Mark 7:31-38
Then Jesus left the vicinity
of Tyre and went through Sidon, down
to the Sea of Galilee and into the
region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who
was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man. After he took him
aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into
the man’s ears. Then he spit and
touched the man’s tongue. He looked
up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which
means, “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People
were overwhelmed with amazement. “He
has done everything well,” they
said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
As I read this today; the opening of the
ears and the loosening of the tongue
reminded me of the rebirth of the
one that is lost when Jesus comes and speaks life to them. That was me!
Though I could hear well and speak freely, it was not
until the Lord, the precious Holy
Spirit drew me to Himself
that I truly was able
to speak words of life and hear direction clearly from the
Lord.
We use our tongue to speak whatever we want and
sometimes the tongue is full of "curses, lies and threats" (Psalm 10:7) This speech
does not belong to the believer. We are
encouraged to speak of God's righteousness and to sing praises (Psalm 35:28). The tongue of the righteous brings forth wisdom (Proverbs 10:31). The Book of James
encourages us to keep a tight rein on the tongue (James 1:26).
Likewise my ears
have now been opened to clearly hear from
the Lord....how you ask? By reading his Word. Faith comes
from hearing the message (Hebrews 10:17).
Oh, Lord speak to us.
It wasn't until the Lord saved me that
new life sprung up and along with it came new
ears and a new tongue; ears
to hears and a tongue to praise
Him!
We all need
the Lord to take us aside, aside from the crowd that is empty
and keeps us from the Lord. A touch from the Lord that takes the members of our body, our ears and tongue and
sanctifies them to himself.
The work begins in
the heart, when the Lord
comes to let us
know, it was for you Liz
that I came to die. I shed my
blood for you. I've come that you might have life, abundant life (John
10:10). Everything becomes new; in the
process of new life, I surrendered
my ears and tongue for the use of the Master!
Teach me
and cause me to speak of
your wonders, your
righteousness, your mercy & grace,
your unending love for the
lost, and that you still speak today; you touch the lost causing life to arise, the mute to speak and the deaf to hear!
Truly Lord when you
take a life and change it, when the dead surrender to you and life comes; the testimony comes that indeed overwhelms people with
amazement. You
do everything well! Father,
we know we fail sometimes; at times we say the wrong thing
and
death
may try to reign. If our
ears have
not
payed attention to your
instruction, forgive us. Thank
you that we are a "work of God" in the process
of becoming like
you. Be our help; use us Lord!
The
tongue has the power of life and
death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21
God bless you!~Liz
www.lizrod.com
www.lizrod.com
