2002-01-01
Hi There Dear Ones,
A lot of people might complain about waking up early to start their day. I sure don’t, because it’s a gift given me by my loving Abba. When I get up to write, it’s too early for the phone or door bell to ring. It’s a time of peace, a time to be nourished by His Word with the Scriptures. It is fitting that the Lord is leading me to speak to you on the subject of Words and the Word. Our ability to use words to communicate comes to us from the Lord. It bears repeating that there are two parallels in our lives, both of which deserve our attention: God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility to it. God has made His will regarding the use of words very clear. He urges us to live by his commandments and to convey his words accurately, and shows us the consequences to us when this isn’t done. He also makes clear Who His Son is and the extent of His authority over us.
JN 1: 1-4 “Before the world was created, the Word already existed; He was with God, and He was the same as God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. Through Him God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without Him. The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to mankind.”
HE 4: 12 “The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where the soul and spirit meet, to where the joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of man’s heart.”
Let’s think about man’s words and their consequences first. PR 10: 20-21 were probably written by king Solomon, who for a large part of his life was one of the wisest of all kings. “A good man’s words are like pure silver; a wicked man’s ideas are worthless. A good man’s words will benefit many people, but you can kill yourself with stupidity.” James, who I like to think of as the apostle-parent of the Bible, reveals just how much power to do good or evil our words can have. With God’s wisdom, James tells us how to behave. JAS 3: 5, “…Small as it is, the tongue can boast about great things. Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame!” In JAS 3: 9-12, he talks about “words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. That shouldn’t happen. No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening….a salty spring can not produce sweet water.” When I was younger, I had a problem with swearing. That’s no surprise since I was raised in a family of boys and was the only girl. But, that didn’t make it acceptable, so my father decided washing our mouths out with soap and making us all drop money into a “swear box,” from our hard-earned allowances might get our attention. It did, but I still stand convicted on this issue once in a great while. (Oh, how my Lord wishes I were a little less imperfect!)
Imagine the consequences if Moses hadn’t come down from Mt. Sinai and accurately conveyed God’s words of command to the people. Where would God’s plan to set apart a people to be a “light to the nations” be then? [See EX 19: 7, IS 42: 6, & IS 49:6]. Why do you think that God through Moses tells the people in DT 17: 18-19 that “a king should always have a copy of the book of God’s laws and teachings made from the original copy kept by the levitical priests? He is to keep this book near him and read from it all of his life, so that he will learn to have reverence for the Lord and obey faithfully everything that is commanded in it.” David’s prayer for God’s protection in PS 64: 1-4 reiterates something we all know, “the evil sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their cruel words like arrows. They are quick to spread their shameless lies; they destroy good men with cowardly slander.”
One prayer that is in my heart before I write to you each morning is PS 19: 14, “May the words of my mouth and meditations of my heart be pleasing to You. You are my Refuge and my Redeemer.” That is because I know that in writing these messages our Lord has entrusted me with the responsibility of “guarding the treasure” which is the Gospel. [ see 2 TIM 1: 14]. To a Jewish person like me, PS 119 is of great importance, because it has a section for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet that reveals God’s meaning, attribute, and will for that letter. PS 119: 105 “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path,” really says it all. (The capital W is not a typo, Folks). Through Isaiah, God comforts His people in IS 51: 15-16, “I am the Lord your God; I stir up the sea and make its waves roar. My name is the Lord Almighty! I stretched out the heavens and laid the earth’s foundations; I say to Jerusalem, ‘You are my people! I have given you my teaching and I protect you with my hand.’“
You can see from what I have shared so far the two parallel truths I mentioned above. Our only way of knowing where one ends and the other begins is through study of the Scriptures and prayerful communication with our Lord. He has told us in 2 TIM 3: 16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped do every kind of good deed.” Scripture is God’s words to us. Christ in MT 5: 34-36 teaches us never to vow when you make a promise, because that would be usurping God’s sovereignty. Yet, we learn from Paul that it is perfectly all right to boast about matters of God, but not all right to boast about the things of men. That is why Paul asserts in RO 1: 1 “I am Paul, a bondservant of Christ set apart and called by God to preach His Gospel.”
I hope that you will take the time to think about the words you choose to use. Because of our faith in Christ and our life “in Him,” we are not bound by the power of sin over us; in fact, we are “dead to sin and alive in Christ.” (RO 6: 11). That means we have the choice not to use sinful words against each other. From studying the Bible and prayer, He gives us the discernment to know ahead the consequences (both good or evil) of the words we use. I also hope that you will feel confident that if you speak God’s words to others, you can be a powerful force in bringing His blessings to their lives. No matter what your circumstances are, I know in my heart that God wants you to speak His words and to spread the hope that faith in the Gospel gives to others.
PRAYER: O Lord, thank You for giving us the choice to use words You would want us to use and for letting us know how we can use our words to do You will. You want only what is best for us and give us the privilege using our words in ways that will please You. Most of all, thank You for giving us Your Son, who is the Word, to die on the cross for us, so we could have access to eternal life through Him. Amen.
It is my prayer that my words today bring the warmth of our Lord’s loving embrace into your lives today and always. You have my love and wishes for a wonderful holiday in which His Word is present with you.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn