Enjoying the Journey

3 Things I Am Praying for My Words

Words are powerful things. Spoken, written, typed, or texted – they are vehicles of communication that tend to last. If not on paper, in the hearts and minds of others. With our words we build up, and with our words we tear down. Solomon declared, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). James said that with the same tongue we “bless” and “curse” (James 3:19-20). Many a marriage bears the wounds of a word that never should have been spoken. Children carry the powerful words of their parents with them their entire life. Churches are often divided, fellow children of God alienated from one another, because of senseless words. There are three things I have…

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Think First!

As children we were always instructed to think before we speak. Now, with children of my own, I realize that this is good advice for adults too. This simple rule would transform relationships and the very atmosphere in most homes! God’s Book of Wisdom cautions us not to be “hasty” with our words (Prov. 29:20). In the Proverbs of the New Testament the Holy Spirit counsels us to be “slow to speak” (James 1:19). We are all too quick to share our mind before we truly examine it! My dad has said through the years that there is a difference in responding and reacting. When we react we are operating in the flesh. When we respond with grace we are operating…

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Sarcasm is Not a Spiritual Gift!

The wisest man who ever lived wrote, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21).  Death is mentioned first because it is what naturally comes out.  Only the grace of God can enable us to speak life. Those of us that basically talk for a living are always in danger.  I was recently reminded of yet another of Solomon’s proverbs, “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin” (Proverbs 10:19).  The more we speak, the more apt we are to say something that is hurtful to God, to others, and to ourselves. Perhaps one of the most cutting types of language is the use of sarcasm.  Some of us have perfected it and assumed that…

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