Move Making Faith

In Matthew 20:29-34, "Two blind men were sitting by the road side, and when they heard that Jesus was going by they shouted, Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us! The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, Lord son of David, have mercy on us!" The two men knew what they wanted and they knew who could give it to them. Their faith caused them to make a move. The pair didn't just sit there wishing for their sight. The pair didn't just sit there hoping for their sight. They made a move to get their sight. They did the uncommon. They got out of the boat! The two blind men acted on their faith in the Lord. They came forth boldly and became even louder. They stood in defiance to the crowd. They were full of faith and determination. It was their faith that gave them the courage to press forward. It caused them to determine to stop at nothing less than full sight. They would not be deterred. They knew that something had to give. They didn't care that the crowd rebuked them. They didn't care about what people thought. The pair was desperate for change. They didn't allow others to stop them from getting what they knew the Lord could give them. The crowd didn't understand what it was like to be blind. They couldn't have possibly have comprehended the despair the pair may have felt up to that point. The very thing that many in the crowd may have taken for granted was the very thing that both men needed. Now was the time for them to get it. The blind men were focused on the Lord, not the crowd, because they knew he was the answer. Jesus stopped and called them, "What do you want me to do for you?" he said. "Lord" they answered, "We want our sight. Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes, immediately they received their sight and followed him." What do you want Jesus to do for you? They stepped out on faith. The two received exactly what they came to get. Now, this story could have ended entirely different. The pair could have allowed the crowd to determine their fate. They could have given into the crowd. They could have become embarrassed by the crowd and stopped calling to Jesus. They could have quieted themselves before they received their sight. They could have left that day still blind and ashamed. However, their faith allowed them to stand in the face of opposition from the crowd. The two men lacked their sight. What are you desperately lacking? Will youget out of the boat and withstand adversity for it? Their faith said that Jesus could do it, and he did. What does your faith say?

Way 1: Tongue Control

The first Way from the list of twenty is, "Think before you speak , instead of giving everyone a piece of your mind." Boy, this is valuable. If you're going around giving everyone a piece of your mind, people probably (hate is a strong word, so I'll say it nicely) aren't pleased with your presence. In her book, "The Secret Power of speaking God's Word," Joyce Meyer sums up Proverbs 16:23 as, "Think before you speak because the mind of the wise instructs his mouth. "Wow!" This is simply stated, but it packs a lot of punch. The wise don't allow their mouths to run wild or engage in idle conversation. Wise individuals don't open their mouths and speak haphazardly. They don't allow any old junk to pop out of their mouths. No, the wise mind instructs his mouth on what to speak. The wise mind orders his speech; therefore, the wise person thinks before he speaks because he instructs his mouth on exactly what to say. Have you ever said something that you didn't mean to say? It kind of popped out before you knew it. I used to do that quite a bit. I did it because, I failed to think before I spoke. We should allow our minds to instruct our mouths, before we open them to speak. This actually took work for me. I had to actually monitor what I said. I had to learn that I couldn't say everything that I thought. I had to actually think about what I said before I said it. Psalm 141:3 reads, "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips." Not only did I pray for the Lord to do this, I confessed that I "guarded the doors of my mouth." Only then, did my speech pattern change. I stopped complaining, grumbling, and gossipping. I stopped giving everyone a piece of my mind. I learned to speak constructively, even when I didn't agree with what was being said. I learned that just because I didn't agree with a person, I didn't have to give them a verbal lashing. This didn't happen instantaneously, because all I knew to do was go off if things didn't go my way, or if I felt like I was being attacked. It did take work on my part. I can remember one time when I was being trained to "guard the doors of my mouth" and my husband said something that I didn't find too pleasing. Boy, I was about to give him a piece of my mind, but when I opened my mouth to speak, absolutely nothing came out. The Lord held my tongue, because he knew I had let my guard down and that I wasn't standing on either of these two scriptures. If you would like to make a change in this area, pray these two scriptures. Tell the Lord you want to think before you speak. Ask him to help you do this and to do Psalm 141:3. Try confessing both scriptures out loud daily. Be mindful of your conversation. With the Lord's help you can control what you speak. Why not start now?

Allow God to Define Your Character

During a three day liquid fast, the phone rang. I immediately looked at the caller I.D. It was that person calling me again that I didn't want to talk to. I didn't answer it. As soon as I put the phone down, the Lord said to me, "Do not allow others to define your character." I had to stop for a minute to think about what he had just given me. I knew that the person calling was going to ask me to do something that I really didn't want to do. Rather than have the long discussion as to why I couldn't do it, I would just avoid the call. Just like that he dropped his wisdom on me; however, I was hoping for a deep moving word from the Lord. I was waiting to receive divine revelation. This was not what the word for which I had been waiting. By not taking the call, I was giving that person the opportunity to think of me in an unfavorable manner. I was allowing that person to define who they thought I was. She could have possibly thought, "She's rude and inconsiderate. She wouldn't even return my call." This individual could rightfully think that about me, because I hadn't planned on disproving it by returning her call. As a matter of fact, I had no intention of talking to her at all. Although, it wasn't like I would never see the person again either. Actually, I would have been seeing that individual in about two weeks. When I saw her face to face, what could I say. What excuse could I offer that wasn't a lie? Unless I lied, I wouldn't have an excuse. Before I called her back, I prayed that the Lord would order my speech and bless me with a spirit of bravery and boldness to have the conversation that I knew would ensue. I did it. I called her back. Of course she told me that she had already called me twice. I did all that I knew to do. I apologized. I apologized for not getting back with her sooner and moved on. Then she began to ask me questions that I knew were leading up to the ultimate question. I broke in at that point and just gave her the answer to the question that she hadn't asked but was leading up to. I politely explained the situation and she understood. It was quick and simple. It wasn't this long drawn out conversation that I previously thought we would have. Now, she could not paint the wrong picture of me. I didn't do what she needed me to; however, I handled the situation with integrity. I felt so much better after this. Later on, a relative of mine told me that she too received a call from the same person and she too didn't take her call. She knew that she would be asked the same question that I answered but hadn't been asked, but she didn't want to have the conversation at all. So, she refused to take her call. The Lord showed me that I had to do the right thing no matter who else was or was not doing it. I had to grow up in him and this was part of it. Part of growing up meant being able to do the right thing even when it isn't easy nor was it popular. The word that he gave me that day was exactly the word that I needed at that point in my walk with God. God's Word is always right on time. I just didn't realize it then. If I couldn't do the right thing by him in this situation, why should he give me this deeper revelation for which I had been looking? Another time, I called an individual on two different occasions. Neither time did she call me back nor even make mention of the fact that she received my message. I'd like to say I did the Godly thing and gave her the benefit of the doubt, but I didn't. I called her rude. I wished I had stopped there, but I didn't. I went on to say that she didn't have to worry about me calling her again, because I wasn't. At a later date, I agreed to do something for her. When the time came, I honestly forgot about it. Part of me wanted to call her and apologize for forgetting to do what I told her I would. The other part of me was like, "Oh, well. Too bad, I missed it. I'm not calling her. Why should I call her? She didn't call me back," and I moved on. A few minutes later, I was convicted. The Lord reminded me, "Do not allow others to define your character." Despite what that individual did not do, I know the right thing to do, and I am held accountable for doing it (period). No, she didn't handle the situation correctly. However, that didn't give me the green light to do the same. Even if she didn't handle the situation the way that I thought she should have, why couldn't I give her an out (the same out that I would have wanted someone to give me)? What would it have cost me to say that I wouldn't hold it against her? It wouldn't have cost me a thing. Two wrongs don't make a right, nor would they have made me feel better. The Lord doesn't want to hear my excuses about why I didn't do what he told me to do. Why should I allow someone the opportunity to think about me in in less than a pleasing light? The Lord is showing me that Christians are called to a higher level of accountability. We aren't given the option as to whether or not we want to take him up on it. We just have to do it. There are no other options. Christians are to do the right thing despite how we or anyone else may feel about it. How we feel about it really is irrelevant. If the Lord said do it, then do it. There it is! If you ever find yourself in similar situations, do the right thing.