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A Refreshing Glass
of Ice Water
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Too much water, too fast, can be destructive and
contaminated water, deadly. We are in the middle of this historically bad Atlantic
hurricane season and have seen hurricanes named Harvey, Irma and Maria. They
have brought death, sorrow, destruction, and despair to many people. The storm
surge is often as dangerous as the wind and pressure canges.
Like water, our words can be harnessed for good or
they can be a
destructive force. A friend recently told me how a meaningful
friendship had been torn apart with words. That relationship looks to be
permanently broken. I could hear the heartache in my friend’s voice as she
shared her pain.
This week’s Bible study is titled, “Warning and
Judgement.”* Scripture is a resource God provides to warn us of various
spiritual dangers and avoid common pitfalls. Like a good parent, God tries to
prepare us ahead of time for what we can expect in life.
A warning verse from James 1:26 (ESV) says,
“those who consider themselves religious and yet do
not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion
is worthless.”
“Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My
brothers and sisters, this should not be.”
I expect that we have all said things we shouldn’t and
been convicted to seek repentance and forgiveness.
Our words reveal our inner selves, even when we don’t
mean for them to. Jesus speaks in Matthew 12:34b (NIV),
“For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
This is why we are encouraged to think about things that
are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable, anything that is excellent
or praiseworthy. When we choose to focus on growing closer to God and making
his priorities our own, our attitudes and words will show it.
We have been talking about regular spoken
words, regular language…but John1:1 (NIV) tells us, somewhat cryptically,
“In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Here, he’s talking about Jesus. Jesus as the Word, who
was also God, and who spoke creation into existence. Now that’s a powerful word!
We can begin to see that as we are being transformed by scripture and the Holy
Spirit at work in us, we can tap into that power. When we invite others to
Bible study, or share words of the Gospel message, or we uplift and encourage
others, when we speak words of confession and repentance, when we ask God to
help us deal with our anger and selfishness in ways that are pleasing to Him,
then we are using our words in ways that are a blessing to us and that bring
glory to God.
May it be so in each of our lives this week.
Camille Wheeler
Originally presented to Leadership Council
9/27/17
CBS - Rutherfordton Day Class
* Return to Jerusalem, Lesson 3
