Posts Categorized: discipline

Praising the Lord is not Pie in the Sky Mentality

Posted May 16, 2015 | Karisa Moore

Psalm 34:1-3

1I will extol the Lord at all times;

his praise will always be on my lips.

2I will glory in the Lord;

let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

3Glorify the Lord with me;

let us exalt his name together.

There is something amazing that happens when I extol the Lord in the midst of my affliction. My whole demeanor and outlook change. I have shifted from the impossible to all things are possible with God. Extol means  to “lift up”. Good grief, I do not feel like lifting up anything or any one in the midst of my sorrow! I feel like shaking my fists at God and saying why did you take my son. I feel like ripping down others. I cannot tolerate God, others or myself.

When I extol, praise, glorify, rejoice, and exalt the character of God, I am acknowledging that he gave me his son! I am remembering that my hope lies in Him alone. I am recalling to mind all that he has done for me. Extol is not a pie in the sky mentality, it is an in the trenches, my circumstances suck, but I have a resource like no other discipline! David is praising God in this Psalm, in the aftermath of pretending that he was crazy to escape Abimelech. David wasn’t on his throne living the good life when he spoke these words; he was running for his life.

The Latin word for extol is tollere, which is also where we get our word tolerate. I can tolerate so much more in the light of God’s love for me, his sacrifice, and his perfect will for my life. I will extol the Lord at all times!

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Just The Right Words: Learning to Tame the Tongue

Posted November 5, 2014 | Karisa Moore

Turn the Page: James 3:7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.

Have you ever had guests come to the door and greeted them with the most pleasant of words when… moments earlier you were screaming at your kids? Or gossiping with a neighbor about someone that you don’t like and when the person shows up you are suddenly so happy to see them?

I confess to you that I have had these moments. I don’t like this sinful part of me! Scripture calls the tongue a rudder, directing the rest of our body. And Paul declares that I can’t tame it! “It is a restless evil filled with deadly poison.” (vs. 8) So what hope is there for us if we cannot tame our tongues?

Paul states: 17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Just like the disciples went from using their tongue unwisely to using them for good, we can become wise with our tongues. The disciples spent three years hanging out with the God of the universe who chose to limit himself to be with us! What flowed out of the heart of Jesus was what Paul is describing in verse 17 and 18. “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. (Luke 6:45) Controlling the tongue does not mean that you have to stop talking; it simply means that your tongue is directed by your Christ developing character. Wisdom is gained by focusing on what is pure, loving peace, being considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. So at this moment I take inventory of what is in my heart and I spend time with Jesus allowing him to fill me up with his love, grace, and mercy. Only Christ can tame our tongues by filling our hearts with his love for humanity.

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