January 26
2018
Abundance
“for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”
Matthew 12:34
“and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”
Romans 12:2
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
Philippians 4:8
Happy Thursday!
What a lovely sunny day.
I’m like Nico the kitty cat
Looking for a sun beam to curl up in!
I was so privileged to sit in the sun this morning and fill myself with the Word of the Lord.
And I mean that – fill myself up!
I don’t know about you but by the end of the week
If I haven’t spent my quiet time with the Lord
It is easy to find myself depleted.
And even though I have spent my time with the Lord this week
I’m always happy to take that extra time and fill it up to overflowing.
As I was reading in Corinthians this morning,
The Lord brought to mind a verse in Matthew
Even as I continued to read in Corinthians
This verse in Matthew kept flowing through my mind:
“for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”
Matthew 12:34
So I switched gears and took a look.
In the original Greek the word for abundance means “left over and above, surplus or superabundance” and the word for heart refers to “thoughts or feelings or mind”.
So, “for out of the left over and above, surplus, superabundance of the thoughts/feelings/mind the mouth speaks”
That is quite a mouthful.
What exactly does it mean?
Well, the way I read it, what you have an abundance of in your thoughts/feelings/mind, will come out when your mouth opens!
You know,
when you are tired,
not paying attention
in a hurry
and you open your mouth
and stuff comes out……..
It happens to me
I’m sure it happens to you too
We aren’t always on pointe
We aren’t always totally mindful of what we say when our mouth opens
So sometimes,
Because our heart (thoughts/feelings/mind) are not where they should be
Our mouth opens
and stuff comes out.
And then we say or think “oops, did I say that out loud”
or “I didn’t mean that”
But in reality, we did mean it
Because what comes out of our mouth is what we find in superabundance in our thoughts/feelings/mind.
As I was thinking on this the Lord brought a second verse to mind:
“and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”
Romans 12:2
Well then!
So how to we stop
stuff from coming out of our mouths?
Renew the mind.
Fill that mind up with a superabundance of right things
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8
Those are the things.
Sometimes we have a tendency to sink in the mire of our thoughts
To allow ourselves time to think on those things that are negative
But the Word shows us that that process isn’t a good one.
The process to follow is:
Think on those things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely and of good report
And not just think on them
but think on them in a time frame and way
that they become an abundance in your mind
Then…….
what will come our or your mouth?
Regardless of whether you are
tired,
not paying attention
in a hurry
From your mouth will flow
things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely and of good report.
What a lovely feeling that would be
I just have a visual of someone opening their mouth
and flowers and birds and butterflies and sunrises and sunsets flowing out.
We have a choice in the abundance of what comes out of us
by being mindful and intentional of what goes in us.
So, go find a sunbeam
Get comfortable
Dig out your Bible
And spend some time in the Word
and with the Word.