Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

May God add His blessing to the reading of the Word.  May his anointing flow. There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Hallelujah! There are some things back there in 2011 that make us not want to go on:  sickness and disease—so many things. But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. We know the situations and circumstances we’ve been in; and it’s Y’shua, Him only, who brought us out, and gave us the strength to persevere.

People frequently articulate many harmful suggestions, which at first may not sound like outright wickedness.  However, they are careless words that do not reflect an operation of faith.

Lashon is the Hebrew word for tongue, language and speech. This expression  conveys two different ideas.   Lashon ha kodesh, is the life language; whereas  lashon ha ra, represents  death language.  Our Savior communicated that
out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.  Our heart is a reservoir of thoughts, which are eventually reflected in the words we say.

Speaking can actually be dreadful; for example, on an individual level, slander can even lead to murder. On the international scale, saying the wrong things leads to riots, wars, assassinations: big time events and tremendous loss of lives. In days of old, the Jewish sages considered evil speech to be in the same category as idolatry, sexual immorality & murder, and punished it equally so.  That is, death, death and death.  If we were to obtain this reverence for God, there would be many things we would never say nor do.  Oh God, please help us.

Focusing on the good side of speech, lashon ha kodesh,  is our lifeline. Excellent speech brings forth wisdom, hope, encouragement, upliftment, and promotion.  A proper tongue gives increase, prosperity, and love.  Yes, yes, yes.  Our primary example is God Himself, who’s every word is creative, and life-giving.  Furthermore, in the story of creation found in Genesis, we learn that He made man in his image & likeness. Amen, we certainly have no problem with that.

Elohim creates ex nihilo (out of nothing).  Although we are in His image and likeness, our language cannot give rise to something out of nothing. However, our speech does carry a life-sized weight.  God gave man interpretive power.  We are His junior partners, so to speak.  Let us consider that at the time of creation, when  God rested on the seventh day, time was left for man to invoke authoritative, interpretative, and re-arranging skill: the power of his words.

For example, it is when Adam named the donkey, that it became a donkey, or a horse, and so forth.  That is why Y’shua told His disciples that what they said determined the outcome of certain situations.  Glory to God.

Let us begin this New Year with a correct attitude. We know that if we have faith, we can say to a mountain, ‘Be thou removed and cast into the sea, and it will be done.’  WE may consider that our problems are like mountains. Unfortunately, we have a tendency to blow them up to the size of Mount Everest. Nevertheless, we are not the ones who move the mountain; we simply speak the prevailing interpretive word.

Our speech, lashon, is the vehicle given to us to cause problems to dissipate from their roots, just like the cursed fig tree in the Gospels.  Coming out of 2011, there are so many things I would have loved to do differently: to re-interpret and re-arrange…. But glory be to God, we have 2012!

Rearrangement

Let us attempt, with the help of God, to rearrange some things. Let us approach situations, as believers in Y’shua, not with careless, faithless speech, but with the interpretive power of God.  Then our lips won’t get us into so much trouble, and we will not develop non-harmonious relationships.  We’ll be the head and not the tail, above only and never beneath.  This is the kind of prosperous year, and life, God desires for us.

There is a principle here worth mentioning: Man views circumstances outwardly, while God is Spirit, therefore has an infinitely more profound outlook.

King David saw that Jerusalem was well shielded on a mountain with mountainous barriers on its sides, except for the Kidron Valley southward. That would surely have been a steep climb for an enemy. Therefore, Jerusalem had natural ‘security walls’ defended on all sides, indeed an unusual tower of defense.
Other reasons for choosing Jerusalem included the water provided by the hidden Gihon Spring; this was more than enough to supply the city abundantly. To ensure that there would be ample provision during a possible enemy siege, King Hezekiah had constructed a tunnel leading from the spring on the cliff of the city limits, to the Pool of Siloam in 701 BC. This provided not only adequacy, but also prosperity. It was a place to refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.

Jerusalem seemed like a politically neutral place, being on the fringe of the Northern border of the tribe of Judah. It was unoccupied by any of the twelve tribes of Israel. Thus, it was a free state within the Kingdom. This eliminated jealousy and competition between the tribes. Exercising their free will, they could travel to Jerusalem freely for any feasts or festivals.
On the other hand, God is omniscient, thus He held His own criteria for choosing Jerusalem. His own city has been called by various names throughout Scripture, and each infers a sacred reason. Aviel is mentioned in Isaiah 29, and refers to The Mount of God (lit. ‘The Lion Of God.’) This signifies the principal stronghold of God and the center for His worship. His people could worship, even in the Presence of His holiness, near the holy of holies, the most consecrated place in His temple. David was looking for Jerusalem to be a city of refuge, while The El Shaddai was making it a central place of adoration and devotion.
The term Zion emerges in 2 Samuel 5 when David prepares to attack the Philistine fortress. Yet, Zion is more than a fortress; it is the spiritual point from which truth emerges, leading to everlasting victory. Salvation emerges from Zion, since there lies the seat of mercy, and forgiveness, of Him who is the judge of the whole earth.

Alternate names for Jerusalem include Neve Tzedik in Jeremiah 31, meaning the dwelling of the righteous. God was planning a place where redeemed souls would dwell upon a mountain uttering “The Lord bless you, O righteous dwelling.” The City of God is truly an eternal place. In Lamentations it is called Kililat Yofi, or the paragon of beauty. Not only are the feet of those who bring glad tidings beautiful, but so is their dwelling place.

Thus we see that Jerusalem uniquely offered protection, refreshing and freedom in the natural realm. However spiritually, God orchestrated it as a place of divine worship, righteous dwelling and eternal beauty.

In the past, there have been other occupants of Jerusalem, who were not counted as God’s holy people. God made His intentions clear when He sent a message through His servant Zechariah, “ADONAI-TZVA’OT says, ‘I am extremely jealous on Tziyon’s behalf, and I am jealous for her with great fury. I am returning to Tziyon, and will live in Yerushalayim. Then Yerushalayim will be called Truth City, ADONAI-TZVA’OT’S Mountain, the Mountain of the Holy One.’ In addition to repatriation of the diaspora, could this also signify the millennial reign or our Lord and Savior, Y’shua the Messiah.

And, what of the New Jerusalem? A holy city, a new heaven and a new earth, which John saw coming down out of heaven from God……………