From the abundance of the heart...

...the mouth speaks!

I don't know the verse in the bible where the above statement comes from but I DO NOT like it.

None of us are perfect and there are times where we allow people, things, and life to get to us. If something has "gotten to me" I normally will show it by opening my mouth. It is usually something in the negative sense. I hate it when this happens! When my mouth starts speaking and these negative things come out I always think back to this verse and wonder to myself if that is what my heart is filled with.

Here's a new take on Spiritual Fasting. There are many reasons why we Fast and many things we can Fast. But I am going to focus on the "Fasting of food."

The moment I decide to Fast, my flesh rises up against me. Our body needs food and when mine is not getting it it starts feeding off my emotions. Jennifer can always tell when I am hungry because I start getting snippy and she knows that I need food.
So, I am Fasting (sacrificing) food for a spiritual reason and at the same time I start getting into a war with myself and with those around me.

"Lord, I am trying to Fast here!" Why is this frustration inside of me coming out during this time? Could it be that while you might be Fasting for something/someone, God is doing a work inside of you at the same time? Fasting is a cleansing too! God knows what we need even the things that need to be striped away. (i.e. our frustrations, our flying off the handle bars, popping off at the mouth, etc.)

So, back to the verse: "From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks!" My question was: Is this what my heart is filled with? As hard as it is to accept the answer is a resounding YES! That stuff would not come out of us(me) if it wasn't in there to begin with.

The next question would be: What am we(I) going to do about it? We are going to have to "FAST" it out of us.(starve it out! Quit feeding it!) Not by our strength though, because we have no strength. It has to be with Gods strength. Luke 18:27 says, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

While you are Fasting it out of you don't be hard on yourself when you fall. Pick yourself back up, dust yourself off, give an apology when needed, ask for forgiveness, and continue on. The only one without sin was Jesus and the last I checked in the mirror I was FAR from perfect but I can follow in the footsteps of the one that was and is perfect!

Oh, and one more thing, if you are still reading this long post, remember too that the Bible says, "In your anger do not sin!" That proves that it is okay to get angry, just handle it correctly. Jesus tossed over the money tables in the synagogue(i think that was the place). He must have been angry! :)