~~~~Nikki Here~~~~ I subscribe to this email group that I get a devotional in my mailbox daily!
This one I recieved this morning really touched home to me. I know Denise. I mean I've never met her but she found out in a short period of time that her family was in for a complete change of job and had to move and found out in a very short period of time. She, because of her faith in God, handled this like God wanted her to. May God be praised and glorified in that! Enjoy the article :)
Sweet Lips Increase Learning
By Denise Chaffin
"The wise in heart will be called prudent, And sweetness of the lips increases learning." (Proverbs 16:21)"In her tongue is the law of kindness." When I read the title and the scripture, I immediately thought of this reference in
Proverbs 31:26b. The word law in this verse is defined:
Definition law, direction, instruction instruction, direction (human or divine) body of prophetic teaching instruction in Messianic age body of priestly direction or instruction body of legal directives
The Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon
We cannot teach what we do not know.
As a home schooling mother, I am often asked how I teach such things as Chemistry or Trigonometry. Now, I have a teaching degree; but it is in Elementary education and music. I must first learn a subject to teach it.
It follows that as Christian women, we cannot teach what we have not first learned. We can only show and teach through our actions what we have patiently acquired through the trials of the Christian life. If our nature is at odds with the words of our mouth, others will readily see that. Our teaching is lost in the glare of the obvious lack in our life.
We recently underwent a rather long and stressful period in our lives. One dear sister reminded me that I was being watched to see how I would act. I needed to display the image of Christ, not only to my own family, but also to the church and to the community. I could not allow myself the luxury of acting out under these circumstances. Kindness, both in the body and outside it, was needed at all times.
Genuine kindness will show itself under stress, if we are truly allowing Christ to dwell within and work through us.
We are all human, but we must transcend that and let Christ control our thoughts and actions.
(Romans 12:1-2) We live in Arkansas and have the distinction of having the only public diamond mine in the U.S. Those diamonds, when cut and polished, are beautiful beyond compare. But remember the intense pressure and time that was needed to transform black rock into something so beautiful and precious. So it is with our lives. Learning kindness does not come from a life of ease and leisure. It comes from enduring and overcoming the difficulties of life through Christ.
("I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13)
Proverbs 4:23 teach us to 'keep your heart' for from it come "the issues of life.' If you have ever been to Yellowstone National Park, you have witnessed the powerful forces and beauty of nature in the mud pots and the sulfur springs. But you cannot touch them, let alone drink from them. They show the character of the 'heart' from which they flow from. It is a beauty that is not good for us; and while we enjoy the colors and the wonder, close contact would be disastrous.
So it is with our hearts and our words. If we do not learn to deal in kindness, we cannot teach our younger sisters to endure during the hard times and to develop kindness in their own lives. We might be beautiful to look at but empty of anything to help or sustain others in their Christian walk. We will not attract more than superficial notice from the lost.
May God work mightily within you as you meditate on his word and submit yourself in learning kindliness.
Questions:
1. Define kindness from the dictionary.
2. Give several scriptures which speak of kindness.
3. How can we, as Christian women, develop kindness in our lives?
4. Can we excuse any action with, "Well, I'm only human?"
5. Name a woman who has taught you about kindness.
6. What was her method of teaching you? (Classroom lecture, life example, etc. . .)
7. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is a time-honored saying. Where should we be looking for our examples of true kindness and beauty?
8. From where does our strength come to overcome our human weaknesses?
9. How can we, as Christian sisters, help one another in learning kindness?
10. The wise in _____ will be called ________, And ______ of the lips increases _______.
(Proverbs 16:21 [NKJV])
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All Scripture is taken from the NKJ Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson,Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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