Matthew 5.33-37 Character Building!

" 33"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

Okay for the record, I didn't die or fall off the planet. The Internet wasn't connecting two mornings ago and that's why I didn't have a devo posted, but I did do them, saved as Microsoft Word files and alas here I am. Early Sunday morning and fresh and ready to hear from God.

This verse speaks a lot. I like it. It talks of building your character (A LOT of character building going on these days!) It gets down to the gnitty-gritty. Let me explain.

How many times in simple conversation have I ever say, "Oh, I SWEAR I was going to..." or "Don't believe me? I SWEAR!" or "I SWEAR... This was the BIGGEST bear I'd ever seen!"

And I sit here thinking back and realizing... (let your yes be yes and your no be no...) If I had character in the area of lying or keeping my word... using the I SWEARS wouldn't feel like a necessity. Or even if I BELIEVED to have character in those areas, your whole vocabulary would begin to change.

"I know I wanted to..." "Don't believe me? Well it's the truth." "This really was the biggest bear I'd ever seen!"

I know, without a shadow of a doubt that God has changed me and rearranged my heart and made me a woman of character.

A person of character doesn't have to prove themselves to anyone, and God's definitely dealing with me about that lately. I don't owe anyone anything, it's not my job to impress or make anyone happy. My focus needs to be solely on God. And it definitely is what I aim for.

Lord,
I want you to change and rearrange my vocabulary. Holy Spirit, I ask for you gentle conviction each time I say "I swear..." and that it's only a friendly reminder that I still need to change and build my character in that area. May my yes be yes and my no be no. Hang out with me today, Holy Spirit. I love you.

amen.

Pahahaha Photo courtesy of BodyBuilding.com. Yes. That's Arnold.