Life Changing Words

"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:29-32)

These are life changing words if we could just grab hold of them. What if our mouths were used to build and not destroy? What if we could be encouragers instead of discouragers? How many marriages could be healed? How many broken relationships could be restored? What if we changed our conversation to line up with this admonition?

How would it change your work place? How would it change your conversation at lunch? How would it change your conversation at church? How would it change the words you speak to your children? How about the words you speak in front of them? Would it make you the person who leads the conversation instead of you becoming the follower that allows it to go places you don't like? Could you be the gossip squelcher? 

Since faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, how would this effect your faith? You will never listen to anyone else as much as you listen to yourself.

Dwelling In The Shelter

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalm 91:1)

The Hebrew word for dwell in this passage is yashab. Yashab means to sit down, to remain or stay or to make that place your abode. It is where you live. Psalm 91 is a wonderful picture of God's protection and care. The outcome of sitting down is rest in his presence. Rest is a real good thing. I read an article today by Greg Laurie that talked about how 50% of Americans are constant worriers, but only about 8% of the things they worry about are actually legitimate.

Life can be stressful. but we have a place of refuge in the Lord. It is a place of rest and peace. We access it by our fellowship with Him. We do that by time in the Word, prayer, worship and a heart attitude that cultivates His presence. What do I mean by that? We learn to live in an awareness of His presence. In 1st Thessalonians 5:17 Paul tells us to "pray without ceasing." If we think of prayer as a religious exercise that would be impossible, but if we think of prayer as communication (communion) with the Lord then it can become a reality.

There are times when how we pray will be more intense than others. Sometimes we will withdraw to a quiet place, just as Jesus did. Sometimes though, we will find ourselves in a place where we just can't do that. Does that mean that God won't hear us or we can't receive His wisdom and help? Absolutely not. He is always near, but we need to sharpen our awareness and understanding of that. It really starts with a mindset that God is with me wherever I and we are having a constant conversation.

There is rest in this constant conversation with him. Stop striving and chasing. Psalm 91 is a wonderful place to start.

Pray for One Another

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy." (Philippians 1:3-4)

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life we forget just how important it can be to pray for one another. It is such a blessing when you have been going through a rough time and someone comes to you and says, "I've been praying for you."

Often we are well intentioned but forget. We tell someone at church that we will really be praying for them and then life comes along and we forget. Be like Paul was with the church at Philippi. Be intentional. When you sit down to read the Word or fellowship with the Lord take some time to remember situations that have been brought to your attention. Most churches have a prayer list of some kind. Sometimes just taking a moment to think about it will give the Holy Spirit a chance to jog your memory and remind you of some needs.

Prayer is more than just some psychological exercise. Prayers prayed in faith have power. Prayer is a wonderful ministry that you can do for others in your life!

"Pray without ceasing." (1st Thess. 5:17)