There are times in my life when it’s pouring down rain and I pick up the phone to call someone and complain. I talk about my problems and how nothing’s working out and share with them how it makes me yell and shout. In the back of my mind I think that this is the solution, when all I’m really doing is spreading verbal pollution. In Psalms 39 David had many reasons to be blue, but only spoke his cries to God whom he knew could see him through. He kept his tongue from sin and from spreading it around and in turn allowed the Lord to turn his frown upside down! People often come to me and ask me for advice and more often than not I throw my two cents out and don’t think twice. It’s interesting to me that in Ezekiel 3:26 the Lord causes Ezekiel’s tongue to on the roof of his mouth stick. It goes on to say in verse 27 that the Sovereign Lord will loosen it when He delivers His message from heaven. Once the words were revealed it was evidently clear that what came from Ezekiel’s mouth was the Authoritative Truth people needed to hear! I have a wonderful friend who is a pastor’s wife, who has always taken time to pray and seek God’s word before giving me advice on my strife. At first I did not like this and wanted immediate response , but the more she showed patience in replying I saw many ‘IN HIS WILL’ answers from God.
A couple weeks ago I got a text from an old friend, she was sharing with me about some sin she had just gotten in. She didn’t act remorseful, rather tried to get me on her side and where years ago I would have gone along, this time I made the choice to not compromise. I Samuel 24 shows David’s refusal to go with the crowd, rather to stand up with courage, do what’s right and not take the easy way out. Peer pressure is all around us every single day and we will fall to the ground if we do not consciously place ourselves there to pray. It saddens me that this friend is straying from the Lord, and as hard it may be I Corinthians 5 talks about the need to “cut the cord”. It doesn’t mean I put her on my enemies list, but I lift her up to Jesus and pray for restoration and godly fellowship.
I can lead a horse to water and even teach it how to drink, but if it chooses to thirst to death, judgmental is not the way I need to think. Verse 13 of I Corinthians 5 says, “God will judge those on the outside.”
Just the other day I saw a note from a friend “Please, can you help me, there’s a snake here on my end”. I rushed to her house to remove it from her shed, and once I got it down we chose to keep it alive instead of causing it to become dead! It was long, black and slimy and smelled disgusting too, but we chose to take it into the woods, release it and pray that no more visits there it would do. We both discussed how it reminded us of Satan and how he tries to hide, but also the way he tries to slither and throw us off stride. It made me more aware of how quickly he can make his way in and if I don’t remove him when he’s there there will be a stench that grows within.
After having read all these passages and taking them to heart, I’ve learned more about how God wants me to play my part. I’m thankful for God’s word, and the reminders I am given, and my prayer from here on out is that I truly seek Him for my soul livin.
Live2love4Him4Ever
~Erica
Sixty-six books in a year 
Hire traffic to see a sister ensnared in sin. Pray to snatch her from the fire. Thank God you are there to turn her eyes to Jesus Christ!
I meant how tragic…
Please do pray for her. It’s an incredibly huge entanglement and she is older than me by 15 years and grew up in an incredible christian home and to this day still attends church, raised her own children in church, etc.. but is sucked into something that right now is WAY BIGGER than anything I can get sucked into even counseling her to help with, but for God there is no task too huge! I pray for her daily and for the proper words to share with her that would not be my words but God’s!