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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The Sovereign Lord has given me a
well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me
morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. The
Sovereign Lord has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not
turned away.
Isaiah
50:4-5
This ends today’s
reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Suppose someone asked you about the
greatest gifts the Lord has given you in order to carry out His purposes? How
would you reply?
Maybe you could go into how you
love people and helping others in making a difference in their lives, whether
adults or children or both.
Maybe you consider yourself very
skilled in singing or writing or speaking.
Perhaps you are comfortable with
teaching others in the word of God, in reading the scriptures, discerning their
meaning, and then imparting that understanding on others.
This list could be very extensive
as would be the degree with which you feel comfortable using those gifts. You
may like to sing but as a part of the choir and not in any solo capacity. You
may like to teach children but would be uneasy facing down a group of adults
with a Bible lesson. Maybe you like being a part of a group project or maybe
you prefer to work more independently in carrying out the Lord’s work in your
life.
There is any number of variations
but no matter which you prefer, there are some fundamental basics that all
believers should embody if they are going to carry out the work of the Lord,
whatever that work might be.
What are those fundamental basics?
Let’s look again at our verses from
our continuing look at Isaiah, Chapter 50:
The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the
word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to
listen like one being instructed. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears; I have
not been rebellious, I have not turned away.
Isaiah
50:4-5
Did you hear the words of the
prophet here as he shares with us the root ability to ensure He is doing the
Lord’s work properly, carrying out the orders the Lord gives and speaking the
words the Lord desires him to speak through those actions?
The first fundamental quality we
all need to have are open ears. We need to listen intently for the Lord’s
guidance and direction, clearing our mind of any and all distractions to ensure
we are fully understanding what the Lord wants for us to do.
As I sit down to write these
devotions daily, I start off with a blank Microsoft Word document, armed only
with the scripture verses for that day. I wouldn’t be able to move forward from
that point without open ears ready to receive the words the Lord wishes for me
to write. He imparts them upon me and I type as fast as I can to ensure they
are captured and passed onto others. And in “speaking” to the reader through my
keyboard entries, I am in essence, displaying the second fundamental quality
the Lord wants us to possess: an instructed tongue.
As Jesus was sending out His
disciples to do His work, He gave them some critical instructions as to what
they should do if arrested and hauled before a court. He essentially told them
this:
“Don’t worry about what to say in defense of yourselves because I will
give you the words to say.” Matthew 10:19-20
This is equally applicable in
whatever situation we find ourselves in while serving the Lord. We need not
make it hard as to what to say to others within the context of a situation we
might be dealing with. The Lord will give us the words to say, instructing our
tongues in such a way so that the things we speak will have the ultimate value
for the listener because the words will not be from ourselves but from the Lord
who we are allowing to speak through us.
When we are in tune with these two
qualities, opening our ears to fully listen to the Lord and then allowing Him
to instruct our tongues so that the words we speak will be the words He wants
for us to speak, then we will find ourselves flourishing in carrying out the
Lord’s will and way in our lives and the excitement that comes with that will
drive us to awaken with the Lord each morning, rejoicing in His presence and
eager to start to carry out what He would have us do.
Friends, are your ears open so the
Lord can instruct your tongue?
I can tell you from experience,
there is no thrilling place you can be that in concert with His Spirit and the
amazing purposes He has for you to fulfill every day, one of which is writing
this message to you on this day.
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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