The Driving Power of the Gospel

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, long dead hero of mine, once writes,

Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon
(19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892)
was a British Particular
Baptist preacher

“God [has] appointed a day in which He will judge the world, and we sigh and cry until it shall end the reign of wickedness, and give rest to the oppressed. Brethren, we must preach the coming of the Lord, and preach it somewhat more than we have done, because it is the driving power of the gospel. Too many have kept back these truths, and thus the bone has been taken out of the arm of the gospel. Its point has been broken; its edge has been blunted. The doctrine of judgment to come is the power by which men are to be aroused. There is another life; the Lord will come a second time; judgment will arrive; the wrath of God will be revealed. Where this is not preached, I am bold to say the gospel is not preached. It is absolutely necessary to the preaching of the gospel of Christ that men be warned as to what will happen if they continue in their sins. Ho, ho, sir surgeon, you are too delicate to tell the man that he is ill! You hope to heal the sick without their knowing it. You therefore flatter them, and what happened? They laugh at you; they dance upon their own graves. At last they die! You delicacy is cruelty; your flatteries are poisons; you are murderer. Shall we keep men in fool’s paradise? Shall we lull them into soft slumbers from which they will awake in Hell? Are we to become helpers of their damnation by smooth speeches? In the name of God, we will not.”
[Quote from Spurgeon Gold by Ray Comfort. Copyright © 2005 by Bridge-Logos.]

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

What You Value The Most?

“Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” (Luke 12:34NLT)

Questions: How you spend your free time? What kind of entertainment do you enjoy? Who are your best friends? What do you think about most? How do you spend your money?

Possible answers: Sleeping and ‘lepaking’. Play online games all night long or/and watch MTV non stop. Gossipers and pretenders. Sex, revenge, and power. For myself… yes; me, myself and I.

Your answers might be more positive than what I’ve suggested above [Pardon me, I’m naturally pessimist who want to be more optimist in the near future]. Here is the reason why I ask: your answers to these questions show what your values are. Whatever you consider important, whatever you call useful, whatever you think worthwhile – in short, Jesus says, ‘wherever your treasure is’ – is what you value the most. There is no such thing as ‘Excuse me, I don’t have any values’. That statement is simply not true. You and I have values, either good or bad. That’s it!

Question: therefore, since we all have values, what kind of values do you have? Godly or worldly? You see, the problem comes when we don’t have God’s values but instead, worst, we let the world’s values to shape us. Our values are clear to those around us because what we do (and don’t do), how we spend our time and money (and how we’re not), and what we talk about (and what we didn’t voice out) show exactly what our value most. Let me give a higher example, God. What He does and says in the Scriptures shows what He values most; the glory of the Son, the majesty of the Father, the power of the Holy Spirit and the salvation of mankind.

For your sake (please, I’m not promoting human self-esteem; just want to encourage you), God made you in His own image – that show how much He value you! Your eternal future is so valuable to God that He sacrificed His own Son so that we could live with Him forever. See?! His actions reveal His values. We too, our actions reveal our values. Ronald A. Beer writes, “What you do shows what you really believe – or better yet, who you really believe in. When your actions reveal your belief in God, you open the door for God’s transforming love to break through into the lives of others.”

May I ask these questions again: How you spend your free time? What kind of entertainment do you enjoy? Who are your best friends? What do you think about most? How do you spend your money? WHAT YOU VALUE THE MOST?

May you value God (and the things of God) the most.
Jesus, sir, ma'am, is the Treasure and where your heart should rightly belong.
THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

How to be Perfectly Miserable

1. Think about yourself.
2. Talk about yourself.
3. Use “I” as much as possible.
4. Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others.
5. Listen greedily to what people say about you.
6. Expect to be appreciated.
7. Be suspicious.
8. Be jealous and envious.
9. Be sensitive to slights.
10. Never forgive a criticism.
11. Trust nobody but yourself.
12. Insist on consideration and respect.
13. Demand agreement with your own views of everything.
14. Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them.
15. Never forget a service you may have rendered.
16. Be on the lookout for good time for yourself.
17. Shirk your duties if you can.
18. Do as little as possible for others.
19. Love yourself supremely.
20. Be selfish.
21. THINK SMALL.
22. START HUGE.
23. GO SHALLOW.

[Source for no. 1 to no. 20 are from; The Speaker’s Quote Book by Roy B. Zuck © 1997, 2009 Published by Kregel Publications.]

God, the Source of Our Strength

Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28NLT)

What a verse to treasure. We love it because it came from the mouth of God written by the Holy Spirit through human being for the good of mankind. But it’s not the only time God said this kind of promises. Isaiah, for example, had recorded it thousands years ago: “He [God] gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (40:29-31NLT)

‘Come to me’ is Jesus’ way of inviting us to ‘trust in the Lord’; to trust in Him – in His Word, in Living Word, we are encouraged. God will give us renewed strength when we grow weary. When we come to Him in praise, He refreshes our heart. When we come to Him in prayer, He refreshes our soul. When we come to Him in meditation, we refreshed our mind. When we come to Him in solitude, He refreshes our body. When we come to Him with thankfulness, He refreshes our perspective.

In this tiresome world and daily weary life, don’t forget to practice these disciplines. Daily we need to releases the burdens of life and draws strength from God – God, the source of our strength. He is One and Only source of our strength.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

When an Interruption Comes, It is an Opportunity

Every time I read the Good Samaritan story (Luke 10:29-37), Jesus, the Lord, the Master of Storyteller, never fail to gives new lessons over and over again. Today I learned that: an interruption, no matter how uninviting it is, maybe a divine appointment from the Lord.

The story is basically about a Samaritan who made his way down to Jericho and encountered a wounded Jew lying alongside the road [Here I need to remind you that during the New Testament times; the Jews hates the Samaritan]. Others had hurried by, too busy with their own affairs to be interrupted even for a moment… even for a wounded brother. But surprisingly, the Samaritan, who was hated by the Jews and would be expected to pass by like others, was “felt compassion”. He “soothed his wounds… bandaged them… put the man on his own donkey… took him to an inn… took care of him.” (Luke 10:33-34NLT)

 .........................

God’s divine appointment comes to us in strange ways, often in the form of interruptions. What a surprise! Just when we think our duties are done for the day, when the office hours is finished, when we’ve settled in for a quiet and peaceful evening at home or at our favorite place – someone for example, calls on the telephone or shows up on our doorstep or a sudden rush at our present asking for our time… precious time. “Are you busy?” they ask. What you gonna do?

The best thing to do is to stop looking at these ‘annoying moments’ as interruptions. Instead, we should (learn to) take them as opportunities that God is sending us to serve those in need. Maybe to listen to them, to show love, to help them on their journey in relationship with God etc. – no matter how uninviting it is, an interruptions maybe a divine appointment from the Lord.

Love is not only word to say, it is the duty that we should translate into actions. The Samaritan ‘when he saw the man [the wounded Jews], he felt compassion for him”. He was interrupted along his way (probably busy too!), but instead of passed by, hurried by his own affairs – he stop to take the opportunity to show God’s love toward this wounded brother. May we are prompted to do the same. May we learn this lesson well.

Lord, if I’m feeling rushed today,

I need your eyes to help me see,

That when an interruption comes,

It is an opportunity.

(Unknown) 

THINK BIG. What would Jesus do?

START SMALL. By Start seeing interruptions as God’s divine appointments
GO DEEP.  The more you want to show God’s love toward others, the more God’s love shows in your life.

Jesus’ Balanced Rhythm of Serving

“Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.” (Luke 5:16NLT)

It’s tempting to think that God is most pleased, most happy, and most glad by our constant service. Sometime we serving God (so we said) in a false assumption that the more we work, the more productive we are and the more God will love us. Therefore –we tend to legalize God’s love by doing constant service to gain more heavenly ‘rewards’ and so on. Read what Luke writes about our Lord; “Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.” He withdrew, go aside – OFTEN!

If you read the gospels carefully, you’ll find that Jesus always modeled a life of balance between socializing and solitude, action and reflection, mission and meditation, work and pray. Balance. He often work hard to help others, to performed miracles, to proclaimed the Kingdom of God, to visit others, to performed religious duties, to do discipleship; and then, ya know what? He took time for spiritual renewal. It’s so important that the gospel’s writers also said that he often ‘left in a boat to a remote area to be alone’ (Matthew 14:13) and ‘went up to the mountain to pray’ (Luke 6:12).

He balanced His earthly life by not being driven by human pressures (which some of us are familiar with) and always allowing Himself to remain open to God’s direction and God’s rhythm through prayer and solitude. Doing service is good, the world need it; but don’t keep on your constant service without having time alone with God – balance. It is about keeping the right rhythm (Eugene Peterson’s language ‘rhythm’, I like it!) in life – "not moving so fast that you miss God’s direction, but not moving so slow that you miss the opportunities God sends you", writes Ronald A. Beers. Remember this: Not every opportunity is the call of God. Therefore, as your fellow pilgrim in our walk with God, remember to balance your life and experience God in the process.

Anonymous once writes,
“A Christian worker is good; a worker for Christ is better;
but Christ, in a worker, working out His will through him, is best of all.”

Enjoy serving, enjoy resting! Balance your life. THINK BIG.START SMALL.GO DEEP.

Mother's Day: Mothers and Sons

Mother and Child by Le Thi Luu

Thomas Edison’s tribute to his mother:

“I did not have my mother long, but she cast over me a good influence that lasted all my life. The good effects of her early training I can never lose. If it had not been for her appreciation and her faith in me at a critical time in my experience, I would never likely have become an inventor. I was always a careless boy, and with a mother of different mental caliber, I would have turned out badly. But her firmness, her sweetness, her goodness were potent powers to keep me on the right path. My mother was the making of me. The memory of her will always be a blessing to me.”

(Source: I don’t remember.)

Richard Angelus’s greeting to his mother:

M is for her Marvelous care toward me and my brother;

O is Only her patience can sustain our rebellious;

T is for the Tears she shed during her hardest moments;

H is for her Heart that is pure as gold;

E is for Enjoying her responsibilities with delight;

R is for Richly bless us with love and disciplines.

Therefore, MOTHER to me is ALL of the above. Happy Mother’s Day mom! Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers and mothers-act-to-be we cherish your labor and grateful for your presence in our lives! Thank you.

(Source: from the bottom of my heart)

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

...............................
You may also want to read (click title): Letter from a Son to his Mother

Week 80: Beauty that is more than Skin Deep

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30ESV)

Marvelous Creature

Most of girls in this world are naturally beautiful. But not all girls however are physically, stunnedly beautiful, to be honest. So what they do? Modern girls would use all sort of methods to improve; lipstick, powder, eyebrow pencil, nail polish, hairspray, perfume, deodorant, moisturizer, facemask, shampoo – not to mention all the other things they do to get themselves in good shape~

The result is usually pleasant for both boys and girls (okay, let me make it sound more matured; both men and women). And don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favor of girls being as beautiful as possible as they can be. Of all creatures, I think woman is the most marvelous one.

Between Beauty and Suggestiveness

But having said that, it must be pointed out that there is a difference between beauty and suggestiveness (word ‘suggestive’ here mean ‘stimulating further thought.’ Therefore, my use of ‘suggestiveness’ here refer to ‘sexual suggestive’). Girls can dress themselves so that the result is either one of those two. A girl can be beautiful without being suggestive, and she can be suggestive without being beautiful.

I was sitting with my brother’s friends when they told me about their experiences attending the local church. One of them, named Cristol, spoke out this topic;

“We were late for service so I and my friends have to sit at the back row. After singing few hymns, it was time for sermon. As I’m about to concentrate my attention on the speaker as he share the Word, my eyes wandering at the girl in front of me. The way she dressed lures my desire within. Hers’ back was exposed… and when she walks by, I saw how short her skirt was [Pause]. I’d like to say that by the way she dress; I find it hard to keep my thinking clean, even in the church. It stir me up inside.”

Silly Joke or Honest Confession?

I can identify with his problem. We do. All men do. It’s hard to keep our thought pure with that kind of ‘exposure’. When I told this similar situation to my girl friends, they sometime burst into a silly giggle. They thought that what I said was a joke. But on behalf of all men, hear me say: This is not a joke! With frankness and seriousness what Cristol said was absolutely true. I want readers (and your friends if you share with others) to get the message: maintain Christian standards in your dressing and help one another to keep our thoughts pure from lustful and evil desires – by God’s grace, we can.

As I write earlier there is a difference between beauty and suggestiveness. Beauty, in my definition (in this context), is like, for example; you can look at a beautiful sunset and be amaze by its splendor (like what the sunset does to me last evening). But you don’t want to possess it, to own it. You can’t take hold of it and put it in your pocket, except, like most people who have camera would perhaps take pictures of it.

Suggestiveness on the other hand is like, for example; you may see a beautiful Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). If you’re normal person, if you’re hungry, you don’t want to just stand there and look at it, don’t you? You want to take hold of it, possess it, consume it, and be satisfied with it.

This is the kind of feelings that beauty and suggestiveness create when boys look at girls. Like the later example, improper dressing creates in the male mind not just a feeling of admiration, but a desire for possession, for satisfaction… this is the beginning of men’s failure to keep their eyes and heart pure.

Behind mere Attraction

Now, let not put the blame on girls alone. I understand that most girls don’t realize this (and boys are naturally perverted, including me in my carnal mode). They are duped with fashion designers into thinking that boys like looking at them just because they are attractive. But the psychology behind this is much deeper – men are able to imagine much more than what it is. When girls dress provocatively (meaning, ‘arousing sexual desire or interest, esp. deliberately’), it to suggests nakedness… men fall mightily down to Sheol!

“But what’s wrong with nakedness?” you may ask me, “Didn’t God create the human body? Isn’t it a beautiful thing?” For this argument, I’ll let Barry Chant, the author of Straight Talk about Sex (Whitater, 1977) to answer these questions (let me relax first);

“If we look in the Book of Genesis, however, we find one or two very interesting things about nakedness. The most important of all is this: You remember that after Adam and Eve sinned, the first thing they did was to make clothes out of fig leaves? And then when God asked them, ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ They couldn’t answer? For no one had told them! They just knew (Read Genesis chapter 2 and 3).

What had really happened was that through sin they had become spiritually naked. The protective righteousness with which God had surrounded them was removed. And because they were spiritually naked, they also felt physically naked. So they try to cover up.

To blatantly display the naked body – or to dress in such a way as to suggest nakedness – is virtually an act of defiance against God. It is saying in effect, ‘We have no need of covering, God. We’re OK. We don’t need You at all!”

Dress for the Glory of God

Dress modestly..

Let’s pause for a moment, and reflect on what you had just read [Pause]. Girls, with humble heart and gentleness, I plea with you, for the sake of one another, and in respect for the holiness of Almighty God, be careful how you dress. I’m not going to suggest what kind of dress you shall wear – enough for me to say that it is helpful if you dress modestly. Again, girls, for the boys’ sake, try to be beautiful without being provocative. In the old time, Christians were persecuted and suffered physically for the sake of Christ and His Name. Perhaps today, we, us, have to let go of some clothes and let go of the desire to be always updated by the latest fashions in the market that doesn’t bring Glory to God. Thus, join the God’s Army to also ‘suffer’ worldly desire by dress properly and modestly for the sake of Christ. It’s our duty and joy.

My Long Last Words

Too often, Christian girls (and boys alike) allow the world to dictate their standards of dress. Placing popularity (even in the church buildings) and the approval of their friends at the top of their lists of priorities, they allow God’s standards to come second or third or fourth – or even lower than that. I’m still young and fleshy too – thus I understand that we all are facing daily temptations to conform ‘to the pattern of this world’ (Romans 12:2). We live not in the perfect world yet, but in a mixed society with pagan, godless and sinful community. We are, after all, forgiven sinners. Not perfect, but under sanctification by God, namely being made holy.

Again (I may don’t know when to stop sometime), girls, (boys, take note too!) you may have to face social pressures, perhaps even scorn from school, college – even work-mates. But it’s worth to live by God’s standards. One of it is by the way you dress. If you don’t dress carefully (I know that sometime you are simply unaware of it), don’t lay all the blame on others if you get into trouble… you know exactly what I mean… you may asked for it. The End.

THINK BIG. GO DEEP. START SMALL.

Note for Failure just Like You

“The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will never fall,
for the LORD holds them by the hand.” (Psalms 37:23-24NIV)

Failure presents an opportunity to examine yourself and find your flaws. Rather than give up, you are wise to ask God to use you despite your flaws. When you have failed (surely you will), it is a good time to restore your relationship with God by admitting your mistakes, confessing your sin, and asking for forgiveness (feeling guilty is good for the soul but very hazardous in a long run). Now, Psalms 37 above is surely for the believers. They are those who are 'godly' but sometime ‘stumble’ and ‘fall’ in their walk with God – this is what He do to them when they are facing failure: “the LORD holds them by the hand.” Through it all, God can use your humble spirit and brokenness to rebuild you into the person he created you to be.



Pic from: kennysilva.net

You are not alone. Who hasn’t failed? Read the Scriptures – the apostle Paul failed; Peter failed; every one of the twelve apostles failed. David, Israel’s greatest king, ‘a man after God’s own heart,” failed. Moses, giant among the Israelites, giver of the Law, deliverer of the people, failed. Jacob, father of Israel, failed; Isaac, son of promise, failed. Abraham, progenitor of Israel, father of the faithful, prototype of those who are righteous through faith, failed. Even our first parents, Adam and Eve, in their human perfection, failed.* Who hasn’t failed?

Richard Halverson rightly observed, “It is not failing that is the problem; it is what one does after he failed.” Don't give up, Rise Up, Look Up!

“The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.”

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.
Hero in this note, Focus in this note is the One who directs,
who delights, who holds you - The LORD

............................

*Lists of successful-failures above I quoted from Roy B. Zuck’s The Speaker’s Quote Book. ©1997, 2009. Published by Kregel Publications. Pg. 183.

How can I Befriend Others when I Disapprove of their Immoral Lifestyles?

Last time, my friends were inviting me to join them to go for clubbing. It wasn’t a surprise invitation; been there before. It was fun and happening. But for that moment – I have to say ‘NO’. 1) Because I’m tired and I need to rest, 2) I don’t like being in a loud place for a very long time, 3) I can compromise with alcohol smell but not cigarette smoke, and 4) I’m easily tempted by sexy girls! Therefore, after my last wild visit, I resolved not to go to clubbing since then. Take note: I refuse to go to clubbing because I know that, for me, little faith I am, the environment of that place will always tempted me to fall back to my old sinful lifestyles NOT because of the primitive mind-set that says ‘whoever go clubbing are sinners’. That's so not true! [Come to think about it; isn’t church is full of sinners too, even more?]

Here is my stand on this matter; I disapprove my friend’s immoral, sinful lifestyles such as heavy drinking, sex outside marriage, gambling, pornography addicted etc. Yet, for the sake of God’s grace upon them (and how God’s grace have works in me) I continue to befriend because I believe that it is the right thing to do as a forgiven sinner and as a Christian friend. No doubt some have walk away in the friendship; it is unavoidable, but as long as they are still open with what’s right and wrong – there’s still hope. Befriend them.

Do not make a mistake if you thought that Jesus only enjoy the company of ‘good’ people, churchgoing people and hang out with ‘holy’ people only. He sometimes, most of the time, hang out with immoral people. He hangs out with everyone – the good and the bad alike. Jesus, the Son of God, the Holy One of Israel, the perfect man found those who appeared to be the furthest from Him and ministered to their needs. For example, read how Jesus approached Levi (Matthew), the tax collector, who, the Pharisees and the people accused a sinner because of his immoral lifestyle;

As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:14-17NIV, bolded mine)

Following Jesus’ example means looking past people’s behavior to their souls. Look at them not as a useless sinners but as someone whom Jesus’ died on cross for. Ronald A. Beers writes, “It takes special effort to love those you disapprove of, but they are the people who most need a godly friend. Your faith in God and your obedience to his ways shouldn’t separate you from the ungodly – in fact, it qualifies you to reach out to them and serve them with love.”

How can I befriend others when I disapprove of their immoral lifestyles?

THINK BIG Look to Jesus and how He befriend you

START SMALL Look to Jesus and start to befriend others

GO DEEP Look to Jesus, really look to Jesus;
befriend others, but never fall into their immoral lifestyles – look to Jesus

Does your Tongue need Healing?

“Does your tongue need healing?” The answer is YES – daily, every hour, minute and second. Our words are like a ‘bomb’ that either explodes into wonderful creations or chaotic ciaos. Tongue, which refers to our speech, is the entrance of life and death. It is imperative to know how it may be healed; heal and live; or leave and die.

Derek Prince (not Joseph Prince!) writes; ‘Let me begin by pointing out something very significant about the way in which the Creator designed the human head. Every one of us has seven openings in our head, the number in Scripture which often denotes completeness. We have three pairs of openings: two eyes, two ears, and two nostrils. But the Creator restricted the seventh opening to one, the mouth.

I have often asked people, ‘How many of you wish you had more than one mouth?’ But I have never met anyone who did. Most of us have all we can do to use mouth properly. This one opening causes us more problems than all the other six together.’

He continue, ‘If you take a Bible concordance and look up all the words related to that one opening such as “mouth,” “tongue,” “lips,” “speech,” “words,” and so on, you will be amazed how much the Bible has to say about this subject, and it is with good reason. There are no areas in our personality more directly related to our total well-being than the mouth and tongue.’

The ancient writer of the Psalms 34 aware of this matter earlier than we all by composed a God-inspired Psalms like this:

“Come, my children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Whoever of you loves life and desire to see many good days,

keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.”

(34:11-13NIV)

Question: Does your tongue need healing? Yes, a resounding YES! “He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.” (Proverbs 21:23NIV) Pray like this;

Lord Jesus, help me to guard my mouth and tongue. Help me to control it and to use it for your glory. Guard my heart from uttering words of annoying, insulting, demeaning and useless - rather help me to use it to encourage, inspire and comfort others. Lord, help me, I surrender. Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP. 

 Recommend reading (Click titles to read); 

1. Week 28: Shut Up! - There's a Time for Everything.
2.  Week 44: Silence and Solitude - Know your God and Yourself 
3. The Power of Words

May 2012 FREE Book

I’m giving away ONLY 3 copies of Does your Tongue need Healing? by Derek Prince. If you never receive any book from Motivates4Life before, you are welcome to get a copy for yourself. Do these 2 things:

1. Comment below “Rich, give me one copy___(Your name) My tongue need healing.”
2. E-mail me at Motivates4life@hotmail.com or send message to my Facebook your real name, phone no. and your postal address.
3. Thank you.

The Power of Words

Aristotle once said (actually what he said was not something new – we thought about it before. We just don’t know how to explain it in words. Thanks Totle!): “The use of rational speech is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs… a man can confer the greatest benefits by a right use of these, and inflict the greatest of injuries by using them wrongly.” (Aristotle’s Rhetoric 1.1, Page 1355) Great benefit or great injury may results from our speech. That’s why the Scriptures in the epistle of James warn against the misuse of this very significant gift:

"Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!” (James 3:2-10NLT)

Consider the image James use for the tongue. The tongue is like a tiny, mini spark that can set a great forest on fire. It is uncontrollable and “it is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.” Uncontrolled tongue utter words of annoying, insulting, demeaning, or simply – useless!

On the other hand, if you make your words count and able to control it with the Holy Spirit’s discipline helps, it is very beneficial for our own soul and for others too. It is able to bless and praise. The tongue not directly refers to human physical part but rather of human speech; if it use wisely can makes poetry out of life, gives language of music and gives dialogue to love. It can be use to encourage, inspire, comfort, and challenge (positively) others.  What a gift when utilized for good! Proverbs chapter 20 verse 15 affirm, “Wise words are more valuable than much gold and many rubies.” Yes, this is the power of words!

“The words of the godly are life-giving fountain.” (Proverbs 10:11)

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

“The words of the godly are like sterling silver.” (Proverbs 10:20)