HOLY MUZZLE

The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. Luke 6:45 (NAS)

The Bible speaks often about damage caused by careless words. In James 3:8, the tongue is described as a restless evil, full of deadly poison that no one can tame. The verse granted me no consolation as once again I combed over a thoughtless statement I had blurted out. Time and time again it seems I would find myself regretting something I said and wishing to retract it.
 
Continually I prayed for the Lord’s guidance in bridling my tongue. I confessed my transgressions and asked forgiveness from the Lord and others on many occasions.

While praying about this one day, it occurred to me that Paul might have left out an important piece of the armor of God described in the book of Ephesians 6:11. Certainly he should have included a Holy muzzle since it was well known we humans were helpless to control our tongues. I couldn’t believe this great Saint’s oversight. I began to add that piece to the armor during my prayer time.

It was not the supernatural cure I had hoped for. I still struggled with controlling my words.

Finally, while reading my Bible I came across the wisdom behind Paul’s exclusion of a muzzle. The uncontrolled tongue is not a mouth issue. It’s a heart problem. Our words come from the overflow of what is in our hearts. We must start there, in order to deal effectively with our dilemma.

Father, guard my heart with Your breastplate of righteousness so I don’t sin with my mouth. Amen.

©2016 Bonnie Mae Evans

Armor On?

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:13 (NIV)

Finally, after three years of anticipation, this summer our Wolf River apple trees were loaded with fruit. When the dwarf trees were planted, we were told that in three to five years they’d produce an unbelievable amount of grapefruit size apples. Each one- pound apple would be enough to fill a pie!  Now, we only had to wait until September to pick the apples and get cooking.

The varmints beat us to it. A large black buzzard perched on the top of the trees, yanking at the stems and poking its beak and claws into the fruit. Squirrels climbed from the bottom of the trees, grabbing an apple at a time, taking a few bites, and tossing the rest for the groundhog, opossum, and raccoon. What they didn’t devour, the deer did.

We hadn’t given thought to protecting the apple trees from wildlife. They were thriving, and we had our hearts set on pie. Now the trees are stripped of fruit.

God knew that we’d need to be protected from what might prey on us. He provided us with “armor,” so we can stand strong in Him and live fruitful lives.  Of course, as with our apple trees, the armor needs to be in place before any threat or opposition. God’s armor (righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God) can be “put on” daily through prayer, meditation, and Bible reading.

Father, help me to consistently wear Your armor, so I can stand against anything that might interfere with or challenge my being fruitful for You.

© 2012 Nance