The Power of the Tongue

Wow, as I wrote about the other day, sometimes you don't get much out of your daily studies but other times it’s like bam, bam, bam.  Every other paragraph seems to have good stuff in it.  That's what the last couple of days have been like.  This will be the third day in a row that my musings come out of Matthew 12. 

We are blessed to attend a great church, Valley Family Church.  One of the things that attracted me early on to VFC was hearing the Pastors talking about the Power of the Tongue.   As the Bible says somewhere-You're hung by the tongue, snared by the words of your mouth.  And let me add that the power of the tongue is not only the spoken word but it extends to your internal self talk.

 It's something that my wife and I were taught many years ago and it's something that we tried to pass on to our kids.  As our kids were growing up and we said prayers and tucked them in at night we always told them that we loved them, we were proud of them (and we tried to always mention something specific that made us proud of them), and that they were winners. 

Why?  To use the Power of the Tongue to help the kids grow into healthy, successful and productive adults. 

We tried to teach the kids that word choices can be important.  Instead of having problems we only occasionally have situations.  It may seem like a silly difference but the emotions that the two words evoke are different.  Instead of complaining that something is "too hard", we might say that it is a "little challenging". 

When feeling a bit under the weather and someone asks how we are doing, instead of "Wah, wah, wah, I'm just dragging, etc. etc. etc." our answer would be "I'm doing great" or "I'm doing better all the time" with as much enthusiasm in my voice as I could muster  (Which, depending on how cruddy I really feel may not be a lot but it's the words and the effort that count).

It may seem silly to some, but God tells us there is tremendous Power in the Tongue.  It's another tool that He has given us and I think it makes sense to use it.

Now let me explain why I am talking about this today.  Take a look at this scripture. 

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Matthew 12:36-37(NKJV)

36But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 

37For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

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Now let's go back and look at yesterday's scripture.

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Matthew 12:32(NKJV)

32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

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Let me toss one other concept in here and tie it all together.  That concept is productivity.  God wants us to be productive with the time and talents He has given us.  That includes our use of the Power of the Tongue.

So just how powerful is the tongue?  We are told that we will have to give an account for "every idle word" (but not our productive words).  By our words we will be either justified or condemned.  The Power of the Tongue can literally be the difference between eternal life and eternal death.

Matthew 12:32 tells us of the one unforgiveable sin.  What is it?  Speaking against the Holy Spirit.  The Power of the Tongue.  That is eternal death. 

What does it take to receive eternal life?  Simply believing that Jesus died for all our sins and was raised from the dead, AND asking Jesus to be Lord of your life.  The Power of the Tongue.  Eternal life.  Now let me be perfectly clear here.  The Power of the Tongue doesn't give us eternal life directly, Jesus does that, but it is the Power of the Tongue that allows us to invite Him into our lives.

And the cool thing is that it is totally in your control.  You get to chose.  All you have to do is use this incredible tool that God has given us, the Power of the Tongue.   Have you invited Jesus into your life yet?  If not then why not harness the Power of the Tongue and grab hold of eternal life right now by accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?  You'll be glad you did!

What an incredible gift!!!

Matthew 12:31-32(NKJV)

31“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 

32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

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I wrote recently about how sometimes in the Old Testament people  would tick God off to the extent that He would take action against them.  He would stop listening and answering their prayers.  In other words, there is a point where you have gone too far in God's eyes.   Well the verses above seem to be the New Testament version of that point.

I don't know abut you but it seems to me that there is this common perception and/or belief that God will forgive us anything as long as we confess our sins and ask forgiveness.  The verses above are of Jesus speaking and He tells us that is not true. 

From scripture we know that God will forgive many, many things.  Probably one of the best examples is Paul.  Paul had been active in persecuting and killing Christians.  If I remember correctly Paul was even present for the executions of a couple of the original disciples.  And yet God still forgave him and used him in mighty ways. 

God will even forgive many sins that most of us would think of as being "unforgivable sins" like child molesters and such.  But the one thing He won't abide is blaspheming or talking trash about the Holy Spirit.  Jesus flat out tells us that you can trash talk the Son of Man and still be forgiven, but don't dis the Holy Spirit or your done!  For ever and ever, you are done!

Now think about that folks.  God thinks so highly of the Holy Spirit that trashing it seems to be the one and only sin that is unforgivable in God's eyes.  And where does God put that Spirit once we've received Christ?  In our hearts.  That's right.  That Holy Spirit that God so treasures, He gives to us to guide us every day of our lives.   

What an incredible gift indeed!

Some things I just don't get!

How do you handle the things in the Bible that you just don't get?  Does it shake your faith or is it just one of those things that you puzzle a bit over but it  isn't a deal breaker?

As I've said before, I start from the premise that God is way smarter than I am so the problem must be on my end.  I assume God is correct and I am the one that just doesn't get it.  And as long as it doesn't involve "foundational" things like Jesus dying for my sins and being raised from the dead, for me it doesn't shake my faith.

Why?  Because I have personally experienced God's direct involvement in my life so many times that it more than makes up for any small things that I don't understand in the Bible.  In other words, it is the personal relationship with God that makes the difference.  Does that make sense?

Let me share with you an issue from this morning's reading that I am puzzling over. 

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Matthew 12:1-8(NKJV)

1At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 

2And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

3But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 

4how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 

5Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 

6Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 

7But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ £ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 

8For the Son of Man is Lord £even of the Sabbath.”

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Jesus and his disciples are technically “harvesting grain” on the Sabbath and the Pharisees call Him on it.  He uses the example of David feeding his men with the showbread to justify what He did.  It wasn't lawful for David to feed his men that way but it was apparently ok with God because He let David and his men live. 

But let’s look at some other examples.  There was a guy, can’t remember his name, who was one of many men that were escorting the ark of the covenant.  If I remember correctly, the oxen that were pulling the cart that the ark was on stumbled and this guy just reached up to steady the ark and was instantly killed by God because he touched the ark.  I look at that and wonder why?  He didn't have any evil intent.  He was just trying to be helpful.

Or how about this one.  Saul is waiting for Samuel to show up to make an important decision about an upcoming battle.  Samuel tells Saul he will be there in two days.  Samuel doesn’t show up when he says he will.  Saul, not wanting to go into battle without inquiring of God decides to seek God’s guidance without the priest.  God takes offense and punishes Saul for it.  Again, why?  There was no evil intent there. 

Now what was the difference?  In the instances where the people where punished, I don’t see any evil intentions in any of the cases and yet they were punished while at other times God let it slide. 

Confusing?  You bet.  I think this is an example of where diligence comes in.  From a casual reading it appears confusing.  However, I would bet that if I actually do an in depth study of those stories I will begin to see minor differences that will be instructive.  

So what is the lesson here?  Don't be afraid to put in a little extra time with God to dig deep to discover the wisdom He has provided for us.  I believe that the more effort we put into understanding God, the more He will reveal to us.  Give it a try and see if you don't agree!

What does it mean to diligently seek?

You ever have a day where your study of God's word is uninspiring?  Who am I kidding, right?  We've all had days like that.  You read the same paragraph several times and it seems it's written in a foreign language and you don't understand it.

What gives?  Does that mean God isn't listening or has abandoned us?  Not at all!  This is where diligence comes in. 

dil·i·gence 

n.

1. Earnest and persistent application to an undertaking; steady effort; assiduity.

2. Attentive care; heedfulness.

Diligence implies work.  If it were easy all of the time it wouldn't take diligence.  As I've been reading through Proverbs I've noticed a couple of words that seem to come up over and over.  Diligence and perseverance. 

God has a lot of great stuff to teach us in the Bible but we have to show that we really want to learn it.  We do that by being disciplined and diligent in our studies, even on the days where you are getting nothing out of it.  Because the fact of the matter is that you are getting something out of it.  You are establishing the success habits of discipline and diligence. 

This is where what I call practical Christianity comes in.  We establish these success habits in our daily study of God's word but these habits can carry over to every other aspect of our lives.  I believe that these two habits will have more to do with your overall success in life than anything other habits you can develop.

Why does God do it this way?  Well,  I can't speak for God but I can guess.  As a parent I have learned that there are many ways to teach your kids things.  You can make it easy for them and tell them not to do things but that doesn't always work, does it?  Of course not.  Sometimes you have to let the kids learn the hard way.  You can tell them not to touch the sharp cactus needles but they do it anyway.  The hard lessons tend to be the valuable ones that we remember.

A good example of this for me was when I was in college.  I noticed that many of the kids that were getting a totally free ride didn't take their studies nearly as seriously as those of us who were paying our own way.  I think the fact that we had to work and struggle a bit for our educations made us value the things we learned more.  So would it be surprising that God has had this figured out for years?  He could make it simple but we wouldn't place as much value on His knowledge. 

As you go about your daily time with God, don't expect it to be revelation and fireworks all of the time.  Some of those days will be pretty boring and may even feel wasted but don't despair.  Trust God!  He has promised to reveal His wisdom to us through His word.  Any time you spend "diligently seeking" God will be rewarded, even if you don't see it at the time.

How do I know?  Because God has promised and I believe Him, do you?

Dying for the Faith

Ever notice how we like to read and quote the "good" scriptures and just ignore the ones that don't make us feel all warm and fuzzy?

Today I'd like to talk about dying for the faith.  Why?  Let's take a look at a couple of scriptures.

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Revelation 6:9-11(NKJV)

9When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 

10And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 

11Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.

Matthew 10:16-22(NKJV)

16“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 

17But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. 

18You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 

19But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 

20for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.

21“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 

22And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 

Matthew 10:34-36(NKJV)

34“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 

35For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 

36and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ £ 

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We like to focus on the positive part of Jesus' message.  It's a message of love , peace on earth and brotherhood for all.  If everyone would just become Christians then we could sit around the campfire and sing Cumbiya. 

The thing that most of us like to ignore is that even Jesus told us that it wouldn't be that way.  The scriptures that I cited above are just a sample of the scriptures that warn us that we may be called on to suffer for Christ.  In fact Christ himself said 4“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. "

In this country that is just hard to imagine.  What is the worst that will happen to us here in this country?  We might get ridiculed or harassed a bit but no one is going to physically harm us or kill us over our beliefs. 

But the same can't be said for other parts of the world.  There are countries even today where people are killed for their belief in Christ.  Think about that.  Is Jesus real enough in your life that you would die for Him? 

As we approach the celebration of Christ's birth, please pray for courage, safety, and spiritual comfort for the people around the world who are actually in danger because of their belief in our Risen Savior!

Willingly, Eagerly, and as an Example

1 Peter 5:1-4(NKJV)

The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 

Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 

nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 

and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

How are the elders supposed to serve?  Willingly, eagerly, and as an example.

How should the rest of us serve? Grudgingly, hesitantly, and as a bad example?  Of course not!  We need to follow Christ's example.

As we again enter the Christmas Season there is an increased need for Christians to serve their fellow man.  This of course competes with all of the other demands on our time during the holiday season.  So how are we to answer that call?

Willingly, Eagerly, and as an Example.

We are to deliver the "Good News" of Christ through our words and actions.  If you can look at your life and feel that you have been truly blessed by your relationship with Jesus Christ, then why not make it a point this year to answer the call and share that blessing with those that need it by serving them Willingly, Eagerly, and as an Example. 

How can we do that?  Any number of ways.  If you are a member of a church, then volunteer and get active in your churches holiday outreach efforts.  There are also many Community Christian Charities that could use some help.  If you don't have an opportunity readily available then seek one out. 

And again here is the key.  Do it Willingly, Eagerly, and as an Example.  Do it joyfully,  happily, excitedly; as you pass on the Good News of a relationship with Jesus! 

A Book of Balance

One of the things that I struggle with are what appear to be contradictions in the Bible.  I know some people just declare there are no contradictions and that is it.  Well that doesn't work for me because I can read and I see many things that seem odd to me.  So what gives?

Let me again say right up front that I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God.  I am starting with the assumption that God is way smarter than me and therefore there is something that I don't understand.  The fault is on my end, not God's.

Over many years of studying the Bible I have come to the conclusion that the Bible is a book of balance.  What do I mean by that?  Here are two examples that comes from the same chapter.  Let's take a look. 

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Matthew 7:1-2(NKJV)

1“Judge not, that you be not judged. 

2For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 

Matthew 7:15-20(NKJV)

15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 

16You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 

17Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 

18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 

19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 

20Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

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On the one hand we have a verse that says not to judge.  On the other we are told to beware of false prophets and also that we can tell the difference between good trees and bad by their fruit.  To make those determinations we have to make a judgment as to whether the prophet is a false prophet or not.  We have to distinguish between good fruit and bad.  That also requires a judgment does it not?

To the casual Bible observer this would indicate a contradiction wouldn't it?

Do you remember what I wrote about yesterday?  That we have to "diligently seek" God's wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.  In other words we have to "study" God's word, not just casually read it, to get the full meaning.  We have to take the total balance of what God says throughout the whole Bible to get true understanding in my opinion. 

In the example above it would be bad to be totally judgmental all of the time but it would be equally bad to never exercise judgment at all.  There has to be a balance. 

Let me give you another example.  One of my hobbies is handguns.  I am a concealed weapons instructor.  What does the Bible have to say about self defense? 

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Matthew 5:39(NKJV)

39But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 

Luke 22:36(NKJV)

36Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. 

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In the first example we have Jesus telling us to turn the other cheek and in the second example we have Jesus telling the disciples to arm themselves and if they don't have a sword to sell their garment to buy one.  If you read the full Luke text you will see that Jesus is telling his disciples this so they can defend themselves. 

Does Jesus really want us to sit there and turn or cheek back and forth, back and forth until we have let ourselves be beaten to death?  I personally don't believe a moral God would require us to submit to evil to that extent.  Now you couple that with Jesus telling his disciples to get swords so they can defend themselves and obviously there has to be more to this story.  There has to be a balance.

So folks, as you run across things in God's word that don't make sense to you,  don't let it shake your faith.  God promises that if you diligently seek Him, He will provide Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding!