Words that Reflect Christ

A Christian thought to ponder...

How many of your words that flow from your mouth each and every day, are a true reflection of Christ? Whether our words are good or bad, they show what is truly in our hearts. 

Satan thrives on us using our tongues in a manner that is not pleasing to the Lord. Our words or lack of words can destroy lives, marriages, relationships, friendships, and hearts. Forgiveness and love are not in the enemy's vocabulary or part of his agenda. Instead, his agenda is full of division, hate, anger, and unforgiveness. We cannot tame the tongue. Not without the help of God. 

In the book of Ephesians, chapter four, in verse twenty-nine it instructs us that our words are to build each other up and encourage one another. Our words should not be piercing, harsh, ungodly, or full of corruption.

Ephesians 4:29

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

In James 1:26 it states that those who claim to be religious, and yet do not bridle their tongues and spew unrighteous babble, then their religion is for naught. Their words do not glorify God.

James 1:26
"If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless."

Our words should be Christ-like and pleasing to God. As the psalmist prays in Psalm 19:14 that God would keep him from sinful actions and govern and sanctify his words and thoughts, so should we also ask this in prayer.

Psalms 19:14

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

We need to store up God's words within our hearts. His word is a light to our paths.

Psalm 119:105

 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Do not fall into Satan's trap and speak words of hate, pride, corruption, and destruction. Let your words be a reflection of Christ.

Heavenly Father, 

Forgive us when we say careless words that hurt and destroy people. Thank you for the reminders throughout Scripture how our words should build people up, encourage people, and be pleasing to You. Convict us when our tongues are as sharp and piercing as daggers. Guide our words so they speak wisdom, love, and encouragement. 

In Jesus' name, amen.

31 Day Challenge

Photo by: (c) huhulin www.fotosearch.com Stock Photography

31 Day Challenge

A thought to ponder.... 

I wonder if there were to be a poll on how many Christians grumble against each other, what the outcome would be?

In July, I got the chance to go to a Ladies Camp Retreat. I had the most amazing enlightening privilege and experience of listening to the guest speaker, Kari Patterson, teach about One Courageous Community within our churches. The theme verse was John 17:11 “That they may be one as we are one.” When Christians are not unified and are divided, they cannot produce the fruit that God intended them to produce. In order to reach the lost, we must be unified with one spirit and one mind and live in a Christ-like manner. We cannot be isolated into groups, ostracizing each other, treating each other as outsiders, and causing strife, for if we do, we only demonstrate that the community within our churches is fragile and fracturing. If the vine is fractured and splitting into pieces, it will not grow and produce fruit. We must love and serve one another.

At the end of the camp retreat, Kari asked us to take on the 31-day challenge of practicing with friends and family to transform ourselves into being more Christ-like and strive to attain that one community - one spirit and one mind. Within the next few posts on my blog, I want to share a few of these challenges to help others grow into One Courageous Community. And if you have never heard Kari Patterson speak, I encourage women ministries at churches to attend one of her engagements.

One of the first biggest challenges brought to my attention at the camp and one I really struggled with is,  don’t grumble against each other. I think that this is something we can all struggle with and are all guilty of doing. There have been times in my life when I grumbled about someone and then later felt convicted about what I said. I thought to myself, "I just failed God in so many ways." My mouth was spewing out poison. In the book of James, chapter 5, verse 9, it states, “Do not grumble against one another, brothers so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.” We are told not to grumble against each other, but when certain people aggravate you, or they are rude to you, or they are unkind to you,  it can be difficult not to grumble or complain about them. However, it is so important that we speak encouraging and positive words about each other. We are to love one another and speak in a positive light. 

In Exodus 16 and 17, the Israelites were grumbling against Moses and Aaron. They could only think of themselves and their circumstances. They blamed Moses and Aaron for leading them into their present situation. They were so focused on themselves and their struggles that they forgot it was God who led them out of slavery. They should have been focusing on God, and praising him for all he had done for them. 

Grumbling can be a cancer that can grow and spread division. By not grumbling against each other, we can take the first step in demonstrating a Christ-like character and a step towards having a one unified courageous community.

Love to you all and God Bless!
Carol

Extending Kindness

photo by scx.hu

Extending Kindness

The struggles inside church congregations are sometimes not always visible to the human eye. Sometimes you have to step beyond the scrimmage line or safety zone to see what a person is feeling deep down inside. Such as they might feel like an outsider, alone, sick, sad, or even suicidal. People are so good about hiding behind a mask. We tell each other everything is good or everything is fine. We keep to our little clicks and safety zones, afraid of fumbling, and we ignore that little whisper telling us we should go over and talk to that person, or visit someone who is ill, or provide a meal to someone in need, or extend a hand of kindness or good will to someone. You never know, by performing such acts of kindness, you might just cheer someone up or brighten their day. By extending kindness to someone you do not know or letting someone know that you care about them is a quality that Jesus showed throughout the New Testament. It did not matter to Jesus what race they were, what job they had, or what past sins they had committed. It is a quality that every Christian should strive for, and it is quality I think we all struggle with to attain.

In Galatians 5:22-23, it directs Christians to strive for Christ-like qualities, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law.” The Holy Spirit is a gift from God who resides in each of us when we accept Jesus as our Savior. He is our helper, and our guide. To obtain the fruit of the Spirit, we need to stop and listen to the Holy Spirit, focus on the Word of God, and make an effort to be more Christ-like.

If we harden our hearts and ignore the Spirit, God’s divine purpose will not reveal itself, and we will miss out on beautiful, heart-enriching blessings from our Father.

May you have a blessed weekend!

Carol

Genuine Love

photo credit: sxc.hu

 

Genuine Love

Romans 12:9 (ESV) Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

Genuine love is something Jesus revealed to everyone he crossed paths with – to a blind man, to a rich man, to a prostitute, to his followers and disciples. He demonstrated his love countless times to people we would be afraid of, abhor, or judge. I have only known a few people in my life who have possessed this same rare beautiful trait. Genuine spiritual love is something I do not possess, but it is a Christ-like trait I pray to attain and model. Unfortunately, the enemy is always on the attack knocking and pinning me down to the ground, keeping me from reaching out to others and sharing this loving behavior as Jesus did.

For so many of us, to have and share genuine love towards each other  seems an impossible daunting task. Why is sharing genuine love such a hard task? Because for many of us, we tend to hold onto the past, despite the fact that we have asked for forgiveness from our Lord and Savior; we hold grudges, are hypocritical, we can hide behind barriers due to fear; many hide behind a false mask portraying a loving nature, when in reality it is all about displaying a great show, it is all lies. We constantly come up with excuses (which I am very guilty of) such as, “well, they don’t like me, or I don’t know that person, or he or she looks scary or weird, or I have problems talking to people,” the list of excuses goes on and on. All the while, the enemy snickers and slithers all around us, laughing at us, tormenting us, and trying to bring us down to our knees. He gloats when our hearts and souls are broken. The enemy thinks he has triumphed over each and every one of us. He knows if he can drive fear, doubt, hate, bitterness, anger, or deceit into peoples’ hearts, he scores points and prevents us from experiencing one of God’s greatest blessings - Love.

 As Presbyterian minister Matthew Henry pointed out so well, “The professed love of Christians to each other should be sincere, free from deceit, and unmeaning and deceitful compliments. Depending on Divine grace, they must detest and dread all evil, and love and delight in whatever is kind and useful. We must not only do that which is good, but we must cleave to it. All our duty towards one another is summed up in one word, love.” Love must be sincere without hypocrisy in order to be genuine. Love does not harp on the faults of others or on any scores that might boast our egos. True genuine love was when God gave his only begotten son to save us. As stated in John 3:16 (ESV), “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of our sins. There is no greater example or model of genuine love.

God Bless!

Carol