what should proceed from our mouths as christians?

DEVOTIONAL READING
Exodus 4, Verses 1-16, Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’” The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.” Then He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. But the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail”—so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand--“that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” The LORD furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.” So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then He said, “Put your hand into your bosom again.” So he put his hand into his bosom again, and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. “If they will not believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe the witness of the last sign. “But if they will not believe even these two signs or heed what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.” Then Moses said to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” The LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? “Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say.” But he said, “Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever You will.” Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. “You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do. “Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him.

Psalm 62, Verse 1, My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation. 
Psalm 15, Verse 3, He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; 
Psalm 34, Verse 13, Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit.
Psalm 35, Verse 28, And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness, And Your praise all day long.
Psalm 39, Verse 1, I said, “I will guard my ways, That I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle While the wicked are in my presence.”
Psalm 137, Verse 6, May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth If I do not remember you, If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy.

Job 27, Verse 4, My lips certainly will not speak unjustly, Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.

Philippians 2, Verses 9-11, For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Matthew 15, Verse 11, It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.

Ephesians 4, Verse 29, Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
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James 1, Verse 26, If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless.
James 3, Verse 5, So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!

Ecclesiastes 3, Verse 7, A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak.

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE
In youth we learn these simple mantras, often repeated from parents to children. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." "If you don't have anything kind to say, then don't say anything at all." These are both basic lessons - one is that we can bounce back from mean words directed towards us, and the other to bridle our own tongues so we are not directing mean words towards someone else. Yet as we become more mature as Christians we have Biblical knowledge to lean on. The Psalms and Proverbs have a lot to say about our words, and I've selected a few verses above from the Psalms, from the mouth of David. The Psalms themselves were the songs of Jesus - sang frequently at Jewish gatherings, including songs of worship and wisdom. And the wisdom on using our mouthpiece is this: "Guard your tongue!" James 3 discusses just how powerful our tongue can be, and the example from Moses is perfect for expressing that power. For Moses and Aaron were given direct messages from God to direct God's people and to warn the enemies of God, and those words are given in the Bible, the Word of God we have today. What proceeded from the mouths of Moses, Aaron, David, Jesus, Paul and hundreds of other Biblical characters is indeed more virtuous and pure than what proceeds from the mouths of our most revered leaders today. As Christians we have a duty to edify, rebuke and love with the words that proceed from our mouths. And concerning the addressing of the wicked: (1) at times we are to be silent or to muzzle our tongues in the presence of the wicked, (2) at other times God may call us to rebuke Satan himself. Always be prayerful about what proceeds from your lips and stay after the ways of God to help keep your tongue tempered. Keep in mind it is our mouths that exalt and worship God. Jesus Christ is our Lord and we shall not be ashamed to declare that.

DEVOTIONAL PRAYER
Dear God, During intense times I either seek to do what is right, or give in to Satan. My mouth often follows my actions and thoughts and vice versa. My goal is to be a Proverbs 31 wife, a whole sustainable woman, and an example to others. To do so, during intense times, I must temper my tongue and be prayerful about what proceeds from my mouth. When times are less intense I am even more likely to get lost about in the daily shuffle and I need Your help then too. Guard me from temptations - both in actions, thoughts and words. Give me the constant courage to declare unashamedly that I am a Christian and follower of Christ. Bless me so that I may have the ability to correctly edify, rebuke and love both my friends and my enemies. I will prioritize worshiping with other Christians to glorify Your name. Glory be to God. In Jesus Name. Amen.