Posts Tagged "Back To School"
Speak Life
August 22, 2016
In the words of the famous philosopher Toby Mac, “Some days life feels perfect. Other days it just ain’t workin.” True words. That song goes on to say, however, that we can “use our words to inspire, joy will fall like rain when we speak life with the words we say. “ Our words, including the ones we text, email, express with our faces and hands, may be our most powerful tools. They can do things like:
Encourage – Discourage
Bring joy – Bring sadness
Show love – Show hate
Bring peace – Disrupt
Give hope – Destroy
Recognizing the power tools that come from our lips and actions can truly help us realize that the choice to SPEAK LIFE can be transformational in our own lives and in the lives of the others around us.
Read through James Chapter 3. Read it in the translation that you generally use, and then read it in The Message for a change. The “hip” language strikes a chord, and then leaves us with the following three Challenges/Tasks:
PLAN to say something positive. Make the choice. Be intentional with your words. Make someone’s day with words of kindness and love.
Realize the Power of words and be sure your words are consistent with God’s Word. James 3:5 says that a great forest can be set on fire by one tiny spark. Just one word can cause an explosion – of joy or of anger. Take time to think about what you talk about and also about the type of conversations that you join. Be sure it is healthy!
Listen to the right voice. To hear God’s voice, we have to recognize it and those words come from God’s Word. We all need to be in the Word to know His voice.
So, the choice is ours. In our circle of influence, each word, decision, glance and action affects someone. We are all influencers. With EVERYONE we come in contact with, we can either offer them life or drain the life out of them. There isn’t any neutral exchange. As children of the Living God, we are called to reflect Jesus through our conduct and conversation. Let’s all commit to make this a priority!
Today…
Make your mouth a fountain of life (Proverbs 10:11)
Be slow to speak (James 1:19)
Encourage more than you critique. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Seek opportunities to speak kind, tenderhearted words (Ephesians 4:32)
Seek to only speak words that are good for building up and give grace to those who hear (Ephesians 4:29)
SPEAK LIFE.