Say Thank You 1 Chronicles 16:8 Psalms 7:17 Psalms 30:11-12 Psalms 118:28-29 Psalms 136:1 Colossians 3:15 Psalms 95:1-3 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Colossians 2:6-7 1 Corinthians 15:57 04.30.18

SAY THANK YOU

BREAD

⁸ Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.   1 Chronicles 16:8 (NIV)

¹⁷ I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.  Psalm 7:17 (NIV)

¹¹ You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, ¹² that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.   Psalm 30:11-12 (NIV)

²⁸ You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. ²⁹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.   Psalm 118:28-29 (NIV)

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.   Psalm 136:1 (NIV)

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  Colossians 3:15 (NIV)

¹ Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
² Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. ³ For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.  Psalm 95:1-3 (NIV)

¹⁶ Be joyful always; ¹⁷ pray continually; ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.   1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

⁶ So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.  Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)

⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Gratitude is not an option for believers who want to splash in waves of grace...God commands His followers to be thankful.  Some spend a lot of time wondering about God's will for their lives. We can be absolutely certain of at least one aspect of His divine will: we are to be thankful! We are to give thanks! In all things!”   Ellen Vaughn

“Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude.”  John Henry Jowett

“Thanksgiving is good, but thanks-living is better.”  Matthew Henry

“(Why does God) bother to speak to us?  The truly staggering answer that the Bible gives to this question is that God’s purpose in revelation is to make friends with us.  It was to this end that he created us rational beings, bearing his image, able to think and hear and speak and love; he wanted there to be genuine personal affection and friendship, two-sided, between himself and us—a relation, not like that between a man and his dog, but like that of a father to his child, or a husband to his wife.  Loving friendship between two persons has no ulterior motive; it is an end in itself. And this is God’s end in revelation. He speaks to us simply to fulfill the purpose for which we were made; that is, to bring into being a relationship in which he is a friend to us, and we to him, he finding his joy in giving us gifts and we finding ours in giving him thanks”.  J I Packer

“Be the one who thanks Jesus. Let others go where they may. You be the one who is grateful…Cultivating a grateful heart is not just an add-on nicety, a civil tip of the hat to God as we steamroll through our day. A posture of purposeful, perpetual thanks to God is absolutely central to Christian character. It gives glory to Him. It is the key defense against Satan's temptations to despair, distrust, dysfunction. It protects us from sin and self. It is the hallmark of heaven. It does not exist in hell.  A grateful heart is a gift of grace.”  Ellen Vaughn

“When thou has truly thanked the Lord for every blessing sent, but little time will then remain for murmur or lament.”  Hannah More

“Fret not.  Rejoice always.  Do not be anxious.  In everything give thanks.  Serve the Lord with gladness.  Be strong and of good courage.  Come before Him with thanksgiving.  Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently on Him.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”   The Bible  (from The Promise – Robert Morgan)

“It is so easy to give thanks for what one naturally chooses, but that does not cover the ‘everything’ of the text...One morning lately, in speaking of some small trouble, I quoted ‘In everything give thanks,’ and at once someone answered ‘But I cannot give thanks for everything.’ Now if our God tells us to do a thing and we say cannot, there is something wrong somewhere, for we all know the words ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me’ - that is, all things commanded. It is treason to say 'I cannot.’ But first we should make sure that we are commanded to do this.  The text says give thanks IN everything, not FOR everything. All God's biddings are enablings. We can do that. We will do that.”   Amy Carmichael

“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.”   Ambrose

“Since I know I have nothing I have not received – I can’t even claim the breath in my lungs – all things come from His loving and good hands – all things.  I am to be grateful.  I must train my mind and my mouth to be perpetually thankful for all that He has given me.  God delights in the praise of His people.”   BHY  

“Whenever you react with praise and thanksgiving for an opportunity to grow more like Jesus in your way of reacting to things, instead of grumbling or feeling self-pity, you will find that that whole situation will be changed into a great blessing.”    Hannah Hurnard

“Be eager for more frequent gatherings for thanksgiving to God and for His glory.”  Ignatius of Antioch

“One act of thanksgiving when things go wrong with us is worth a thousand thanks when things are agreeable to our inclinations.”   Saint John of Avila

“See God in everything, and God will calm and color all that thou doest see!  It may be that the circumstances of our sorrows will not be removed, their condition will remain unchanged; but if Christ, as Lord and Master of our life, is brought into our grief and gloom, ‘He will compass us about with songs of deliverance.’  To see HIM, and to be sure that His wisdom cannot err, His power cannot fail, His love can never change; to know that even His direst dealings with us are for our deepest spiritual gain, is to be able to say, in the midst of bereavement, sorrow, pain, and loss, ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’  Nothing else but seeing God in everything will make us loving and patient with those who annoy and trouble us.  They will be to us then only instruments for accomplishing His tender and wise purposes toward us, and we shall even find ourselves at last inwardly thanking them for the blessing they bring us.  Nothing else will completely put an end to all murmuring or rebelling thoughts.”  Hannah W. Smith 

“Christian thanksgiving is the life of Christ in the heart — transforming the disposition and the whole character.  Thanksgiving must be wrought into the life as a habit—before it can become a fixed and permanent quality.  An occasional burst of praise, in the midst of years of complaining, is not what is required. Songs on rare, sunshiny days; and no songs when skies are cloudy—will not make a life of gratitude. The heart must learn to sing always.  This lesson is learned only when it becomes a habit which nothing can weaken.  We must persist in being thankful.  When we can see no reason for praise—we must believe in the divine love and goodness, and sing in the darkness.  Thanksgiving has attained its rightful place in us, only when it is part of all our days and dominates all our experiences.”   J. R. Miller

“He who can give thanks for a little will always find he has enough.”   Anonymous

“If anyone would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness – he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you.  For it is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing.  Could you therefore work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it heals with a word speaking, and turns all that it touches into happiness.  It be the noblest sacrifice that the greatest saint can offer unto God.”  William Law

“There are two ways of getting out of a trial.  One is to simply try to get rid of the trial, and be thankful when it is over.  The other is to recognize the trial as a challenge from God to claim a larger blessing than we have ever had, and to hail it with delight as an opportunity of obtaining a larger measure of divine grace.  Thus even the adversary becomes an auxiliary, and the things that seem to be against us turn out to be for the furtherance of our way.  Surely, this is to be more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”   A. B. Simpson

HEART SAVOR

• ·         Since God always has His children’s best interest at heart, He delights in His people being thankful - even in our most trying circumstances.
• ·         A thankful heart yields a blow to the enemy, a smile to the Lord and grace giving way to grace for the child of the King becoming more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
• ·         God is always deserving of the most highest praise and thanksgiving. 

It Is Well With The Righteous Isaiah 3:10 Isaiah 61:1-3 Isaiah 61:10 Psalms 128:1-2 Psalms 112:4-10 Deuteronomy 5:32-33 Deuteronomy 12:28 Romans 8:31-39 04.27.18

IT IS WELL WITH THE RIGHTEOUS

BREAD

¹⁰ Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.  Isaiah 3:10 (NIV)

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.   Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)

¹⁰ I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.  Isaiah 61:10 (NIV)

¹ Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways. ² You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.  Psalm 128:1-2 (NIV)

⁴ Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. ⁵ Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. ⁶ Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.  ⁷ He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. ⁸ His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. ⁹ He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor. ¹⁰ The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.  Psalm 112:4-10 (NIV)

³² So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.  ³³ Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.  Deuteronomy 5:32-33 (NIV)

²⁸ Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.   Deuteronomy 12:28 (NIV)

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:31-39

BUTTER

“Our satisfaction and contentment in life does not come from riches but from righteousness.”   Robert J. Morgan

“The Gospel is God’s explosive power that changes everything. The gospel makes us Christians….  God forgives your sin, declares you righteous in Christ, gives you eternal life, adopts you as His child, and ushers you into an intimate relationship with Himself, through the Holy Spirit. Secondly, the gospel grows us.  The gospel is not merely the way we enter, it is the way we make all progress…it is the ‘way of righteousness from first to last.’…  Since the gospel not only makes us Christians, but also grows us as Christians, the most desperate need of both unbelievers and believers... is to hear and appropriate the Gospel to their lives. Thirdly, the gospel empowers us to serve…with a whole new motivational structure…setting us free to love and serve unconditionally in response to God’s grace in Christ”. Dick Kaufmann

“The man who has been born again, and who has the divine nature within him, is a man who is righteous and his righteousness does exceed that of the …Pharisees. He is no longer living for self and his own attainments, he is no longer self-righteous and self satisfied.  He has become poor in spirit, meek and merciful. He hungers and thirsts after righteousness…He loves God, yes, unworthily, alas, but he loves Him and longs for His glory…(this) is a righteousness that far exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.”  D. Martin Lloyd-Jones

“God no longer holds you responsible for the smallest sin. Every single sin is forgiven. When faith is said to be credited for righteousness, it is because of what your faith receives: when you believe, Christ’s righteousness is credited to your account, and your sins are credited to his account. If both of these things do not happen, you cannot consider yourself forgiven. Sin would be charged to your account. In the gospel, two things happen: first, God removes the charge of sin against your account. Second, God gives you the gift of righteousness from Christ. You receive this double gift when you receive Christ’s redemption through the shedding of his blood.”  Walter Marshall

“We comfort the afflicted sinner in this manner; Brother you can never be perfect in this life, but you can be holy. He will say, ‘How can I be holy when I feel my sins?’ I answer, ‘You feel sin?  That is a good sign.  To realize that one is ill is a step and a very necessary step, toward recovery.’  ‘But how will I get rid of my sin?’ he will ask. I answer:  See the heavenly Physician, Christ, who heals the broken-hearted.  Do not consult the Quack doctor, Reason.  Believe in Christ and your sins will be pardoned. His righteousness will become your righteousness, and your sins will become His sins.”  Martin Luther

“Before you can (know you are right with God) you must not only be troubled for your sins of your life, but also for the sins of your best duties and performances...before you can be at peace with God, there must be a deep conviction before you can be brought out of your self-righteousness; it is the last idol taken out of your heart. The pride of our heart will not let us submit to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. But if you never felt that you had no righteousness of your own or if you never felt the deficiency of your own righteousness, you cannot come to Jesus Christ.”  George Whitefield

“If there be ground for you to trust your own righteousness, then all that Christ did to purchase salvation….is vain.”   Jonathan Edwards

“Holiness is not a feeling – it is the end product of obedience.  Purity is not a gift – it is the result of repentance and serious pursuit of God.”  Frances J. Roberts

“Now when a man has learned through the commandments to recognize his helplessness and is distressed about how he might satisfy the law…and then being truly humbled and reduced to nothing in his own eyes, he finds in himself nothing whereby he may be justified and saved.  Here the second part of Scripture comes to our aid, namely, the promises of God which declare the glory of God, saying, ‘If you wish to fulfill the law….come, believe in Christ in whom grace, righteousness, peace, liberty, and all things are promised to you.  If you believe you shall have all things; if you do not believe, you shall lack all things’.”   Martin Luther

HEART SAVOR

• ·         It is always well with the righteous.
• ·         God clothes His children in the righteousness of Christ – no longer counting their sins against them.  The Holy Spirit in turn begins the sanctification process of conforming the child of the King to the image of Jesus.  This is done through His power alone.  Flesh never accomplishes sanctification – it will continually fail.  God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.   
• ·         It is important for us to walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel.

The Battle Is His Exodus 14:13-14 Deuteronomy 1:29-31 Deuteronomy 3:21-22 Daniel 3:16-18 1 Samuel 17:47 2 Chronicles 20:15 2 Chronicles 32:7-8 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Ephesians 6:10-18 Jeremiah 32:17 Psalms 24:7-10 04.25.18

THE BATTLE IS HIS

BREAD

¹³ Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”   Exodus 14:13-14 (NIV)

²⁹ Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. ³⁰ The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, ³¹ and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”  Deuteronomy 1:29-31 (NIV)

²¹ At that time I commanded Joshua: “You have seen with your own eyes all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. The LORD will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. ²² Do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God himself will fight for you.”   Deuteronomy 3:21-22 (NIV)

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.  ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”  Daniel 3:16-18 (NIV)

⁴⁷ “All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”   1 Samuel 17:47 (NIV)

¹⁵ He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.’”   2 Chronicles 20:15 (NIV)

⁷ “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him.
⁸ With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.  2 Chronicles 32:7-8 (NIV)

³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV)

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)

¹⁷ “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”   Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV)

⁷ Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. ⁸ Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. ⁹ Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. ¹⁰ Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty-- he is the King of glory.  Selah  Psalm 24:7-10 (NIV)

BUTTER

“A primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success, and for doing God’s work well and triumphantly, is a sense of our own weakness.  When God’s warrior marches forth to battle, strong in his own might, when he boasts, ‘I know that I shall conquer, my own right arm and my conquering sword shall get unto me the victory’, defeat is not far distant.  God will not go forth with that man who marches in his own strength.  He who reckoneth on victory thus has reckoned wrongly, for ‘it is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts’.  They who go forth to fight, boasting of their prowess, shall return with their gay banners trailed in the dust, and their armour stained with disgrace.  Those who serve God must serve Him in His own way, and in His strength, or He will never accept their service.  That which man doth, unaided by divine strength, God can never own.  The mere fruits of the earth He casteth away; He will only reap that corn, the seed of which was sown from heaven, watered by grace, and ripened by the sun of divine love.  God will empty out all that thou hast before He will put His own into thee; He will first clean out the granaries before He will fill them with the finest of the wheat……Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being filled, and your casting down is but the making ready for your lifting up.”   C. H. Spurgeon 

“Because what we all need in our battles is with-ness and witness.  Brokenness needs with-ness and witness — someone to stand with us and someone to see us.”   Ann Voskamp

“Sometimes the enemy seems to get an advantage over us; but the battle is not over yet.  At last thou shalt have the victory, and carry the day for all that.  In hard struggles remember the power of Christ, who, in his resurrection, broke through everything.  With him thou canst also break through, and be more than conqueror.  Yea, in every conflict, if thy faith be firm, thou canst be sure of victory beforehand; for faith engages Christ’s power, and his power ensureth victory; it is as impossible for thine enemies to keep thee always in bonds, as it was impossible that Christ could be kept in the grave by the stone, seal, and keepers.  Nay, the greater their force is, the more glorious will be the victory of Christ over them.”  K. H. Von Bogatzky

“The Christian life is not a playground; it is a battleground.”    Warren Wiersbe

“But the battle is the Lord’s, and He will conquer.  We may fail – do fail continually – but He never fails.”    Hudson Taylor

“So often I hear Christians say ‘we are more than conquerors!’ You can only say that if you are part of the battle.”  Paul Estabrook

“A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevaling. For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal. Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, were not the right man on our side, the man of God’s own choosing. Dost ask who that may be?  Christ Jesus, it is he; Lord Sabaoth, his name, from age to age the same, and he must win the battle.  And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us.  The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him.  That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth; the Spirit and the gifts are ours, thru him who with us sideth.  Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill; God’s truth abideth still; his kingdom is forever.”  Martin Luther

“Nothing is ever too far gone for hope to come find you.”  Ann Voskamp

HEART SAVOR

• ·         The battle belongs to the Lord and so does the outcome.  The One Who makes known the end from the beginning is never taken by surprise.  We don the full armor of God and take our stand.  And we can stand because He is faithful and able to cause us to stand.
• ·         Nothing is too hard for God.
• ·         I am not to be fearful or worried or discouraged no matter how great the foe against me.  I am to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power and great strength.  The arm of flesh fighting against Omnipotence will never prevail.

Watch What Comes Out Mark 7:14-23 Psalms 37:30-31 Psalms 40:3-4 Psalms 141:3-4 Matthew 15:18 Luke 6:45 Psalms 34:12-14 Proverbs 4:21-24 Psalms 19:14 Philippians 4:8-9 04.23.18

WATCH WHAT COMES OUT

BREAD

¹⁴ Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this.  ¹⁵ Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’”^{16  17} After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. ¹⁸ “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’?  ¹⁹ For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body. (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean.’)”  ²⁰ He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ ²¹ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²² greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³ All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”   Mark 7:14-23 (NIV)

³⁰ The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. ³¹ The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip.   Psalm 37:30-31 (NIV)

³ He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. ⁴ Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.  Psalm 40:3-4 (NIV)

³ Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. ⁴ Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.   Psalm 141:3-4 (NIV)

¹⁸  “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’”   Matthew 15:18 (NIV)

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.   Luke 6:45 (NIV)

¹² Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, ¹³ keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. ¹⁴ Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 

Psalm 34:12-14 (NIV)

²¹ Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; ²² for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. ²³ Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. ²⁴ Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.   Proverbs 4:21-24 (NIV)

¹⁴ May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.  Psalm 19:14 (NIV)

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. ⁹  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.  Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Don’t say something permanently painful just because you are temporarily ticked off.”  Karen Ehman

“Our words and works are always an overflow of what is in our  hearts and thoughts.  If you desire right speech and actions, work on your heart and mind.”  BHY

“Wisdom is knowing when to speak your mind and when to mind your speech.”   Anonymous

“The cynics, they can only speak of the dark, of the obvious, and this is not hard. For all it’s supposed sophistication, it’s cynicism that’s simplistic. In a fallen world, how profound is it to see what’s broken?  It’s the brilliant who don’t deny the dark but who always seek the light in everything.”   Ann Voskamp

“God employs His people to encourage one another.  We should delight that God usually works for human beings with other human beings.  It forms a bond of friendship, and being mutually dependent on one another, we are fused more completely into one family.  Work to help others, and especially strive to encourage them.  Talk cheerily to the young and anxious inquirer, lovingly try to remove obstacles out of his way.  When you find a spark of grace in the heart, kneel down and blow it into a flame.  Leave the young believer to discover the roughness of the road by degrees, but tell him of the strength which dwells in God, of the sureness of the promise, and of the charms of communion with Christ.  Aim to comfort the sorrowful, and to animate the hopeless.  Speak a word in season to him who is weary, and encourage those who are fearful to go on their way with gladness.  God encourages you by His promises; Christ encourages you as He points to the heaven He has won for you, and the Spirit encourages you as He works in you to will and to do of His own will and pleasure.  Imitate divine wisdom, and encourage others according to the Word.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

“One of the highest of human duties is the duty of encouragement…It is easy to laugh at men’s ideals; it is easy to pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it is easy to discourage others.  The world is full of discouragers.  We have a Christian duty to encourage one another.  Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet.  Blessed is the man who speaks such a word.”   William Barclay

“No matter how just your words may be, you ruin everything when you speak in anger.”    John Chrysostom

“The most important thing in life isn’t what we think about ourselves or what others think about us, but what God thinks about us. He is the final Judge. When He examines and evaluates our motives, words, and actions, are we commended, as was Abel, or are we condemned, as was his brother Cain? ‘The Lord does not look at the things man looks at,’ God told the prophet Samuel. ‘Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’ (1 Sam. 16:7).   Warren Wiersbe

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”   Mother Teresa

“Don’t underestimate the power of words. While shaming words can take courage out of a soul, encouraging and affirming words can put courage back in.  When you offer critique to another soul, do it gently. When you offer encouragement to another soul, do it fiercely.”  Scott Sauls

“Only speak words that make souls stronger.”   Ann Voskamp

“Each day offers us an opportunity to build or to tear down. We do both with our actions, attitudes, and most of all, with our words. Wherever you are today, the critical question to ask yourself is, ‘Am I building or am I tearing down?’ We build our legacy one choice and one day at a time. Hudson Taylor once wrote that there are three phases to any impossible project, ‘Impossible...difficult...done!’”  Donna Evans

“Cold words freeze people, hot words scorch them, and bitter words make them bitter.  Kind words also produce their image on men’s souls; and a beautiful image it is. They soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer…We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used.” Blaise Pascal

“Our words have the power to speak life or death over someone.  Watch the face of the hearer.  Think before we speak.  Store up in our hearts His truth before we spout out from our lips our opinions.  Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth will speak.  Be the conduit that life flows freely through to others.  We will then leave the aroma of Christ in our circumstances not the stench of death.”   BHY

HEART SAVOR

·         What comes out of my mouth is an overflow of what is in my heart and mind.

·         I am to bring the aroma of Christ into my every encounter.  Do my words edify?  Do my words glorify my Lord?

·         I am to keep my tongue from evil.  I am to reign it in and have the wisdom to show restraint – through the power of the Holy Spirit.  My words are to go through the sieve of Scripture:  are they true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.  We can also add to this – are they necessary.