Eccl 7:1
A good name better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.
So goes the “upside-down” kingdom of God. We are told it is better to celebrate a day of death than a day of birth!
The reason? We cannot live (be born again) until we die (to self).
Die then, and celebrate!

Psalm 34:1 “l will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

All too often, a man’s mouth gives his heart away; for out of its abundance doth his mouth speak. What is in there is bound to make itself known!

Now it is indeed to be lamented that more of God’s people are not talking about the things of God. You meet them on the street and immediately the old, worn-out weather topic comes up or the recent road that is being put in, or the new house, or the new baby, or the new this, or the new that! But never anything new and fresh about the King of kings. One could much easier wring gasoline out of a tree trunk than he could squeeze a little fellowship or praise to God out of most Christians. Only a few days ago I had the opportunity of spending a few hours with a missionary brother; but try as I would, I could not get a word out of him in God’s favor; and yet he is supposed to be serving God here in Japan. Not a word to encourage me; not a word to show me that he had a spark of spiritual life in him; not a word to contribute toward more loving thoughts of Jesus. This kind of person knows how to drag his feet as you attempt to pull him down the praise road to God, but he won’t lift one little finger either to edify you or to praise God. However, find them at a meeting which they are leading and things are much different: they are all studied up and only too ready to share their notes with the anxious! When you accidentally bump into them on the street and ask, “What’s the word of the Lord today, brother?”, chances are it will take them five minutes to ramble around through the rubble of their thoughts in order to talk coherently about the King of kings. Read the rest of this entry »