These words...

How often do we monitor the words that come out of our mouths? The Bible says that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruits.” Proverbs 18:21

Recently I was sitting at a cafe eating breakfast and just enjoying the view. I couldn't help but pick up on some of the conversations going on around me. As I heard little snippets, I realised how much people had to complain about. I didn't consciously follow the conversations, but negative thoughts and complaints were all over the place. It is so sad that negative stories are made so much more sensational than all the good things and beauty around us.

I do realise that sometimes we just need to talk about the things that we are struggling with or dealing with in our lives. We confide in a friend, we encourage each other and we talk about solutions and this is all up building. When our conversations stray from solutions and struggles and only focus on criticism, slander and everything that is wrong in the world, we start sowing bad seeds and soon we will reap a negative attitude.

A negative attitude has never changed the world, needless to say changed the conditions surrounding our own lives. Attitude is everything and when we sow good seeds with our words our focus moves from everything that can be wrong or go wrong to the beautiful things in life and those things that we can be thankful for. A positive attitude cannot always change the issues in our lives, but it can help us deal with them in a better way.

There is so much power in our words. We have the ability to change our friends, family, children and the people around us by speaking life over them and encouraging them to be all that they can be by focussing on their strengths and appreciating them for who they are. When we start seeing them in this light, love will flow freely and relationships will grow stronger. It is too easy to spot the faults and it's a decision to move them aside and focus on the positives. Maybe your words of love are all someone needs to boost their confidence and initiate a change.

There are too many people in this world walking around feeling useless and worthless and most likely they didn't choose to have this attitude, but was told over and over again by people in their lives that they will never amount to anything. Consequently these feelings don't encourage them to take pride in their work or to love people around them, how could they if they don't even love themselves? My heart breaks.

But we have the words of life, we can make a difference, because when we speak, we speak life and Jesus flows through us. You can be the change that someone needs. Let's instead of criticise, speak life and encourage with love and change the conditions around us by our words. Let's lift our gaze to heaven and get a perspective of love and tame the tongue. Let's put on positivity and walk confidently in the abundance of love which Jesus gave to us. Let’s be the difference that we want to see in the world.

Photo credit: favim

Grow love not war

Picture credit: friendburst

“Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Mark 4:1-9

It is our responsibility to keep our hearts open to God, always ensuring that there is good soil for His words to fall on and take root. The smallest things can hinder us from receiving His words and can make our hearts hard, whether we intend to do it or not. Unforgiveness, resentment, offence, anger, bitterness, anxiousness etc. are examples of seeds which Satan sows and if it takes root in our hearts, can choke the good seeds and steel the good soil. We are the ones who give power to these emotions or weeds as illustrated here and harbouring them is our choice.

I do understand that maybe great injustice has been done to you and forgiving someone for their harsh words or abusive actions might by very difficult, but God does not expect us to do this alone. We can ask Him to help us forgive, even though we struggle, all we need to be is willing to forgive. It is so dangerous to harbour unforgiveness as it breeds hurt, bitterness, contempt and often results in anger.  

When we are angry, the last thing we feel like is being vulnerable or lovable. We put our defences up, harden ourselves and we get ready to fight. Sometimes we just see red and there’s no space for reason. So now you can imagine, God is love. How does He fit into that picture? He doesn’t. When we reach that state, we inadvertently say that I’m here to take revenge and I want justice and someone needs to pay for the way I feel. At that moment we cut God out and our emotions take over and what follows thereafter can only lead to destruction of self and others. Afterwards when our emotions clam down, the last thing we feel is a sense of relief or joy, but rather increased hurt, emptiness and probably remorse.

“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” Eph 4:26-27

When we try and punish someone for the wrong they have done towards us, we end up punishing ourselves more, especially when it involves people close to us. As with all of the lies of the devil, revenge is just another attractive door with a graveyard behind it. Let’s ask God to help us today, to rather choose love and to learn to let go of past things that are dragging us down and keeping our hearts hard. Let’s remove every weed to allow for more space and good soil for God’s words to take root and grow in our hearts and His peace will reign in our hearts.

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Col 1:13-14

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” Col 3:12-15

The world is wide open - Jason Upton - SUCH a powerful song!

Make space for a miracle

You sometimes have to let go to allow God to do a miracle.

God always has a plan, He is always busy doing something in your life. He never panics or stresses.

A famous Dutch speaker and evangelist said: “There is no panic in Heaven! God has no problems, only plans.”  ― Corrie Ten Boom

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." John 12:24 ESV

As the scripture above reveals, only when we let a situation go (the grain) and plant it in God's hands, then we allow it to bear much fruit. God cannot do a miracle when we cling to it and hold it too tightly in our own hands, it then remains alone and bears no fruit. By trusting God with our situation and placing it into His hands, we exercise faith and activate the power for a miracle.

It is so easy to take control of a situation, even if you have no answer and no way out. We just have this idea that if we just hold on, it will somehow just fix itself, but there are some situations which we cannot change, situations where we have become hopeless, discouraged or even ashamed of.

Maybe it's time to say, I can't, but You can. We have a God for which nothing is impossible and no situation is too big or too deep. Even if we cannot think of any possible solution, He has one and He's always willing to take what's in your hand and make it grow into something beautiful.

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” - Corrie Ten Boom

Some more quotes by Corrie, she was such a legend. Do yourself a favour and read her story on Wikipedia, it's very encouraging.

“Hold everything in your hands lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open.” 

― Corrie Ten Boom

“This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.” 

― Corrie Ten Boom, The Hiding Place

Connecting with God

It is so important that we connect with God daily. Reading a blog, listening to a song or reading a Christian book is not connecting with God. We need to daily find that place in His presence where we connect with Him. He has so incredibly much to reveal to us and He has such a desire to spend time with His children.

We need to prepare our hearts to receive Him and to tune our ears to listen to His voice. Our hearts need to be open, good soil, to allow the seeds of His words to fall into our hearts and grow.

“Other seeds fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” Matthew 13:7-9

“As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case hundredfold, in another sixty, and I another thirty.” Matthew 13:22-23

How often are our minds so full of thoughts that there is no space for God to get a word in? God is always speaking, but His words often don’t even reach us, because our heads are so full of “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches”. This can be a challenge, but I believe that this is why Peter says: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:6-9

If we do not cast our anxieties on Jesus, then the devil has a foothold in our minds and he will do anything to distract us from what God is speaking over our lives. Take back your ground, cast all your cares on Jesus and open your heart and ears to the beautiful things that He wants to say to you. “But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deut 4:29

 Jason Upton - Peace