Today’s Reading, Luke 6-7
Focal Scripture: Luke 6:45 “A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.”
I love watching weather in person. Lightning storms at the beach and rain storms on a river are my absolute two favorite weather events to relax me. There is one event that is amazing to see but causes some stress, that is a raging river. A river that is overflowing is powerful and destructive. It can’t be stopped and will continue on its assigned path. This overflow is demonstrating the potential the river has always had its just now being revealed.
In the focal scripture today Jesus is speaking on how good people produce good works and evil people produce evil works. Where do these works come from? The answer is the heart. Just like the river always had the potential to be destructive under the right circumstances so the heart will be revealed when it reaches its saturation point. For some the heart will reveal evil. Others the heart will reveal good.
What is the test to determine whether your heart is good or evil? The answer is what comes out of your mouth reveals the health of your heart. We all know this to be true. It doesn’t take long after speaking with someone to make an assessment. Are they a person who talks about others? Is everything negative? Do they speak down to those they disagree with? They might even speak one way privately and another publicly. On the flip side a person who is positive is infectious. They set a tone that you want to follow. Their speech is encouraging and uplifting. You can tell they have a genuine heart. You can even tell they love the Lord.
What must we do with this information? We need to examine our speech. How would others characterize your conversations? Are they uplifting and encouraging? Or do people consistently complain about how you speak to them? The answer will reveal the state of your heart.
Our speech is the overflow of heart health. Good and evil are revealed to others with our words. Ask others for a check up of your speech. Having accountability in this area will grow your faith exponentially.
Tomorrow I plan on reading Luke 8-9