We Don't Say That

There are words that good girls don’t say, especially good Christian girls. Right? Oh, I hope not, because if that’s true I am neither good nor Christian. How about there are words that people shouldn’t say, but sometimes they do, and their hearts are heavy because of it, and then they go to the feet of the Father again, and seek forgiveness with true repentance in their heart, and they live to fight the battle of the potty mouth another day.

My mouth is not the sinful dwelling place for hideous language that it once was, but some days I still lose the battle. I did Monday night, when in the frustration of the moment I said THE bad word…twice; at the dinner table; in a restaurant; in front of other people. I obviously never claim to be perfect, but sometimes I feel like such a phony - women’s ministry, blogging for Jesus – really?

I am convinced I could post everyday and everyday would reveal a new, equally sinful, equally yucky struggle of the flesh that creeps into the crevices of my life and attempts to dig roots and make a home there. Oh, how I love me some Paul when he says, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do (Romans 7:15).”

Who am I, Miss Foul Mouth, to share the hope of Jesus with anyone? Knocked down, but not defeated that’s who I am. Oh, the enemy would love to keep me there, dancing around in a pit of self-loathing, defining my existence by a moment, but then there's Jesus. Jesus whose truth speaks with more authority over my soul than the limited power of the tongue tempter.  I know that through His blood I am redeemed, rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into His Kingdom, and there I find no condemnation. There I find grace, there I find healing, there I find strength to get to the heart of the mouth issue, and there I find freedom from it. Jesus is not condoning my words or the heart that produced them; He is calling me out of that mire to get about the business of my Father. If I wait until I have it all together to feel equipped to share His love, then I’ll never take one step forward.

When sins of the past creep back into your life, do you allow yourself to become despondent and defeated or do you run to the refuge of the Redeemer, seeking forgiveness, knowing that He has paid the price so that you can freely receive it?

I thank my sweet Jesus that my tongue is not the wild, unbridled beast that it used to be. I pray that He would continue to grow me in the area of self-control until it is totally tamed and capable only of words of love and edification. As you can imagine, I am still firmly parked at Proverbs 15:1.

These verses encouraged me today:

Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.

Colossians 1:13 For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves…

Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…

With much love,

Tonya