The Weight of Our Words

"I hate you!" 

"You're such an idiot!" 

"Go to hell!" 

Our words cause damage. Once spoken they can never ever be taken back. I've posted about this before but I didn't realize how hard that can be in our culture to live out!

I've recently started working in a secular work setting and let me tell you, it’s rough. The cussing – whether the speaker meant to use the word or if it was a simple slip – is enough to drive me nuts! Every time someone at work cusses, I have to ask God to take it out of my head so I’m not tempted to use those awful, vulgar words.

Now, I know some ‘Christians’ who have no problem with cussing. But let me ask you … is swearing and other vulgar language biblical? Does the Bible even speak about our words?

I’m glad you asked! J

In church this Sunday, the pastor was talking about the fact that we are royalty! And as such, the things we speak need to reflect that that we are royalty. God is our King and he has set over us a royal law.

Ephesians 4:29  “Let NO corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only such as is good for building up, as fits he occasion, that it may give GRACE to those who hear.” (Emphasis added)

Now, some of you may be arguing with me, “Well, sometimes a swear word gets my point across better than another word.”

Oh really? But does it give grace to those who hear it? NO! NO, NO, NO! It doesn’t!

In Romans 12:2 it says “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Dictionary.com’s definition of conformed is “to act in accordance or harmony; comply”. So the Bible says that we are to not be in harmony with this world. We are, however, to be transformed. The definition of transformed is “to change in form, appearance, or structure; metamorphose.” We are to be changed into the image of God.

So in short what this verse is saying is that God’s thoughts should become our own. We are to think about what is good, acceptable and perfect. What is perfect in this world? NOTHING! N-O-T-H-I-N-G! The only good, acceptable and perfect thing is God and his words.

Another verse in the Bible that deals with our words and action is another verse from Ephesians. Ephesians 4:31-32 reads “Let all bitterness and wrath be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Emphasis added)

So … if we are claiming to be Christians, our mindset should be that of Christ’s. If we are thinking the way he thought, then our reactions to rude, uncaring people won’t be to cuss them out, or say rude, hasty things. Instead it’ll be to show them love. Jesus’ love.

Proverbs 15:1- 2 “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commands knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.”

Let our actions and words speak of our royal heritage. That we are, in fact, sons and daughters of the King of Kings! 

True Love Waits.

So we've all heard the quote that's my post's title. That phrase that just drives us nutty because, while it may be true, we haven't perfected the spiritual fruit of patients! I know that it's true for me. In fact, I'm going through this struggle right now. 

Everywhere I'm looking it seems that someone I know is either in a relationship or getting into one. You can't escape the love songs, even with Christian artists. TV, books and movie are all waving them in our faces. 

So, as a eighteen year old girl, I struggle. I know he (as in, future spouse) is out there. And you know what? It's infuriating to think about it! He could be dating someone else! And God knows we're going to be together someday. But right now? We could be half a world away.

I've quoted Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path." But it's hard to live out. 

So that's why I'm working on this! I'm calling it ...

Five things to do while you wait for your future spouse

OR

The Waiting List

(Let me know your favorite in the comments!) 

Okay! Here we go! 

1. Write to him/her. Seriously! I do this and it's so cool to think about giving it to him on our wedding night. But a few warnings! Don't write to a specific person! If you're dating in high school/college, write to your future spouse, not your boyfriend/girlfriend. This will ruin your whole journal. I mean, who wants to give something to their husband or wife that was written for someone else? What I write is scripture passages that I want him to read, things I'm looking forward to in marriage, basically whenever I'm thinking about him. Not a silly crush, not an actor or other famous person. HIM. 
2. Pray for him/her. This is another thing that is so cool! Seriously pray for your spouse. I also use my journal for this! You can also pray for the person you're crushing on. Ask God to show you whether this like will turn into love. I did this on my last crush and fair warning, sometimes God's answer isn't what we want. But, he will always help you through it. 
3.  Feed on God's word. Okay so I am so bad at this one! I know it's important but when life is good, it gets easy to just ignore the Bible on my nightstand. But the only way to grow closer to a spouse (future or otherwise) is to grow closer to Jesus.  
4. Don't be a chaser! Be happy in your singleness! Until we can full accept being single, God isn't going to bring in a man to our lives. What do I mean by that? Okay so I know a lot of girls (and if you're one of these I still love you!) who don't feel like they're worth anything with out a boyfriend. They break up and then a month later they're dating someone else! Seriously?! I thought Bob Smith was the love of your life! Well obviously not. And see, that's the problem! We need to realize that God can use us whether we have a boyfriend/spouse or not. Lottie Moon and Corrie ten Boom were two single ladies who did amazing work for the Lord. God doesn't care about your relationship status. He cares about your heart.
5. Live your life to its fullest NOW! There are many things that, once you're married, you won't be able to do! So live your life right now. Do the crazy things you've wanted to do. Write that novel, go to that place, hang out with your firends, go to college, ect. Yes, marriage is wonderful. But once you're married ... you're married! The two of you become one and you're a team. You're now not only caring for yourself, you have someone else depending on you too. So life your life when it's yours.  

That's my list guys! And listen, I'm not anti-marrige. Not at all! :) Just check out some of my stories and you'll see that, like Anne Shirley, I'm a hopeless romantic. I dream and I wish and I hope. But above all I wait. And I now God'll brinig a man to me that's worthy of my heart someday. Maybe sooner than I think ... and when he appears? Oh what a day of rejoicing that'll be for me! 

Jesus, I'm waiting on you. You know where he is. You know who he is. I trust you to bring him to me when I am ready. I'm hiding my love away and saving it for him. Help me to wait on your timing. For you make everything beautiful in it's time (Ecc. 3:11a) I love you Lord! Amen 

Whatever I Do, Wherever I Am

So I am so excited to been stage crew for HPA’s Performance of Hello Dolly. I never expected to be on Crew and I certainly never expected to be Assistant Stage Manager! To be honest, I'm super nervous. Stage managers have huge responsibilities and even if I'm not the head stage manager, I am still responsible for the cast on the side of stage I'm on.

But I as I was thinking about it I realized God has put me where I am for a reason. It says in Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his (God’s) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” God knew that at this point in time I was ready for the responsibility of being a stage manager. He knew it was time and that ultimately it would prepare me for what lies ahead in my life.

The key verse of this whole blog is Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a future and hope.” (NIV) I simply need to trust God! He gave me this job to prosper me and not to harm me. No matter what happens in the next three weeks, He put me there in Michigan for a reason.

I think my biggest fear is failing in this role. I am by no means a perfectionist. Just one look at my bed or desk will tell you that. But I still panic that something will happen and I will screw the whole show.

Colossians 3:23-24 says “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for man, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” THAT! That is my goal for Dolly. To do my behind the scenes work for Jesus not anyone else. To work my hardest to get it right, but not panic if something goes wrong. Because I'm not doing it for me and the praise I'd receive for acing it. I'm doing it for Jesus.


And in the grand scheme of things, His praise is all that really matters.

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17

(P.S. I know this is really short, but it's just where I am right now and I wanted to share it with you all!) 

Speaking So They May See Him

So two weeks ago at church, one part of the sermon really jumped out at me. But of course, I didn't bother sharing it because I thought, who is going to listen to me?

Well, last week, one of the main topics was to share what God has been teaching us through church, our private devotions, just in life! 

And that's really why I created this blog, to share my Adventure that God is taking me on. 

So please, pull up a chair, tune in and bear with me for a couple minutes. 

If I tread on toes, I'm sorry but I'm not! Because this is something I think this is an issue we need to address as Christians. 

Our words! 

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths but only such as is good for building others up, as is fits the occasions, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Okay, so the other day some of my friends and I were talking and the topic of swearing came up. One of my friends said, "If the swear word is needed, then I'm going to use it."

I honestly didn't know what to say! I mean, swearing bothers me. I don't want to fill my head with this crap. And I don't think we ever need to use cuss words. They degrade us and others. 

But like I said, I didn't now what to say, so I said nothing.

These thoughts were in my head Sunday as I went to church. The pastor (who also happens to be my dad!) was talking and to be honest, I don't even remember what the main topic was. But this popped out at me, because I had been struggling with what to tell my friends. 

This is what he said: "Our speech should draw people TO Christ NOT away from him. 

So this even goes beyond cussing! 

What about ...

* Gossip?

*Hate talk?

*Joking that hurts? 

*Prideful words?

Our words are powerful! 

James 3:4-5a  Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things...

Our tongues are small parts of  our bodies, yet they are so, so powerful! 

Please, please, please know that I'm in no way judging you! I deal and struggle with these things to!

James 3:7-8 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.  Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

So you may be asking, Big deal! I don't do that! 

Let's switch gears people!

I, like many people I know, have Facebook. You probably clicked this link from my Facebook share. I love how it allows me to connect with my friends and family who are all over the USA. 

 Facebook can also show the double-sidedness of some people! 

For example:

Bob's talking about Dave to a friend who doesn't know him- 

I absolutely cannot stand that man! He is so arrogant and acts like he knows everything! Ugh!

Bob's Facebook post to Dave - 

Oh Dave! You're my best friend! Thanks for the wonderful night watching the game ... 

Wait ... I thought you couldn't stand the guy? Isn't that a bit double-sided?

YES!   

I know some people see no problem with it. But the truth is, it reflects who we are! 

Luke 6:45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

When we say and do these things, specifically as Christians, we are reflecting Jesus! 

I went to Winter Jam last Sunday and the man who gave the gospel message talked about seeing a special type of photo. It was supposed to pop a 3-D image. But he couldn't see it. He had to take a little white card, hold in front of his face, pull it away then the image popped out. 

He explained this is the way a lot of nonbelievers view God. Their picture of him is like the pre 3-D photo - distorted and ugly.  

If Christians treat others like that, then their God must treat others like that. 

NO! NO! NO! Let this NEVER BE! Our lives should so easily pop the love of our God! Because God is love!

Another reason I don't like Facebook (and for that matter any social media site) is the amount of posts with swearing! It shocks me just how many Christians post, share and like stuff with cuss words!

Like the passage above says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So what we like, share, post, tweet, etc. is showing what's in our hearts! 

Now, I know a lot of us (myself included) sometimes miss the swear word. And if that's the case, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! Then I can message you when a post does have a cuss word! 

But I've seen some comments, (which means they write it themselves!) from friends who claim to be followers of Jesus, that have cuss words. Now that really bothers me! Because one moment we're posting a Bible verse and the next we're commenting with cuss words? Again, double-sided. 

So how do we avoid being like that? Well, I think Philippians stated it best:

Philippians 4:8 Finally brother, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. if anything is excellent or praise worthy think about these things. 

What our minds dwell on is what we fill our hearts with. What we fill our hearts with is what comes out of our mouths. 

I think we need to watch what we say and do online as Christians. It reflects on what others view Jesus as. And we need to watch the things that come out of our mouth! 

I want to challenge you today. Here it is:

Make your words and actions draw people to Jesus.

How do you do that?

 Pray: Ask the Lord for help.

Fill your mind with Philippians 4:8 things: This may mean some of the things you watch, read, and listen to may need to be cut. I know, I know! Bite your tongue, Anna! But seriously! If it isn't honoring to God, is it really worth holding on too?

Read your Bible: Again, it's a Church answer. But honestly, this is the stuff that is Philippians 4:8 material people! 

If you need help finding what I'm going to call 4:8 Material to center your mind on God, please comment! I'm willing to help! And if you comment, I'll pray for you! It's rough, I know, to watch your tongue. But I also know that God will help! Let's pray for our words to be honoring to him!

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Lord, help my words to reflect your love for people. Let me NEVER be double sided. Let my heart please you in everything and let the overflow from my mouth be for your glory and to draw people to you and not away.  Amen