Just how powerful are our words?!?!

It's been a while since I last blogged. Sorry about that.  I needed to take a break with going back to school and such. But I am back with a few new things to blog about. First being the power of the mouth.

Since second semester started, my friend Luke and I have been meeting for lunch each day, and we read our bibles together. Sometimes we do our own thing, other times we work together. During out first couple weeks, we looked into the Bible to find out exactly what God has to say about the power of our mouth or tongue. It was interesting to say the least.

I think as Christians in today's culture, it is really easy to fall into talking just like everyone else does: Using the same figures of speech, profanity, dirty jokes, gossip, rude sarcasm, etc.

I myself struggle with this too, probably more so than a lot of you. But diving into the Word has really opened my eyes to just how powerful each and every word we speak is.

First off, Jesus has some bold. words about the tongue in Matthew. In chapter 12:34-37 he states "You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For our of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.....I tell you, on the day of judgement people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by you words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned"

Also, in Matthew 15:11, Jesus says, "It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a person"

James refers to the tongue as a fire, a world of unrighteousness, a restless evil that is full of deadly poison, a blessing and a cursing. 

Oh...CRAP! That is bold and powerful stuff right there!

I hear people say, "Well the Bible never does say not to swear, so I'm gonna go ahead and do it".

I think Jesus makes it extremely clear that if we speak foul language, make dirty jokes, use our words to tear down another, or talk behind someone's back, then it shows where our heart is at - not a very good place.

If our hearts are truly devoted to God, as many of us claim, then we need to speak like it is also. Instead of using our language for negative things, we must use our words to encourage people, respect people, and most importantly, use it to honor God. It is an act of worship!

Too often I think about the social implications of my words rather than what will encourage people and honor God. I get too caught up in if it will make people laugh, or think better of me, then if it is God pleasing or not. Even if it is a friend that can handle mass amounts of ridicule and sarcasm, that doesn't mean it is okay for us to speak negatively towards them, whether it is sarcastic or not.

In Ephesians, Paul talks about our words saying, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up" (4:29).

So often, I find myself complaining about this or that. Those words are worthless and meaningless. They are not honoring nor encouraging. Bottom line, I need to keep my mouth shut more often when I feel that way. I need to have a filter.

Being a believer in Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit, the words that come out of my mouth must be different than what they were before I accepted Christ.

David says in the Psalms "He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise" (40:3).

2 Samuel 23:2 says "The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; His word is on my tongue"

We are speaking of the Spirit. We are a representation for Christ to the rest of the world. In being that we cannot our lips run wild, so to speak.

James also states that a fig tree cannot bear olives, neither a salt pond have fresh water. The same thing is true for our tongue. We cannot speak both evil and righteousness! Not one of our words is neutral. It is either God-honoring or evil. We must use our words for good!

If you look at many stories in the Bible, you see words are powerful. They are powerful enough to raise people from the dead, cast our demons, heal the sick, completely change lives in a positive way. However, they are also used to cut someone down, condemn them, curse them, and even kill them. We must be wise with our words.

The point I really want to hit home is that our words are powerful, no matter if we recognize that or not. And if we can use them for encouraging others constantly and praising God constantly, people will start to notice there is something different about people follow Jesus; That they don't care about what is socially cool, but they are concerned more about showing Jesus' love to everyone through using their words to encourage and make peoples' days. And that alone will change lives!

So lets partner with the Holy Spirit, so God can use us as instruments to show His unfailing love!

A filthy ragamuffin, given redemption through Christ,

David

PS: If you have any questions do not be afraid to ask me!

Oh, and shout out to the Russians how read this! You are awesome and I am praying for you!