What are You Reading? – Exalt with Intention

well hello ladies and welcome to our new kind of series here that we're doing in 2023 called what are you reading and yes um today is a little ways into January and um yes I am actually for those of you who do know I got married on Saturday so I'm recording this a little early so this is a little prequel I got married on Saturday and um so I'm actually on my honeymoon which sounds weird to talk in the future but that's what's happening right now when you're watching this so um but what's really exciting is something else that I've been doing maybe not as exciting as wedding but it's God's word so it's still exciting is I have um spent this year talking about or not talking about but thinking about what would be my word for this year and there's something that kept coming up a little bit of conviction that has to do with my mouth and God was talking to me or telling me about groaning there were so many verses about groaning and I realized how much that was the focus um that out of my mouth so many times there was groaning and so this word intentional came to mind being intentional this year being intentional with the words of my mouth and fascinatingly enough back in November this is kind of what am I reading this week but really what have I been reading for a little while I'm so far in Psalm 34 I've memorized verses 1 through 14 that's not to make me sound great or anything like that but it was just a psalm um i used to memorize scripture a lot more often and it was something that had come to mind and if you're doing pastor's challenge you know that you're memorizing even more scripture but psalm 34 starts off with i will bless the lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth and i was convicted wondering about how often am i really truly speaking and blessing the lord that his praise is continually in my mouth. Is that really, truly the case? And so, you know, if I am too, you probably noticed I'm wearing glasses. So I recently went to the eye doctor and I need a little bit of something else to help magnify, to make it a little more clear, a little brighter, a little bit better. And while I was sitting there at the eye doctor doing all of this, I was beginning to realize I don't need these all the time, but they do help. I can wear them without I can work but I work better with them on and so that's something really interesting and so let me read the beginning of Psalm 34 I wish I could say that I'd be dead certain that I wouldn't miss a word in these first three verses but I would probably stumble reciting to you to you it says I will bless the Lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth my soul makes its boast in the Lord let the humble hear and be glad oh magnify the Lord with me let us exalt his name together and so i'm calling this exalt with intention be intentional about your words be intentionable intention intentionable that's a word i just made up be intentional with exalting god be intentional with what you say does it bless the lord or does it tear down and so that's something i've really been convicted about and with my glasses as they magnify what i am looking at so that I can read better that I can work better do my words magnify the Lord do they magnify his work so that's just something I want you to ponder today I've been pondering about that for the last few weeks of these three verses and just oh magnify the Lord with me let us exalt his name together so that together the body of Christ that all of us are exalting his name together and we're doing that in magnifying his work. So I hope that kind of gives you a little thought on this Monday morning to just speak with intention this week to be intentional and most importantly to be intentional in exalting God's name. So thank you so much and I hope that was a little bit encouraging and reminds you to just be intentional so that God's goodness and grace may overflow. Have a good one. you

Originally published at warren.church.