Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Fragility
Monday, September 08, 2008
The Power of the Tongue...
30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God's own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin).
31Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind).
32And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.
How much meat there is in that passage! How different our world would be if we let no unwholesome talk come out of our mouth and only spoke when it was good and beneficial and gave blessing and grace to those who heard it. I am REALLY going to work on this. I want to speak LIFE, not curses over others. I want my heart to overflow with genuine affection and interest. I want my words to encourage and inspire rather than tear down.
It seems to be the hardest to those closest to me. I am really going to work on my words spoke to and before Abby Kate and Bobby.
3. I want to speak scripture over Abby Kate. Deut. 6:6 says “These words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
I so desire to follow this command! I am doing a study where the author talks of speaking scripture over her children when she tucks them in at night. With my toddler, she doesn't lay still very often so if you have ideas on how to do this, I would love to hear them!