On My Lips He Put a New Song

Readings:
Psalm 40
Philippians 1:1-26

Focus:
Psalm 40:3a: "On my lips he put a new song, a song of praise to our God."

It's easy to get into bad habits. We sometimes complain a lot, or talk about other people, or criticize too much, or say irritable or unkind things.

But it's actually possible to change these habits. God can help us with this if we ask him. The thing to do after asking him for help is to remember to focus on him. When we do this, he can really change our ways of talking into kinder, less selfish ways.

Of course it doesn't happen all at once, and we often have a step back after a couple of steps forward. But gradually, God can put a new song on our lips, a new way of talking, including a song of praise to him!

Put Up with One Another's Failings

Readings:
Psalm 31
Ephesians 4:1-6

Focus:
Ephesians 4:2: "Be humble always and gentle, and patient, too, putting up with one another's failings in the spirit of love."

Sometimes we hear about how we can do great things for God, and help bring about his kingdom, by going on short-term mission trips to other countries where there is terrible poverty, and spending a couple of weeks working on projects there. Or we can give up some of our time volunteering for a local project, helping the homeless or people with other needs.

These things are important to do, and they are indeed part of what God wants us to do.

But we must not forget that another part of bringing God's kingdom about here on earth involves behaving with kindness and forbearance to other people in our daily lives. When other people irritate us, responding with patience and not with anger is hard to do, but it is one of the ways we obey God and show love. Maybe anger is what people deserve, but love is what God wants.

I try to remember this question: "Will my action make God's kingdom come closer, or will it push it further away?" I forget to ask myself this a lot, but it's a good question to remember.