the flawless word

proverbs 30: 5 & 6

Every word of God is flawless;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Do not add to his words,

or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

this morning when i opened my Bible this is the scripture that was right there.

it jumped out at me.

every word of God is flawless.

flawless.

there is nothing wrong with it, the word of God.

all day this has turned over and over in my head.

but i just had a thought.

God spoke the world and all that is on it, above it, around it...all of it into existence.

genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created...

then over and over again

"And God said..."

and it came into being.

john 1:1-3

In the beginning was the Word,

and he Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made;

without him nothing was made that has been made.

according to the Bible God made everything from the beginning.
and by Jesus existence it is held together.

psalm 139:13

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

are you connecting my dots?

what i'm trying to lay out here is that when God creates it is spoken in words.

he spoke you and i and all that is made into being.

every single bit of us tangible and intangible by touch

(that is, our physical bodies, our personalties, etc.)

he spoke into me the love of dancing, the love of quilting,

gardening, dogs (!!), going fast, a business owner.

he made me intelligent, quick witted, kind and loving.

what did he speak into you??

so, if he spoke you into being...

then what he said when he was done was,

"it is good."

seriously.

not only is it good.

but it's intentional.

you were created the way you are intentionally.

and so was i.

as a result i think i can confidently say that God made me intentionally and it is a good thing.

i was made to be exactly who i am meant to be.

the world that is messed up and broken continuously assaults this idea.

from the time we are born we are assaulted externally and internally.

the external messages we receive can be as close as our own homes

or as far as messages from people we don't even know.

they can be blatant (example: you are stupid!) 

or subtle (example: messages about what is pretty through commercials).

and we take these to be truth instead of what God says about us.

proverbs 30:5 & 6

Every word of God is flawless;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Do not add to his words,

or he will rebuke you

and prove you a liar.

when i first read this i thought, "what do these two verses have to do with each other?"

they are set right next to each other...there is a space before and a space after.

which indicated to me that they were intentionally put together.

which means it's important.

and then i realized something really important.

something i hadn't thought of before.

God said of you, "it is good."

and the world says, "you are stupid."

we believe the world.

then we say of ourselves, "i am stupid."

my friend...beloved of God...

you have just added to the words of God.

in the Christian world it is often said, "do not add to the words of God."
and i've always interpreted that to mean legalism.
the lists of do's and don'ts that corral us into a controlled human do-ing (instead of being).
it's also applied to Christian cults...that have changed what God has said.

and both of these things are true.

but if we really look at it in a different way we can be just as guilty of adding to the words of God in a more insidious way.

these words destroy the beautiful creature God has made.
they also destroy those around us.
for what we think of ourselves is then put onto other people.

proverbs 30:5 & 6

Every word of God is flawless;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Do not add to his words,

or he will rebuke you

and prove you a liar.

we look at rebuking as harsh, mean, unloving.

but in the context of a loving creator God, rebuking is setting the record straight.

he points out to us that our thinking, attitudes, behaviors are what is actually harsh, mean and unloving.

translation:

you are lying to yourself and the world around you.

and, if i may be so bold...

stop it.

just, stop it right now.

these words that you listen to break his heart.

because satan has whispered lies into your ears.
you have listened to them and believed them and lied to yourself.
honestly, it's hard to hear the words, "beloved, you are a liar."
speaking untruths about ourselves does not reflect the beauty of Christ.
it speaks only the ugliness of satan.

one of the very first scriptures i learned when i became a Christian is

1 james 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.

and did you know that hebrews 4:12 is to help us figure out 1 james 1:9?

For the word of God is living and active.

Sharper than any double-edged sword, 

it penetrates to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;

it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

and that will lead us back to psalm 139:22 & 23:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

here's what i've learned...
our thoughts (both of mind and heart) are hidden within the dark recesses of our bodies.
we stew on them, meditate of them and believe them.
but once we speak them out loud in confession to the Lord, to Jesus,
they lose the power they held over us.

Lord Jesus,
i confess that i feel inadequate in what i put my hands to.
that i will fail or not meet other people's approval.
self-doubt follows me around like a nagging wife
controlling my choices and opinions of myself.
free me!
i'm desperate for freedom!
show me that the strong tower of your word is safety, comfort and rest.
it is a place where i am accepted and my failures are even embraced.
thank you for loving me.
thank you for healing my bleeding.
thank you for honoring me as i secretly reach out to touch your robe.