Key to the Kingdom: Guard Your Mouth

Psalm 141:3 (VOICE) Guard my mouth, O Eternal One; control what I say. Keep a careful watch on every word I speak.

Beloved, a fool can be known by the volume of His words, so be slow to speak and weigh each word knowing you will have to answer for each one. So choose to bless rather than curse, to build up rather than tear down, and to speak life rather than death. Resist the urge to indulge in careless or needless words, for you often may not understand their impact until it is too late. 

The mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart, so tend the garden of your heart well. Refuse to allow bitterness, anger, or judgment to take root there. Meditate on that which is good. Choose joy and hope and love. Flow from that place and spread life to all those around you from the wellspring of your heart. 

Swing Wide the Gates

Psalm 24:7 (TPT) So wake up, you living gateways! Lift up your heads, you ageless doors of destiny! Welcome the King of Glory, for he is about to come through you. 

Beloved, make way and make room. Swing wide the gates of your heart and make room for Me to come in all My Splendor. Live a life that models the beauty of one who is open and yielded to Me, for the spiritual power of that will shift atmospheres and cause the hardest hearts to pause in wonder.

Be a living testimony to the love of God – My love, for as you consciously and continually yield in your heart it causes a spiritual shift that becomes evident in the natural. So wake up and open the gates and prepare for things to move!

Cover in Love

Philippians 2:2 (TPT) So I’m asking you, my friends, that you be joined together in perfect unity—with one heart, one passion, and united in one love. Walk together with one harmonious purpose and you will fill my heart with unbounded joy.

Beloved, extend grace to those around you remembering the times you yourself have needed it extended to you. Respond to offense with mercy, respond to anger with love, and respond to pride with humility. 

When faced with unkindness, refuse to respond in like manner. Demonstrate your godly character through your grace and steadfastly loving responses. Remember that their words and behaviors are representative of who they are rather than who you are. Cover them in love and pray for them. 

Lead with a Life of Unashamed Worship

Exodus 15:20 (GW) Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women, dancing with tambourines, followed her.

Beloved, where you lead, others will follow, so be intentional about the example you set. Steer others towards what is good and help them be their best selves by first doing the same. Lay a path for others to follow, then lead them straight to Me. 

Make your praises loud, and dance before your King. Live a life filled with praise to the One who is worthy, for such a life is one that is never wasted and always bears good fruit. So worship unashamed, beloved, and make Me the center of your world. 

Align with Justice

Psalm 89:14 (GW) Righteousness and justice are the foundations of your throne. Mercy and truth stand in front of you.

Beloved, I AM the righteous judge. I alone see rightly for I am intimately acquainted with the actions and heart motivations of men. Ask Me for wisdom. Ask Me for insight. Strive to see as I see.

Bring forth justice in the earth. Pray for it. Facilitate it. Make wrong things right – even in the small things, even in the things with no legal consequence – remember that I see differently than you and My understanding of justice is unique.

Stand for righteousness. Stand for truth. Stand for integrity. Stand for honor. Stand for respect. Stand for that which is right. Align with justice and be a voice for it in the earth.

Slow to Speak and Slow to Anger

Psalm 106:33 (AMP) Because they were rebellious against His Spirit, Moses spoke recklessly with his lips.

Beloved, be not riled. Rather hold your tongue and refuse to be provoked – even on My behalf. There are consequences to every word that falls from your lips; therefore, guard them carefully. Refuse to be baited into fruitless arguments or allow petty bickering to incite you to stoop to its level.

Walk in humility and wisdom, being slow to speak and slow to anger. Weigh each word and seek My Spirit’s counsel, for I AM the only one who fully knows the inner workings of men’s hearts, so ask Me for instruction on what to say and when to say it, and I will advise you with true wisdom that brings harmony. Continue reading “Slow to Speak and Slow to Anger”

Knight of Light

Psalm 18:28 (TPT) God, all at once you turned on a floodlight for me! You are the revelation-light in my darkness, and in your brightness I can see the path ahead.

Beloved, you are a reflection of Me. I bring light to the darkness, and you – under My authority and acting on My behalf – are a knight of Light, a warrior for Truth. Simply by reflecting Me and walking steadfastly in truth, you take territory. You shine, and you shine brightly. Darkness has no choice but to flee.

You are empowered from on high. Never forget your Source. I AM the only true light, and there is no substitute. A counterfeit is known by knowing so intimately what is true that a lie cannot deceive. So bring My light, let it be known in all the earth that no counterfeit or substitute would even be a temptation to those around you because the vibrancy and warmth of My light is irresistible. Continue reading “Knight of Light”

Love the Brokenhearted

Psalm 34:18 (VOICE) When someone is hurting or brokenhearted, the Eternal moves in close and revives him in his pain.

Beloved, I love the brokenhearted. I draw near to them, and I bind up their wounds that they may be healed. Are you willing to be My hands and feet? Are you willing to love like Me? To stay with someone in their brokenness and pain, asking and expecting nothing, simply lavishing life-changing love because you are able?

Resist the urge to fix or counsel, beloved, even when it seems so easy or obvious to you. If My breath isn’t on your words and My Spirit isn’t giving unction, they will not just fall on deaf ears but may cause further injury.

Rather, lavish your love unconditionally because that is how I have loved you. Love without reserve or expectation. Simply love. Freely you have received; freely give. Continue reading “Love the Brokenhearted”

Don’t Hide

Matthew 5:15-16 (TLB) Don’t hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father.

Beloved, you are My show piece – a glorious example of My beauty and grace made manifest in the earth. Don’t hide yourself; hiding yourself means hiding the glory of My handiwork that was created to bless, encourage, and impact the world around you.

Shine brightly, beloved. Refuse to hide who I’ve created you to be by bending to the opinions of man, but instead boldly live a life of authenticity, displaying the true you in all your gloriously flawed beauty that My power and majesty might be made known.

Conduit of Love

Matthew 5:43-48 (TPT) …What reward do you deserve if you only love the loveable? Don’t even the tax collectors do that?…

Beloved, it isn’t enough to simply love those who love you (although you should do that too, and do so without reserve). Love like Mine is sacrificial. It costs you something. If you would be like Me, your love must be the same.

So beloved, love the unlovable. Love those who are hurting and lost. Love those who are angry and lashing out. Love deeply and as if you’ll never get hurt. Love because you have been loved even when you were hurt, angry, and unlovable you were loved by Me. Be a conduit of love, for love changes everything. Continue reading “Conduit of Love”