A Reflection on Mary's Worship Song

Last Sunday, Rev Samuel Sia came to preach on "Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat" Luke 1:46-55.  He also shared the background of the story, especially Mary's visit to Elizabeth. He ended with "Does your heart have a space for Jesus?". If you have the joy of Christ, then you will be joyful always. You must prepare your heart to receive Jesus during Christmas to have meaningful, joyful eternal life with Jesus.

The most important thing that I learned from Mary in the past has been Luke 1:38 ...be it unto me according to thy word. That was tremendous faith and obedience in action. She had to go through much persecution and hardship for a virgin birth. She had to bear the great burden of raising Jesus even though bearing the Savior of the World was a great honor. But Mary did not taste the very honor that people all through history had given her. Instead, she had to bear the pains of seeing her Son being nailed to the cross! By faith, she received the honor. This is reflected in her song of praise.

Mary's Christmas Message
Mary's song is also her Christmas Message for us. If you never heard her preach, here it is. Below are some points that I learned:

1.  About Worship
1. Mary worshiped God with her mind & heart - her soul and spirit.
2. She expressed with her mouth - Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. Holy is His name v49.
3. She expressed with her heart - she rejoiced. It is a song of gladness.
   She shows us how to worship in spirit and in truth with true gladness. She gave good reasons for the joy and praise. It builds our faith.
2. She gave the reasons for the worship and joy:
1. About Me: 
1. God is my Savior v47 - God saved me.
2. God chose me, a lowly handmaiden.
   God can also choose you. It is not about your position and ability. It is about your heart. Are you willing to follow the path that God has created you for? Will you let God be your God? Will you trust God enough to yield to Him? Humility is not low self-esteem. It is accepting our unique calling from God and following it with our life. Not condemning ourselves and not envying others. Take pride in the calling of God. (Note: The calling of God is not only about full-time ministry. See Secular vs Spiritual Jobs)
3. All generations shall call me blessed. That is great for Mary. We thank her for her obedience despite the hardship. Leaving a legacy requires obedience, hard work, and discipline with joy in the midst.
4. God had done to me great things. Greatness is defined by God and not by the worldly standard. Sometimes they are the same, e.g. making David King. Sometimes they are not, e.g. Paul, John, and Jim Elliot as martyrs for God! For most of us, we just follow our calling by God. We are rewarded by the talents given to us to fulfill our calling. We just need to be faithful to what we are called. But one thing is for sure, God promotes us through life, step by step.
2. About ALL: From me, Mary extends to others...
1. God gives mercy to those who fear him and this is applicable throughout all generations. The Greek translated mercy may be better translated as compassion or kindness. Notice that is a qualification - those that fear Him. God's kindness is to be received and can be rejected by the proud as reflected in the subsequent verses. In our case, this kindness is Jesus as Savior. Those who don't fear God could not care less about God or His gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
2. God shows His strength by overriding man's might and pride. What is great in man's eyes is nothing, even dung, in God's view. We must value what God values and not the man-made system.
1. bring down the proud and mighty(in men own evaluation)
2. bring up the lowly 
3. send the rich empty-handed away
4. fill the hungry with good things
3. God keeps His promise to Abraham, Jacob(Israel)
1. Jesus, Abraham's seed to save the world was promised and delivered then. 
2. (Gal 3:29) And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
3. The believers are spiritual seeds of Abraham and enjoy the promises God made to Abraham.

The Offer: Salvation through Jesus Christ
The very reason for Mary's Song of Praise and Joy is the delivery of God's promise - "Jesus, Son of God, as our Savior". Will you receive this Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, to be your own personal Savior and Lord and enter into the true Joy of the Lord in this Christmas time?

If you have already done so, have you discovered your calling? Will you accept and walk in it with joy and grace from Jesus? Our Jesus who saves us with His grace will also give us the grace to live out His calling on our lives to His glory which we also share.

Lim Liat (c) 2010-12-22

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14 Dec 2024

Using ChatGPT to give a short prayer for the post is as follows:

Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the example of Mary’s faith, humility, and joyful worship. Help us to prepare our hearts this Christmas to receive Jesus fully, just as she did. Teach us to trust Your plans, embrace our unique calling, and walk in obedience and joy. May our lives reflect Your mercy and greatness, bringing glory to You. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

It is a good summary and application. 

I asked Doubao (A China Generative AI like ChatGPT) "What does Mary's Song of praise teach us?"
Its response was great too and I reproduced here.

"The "Magnificat" (Mary's Song of Praise) in the Bible (Luke 1:46 - 55) teaches several important lessons:

1. The power of God's favor and the significance of humility

Mary, a young and seemingly ordinary woman, is chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. In her song, she acknowledges God's great favor upon her.

• This shows that God often works through those who may be considered lowly in the eyes of the world.

• Mary's humility is evident as she recognizes that it is God's grace that has exalted her. For example, she says, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant."

• This teaches us to be humble and to recognize that God can use anyone, regardless of their social status or worldly position, for his divine purposes.

2. God's faithfulness to his promises and justice

• Mary speaks of God's mercy "from generation to generation." This emphasizes the continuity of God's love and care for his people over time.
• She also mentions how God scatters the proud in the thoughts of their hearts, brings down the mighty from their thrones, and exalts those of humble estate. This shows God's commitment to justice. It tells us that God is a just God who will ultimately right the wrongs and that he has a plan to reverse the unjust power structures of the world. For instance, in history, there have been many times when oppressive regimes have fallen, and the oppressed have found liberation, which can be seen as a manifestation of God's justice as described in Mary's song.

3. The importance of spiritual rejoicing and praise

• Mary's song is a powerful expression of praise and worship. Her spirit rejoices in God her Savior. This teaches us the significance of having a heart full of praise and gratitude towards God. In the face of the great and miraculous events that were about to unfold through the birth of Jesus, Mary's first response is to praise God.

• It encourages us to have a similar attitude, to focus on the goodness and power of God, and to express our love and adoration for him through our words and actions, no matter the circumstances we face.

A Relook at the Ten Commandments

I learned about the Ten Commandments long before I became a believer. I studied in a Catholic School that required us to take examination in Religion Study. But since Jesus had saved us and there is no need to follow the Laws for our salvation, I did not pay any particular attention to it. It was considered outdated. It is in the OT isn't it?

However, since Ten-commandments were given by God to man, teaching man how to live a blessed life, we need to go back to study them. Jesus said he did not come to do away with the Laws but came to fulfill them. He gave us the essence of Laws as "Love God first" and then "Love others as ourselves".  Ten commandments actually tell us the details for loving God and loving others. It is with this mindset of loving that we take a re-look at the Ten-commandments.

In wikipedia on Ten-Commandments, we can find much details; the origins Exo 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21, and the versions of the Jews, Reformed, Orthodox and Catholic Christians.

The Ten Commandments - Key Points.


Know the true God and the Lord (Exo 20:2  I am the LORD thy God) and hence

1. No other gods
2. No idols
3. No wrongful use of God's name
4. Keep the Sabbath holy
5. Honor your parents and live long on earth.
6. No murder.
7. No adultery.
8. No stealing.
9. No false witness.
10. No covet neighbor's

Worship of God Begins with Sabbath Keeping  The starting point of the Ten-Commandments is "I am the LORD thy God", Exo 20:2. It is about how we relate to God as our Lord. The first four shows us how to love God and ends with the good practice of Sabbath Keeping - A day separated out from the other six days of the week for resting and in particular for reflection and worship of God. A day to enjoy the creation created by God and appreciate, worship and enjoy the Creator. 

Relationship Begins with Honoring and Respecting Others
The next six commandments teach man how to live with one another. It begins with honoring our parents. It is about respecting the elders and one another. If we cannot respect the ones who give birth to us and who take care of us, how could we ever respect and live well with others? Honor parents teach us about appreciate our sources, God and our parents. It teaches us about obedience, learning from the elders, being loyal and faithful to them. These are the foundations for building trusting and lasting relationship with others. Chinese Classics places filial piety as the first and most important virtue. It matches well with the Ten commandments given by God. Filial Piety is the foundation for lasting relationship. Confucius teaches "入孝出悌“ （《论语·学而》：“子曰：‘弟子入则孝，出则悌。’”）meaning at home honor our parents and at outside the home respect others.

Once we can honor and respect others, then we shall not commit murder, not committing adultery (being unfaithful to one's spouse and others' spouses or children), not stealing, not lying or not taking others' possessions.

What about taking good care of God's creation and particularly the environment. This can be extended from not using the Name of God in vain. God tells us, in Gen 1:28, to take good care of the whole earth. Let the abundances increase and not to destroy it. This also comes from giving the creation rest , resting of the fields (covered in later commandments) or an extension of not coveting others', including God's things.

The Progress - From Exodus to Deuteronomy
Exodus is the first version, given in the early part of the life in the desert. Deuteronomy is the revised version, the second generation, preparing them to enter the promised land. Most of the wordings are the same. The slight differences show us the change in emphasis for the 2nd generation, mostly born in 40 years wandering in the desert. People that did not missed the exodus! So here are the differences:

On Sabbath:

1. Keeping Sabbath is emphasized with "as the Lord your God commanded you" Deu 5:12b.
2. More details on who should be resting on Sabbath - added were ox, donkey. May be man happily modify the Laws and work their ox and donkey on Sabbath. Man argued that ox and donkey are not livestock. Livestock are the chicken, goats and lambs. Man not only ignore the spirit of the Law but play with the definitions to legalize and justify their wrongful actions.
3. An added explanation on the purpose of Sabbath "So that your male and female slave may rest as well as you". This is added again to prevent man from excluding slaves fro the day of rest. 
4. An extra verse to remind them they were slaves too in Egypt and another reminder that "God commanded you to keep the Sabbath".  Hence we know keeping the Sabbath not only important but also man tend not to do it or cheat it.
5. Of the 16 verses of Deu 5:6-21, Sabbath takes 4 long verses, 25%, more than any other commandment. That is how important it is. Idol has 2-3 verses.
6. In the earlier version, Exo 20:11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day... is left out. The attention has shifted from God to Man. God set the example for man to follow but man does not seem to care. God has to make it more explicit. Sabbath is not for God but for the benefits of man. This was what Jesus emphasized. (Mar 2:27  And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: )

On Honoring Parents:

1. Emphasized with "as the Lord your God commanded you"

On Neighbors':

1. The order is changed - wife comes before house, field is added (in desert no one own any land, but they will own land in the promised land).

We can see that in times of abundance in the promised land, man tends to forget keeping the Sabbath, forget honoring their parents, and to covet neighbor's wife and fields and other things. Aren't these reflective of our present generation, myself included. In what Francis Schaeffer spoke of a the idols of Personal Peace and Affluence, we have forgotten about God, committed the sins that God has warned us long ago in the Ten commandments.
(Schaeffer's Personal Peace : I want to be left alone, my lifestyle to be undisturbed by anyone. I don't care what happen to others. Affluence : I want things and more things and we are busy getting more things.)

The progress, clarification of the ten commandments, reveals man's tendency of putting oneself as God and replacing the true God and ignoring the others. A study on ten-commandments will hopefully awake us once more that we are not God and not alone. Keeping Sabbath is important for us to reflect and understand that we have a true God as Father, a Jesus Christ who saved us and bring us back to God and a reminder that we are all members of the Body of Christ, and the need to bring others into this Body of Christ. Believing and receiving Christ into our lives as Savior and God is our act of acknowledgment and worship of God and in turn enables us love others with the love that Christ has put into our hearts.

The Ten-commandments are actually the principles for living a meaningful life with fruitful relationships on earth.  The world will be greatly blessed when man follow the Ten-commandments. There is a God and there are others for us to enjoy together.

See also Principles & Insights from the Ten Commandments

Joy - Biblical View

Christian's character virtues are best found in the fruit of the Holy Spirit Gal 5:22-23. It is best that you know Greek to understand the attributes fully. Short of that, different translations will help. Concordance could be of help too. But I find concordance tends to give similar and broader meanings of words rather than specific and differentiating meaning. A 9 views of the Fruit of the Spirit is Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (KJV).

God is Joy
We are all familiar with God is Love (1John 4:8). The nine attributes come from the same fruit of God. So we can also said God is Joy, God is peace, God is... Hence, the Psalmists can say in

• Psa 16:11  in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 
• Psa 21:6  For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence.

Do we taste such joy when we come into the presence of Jesus? If not, do we have the right mindset about Jesus and our Heavenly Father?

We can replace 'love' with 'joy' in 1John 4:7-8 to

• 1Jn 4:7-8  Beloved, let us rejoice together, for joy is from God, and whoever rejoices has been born of God and knows God.  Anyone who does not rejoice does not know God, because God is joy.

So, if we find ourselves wearing a long-face all day long, we can be sure that we are not aware of the presence of God and not aware of His help. We are carrying too much burden ourselves and forget to cast it onto Him (1Pe 5:7  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you).

Kingdom of God is
Paul tell us in Rom 14:17 that the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The Interplay of the Attributes of the Fruit of Spirit
There is strong relationships among the 9 aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. Love brings peace and peace brings joy which brings patience (able to sustain in long period of suffering) and so forth. We the following verses:

1. Pro 12:20  ... but those who plan peace have joy.
2. Isa 29:19  The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, ...
3. Isa 65:18  But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.

Joy is Immovable Inner Strength
Joy comes from within and is from the Lord. It is not taken away but external events but it rejoices at the right and good things (we will cover this in next paragraph). Neh 8:10 for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

Joy gives hope... and the strength to move forward to the goal.

• Rom 15:13  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

We build the strength of joy by abiding, yielding to the Spirit at all time and anytime.  Here are some verses for encouragement:

• Recall His blessings and wonderful creation. 
• Psa 119:111  Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
• Let God give you the right word for the moment. 
• Pro 15:23  To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!
• Joh 15:11  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
• 1Jn 1:4  And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
   You make known to me the path of life; 
• Trust in God's wisdom and promises.
• Ecc 2:26  For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. 
• Seek His righteousness first.
•  3Jn 1:2  Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. (John's version Mat 6:33)

Joy is Powerful

• Joy creates big impact on people. It chases gloominess. It put calm in a tensed situations. It is a powerful witnessing power. Love takes time. But joy is contagious and immediate. Try smiling more often. Try saying kind words. Try showing a pleasing and accepting face. It makes the other more calm and makes them joyful too.

Joy is Restored and Come when things are put right

• Joy of Salvation & Repentance
• Luk 15:7  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. 
• Luk 15:10  Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
• Joy over Sorrow
• Psa 30:5  For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
• Psa 126:5  Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!
• Righteousness & Justice
• Psa 32:11  Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! 
• Psa 33:1  Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright
• Psa 97:11  Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.
    justice
• Psa 98:8  Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together Psa 98:9  before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity
• Pro 21:15  When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.  
• Your Welfare
• Psa 35:27  Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, "Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!"
• Your dwelling/city Psa 48:1  Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, Psa 48:2  beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King.
• enjoyment of wealth: Ecc 5:19  Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil--this is the gift of God.
• achievement: Mat 25:23  His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'
• ask & receiving: Joh 16:24  Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
• Friendship: 
• Joh 17:13  But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 
• 2Co 1:24  Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith. 
• 1Th 2:20  For you are our glory and joy. 
• 2Ti 1:4  As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 
• Phm 1:7  For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. 
• 2Jn 1:12  Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
• 3Jn 1:4  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
• Harmony
• Php 2:2  complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Rejoice, Rejoice, Rejoice. You're in God's Will.
Php 4:4  Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
1Th 5:16-18  Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing(if you are still worry!). In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (Since it is God's will in whatever situation you are in, you will come out victoriously! Why fuss and be angry? Be joyful and enjoy the journey.)

We rejoice every where and any where. We rejoice all the time and any time. Not because we are great but because we have the great source of Joy and Power, Jesus Christ within us. Whatever we may find ourselves in, rejoice evermore, because God make us more than conquerors.


Follow After Joy 随喜
Chinese has a powerful for joy "随" meaning let it be, follow after . . e.g. 随遇而安 no matter what I encounter, I live with it calmly and comfortably.

"Rejoice always" can be translated as "随喜“ let it be and rejoice, follow after joy.

• Be calm and joyful in traffic jams. Rejoice even when you miss your flight. 
• Return insults with appreciation (thank you for pointing out, I will consider them carefully). 
• Missed promotion, rejoice with the ones who got them and know that your turn will come soon with this company or head hunted elsewhere. 
• Even not, God is the one that promote us and His promotion is always better and long lasting. We have insights that others do not know. There are higher objectives and opportunities in the situations you are in. Find them rather than focus on the disappointments and got stuck in self-pity party. Our trust and hope is in the Lord and not our bosses or the economic situations. Be the uniquely you that God has created you for. Rejoice always. Follow after JOY and be like your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
• Bereavements, sicknesses, ... know that God is with you and understand your sorrows, loneliness and fears. He will comfort you, strengthen you, and guide you out. We will see them the other side in the morning of joy.

(note: 随喜 is also a technical term in Buddhism. 随喜功德 meaning that when you see someone doing good things like giving money, you rejoices with him and you may also join in the good work and accumulate good-rewards. It is something we can learn too. Love is rejoices at the good. But 随喜 is basically Chinese words. I will use the layman version, which means joy in every situation and time. The true meaning of Php 4:4, 1The 5：16)

How to be King

I have tried to come out with other suitable titles like "How to have influence over others", "The Secrets of Leadership", "The Principles to be Popular and get Support", "How to get Followers",   etc. But finally, I think I just stay with the translation of King. King means power to rule over others, not by force, but by influence to get willing and committed followers.

The Wisdom of Chinese Classics can be summarized into four words "内圣外王", translated as "Inside Saint Outside King". In our Christian teaching, I will translated it as, "Inside Christ Outside Glory" or "Christ within and Glory without". As we live out the Christ within us, we will have the influence and the testimonies to bring glory to God. Jesus' prayer is "Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." How is this done? Through all of us that have Christ within to live Christ out in our behavior, careers and lives.  This is taught to us by Paul in, using the NLT, as

Php 2:12-16 ... Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; ....

Or in the Message bible with a more powerful image:

Php 2:12-16  ...Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God.  That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.  Do everything readily and cheerfully--no bickering, no second-guessing allowed!  Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night ...

Please also see What is the meaning of Yielding to the Spirit?
and Christian Transformation & Growth -The Unified Model ...

For management and leadership training, we would translate the phase as “One must be able to manage oneself well first then we can manage others".  Or, "Leading others begins with leading oneself". We must be of good character and be capable first then we can lead others. If we cannot manage ourselves, how can we manage others?

The Wisdom of Chinese Classics

Let me also share with you the teaching of the Ancient Chinese.  The concept of the phase first appeared in Zhuang Zi 《庄子·天下篇》. You can click the link to get the English translation. The keys are:

1. To build inner character, remember the root sources, the attributes, the truth, virtues, the ways, handling of changes, love, righteousness, manners of behavior, harmony of music.
2. To manage the people, use laws, right jobs for right people, evidence based, careful decision making, providing for living (economic development for the people), storing, care for the old, weak and orphans.

Confucius's Ru School has an equivalent saying, "内修外治" Developing the Inner man and then rule externally". It has a eight step process, "格物、致知、诚意、正心、 修身、 齐家、治国、平天下".The first five is for Character and Wisdom building. The last three is about rulership over family, country and the world. For details, see Understanding 'The Great Learning DaXue' in One Minute

Wisdom and Character building begins with

1. 格物: Study the behavior of the things, the universe, ecology, people etc. This is science and more.
2. 致知: Gain in depth knowledge and learn from the study of things.
3. 诚意: Sincerity. No deviation from the truth. No lying to oneself or others.
4. 正心: Literally, square-heart. A pure, fair, righteous and peaceful heart. No evil intentions. No prejudices or biases.
5. 修身: Development of Character Virtues. Ru School has a list of virtues. The list is similar to Christianity. Love, righteousness, balanced, pure, manners, understanding shame, respects and care for parents and elders, etc.

Once we have developed our character and wisdom, then we can manage our family, and then our country and then the world. It takes a process, and one step at a time.

We can see that Ancient Chinese stresses much on following the ways of God, building of character, and then creating a harmonious and prosper world.

2Pe 1:5-9  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;  6  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;  7  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.  8  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  9  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

As Christians, with the Christ, the grace of God within us, could we do less? Because of the New Life within us, let us boldly live out the glory of God within that others may the Glory of God and be drawn to Christ.

Mat 5:16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Similar Verses in BIble and Chinese Classics 7 on Mouth and Heart

This time we take a verse from a lesser known Chinese Classics 《鬼谷子》. It is classified into the group of Miscellaneous. The author is nick-named Gui Gu Zi 《鬼谷子》(Fellow of the Demon Valley - just the name of the place. His original name is 王诩). He was the teacher of the famous politicians and military strategists like 苏秦, 张仪, 孙膑与庞涓.

捭阖: 8  ...口者，心之门户也。... Open & Close: 8 ...Mouth is the door of the heart....
What we say come out from in the inside of our heart. When we are fearful and worry inside, we speak negative and depressing words. We say we can't. We say let's give up.

This reminded us of what Jesus said about it was not the food that defiled us but the evil inside spoken out.

Mat 15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; ...
(Mat 15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20  These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. )


The verse in the Classic read as follows:

捭阖: 8 捭阖者，道之大化，说之变也。必豫审其变化，吉凶大命系焉。口者，心之门户也。心者，神之主也。志意、喜欲、思虑、智谋，此皆由门户出入。故关之以捭阖，制之以出入。

Open and close is the operation of the Great Dao (Way of Heaven). It is the change that we need to talk about. We must carefully observe and predict the change (i.e. see the pattern of changes). This is because it determines the outcome of our lives, whether good or evil. Take note of the MOUTH. It is the DOOR of our HEART. HEART, it is the center of our spirit. Our will,  joy, desire, worry, wisdom and planning, all come in and out through the DOOR. Hence, we must guard its opening and closing, and limit what go in and come out.

It's main teaching is - Be careful and control what you say - good or bad comes from it.

Isn't this the same as Prov 18:21

• (KJVR)  Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.  or in a newer translation:
• (CEV)  Words can bring death or life! Talk too much, and you will eat everything you say.
  

It also reminds us of what James warned us about the tongue and the Godly wisdom in James 3.

We are and become what we say.
Because we say what we think, and what we think is what we become as in Prove 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. We are or we become what we say. So it is extremely important that we guard what we say.


We get what we say.
We have this very powerful verses in the Bible Mark 11:22-23.

Mar 11:22  And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
Mar 11:23  For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Good Advices:

1. Carefully listen to and reflect what we are saying. 
• This is because what we say tell us much about our inner self. Are we worry? Are we joyful? Are we speaking words of faith? Are we jealous? Are we unforgiving?  Are we angry? Are we joyful? Are we confident? Are we proud? Check our inner spirit - positive, joyful, confident and trusting the Lord or the opposite.
2. Speak only positive words.
• Speak words of joy, encouragement, forgiveness, wisdom, beauty, blessings, comforting and assurance. 
• Stop gossiping, cursing, and saying words of defeats, depression and bitterness. 
• When we are tempted to speak negatively, apply the INVERT operator, and convert it to positive words.
3. Speak of our vision
• Speak of what we want and like to become. 
• Speak of what success look like. 
• Speak words of faith in Christ. 

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