to do some things, but I didn’t know how to get started. At that very moment, the young man began to tell me all the things I could do, but every time he gave a suggestion, I gave an excuse.
After the last excuse, the young man said, ‘Then, you really don’t want it’. And he said no more.
My feelings were hurt. How could he say that I didn’t want it? But sometime later, I realized he was right. It’s not that I didn’t want what I was asking for. It’s just that I wanted it to come easy. I wanted it, but without the work.
For six days, God didn’t just speak creation into existence with His mouth, but He also worked with His hands.
God made the firmament and divided the waters (Genesis 1:7).
God made two great lights (sun and moon). He made the stars also (Genesis 1:16).
God created every living creature that moves (Genesis 1:21).
God made the beast, cattle and every creeping thing after its kind (Genesis 1:25).
God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him (Genesis 1:27).
I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens (Isaiah 45:12).
My hand has made all those things (Isaiah 66:2).
We all are the work of Your hand (Isaiah 64:8).
God not only said things, but He did things. I was saying things, but I was doing nothing – or I was just doing enough to say I was doing something.
The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made (Genesis 1:1-2).
After God worked, He rested. Some of us want the rest, but without the work – and it doesn’t work that way.
You and I will never inherit the promises through laziness, but it will be through patience and faith, but you must show your faith by your works and by your actions.
This may consist of early mornings and late nights. And some of you may say, ‘I don’t have time’, but we can’t use that excuse anymore because we all make time for the things we want to do and for the people we want to spend time with.
The question isn’t, Do you have time?
The question is, Will you make time?
The Day God Used a Child
One day after church, I was standing outside with two adults and a small child. As I was talking to one of the adults, the child asked me a question. I won’t repeat what he said, but let’s just say this child ‘called me out’. I was shocked, embarrassed and speechless.
I couldn’t believe he had just spoken to me that way, but what really made me mad was that the two adults standing by were his parents and they said nothing. They didn’t correct him nor did they apologize to me. So, what did I do? I accused the parents of talking about me in front of their child, but they both denied it.
I knew I was doing things that I shouldn’t have been doing, but I couldn’t figure out how this child knew what I was doing. I thought no one knew. I thought no one saw me, but the Lord opened the mouth of a child to open my eyes.
In Numbers 22, Balak, the king of Moab, saw what the Israelites did to the Amorites and he was afraid. He knew a man named Balaam and he knew that whoever Balaam blessed was blessed and whoever he cursed was cursed. He then sent his messengers (with money) to Balaam so that he might place a curse on the people that God called His people. Balaam told the men that he would talk to God and then tell them whatever God told him. God made it very clear to Balaam that the people Balak wanted to curse were blessed and he was not to go with Balak’s men.
The next day, Balaam told the men that God didn’t give him permission to go with them so Balak made a better offer and it sounded really good. Not only did he offer riches and honor, but he offered to do whatever Balaam asked. Balaam knew what God said the first time, but he went back to God concerning the same thing to see if He would change His mind.
God told Balaam to go with the men if they called him the following morning, but when Balaam went with Balak’s men, God became angry. I don’t believe God would tell him to go and then be angry because he went. Maybe it wasn’t about who Balaam went with, but about why he went with them. In 2 Peter 2:15, Balaam is described as a man who loved the wages of unrighteousness (wrongdoing; wickedness; doing harm).
While Balaam was traveling, the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way. The angel drew his sword to kill Balaam three times, but each time the donkey protected him. Balaam beat his donkey each time because he couldn’t see what his donkey saw and he didn’t understand what she was doing. But after the third beating, the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey and then He opened Balaam’s eyes.
The reason why God used a child that day was because when He spoke to me, I wouldn’t listen to Him. He used adults, but I wouldn’t listen to them so He used someone that I least expected. He used someone who I didn’t think He would use. Because I refused to put away childish things, He used a child to speak to a child (me). It may have been a little boy’s mouth, but it was God’s words.
God saw what I couldn’t see. He saw me going in the wrong direction and He knew the way I was going would have either killed me or destroyed me. Yes, Balaam’s foot was crushed against a wall along the way, but he lived to repent for the things he had done. He was given another chance and so was I.
I wanted to discipline that child the same way Balaam disciplined his donkey, but it wasn’t the child that needed rebuke.
It was me.
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