A Slight Shift. Ouch! Dang!

New porch requires new porch furniture. Well...that isn't in the budget, but rearranging the current furniture was deemed most necessary. This chair here, that chaise there, move this rack, remove this ugly cushion. You get the picture. Our afternoon was like extreme home porch makeover. This morning, minus my porch buddy Joe, I ventured out to the new porch to eat breakfast and pray. One of the pieces of furniture we moved, actually shifted was our table and chairs. Moving the table shifted my view. I used to see straight into the sun, the mountain and the back of our yard. 

Now my view is shifted ever so slightly to the right (or to the Southeast) for those of you that do the direction thing and SURPRISE! equally as beautiful. 

Today, as I prayed I picked up my Book of Common Prayer to find my opening verse was Psalm 19:14. This is a verse I say most every Sunday as I begin the message God has given me to deliver to my congregation, and is what I say before each session of sermon preparation. "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer." Usually as I lift these words of Kind David's the psalmist, as a prayer, I am mostly concerned about my words. If you know me, words are of great concern. I want my words to be helpful, not hurtful, true, not false and clear, not cloudy. Sometimes I miss the mark.

As I study this passage I realize there is more to know and understand about David's intent. To see what I mean you have to look more closely at the entirety of the psalm. Pay close attention to the heart of David as he writes. He is coming to an understanding that the beauty of the earth is majestic and filled with God's glory. The majesty speaks volumes to us, or should. This beauty reminds us that God's truths and ways are perfect...even when we don't like what we are told. God's commands are what matters. Following these commands and ways are what brings us joy and righteousness. Not our inner most desires but the desiring of obedience to God. Dang. Ouch.

Sometimes obedience requires a shift in our perspective. Maybe the shift can be as small as turning from due east to due slightly south east. That small shift reminds us, with this new view that God is God. In the song "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus," the words tell us that the things of the earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. 

What does a beautiful new view have to do with the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart? Well, exactly this. What we have in our heart is what shows on our life, comes out in our actions and is spoken with our lips. We can try to hide our feelings or thoughts or beliefs that are counter to what God teaches us, but they will be seen. David is praying for these hidden thoughts to be brought to light and for God to keep his heart pure. How many times do we speak, act, or worse yet, post on social media prior to asking God what His thoughts are in contrast to ours? And as I realized today in a new way, due to a new perspective; a slight shift, is that it is really about what is in my heart, not just what I say. 

An example you ask? Well, ok. In the south, right before we issue a negative comment about someone, we usually begin by saying, "Bless his/her heart," then we go ahead and follow with whatever negative comment we had planned anyway. It is as if in asking God to bless their heart it absolves us of what we really think about that person. What is in our heart is spoken regardless of how beautifully our words wrap it up in God. Or in speaking our support for someone we forget about who God wants us to speak for. Do we really ask for God's thoughts on what we think risking our viewpoint being shifted? God doesn't call for comfort - he calls for obedience.

At the end of the day, life is about the meditation of our hearts. Our heart condition effects our words and actions. We are called by God, modeled by David, to live a life that flows from our meditation with God. If I get up, read, pray, mediate, and share my inner thoughts and ideas with God before I begin the day, I am more likely to speak, like Jesus and act like him too. Beware! Your thoughts will change and shift, just as my morning perspective did. You may find that the earthly ideas you have been espousing, will come into question. You may not like it. But as David said, "Keep your servant from deliberate sin!" When we speak antithetical to God's will we are sinning. Just because what you say feels right to you, or fair to you, or righteous by your personal viewpoint, have you taken the time to meditate on the words of your mouth and what your heart believes (the meditations of your heart) to be certain that they are found pleasing to God? I know I need to.

Today:

• Shift your view - see what you see
• Take the time to work on your heart condition with God
• Let God flow through your heart into your words and your actions