Heart to Mouth

Matthew 15:11: "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."...

18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

We cannot escape the simple truth that our words point to the our heart. The two cannot be separated. They are a reflection of each other. When my word are damaging to someone, I have to ask how my heart values that person.

We were to have died to sin but this is an area that I continue to resurrect over and over again. When instead I need to put it away once and for all!


Colossians 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."

So my challenge for me (join if you want) is to change my heart about people. Increase their value to a higher level. After all: Jesus came and died for THEM! How dare me think anything less of anyone (including myself). Once the heart is changed, the mouth WILL follow.


Thats all for now, I love you guys and thanks for visiting.

Try this, I will too:

In every situation, ask yourself: How can I humble myself during this? Am I taking the highness place of honor with the risk of being asked to step down? Or am I taking the lowest place and leaving room to be asked to step up?

How are my feeling about the people involved? Am I treating the people around me like they are valued by our Lord? Because they are. My thoughts about others will manifest in the way I treat them and respond to them. If we look down on people, we are not being humble.

Take a knee!

We-Ambassadors

Impressed By Them

I am so pleased to have so many amazing and different people in my life. I love it when someone can talk to me and not think I will judge them for their mistakes. They feel free to talk to me and I never want to change that.

We have such a hug verity of friends that we see all kinds of things from mistakes to bad habits to people who just do wrong things.

I ask that you all pray for me that I handle each and ever one of them well. That God will give me wisdom to hear their mistakes and NOT support them for doing them but encourage them to move away form them. For em to lead them out of that and into the light. To show them love and trust and even respect them at the same time.

I love it when people own up to their mistakes.

We Ambassodors

You can still find my blog at the same old www.claudecannon.blogspot.com but now you can also find it as www.weambassadors.com. Why this name change? Well I believe that we all make an impact on people around us, tho sometimes this impact can be just as negative as positive. We need to be constantly trying to be a positive example of our faith (Christian believers).

It is based on 2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

and Ephesians 6:20 (really 6:19-20) 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

What exactly is an ambassador? Well I am so glad you asked, here is what Merriam-Webster thinks it is:

am·bas·sa·dor

\am-ˈba-sə-dər, əm-, im-, -ˌdȯr, -ˈbas-dər\

Definition of AMBASSADOR

1

: an official envoy; especially : a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his or her own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment

2

a : an authorized representative or messengerb : an unofficial representative ambassadors of goodwill>

Now that seems a little odd to liken this definition to our faith, yet 2 times Paul did just that. Lets see what God's Word has to say about this definition:
'an official' is one with authority:

2 Corinthians 10:8 So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it.

Titus 2:15These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

'envoy' is a messenger or representative

Romans 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

'highest rank'

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Romans 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.



sent to a 'foreign government':

Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
1 Peter 2:11 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.


And finally our 'diplomatic assignment':
Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Hebrews 13:1-3 1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
Luke 10:16 “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.

So we are ambassadors, Sometimes good, others, well, not so much. But the more we try to remember our 'mission' the better ambassadors we will make.

If you get anything from this get this: Our actions tell people more about our "Lord" than our words do. Proof = Truth, we say we are followers of Christ, great...lets prove it.

We-ambassadors

just a little troubled...

In the middle of a Romans 12 study and how this passage relates to discipleship, I am curious as to when discipleship became merely knowledge. The first thing a lot of churches do to feed ones desire to improve their walk with God is to offer some type of class- Discipleship 101, so to speak.

Furthermore the standard for getting a job at a church is pretty much the same as getting a job anywhere. The more school you have, the better position you can obtain. So with this rational: the more you know, you better disciple you must be...right? We like to throw around words like Armenian and Calvinist and even missional, we like to toss around the latest books we read and use authors names like they are friends of ours. And let me tell you, this is impressive. But honestly It is bugging me a bit. Don't get me wrong, it is good to read and study but reading and studying isn't always the best answer (or first). Sometimes action is. When the 5000 needed food, Jesus didn't hand out the latest small group study on how to feed the hungry. No, he put them into action. He asked them what they had to offer then told them to get to work passing out the food. (yes Jesus taught them something but it wasn't a 200 page book).

I just think that we may be missing it a little. When I hear a church friend tell me that he cannot get a raise until he gets his next degree, I am troubled. When I hear of a church opening that requires a degree, again, I am troubled. It's kind of like David offering to fight the giant but Saul sending him to fighting classes and the gym to bulk up first. With all of our available knowledge at hand, are we leaving room for action? Or even faith? When we demand that someone is perfectly qualified for a task, are we leaving any room for God to work? If I am able to do the job without God, I will possibly do the job without God!

Are we pouring into ourselves so much that we are actually delaying or even avoiding the action? Is reading a book or doing a study really letting me love my neighbors more? Sure I know how to love them more through the knowledge but when do we put it into practice? Are we waiting to complete the study before we commit the service?

I can honestly tell you that I am part of a church that seems to have a pretty good balance of this. My church encourages both the learning and the serving. I know we are to study to show ourselves approved but there are way more verses calling us to meet needs and love others than there are to study. I love my reading time but if I went out and served as much as I read (which isn't really that much) I think I would make a bigger impact on the kingdom.

My challenge to me is to get up more, get out more, read as much, blog less, love more, attempt things that are too big for me and try to make sure my growing as a disciple isn't merely knowledge.


Sorry for my rant. Just being honest whit what I feel.