Do I speak like a rotting carcass?

Psalm 5
David asks God to "Listen to my words, Lord," (Ps 5:1), because he must plead for God's "favor as with a shield," in a particularly evil situation (Ps 5:12). There is a common theme to the evil men who surround David: they are "boastful," and "speak lies" and are like a "deceitful man" (Ps 5:4-6). So, the most probable sin to fit this type of person would be flattery and wicked counsel. It is not difficult to imagine David speaking about one of the wicked counselors either to him when he was king or plotting against him when Saul was king or in Absalom's rebellion. Particularly fitting would be a man like Ahithophel who as David's counselor conspired against him with David's son, Absalom, in a temporarily successful coup. After being told of his adviser's treachery, "David prayed, 'O Lord turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness,'"(2 Sam 16:31). If the wicked adviser prompts Psalm 5, David perceives flattery and wicked advice like speech from a dead body that pollutes everything.

"There is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels," (Ps 5:9-10).

Is this too harsh? Certainly, to intentionally deceive one who trusts you for your advice is pretty low. History casts out the traitors. Yet, could not Ahithophel have thought that David's indecisive leadership demanded a drastic change? Could he have not reasoned that David's son Absalom possessed exactly the kind of personality and leadership qualities that could turn Israel back to prosperity? Such ends do not justify his treachery, and David's vivid critique is warranted. God is both the source of, and characterized by, truth, so to spew forth lies is blatantly ungodly.

What may be surprising is first that simple flattery is attacked so ruthlessly. Treachery may be vile, but what's wrong with telling someone they look great when in fact they look hideous? One need not berate people to speak truthfully. For advisers, kings needed men who would speak truthfully, and consistently with God's word. A king surrounded by "yes" men was ultimately alone and without counsel. Similarly, we all need friends who will dare to speak honestly more than telling us what they think we want to hear. Why? Because it is through difficult confrontation that we often become keenly aware of our sins, the need for God's help to change, and have the impetus to do so.

The warning in Psalm 5 is clear: do not use words to lie, even in something as seemingly innocuous as flattery, because ultimately such false words only lead to death, potentially for both speaker and listener. Thus, David prays that God would let deceivers fall by their own counsel. The encouragement is twofold. First, do not speak deceitfully, but ask God to "lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness," (Ps 5:8). Part of this prayer includes speaking the truth, and being willing to confront others rather than flattering them. The stronger encouragement is the source of strength to obey, "you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield," (Ps 5:12). We can dare to speak the unpopular truth, knowing that God leads us to speak truthfully, and takes care of the implications.

This short psalm has implications for evangelism. Many times when we meet someone who needs to hear the gospel we allow natural fear to override Godly zeal. Instead of simply asking a friend, "What do you believe about Jesus?", I will waffle into a more ambiguous category, "Do you go to church?". Do I have the courage to tell someone who does not believe in Jesus that Scripture clearly states they are under (and will be eternally) God's wrath (John 3:36)? This is perhaps the most dramatic case in which telling people what they want to hear is speaking like a rotten carcass, because the Gospel brings life, and the Spirit has already brought us to the opportunity to speak.

For those who suffer from flattery and habitual lying, there is hope. Take refuge in God, and dare to pray like Isaiah, "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips," (Isa 6:5). Embrace forgiveness in Christ after confessing your sin, and ask for His grace to transform your words. Fill your mind with true and truly valuable things, following Paul's advice to the Philippians, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things," (Phil 4:8). Begin to consciously pray before you speak, asking for His grace to speak kindly and truthfully. You will be amazed at how faithful God is to transform our very words into something true, beautiful, and life-giving.

Toby Mac fittingly sings the command, "Speak life to the deadest darkest night...look into the eyes of the brokenhearted, watch them come alive as soon as you speak hope, you speak love, you speak life," (from "Speak Life").

Slow Down Momma!

We joke that Eliaya has hit the "tornado" phase. Anyone with recent toddler experience probably doesn't need me to expound upon this - essentially E has two speeds, off and 110% go. She can tip apart a clean room in a matter of seconds. Nothing holds her in one place for very long. And her path is chaotic. Try as we may to curb her in one direction, she veers off onto an unexpected path. 

So I have tried to adjust and keep her busy busy busy, not staying in any one place too long and always changing up the venue for our adventures. It's exhausting! I was reminded today of the common reaction to Jesus' words in the Gospels. People were amazed. They stopped what they were doing, even if it was really important and came to see this Man who spoke with great authority. When He commanded the evil spirits out of a man the people replied "And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority!" (Mark 1:27). Upon forgiving the sins and healing the lame man, Scripture says "that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:12). Even His disciples, those who were with Him all the time are shown as being amazed by His words. (Mark 10:24). 

While at the zoo with friends this morning, E would run full-speed ahead to what ever exhibit caught her little eye. But once she found something, be it a fish, giraffe, or just the flowers along the sidewalk. She stopped. I would call her along, trying to keep the busy-beaver pace so she wouldn't get bored, but she marveled, stood amazed, by the flower. I could see The little wheels in her brain going, taking in the beauty of God's creation. Though her understanding of God is very basic, she is amazed by Him. She takes time to take in the little details revealing His beauty and majesty. 

The Lord often uses E to show me how to be genuine. I'm thankful my God is amazing. I

want to take more time to let myself be amazed by Him. Though life seems to be going 100 miles an hour all the time, I need to slow down. To stop what, though it's important, prevents me from just standing amazed before Him. Mommas, take time to slow down!

Oh, the Discoveries

The mind of a toddler is a curious thing. Or perhaps it's better said to be a mysterious thing... you never know what's about to pop out of the mouth at you!

E has been been very busy these past few months making discoveries, venturing to new heights... literally and figuratively, and becoming a little leader... or revolutionary, depending on who you ask.

rocking on the horse at San Marco park

While friends were in town we ventured to a new park, close to the river. So fun! The kiddos loves watching the people fishing on the side of the road and we must have been good luck because in the 10 minutes we were there they caught 5 fish! E has figured out how to clamor up small slides and discovered the joy not only of going down the slide, but of riding down head first....Eeek! Took me a while, but I'm letting go of my neurotic 1st time mom fears and letting her find boundaries a little more on her own now (applause... thank you thank you...)

A frequent field trip for us now is to feed the ducks. Not sure what it is, but we seem to have the Dr. Dolittle attraction with smelly, gross-stuff eating aquatic birds, geese in particular. This day though, we were lucky and not mobbed by geese and able to feed the resident ducks. Jarrod will tear up the bread, some of the birds will even eat out of his hands! We give a piece to E, and well.. she smashes it in her hands for a while then eventually drops it. Anticlimactic. But she quacks right along with the critters with excitement.


Another discovery, and I'm sure all kids go through this at some point, has been the belly button. I think God made belly buttons mostly for the entertainment of toddlers. Whether we're changing diapers, in the bathtub, or simply happen to run a hand over our belly, we can't help but stick a finger in that little crevice and giggle! She calls it "Bey But". Gotta jot that in the baby book. Speaking of which, any other mom's completely lose the baby book by this time? I'm sure I can sift through and find it, and I've been piling on the guilt... her scrap book of the first year, still have months 10-12 left to do. Goal: finish before Dec and arrival of #2! I'm totally okay with making #2's scrapbook on snapfish. I want to be a scrapbooker... I really do. I want to be a crafty mom. (see earlier post about squares and figure eights) But scrapbooks just aren't it. My new endeavor is painting... don't get your hopes up. We're not talking scenery or portraits, but geometric patterns. This square's gotta have lines to follow!

playing with Silas. Perhaps arranged marriage isn't a bad idea.....

The little leader. Whether it be in church nursery, at a friend's house, the zoo, or target. E likes to climb. EVERYTHING. We've gotten used to this, and there are a few rules we've set that seem to prevent most would-be-lip-splitting-falls, but trying to stop her from climbing up everything is about as likely as keeping ice cream frozen all the way home while driving in rush hour. Don't plan on it. There are a few things E was doomed to inherit from her parents, one being a competitive streak a mile long. So in nursery, she'll climb to the very top of something, then looks down at the other kids (all younger) and suggest they follow her asap. At the zoo, she kept talking to this little boy till her started trying to follow up the play alligator, then she smirked as he couldn't get to with her. This power could be used for good: she takes toys to crying babies to cheer them up, or for evil: I foresee E convincing #2 to partake in some devious activity ....

Hey! We match! Love seeing giraffes at the zoo

In other news, Jarrod has started the fall semester, it'll be really busy through mid-October, but then should slow to a manageable pace. We're stoked after this semester, there are just 7 classes left! That's right, count 'em, 7!!We might survive this M Div after-all :) After that, we still have no clue, but are fully confident that the Lord will lead. I've started working on a catechism with E.  It's super basic, but seeing as how she's just 1.5 years old, it fits. It's great accountability to me: teaching her biblical truths like God created everything and singing songs like 'this little light of mine' spurs me to stay in the Word, to pray hard, and to keep studying. I've been meditation on 1 John the past week, especially chapters 1-2. John makes it clear that there is a firm line between those who know, love and follow God and those who don't. I think in our pseudo-include-everyone-make-no-distinctions mentality we gloss over the fact that there are sheep, and there are goats. You can't be half sheep-half goat. 

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:3-6, ESV)

The grace we receive from the Lord through Jesus Christ, that saves us. This grace (through the Word, prayer, accountability with other believers, etc) reaches to the deepest crevices of our hearts and changes everything. We cannot stay the same. We are driven to love what God loves, calling evil what God calls evil, living as He calls us to live. We can't claim our hope is in Christ when our lot is obviously thrown elsewhere. It should be clear to all those watching our lives and listening to our speech that we are followers of Christ. Not because those works save us, but because when we realize who has saved us, from what and to what great lengths He went to do so... we can't help but respond with praise and an obedient life. 

Time for mom duties to resume... but I hope this encouraged you.

Till the next edition,

-the Reeds