More convicting verses

"A fool gives full vent to his spirit,
    but a wise man quietly holds it back." (Prov 29:11)

"Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?
    There is more hope for a fool than for him." (Prov 29:20)

"A man of wrath stirs up strife,
    and one given to anger causes much transgression." (Prov 29:22)

A three step test for godly speech

From John Piper : "Green light at the lips: 1) good for building up, 2) fits the occasion, 3) gives grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29"

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

If only I only let things out of my mouth that passed this test..

Here's a starting point: 

"Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
  I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in princes,
  in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
  on that very day his plans perish." (Ps 146)

Every time I let my tongue go crazy, I trust in man, in myself and my ability to persuade by nagging (for example). I can only keep my mouth shut and exercise self-control in my speech if I trust in the Lord. 

"Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!" Fill my heart with praise for You, and leave no room for thoughts that do not honor you!

 

A watch over my mouth

"Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin" (Prov 13:3)

All these other verses come to mind..

"Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!" (Psalm 141:3)

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." (Psalm19:14)

"addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart" (Ephesians 5:19)

"The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45)

And, one of the most encouraging ones..

"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26)

It will be pleasant..

"Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise,
  and apply your heart to my knowledge,
for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
  if all of them are ready on your lips.
That your trust may be in the Lord,
  I have made them known to you today, even to you.
Have I not written for you thirty sayings
  of counsel and knowledge,
to make you know what is right and true,
  that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?" (Prov 22)

I want to have a pleasant life. And I want for people to feel it's pleasant to be around me. What a wonderful prospect, if my words would be wise, that instead of nagging, I could say something encouraging. It's overwhelming to think of how much my heart needs to be changed for that to happen. I am so glad that all things are possible with the Lord. And, again, I am thankful for the awareness He gives me of these things. There is nothing worse than when I have a self-righteous attitude. 

I also love the promise that He can make these words known to be that I may be able to trust Him. 

Father, please make these wise words of yours known to be today, that I may fully trust in You and that my heart would overflow with wise words, and that I would be a pleasant and refreshing presence to those around me.

Wisdom brings gladness

"A wise son makes a glad father,
  but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother." (Prov 10:1)

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov 9:10)

"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil." (Prov 8:13)

Our son cannot even begin to have wisdom unless he knows and fears the Lord (since the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.). I'm thinking of all the people in the world who are considered "wise", like some famous philosophers and such, but who don't know and fear the Lord. They are not truly wise. 

It also strikes me that true gladness for a parent is to see their child being wise. That, I think, means that they know and apply God's word. What can be more joyful?

Lord, please open the eyes, ears of our son that he may hear your call unto salvation. And please make him wise, so that he may honor You with his life and bring gladness to his parents.

Unanswered Prayer

I found this article very encouraging: http://www.challies.com/christian-living/unanswered-prayer, especially the paragraph:

"What Jesus would accomplish made little sense to [the disciples] when he described it in advance; what he was accomplishing made little sense while he endured it; what he had accomplished became clear only when they could look back on it. They just needed to wait. It all became clear in time." (emphasis mine)

Wisdom

"“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
  and I find knowledge and discretion.
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
  and perverted speech I hate.
I have counsel and sound wisdom;
  I have insight; I have strength.
By me kings reign,
  and rulers decree what is just;
by me princes rule,
  and nobles, all who govern justly.
I love those who love me,
  and those who seek me diligently find me.
Riches and honor are with me,
  enduring wealth and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold,
  and my yield than choice silver.
I walk in the way of righteousness,
  in the paths of justice,
granting an inheritance to those who love me,
  and filling their treasuries." (Proverbs 8)

Do I really believe that the fruit of wisdom is "better than gold, even fine gold". Gold must have been the most precious thing to people back then. What is my gold? Money? Comfort? Having control over my life? Do I consider having wisdom more valuable than having those things?

One area in my life where I, by God's grace, almost constantly recognize the need for wisdom, is in raising and making decisions for our son. I am so glad and thankful that the Lord has made me aware of that, and so encouraged by God's promise that if we ask for wisdom, He will give it to us (James 1:5: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."). 

Loving His law

"Oh how I love your law!
  It is my meditation all the day.
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
  for it is ever with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers,
  for your testimonies are my meditation.
I understand more than the aged, 
  for I keep your precepts."(Psalm 119)

Oh Lord, incline my heart to love Your law and meditate on it day and night.. Help me see the truth of the words Jesus used when He was tempted: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God".