Over 30 years of ordained ministry, I have watched many “godly” people in and outside the church make what I would consider “godly” resolutions.

Sadly, I have also watched many of them fail miserably in making them work.

There was nothing wrong with the content of the resolutions they made.  They all lined up with the Word of God and the Will of God perfectly.

These godly people followed Jesus with sincere devotion. Many of them operated in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and relied on His power to live lives that were pleasing to God.

Yet, they had difficulty keeping the resolutions they made.

Can you relate?

It used to baffle me to no end, until one day a friend handed me a copy of a book called “Hung by the Tongue.”

Beginning with Proverbs 18:21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue”, author Francis P. Martin presented a convincing case from Scripture about how we can sabotage the success of our resolutions with our words.

A quote from another book “The Tongue: A Creative Force”  by Charles Capps also caught my attention.

Capps says that when he read Mark 11:23: “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says,” Jesus said to him:

“I have told my people they can have what they say, but my people are saying what they have.”

As I started paying attention, I realized that these “godly” people were speaking “ungodly” words.

They were seeking life while speaking death.

They were speaking lies about themselves while trying to keep resolutions based on the truth of God’s word.

They were destroying the new realities they were attempting to create with their very own words.

No wonder they were not experiencing the success they were expecting!

Solomon hit the nail on the head when he wrote: “Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.” (Proverbs 4:24)

When we examine the roots of the Hebrew words translated “perversity” and “corrupt”, we discover that they mean such things as to deceive, to twist, to depart from the truth, to be crooked and devious.

What does every one of these words epitomize?

Can you say “evil?”

Revelation 12:9 describes the devil as one “who deceives the whole world.”

In John 8:44, Jesus called the devil “the father of lies.”

Sadly, these “godly” ones were succumbing to the strategy of the enemy of our souls to keep them from making their resolutions work.

That’s the bad news.

Here’s the good news. We know what to watch for, “so that satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:11)

Friends, please pay special attention to what you say about yourself.

Avoid like the plague such statements as:

• “I knew I couldn’t stick with it.”
• “I am no good at making resolutions work.”
• “I knew this would happen.”

These are lies, twisted truths, the work of the enemy to sabotage your success.

Speak life instead with such godly words as:

• “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
• “With God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
• “I am more than a conqueror.” (Romans 8:37)

And you too will join the ranks of the godly people who make and keep godly resolutions in 2013.

Will you join me in this short prayer from Psalm 141:3? “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

AMEN.