Sunday, September 25, 2022

Mind Your Words

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/83Spq4Vp9i8



“Mind Your Words”

Proverbs 18:20-21 NLT

Wise words satisfy like a good meal; the right words bring satisfaction.  The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

 

I forget where I first heard this illustration and may not remember it verbatim, but I read a story about a grandfather who took his grandson up to a higher elevation and had a bag of feathers.  He opened the bag of feathers and he and the boy watched them all blow every which way.  He looked at the grandson and said, “Okay, now go find them all, pick them up and bring them back.”  The grandson of course replied, “That’s going to be impossible, I won’t be able to find them all.”  The grandfather then replied back, “Exactly!  This is just like the words we say.  Once they leave our lips, they are most likely gone and we can never get them back!”  

 

I have remembered this story for many years as I consider the words that I use each and every day with my wife, kids, co-workers, boss, friends, church family and extended family.  No matter who I come into contact with, I have to remember that my words need to be spoken with wisdom and not with hurt. 

 

You’ve heard the phrase “Mind your manners”.  Well, the same goes with our words.  We definitely need to learn to be careful with the words we speak.  There are many Scriptures dealing with the words we use and how we need to be wise in what we say and how we say what we do say. 

 

I am so guilty of letting words fly from my mouth that I should never say.  Sometimes it happens unintentionally and sometimes I get frustrated and feel I have the right to let them fly!  No matter the situation, I need to let my words be wise.  I tend to let my words fly when I’m in traffic and I have really annoying drivers around me!  I’ve been working on my road rage for many years, but I still get very frustrated often at how people make dumb choices and have no common courtesy on the road.  However, I need to remember that I have 2 girls who are watching my every move and learning from what I do and say.  That’s HUGE to me!  I blow it so often and need to remember that my words need to be wise and encouraging.

 

I encourage all of us from this day forward, to focus on using wise and encouraging words.  As the saying goes, “If you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all”.   Let our words be wise and full of satisfaction to those who hear them! 

Monday, September 5, 2022

Sharp Enough To Penetrate

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/yiHJLY6zV-8


“Sharp Enough To Penetrate”

Hebrews 4:12 NLT

For the word of God is alive and powerful.  It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.  It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

 

I used to watch a lot of crime shows years ago.  I found myself so intrigued by how detectives asked the right questions and spent enough time digging into clues to finally solve a case.  I remember when the original CSI show came out.  I was hooked on that show and watched it every week.  It was like a rush when the theme song “Who Are You?” came on and I was ready and pumped for the rest of the show!  Through the years, I’ve gotten into other crime shows that I’ve enjoyed as well. 

 

What always baffled me was how the detectives would carefully work through the cases and uncover what they needed to prove what happened.  I just found myself intrigued by the end results.  I often found myself thinking, “How did they do that???”  If they could uncover the truth, that brought light to the whole story and set the record straight.

 

As I think about our lives of faith, I cannot help but think of this passage from Hebrews.  God’s Word is very powerful!  We often take this for granted and sometimes think what lies beneath in our lives won’t become uncovered.  We let things go in our lives, thinking some things we do or say are no big deal.  However, in order to grow and become stronger in our relationships, God has to penetrate deep within us to uncover things that need to come to light.  It’s often only in this way that we can truly heal and move forward.

 

We shouldn’t take His Word for granted.  His Word is far more powerful than anything we can possibly imagine!  We can’t live life thinking we can hide our secrets and live like we want to.  So often we think we can, but then our secrets somehow get uncovered by Him in some way.  He will somehow break through and wake us up to reality that we need to let go of these things that separate us from Him.  His Word penetrates hard and will bring us to our knees. 

 

Just like the detectives in crime shows dig hard and deep to uncover the truth, God’s Word will penetrate hard and deepest and will uncover the ugliness in our lives that needs to be exposed.  We all have these moments in life when things need to become exposed so that we can heal and live life for Him fully. 

 

My encouragement is for all of us to let God’s Word penetrate hard into our lives each day so that we can get rid of the ugliness that keeps us hindered from growing in Him.