All posts by Luella Campbell

FOUNDATION STONES – 3

Christian Life, ,

WATCH YOUR TONGUE

Proverbs 18:21 NIV
[21] “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

The next stone to build into our foundation for a healthy life is the “stone” of what we say. Jesus told us that the mouth is the opening from which what is in our hearts flows.

Luke 6:45 NLT
[45] “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

This shows us how closely our hearts and mouths are connected.

There are serious consequences for good or evil that come from what we say. Proverbs 18 highlights the end result of our words…life or death! How often a cruel or thoughtless word can damage a child’s life to the end of his days. Words like, “You can do better,” “You’ll never amount to anything,” or “Why are you so stupid?” can kill a child’s heart and drag him down to self-destruction.

James warns God’s people about the problem of a polluted heart.

James 1:26 NLT
[26] “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.”

He has harsh words for those who claim to be believers but can’t or don’t control their tongues.

James 3:2, 4-12 NLT
[2] “Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way…
[4] And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. [5] In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. [6] And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. [7] People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, [8] but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. [9] Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. [10] And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! [11] Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? [12] Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.”

Our tongues, then, are the fountainhead of what is in our hearts. If good and evil flow from the same mouth, be sure that the heart is evil and the good that comes from it is polluted.

David gives us sound advice.

Psalms 34:12-13 NLT
[12] “Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? [13] Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!”

First, then, as I have already written, is the importance of filling our hearts with the truth of God’s pure Word. We also know that we have the potential to speak evil things because we still have our old nature inside us which demands attention and influences us to speak what it thinks without considering the consequences.

To guard our lips, then, is to think first and then speak, disciplining our hearts to release the truth that is in us rather than the first thing that comes into our heads.

Isaiah 12 has a wonderful prescription for releasing the water from a pure fountain.

Isaiah 12:3-6 NLT
[3] “With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! [4] In that wonderful day you will sing: “THANK the Lord! PRAISE his name! TELL the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is! [5] SING to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. [6] Let all the people of Jerusalem SHOUT his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”

Here’s the cure for a polluted heart. Drink deeply from the wells of salvation. Then thank, praise, tell, sing, and shout what the Lord has done.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT
[18] “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

FOUNDATION STONES – 2

Christian Life,

GUARD YOUR HEART

If “the fear of the Lord” is the cornerstone, then “guard your heart” is the first stone on which to build the foundation of our lives.

Our physical heart is the organ that keeps us alive. When our hearts stop, we stop. To live in our physical bodies, we need healthy hearts to drive all our other systems.

Likewise, we need healthy spiritual hearts to drive every other part of who we are… our thinking, choosing, and doing, to keep us spiritually alive. A diseased heart will lead to a diseased life. A diseased life will end in spiritual death, and no one wants to go there!

Proverbs 4:23 NLT
[23] “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

What does the Bible mean by “heart”? What is the counterpart of our physical heart our heart, if it doesn’t refer to the pump that keeps our bodies alive?

The “heart” is difficult to define. Your heart is the real you… your core, your innermost being, your spirit and soul, what you think, what you believe, what you value, who or what you worship, what drives you… all rolled into one. Everything you are, think, and do, flows from your heart.

This makes the heart the vital centre and hub of your being. Just as you must choose what you put into your body to protect your heart if you are to live a long and healthy life so, too, you must guard your inner being from the spiritual diseases that will infect your choices and actions and which will lead to death if you allow your sin-diseased heart to be in charge.

How can we protect our hearts and keep them healthy? Just as we protect our homes by standards of cleanliness and order and by building a fence around our property, so we make our “inside” strong by maintaining truth and integrity and by putting a boundary around our hearts to keep intruders out.

Our first step towards guarding our hearts is to fill our hearts with truth. We are all, unfortunately, born with diseased hearts. Rebellion against God is in our genes. We need a drastic change to turn around and go God’s way.

Jeremiah 17:9 NLT
[9] “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?”

God’s remedy for an incurably diseased heart is a heart transplant. He doesn’t apply medicine to fix our rebellious disposition. He puts a new heart inside of us.

Ezekiel 36:26 NLT
[26]”And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”

By His grace, the Father made this heart transplant possible by giving His Son to die for our sin in our place. He raised us from spiritual death and changed our hearts from rebel to son.

However, He has also given us the responsibility to maintain our new hearts, first, by feeding them with truth.

Romans 12:2 NLT
[2] “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Since our minds are the entry point through which we feed and maintain the health of our new hearts, what we think will determine the way we function. What we believe is built from what we think, what we value, and what we choose. What we believe determines our desires and our destiny. Our new hearts will want to do God’s will which, for each one of us, is “good, acceptable, and perfect.”

From where can we source truth to steer our lives towards our goal of doing God’s perfect will?

John 17:17 NLT
[17] “Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.”

So, the Bible doesn’t only tell us to guard our hearts. It also tells us HOW to guard our hearts by what we pit in and what we keep out.

Philippians 4:8-9 NLT
[8] “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. [9] Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

All of the above are found within the covers of God’s book. The Bible is the best and only text book for living the life that our new hearts demand.

Together with the Word, we are privileged to have its author resident in us. The Holy Spirit is both author and interpreter of the truth which will guide our thinking, believing, and doing throughout our lives.

John 16:13-14 NLT
[13] “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. [14] He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.”

We build the foundation on two truths…

Colossians 2:20 NLT
[20]”You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world…”

Our new lives in Christ have severed the connection between us and the world’s evil influence over us.

Colossians 3:1, 3 NLT
[1] “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.
[3] For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Now we must act on the fact of our death to the influences of the world around us. How do we do this? By changing the way we think. I was taught that I cannot think two opposite thoughts at the same time. If my mind is full of worldly thoughts, I cannot think the truth that Jesus is in charge and that I am aligned with Him, not with the world.

Having taken care of our new hearts by feeding them with truth, we must also protect them from squatters and intruders that will attempt to derail us by their evil influence.

Despite God’s grace in giving us a heart transplant, He has not entirely removed the influence of our diseased hearts. The Father intends to train us, during the course of our earthly lives, for our role in His heavenly kingdom. In His wisdom, He has left in us the potential to go our own way! You see, just as our first parent, Adam, had to choose to love God or not by obedience or disobedience, so we, too, must continue to choose to love the Lord by obeying or not obeying Him. Without the right and power to choose, we are robots.

Choosing means that we must select from at least two alternatives. Choosing, therefore, means what we put in, truth or lies, and whom we allow in, friends or enemies.

The world and its ways, under Satan’s dominion, is our arch enemy. John cautions us…

1 John 2:15-17 NLT
[15] “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. [16] For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. [17] And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”

The influence of the world on our lives comes, not only from what we allow to influence from the world’s ways but also from those with whom we choose to keep company.

1 Corinthians 15:33 NLT
[33]”Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

Google says of this proverb…

“The proverb emphasizes the importance of choosing one’s company wisely, as associating with people who engage in immoral or harmful behaviors can negatively impact a person’s character and values.

” The proverb suggests that spending time with those who have bad morals or engage in negative behaviors can lead to a gradual erosion of one’s own good character and moral principles.”

In simple terms, learning to determine who is our friend and who is our enemy is the process of setting boundaries. We must learn when it is the right thing to say “No!” This part of our duty to guard our hearts is as important as filling our thoughts with God’s Word.

Hebrews 5:14 NLT
[14] “Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”

A simple summary of the foundation stone, “guard your heart”, then, is…

Fill your mind with God’s truth, and…
Build a protective boundary around your heart. Only keep company with those who contribute to the health of your heart.

FOUNDATION STONES – 1

Christian Life, ,

WISDOM

God’s Word is like a scratch patch of jewels. As we dig through its treasures, we find priceless stones of wisdom that form the foundation upon which we can safely build our lives.

John saw the new Jerusalem as a city built of gold and precious stones.

Revelation 21:19-20 NIV
[19] “The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, [20] the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.”

Let’s examine some of these precious stones that secure our lives in wisdom and truth.

The first stone, let’s call it the cornerstone, the stone that holds the whole structure together, is wisdom. What is wisdom?

Wisdom is truth in action.

A simple definition of wisdom…doing what works. It’s is said that a wise person does what works. A fool knows what works but doesn’t do it.

True wisdom comes from God.

Proverbs 2:6 NLT
[6] “For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

In Proverbs 8, Solomon paints a comprehensive picture of a person called “Wisdom”.

Wisdom calls people to listen to good judgement and understanding.

Wisdom is available to all people.

Proverbs 8:4 NIV
[4] “To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind.”

Proverbs 8:6-7, 12 NLT

[6]” Listen to me! For I have important things to tell you. Everything I say is right, [7] for I speak the truth and detest every kind of deception….
[12] “I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.”

Wisdom is to hate and shun all evil, to speak and to live by the truth,

Proverbs 8:7-8 NIV
[7]”My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. [8] All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse.”

Wisdom is of greater value than wealth.

Proverbs 8:10-11 NIV
[10] “Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, [11] for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.”

Solomon sums up the foundation of true wisdom in two statements.

Proverbs 9:10 NLT
[10]”Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.”

Proverbs 8:13 NIV
[13] “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”

Only as we hold God in highest reverence and awe, and do as He instructs us, can we learn to think as He thinks and do as He says. This is wisdom, the solid foundation that leads to a safe, happy, and prosperous life.

Wisdom doesn’t guarantee a trouble-free life but it does guarantee God’s presence and favour that will see us through the worst of circumstances to a secure end.

In the New Covenant, wisdom is a person. Jesus is God’s wisdom personified of whom Solomon wrote.

1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT
[30] “God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit, God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.”

God’s wisdom, encapsulated in Jesus and through Him, did everything needed to restore us to fellowship with Him and to reset His eternal plan for mankind.

Isaiah presents the Messiah as the one on whom God’s Spirit will rest… (Hebrew “nuach”, meaning “to settle down”, “remain” or “dwell”).

Isaiah 11:1-3 NIV
[1] A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. [2] The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— [3] and he will delight in the fear of the Lord…”

The Spirit who rested on Jesus at His baptism and accompanied Him throughout His life, death, and resurrection, was the Spirit of “the fear of the Lord”.

When we examine the life of Jesus closely, as recorded in the gospels, we find that His outstanding characteristic was the fear of the Lord. Even as He faced the horror of His impending death, nothing could shift Him from His avowed intention to do the Father’s will.

Psalms 40:7-8 NIV
[7] “Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll. [8] I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.”

To Jesus, to fear the Lord was not only an obligation but a delight. The fear of the Lord was the foundation of His life, providing His meaning, His purpose, and His obedience to the Father’s will. He did nothing without consulting the Father. He and the Father were “joined at the hip” and no effort of His enemies or His arch-enemy could drive a wedge between them.

He could testify with absolute truth…

John 8:29 NIV
[29] “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”

If we build our lives on Jesus, our foundation and cornerstone, His wisdom, established on the fear of the Lord, will secure our present and future as we listen, follow and obey Him.

Matthew 7:24-25 NIV
[24] “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. [25] The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

MOLLY AND ME – WALKING OR BALKING?

Christian Life, ,

Walkies” can sometimes be a test of willpower between Molly and me. When we started our daily walking routine, Molly hated the harness. I tried one that went over her torso. It didn’t work because she easily pulled out of it.

Problem!

Next, we tried the neck/body harness. It worked better except for the time when she got out of it while we were walking on the pavement down the main road! Freedom!!! Off she went in a flurry of excitement. She was free to run…anywhere! And ran she did, across the street and back, several times, especially when she wanted to face, at close quarters but on the other side of the gate, of course, that BIG dog that irritated her the most!

Fortunately, we were close to the side street that took us back home. I nonchalantly walked down the road and, true to habit, she followed me until we reached our own gate.

The next time she escaped her harness, now a few yours older, she stood dead still, looked up at me and asked, with her eyes, “Now what must I do?” I quickly secured her in her harness, grateful that she had come of age!

These days, my mature older dog has another way of enforcing her reluctance to walk…she puts on brakes on all four legs, as efficiently as the ABS braking system in my car! I know that part of her problem is the lesion in her spine that sometimes makes walking painful. However, it’s that look of defiance when she puts on brakes that makes me think it’s also a power struggle.

So, I ask her, “Molly, are you walking or balking?”

How like us when we don’t want to do God’s will! We put on our inner brakes with that attitude of defiance that says, “No, I don’t want to do it!”

I find this attitude rising up in me when I need to put right something I have done wrong. My pride, my ego, my perceived reputation is at stake. I must defend myself at all costs!

What about those times when the Lord requires me to do something that will cost me? Someone needs help. My involvement may cost me time, effort, money or whatever the Lord asks of me. My first response may be…brakes on all four paws! It may take a little time for me to release the brakes and do as I am told!

It’s a long, hard lesson for me to learn to walk with God, not to balk at God. Sometimes my old, emotional pain gets in the way of my willingness to obey. I take time to deal with the “what ifs” of reluctance or fear, my “no” of unbelief, my hesitance to cast myself on the Lord and step into the unknown.

God’s ministry in our hearts is, probably, 90% focused on teaching us faith, trust, reliance on Him because He is faithful, what He says is true, and what He wants of us is obedience without fear. He is always working, in all things, for our good and His glory.

Although Molly can’t understand that walking is for our good, I CAN understand that my Father is always working what is good for me. Why, then, am I balking instead of walking with the Lord? It’s that old nature again, the self-will with which I was born. It takes a lifetime of learning to accept the “leash” of obedience and walk where the Master leads me.

MOLLY AND ME – THAT LOOK

Christian Life, ,

Molly and me again! We are still together in our ninth year. The bond between us is still there and becoming more refined as we get older.

Let me explain.

Since Molly can only speak “dog”, many of her actions as a younger dog would get me to do for her what she wanted, for example… when she wanted me to pick her up and put her on my lap, she would jump in front of me until she got my attention. I knew her bark when she called me from outside or when she wanted to know where I was. She had a special tone of voice when she scolded me for something that displeased her! Molly’s body language and barks were her way of communicating with me. By trial and error, I began to understand what she was saying.

However, her way of communicating is changing as she gets older. She is less vocal and less physically demonstrative. She knows I understand her better, so she speaks in more subtle ways.

When she is fed up with me, she turns her back on me, lies on her bed facing the other way. Actions speak louder than words!

When she is frustrated, she rolls her blanket around with her nose and eventually dumps it on the floor beside her bed. The attitude is very evident!

When she wants me to pick her up and put her on my lap, she stares at me with a special look in her eyes and an unspoken plea, “Pick me up, please…” She relaxes and willingly allows me to lift her into my arms.

If she doesn’t want me to put her on my lap, she either stiffens and makes herself heavy or gets up and retires to her bed in the bedroom. Sometimes she just lies on my lap and gazes at me. I wonder what she sees!

Molly doesn’t only look at me; she looks to me. When I promise her a treat, she follows the treat container to the kitchen where I open it and drop her treats onto her bed. She knows she gets treats when I leave her for a few hours. She looks for the treats in her bed, quite content that I will come home.

When I look at Molly, I see, not just a small, dapple-coated dachshund. I see Molly, my beloved, four-legged little teacher and companion. I see a little dog who has been at my side and in my heart for more than eight years. I see a small, fragile, dependent animal who can’t live without me. She is always my “baby girl”.

That look, that gesture, that attitude speaks more effectively than a thousand words! They speak of trust, dependence, security. We can breach the gap between dog and human just by looking at one another.

Isn’t that just like the way we communicate with God our Father?
Human language doesn’t always cut it. Sure, we can speak to God, and we do, but there are more ways of communicating with Him and He with us than language because God doesn’t need words.

Matthew 6:7-8 NLT
[7] “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. [8] Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

How can we talk to the Father without words?

First, our look, like Molly’s, speaks loudly of trust.

We look to the Lord for mercy and He responds with His peace.

Psalms 123:1-2 NIV
[1]”I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven. [2] As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy.”

We look to the Lord for protection and our trust is rewarded.

Psalms 28:7 NIV
[7]”The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”

We look to the Lord for strength and He supports us.

Psalms 105:4 NIV
[4] “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.#

As we seek the Lord and look to Him for all our needs, He is constantly watching over us.

Psalms 121:5-8 NIV
[5]”The Lord watches over you— the Lord is your shade at your right hand; [6] the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. [7] The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; [8] the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

However, not only do we look to the Lord; we also look at Him. Jesus is our mentor, model, and example.

Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV
[1] “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, [2] fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

When we gaze at His beauty in the Word, we are slowly being transformed into His likeness.

2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV
[18]”And we all, who with unveiled faces, contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

How wonderful are the lessons we learn about the goodness and mercy of our God as we reflect on our relationship even with a small creature like a dog.