Author: Dave Dishman (Page 210 of 474)

At times I listen in on a conversation and realize, I should keep my mouth shut, this is none of my business. But as things progress I start to think, I have some great insights to add, and these folks need them. Then I say something that was neither great nor needed. Once again, betrayed by my tongue.

David described his efforts to keep speech in check: I said, “I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth…I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased; my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue.

Sound familiar? I too want to hold my tongue, but the fire burns and I blurt out something stupid.

A later frustrated writer spoke directly to a wicked tongue: What will God do to you, you deceitful tongue? He will punish you with arrows, with burning coals of the broom bush. Even the promised wrath of God fails to hold the tongue in check.

Thanks to the megaphone of social media, tongues cause more damage than ever. Not sure the world possesses enough arrows to shoot all those who deserve one.

All I can do is ask the Holy Spirit to control my tongue, then help me to apologize quickly when I babble out something hurtful.

Psalm 39 & 120 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Girl with red hat

Ever wonder how people describe you to others? I don’t mean when someone’s angry and down-streaming you with four letter descriptors, but when a friend talks about you.

Do they say, he’s a good guy, or she’s reliable, or he talks a lot, or she tends to worry?

Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, described Barnabus in this way: He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.

Barnabus encouraged the new followers of Jesus in Antioch to remain true to God, and in his wake a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Next Barnabus began working with Paul, helping develop his fresh faith. As Barnabus and Paul ministered together in Antioch, the Jesus people gained a new name—Christians.

People around Barnabus flourished, because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.

What do you think your friends say about you?

Acts 11 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Aziz Acharki

I wonder what Saul thought when David, a teen-ager, asked to go toe-to-toe with Goliath? Saul first responded like any sane observer: There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possible win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.

We all know the lesson, but it bears repeating. As Samuel examined a line of tall, strong, strapping young men, anxious to anoint the next king, he heard a whisper:

Do not consider his appearance or his height. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

What’s inside matters most. At least that’s what I tell myself, and I told my kids and I teach to students. But I’m easily impressed by outward appearances.

I notice how people dress (Boulder, Colorado, near where I live, may be the worst-dressed city in America). I notice hair styles and hair colors. More and more I notice tattoos. People tattoo themselves as a form of self-expression, but I see some poor design choices. I notice the cars people drive. Yesterday a big truck pulling a killer ski boat passed down my street—I noticed.

But God isn’t impressed. By going below the surface and giving attention to my heart, I develop in areas most central to the Lord. I can do something about that.

Surface decorations fade, clothes go out of style, tattoos sag. It’s incredibly freeing to realize none of this matters to God. As we pay less attention to external appearances and more attention to the heart, our souls flourish and shine.

A lesson I need to review over and over.

1 Samuel 16 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Dingzeyu Li