Nourish Your Heart

(My grandmother, Anna Daisy Siemens, wrote poetry and prose. This devotion was written and published for Devotions for the Deaf in 1994)

II Timothy 2:16 – Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.

Matthew explains that all words flow from our hearts — good and evil. “By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:37 – For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.). Paul chided idle women who became gossips and busybodies (I Timothy 5:13 – Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to.) and James, in his practical letter of Christianity says, “Our religion is worthless if we cannot control our tongues.” (James 1:26 - Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.)

Impetuous Peter had a tongue problem. It wagged before his brain was in gear. Jesus called him a stumbling block to his cause. (Matthew 16:23 – Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”) Although he confessed Jesus as the Christ and offered to build three shelter on the Mount, he denied Jesus three times.

If there is hope for this man, we too, can learn to control our tongues. How thankful we are that this Spirit-filled man points us to the morning star…in our hearts. (II Peter 1:19 – We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.)

Prayer: Lord, watch my heart and forgive me my sins so that my praises may always ring clear.

(My grandmother, Anna Daisy Siemens, wrote poetry and prose. This devotion was written and published for Devotions for the Deaf in 1994)

Romans 12:15 – Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Job felt that his misery outweighed the sands of the seas but his friends thought he deserved all his boils. They had no compassion for Job. Neither could Haman rejoice for Mordecai when the King honored this Jew. So what is harder to do, to rejoice with others or to grieve with them? Jesus set us an example. He did both.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells the three stories. A shepherd leaves a flock of ninety-nine to find one lost sheep. A woman swept her house to search until she found her one lost coin. The prodigal son received a royal welcome when he came home. They all invited neighbors to rejoice in their own joy. We should rejoice with every sinner that comes home.

Jesus wept at Lazarus’ tomb. He grieved for Jerusalem and for the rich young ruler. He comforts us in sorrow and rejoices with his every blessing.

Prayer: Lord, give me compassion for those around me and for all of God’s creatures.

(My grandmother, Anna Daisy Siemens, wrote poetry and prose. This devotion was written and published for Devotions for the Deaf in 1994)

John 17:22, 23 – I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

When the church was new, the disciples had all things in common. No one lacked because those who had, shared. Some sold their lands to help the needy. Jesus’ prayer for unity was answered. But how long did that last? Satan sowed discord and problems began in the church.

God’s people can only live in unity if they love each other (Colossians 3:14 – And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.). Christ is the hub in the wheel of Christianity. Too often his followers crawl to the outside rim with their own ideas. Then strife begins. We must return to the hub of the wheel for smooth rolling in the church.

Otis Skinnings reminds us of that fact in his chorus that we sing: “We have joined our spirit with the spirit of God. We are one in the bond of love.

Prayer: Lord, help me to love even when I don’t feel like. Help me look for your hand working around me and rejoice in our differences.