Young David, before he was king, playing music for King Saul.
Bible Readings and Devotion for July 8, 2020
Here are the references for the readings. Please look these up in your print Bible, your smartphone app Bible, or your online Bible:
Devotion for July 8, 2020
By Pastor David Tinker
Many preachers have used this as a prayer as they begin their sermon: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14. It is an appropriate prayer for this context, for sure, but it is not the only context for it.
This is quite appropriate for all people of faith in Christ. Our words, aloud, to ourselves, written, typed, etc. matter. Our words in any context can build up or cause harm. Sure, there are a few people who can brush off everything which others say and they truly receive no harm or edification. That is the exception.
Our word in prayer, conversation, teaching, online, joking, work, commerce, in our minds, etc. are all in the realm of God’s care. These are all contexts which can also affect us individually and affect those with whom we interact. The teaching of King David, by the Spirit, in this psalm is that we are better off when we seek God’s help and guidance in our use and expression of words. This prayer can be a daily prayer for our internal ponderings and our expressed communication.
St. James, the Bishop of Jerusalem, and brother of our Lord, taught about this James 3:1-12. His core message is that our words, our tongue as he notes, are out of control. We need God’s help to control our tongues.
St. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians 5:22-23b, notes the fruit of the Spirit. Among this is self-control. As we are drawn closer to the Lord the Holy Spirit fills our lives and brings forth good things from our lives. One of these is self-control. Self-control leads us to have words which build up rather than tear down. Self-control leads us to have the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts to be acceptable to our Lord.
Here is a song which I have loved since it was first released almost 30 years ago, 1991. It is performed by Kim Hill. It is about the effect of words on one another. The song seems to be out of print, and not on music services such as iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon Music. Some used CDs of the album, Brave Heart, are available used on Amazon and eBay.
Here is a Video Link to listen to the song.
Lyrics for your reading:
Words
Lyrics by Kim Hill, Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick
Careful what you’re saying
Someone could get burned
There’s a fatal fire in words
Careful when you’re talking
Think before you’re heard
There’s a deadly poison in words
‘Cause once you say it
You can never change it
And you can’t really take it back, oh, no
Like a shooting arrow
Hurling through the dark
Words are piercing when they hit their mark
Sticks and stones will break you
But the bruise can heal
While those words are cutting deeper still
‘Cause once you say it
You can never change it
And you can’t really take it back
(Ooh-ooh…)
Once the heart is stung
The pain can be eternal
Oh, to curb the tongue
You know, weapons can be verbal
Careful what you’re saying
Someone could get burned
There’s a fatal fire in words
‘Cause once you say it
You can never change it
And you can’t really take it back
Once the heart is stung
The pain can be eternal
Oh, to curb the tongue
You know, weapons can be verbal
Once the heart is stung
The pain can be eternal
Oh, to curb the tongue
You know, weapons can be verbal
Oh…
Prayer
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen
Martin Luther Lutheran Church 