SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/13/2019 9:39 AM
My Worship Time
Focus: PT-2
“From Unwholesome Words to Wholesome Words”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Eph. 4:29-30
Message of the verses: “29 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, that it may
give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by
whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
The
first thing that the words of a Christian are that they should be “good for
edification,” as we are to try and build up those we come in contact with by
being helpful, constructive, encouraging, instructive, and also uplifting. I know that this is a tall order, and it
seems to me that some believers just have a gift for this kind of speaking, and
others have to do a lot of work in order to fulfill this kind of speech. There are times when our words have to be
corrective but that does not mean that they are to be hurtful in doing this in
the power of the Holy Spirit. Proverbs
25:12 gives us an example of this “Like an earring of gold and an
ornament of fine gold Is a wise reprover to a listening ear.” Let us look at Ecc. 12:10-11 “10 The Preacher
sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. 11 The
words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are
like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 But beyond this, my
son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to
books is wearying to the body.” Just
so you know that there are only two more verses in the book of Ecclesiastes
after these as Solomon finally gets around to talking about what is really
important at the end of this book as he writes “13 The conclusion, when all has
been heard, is: fear
God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every
person. 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is
hidden, whether it is good or evil.”
The
second thing that the words of a Christian are. everything we say should be
appropriate, “according to the need of the moment.” MacArthur writes “It is not that every word
we speak is to be freighted [conveyed] with great significance, but that what
we say should always be fitting for the situation, so that it constructively
contributes to all.” Let us look at
Proverbs 25:11 for an example of how we are to use our words: “Like apples of gold in settings of
silver Is a word spoken in right circumstances.” We are to choose our words wisely when we are
in a difficult circumstance. I remember
when a friend of mine died and after his death at the viewing the pastor kept
quoting different Scripture verses to his late wife, which she told me did not
really bring any comfort to her at that time.
Perhaps a gentle hug with the words of “I will be in prayer for you and
be there to help you get through this difficult situation would have been
better for that situation, as an example for this kind of situation can be
found in Proverbs 24:26 “He kisses the lips Who gives a right answer.”
Third
thing that what we say should be gracious, “that it may give grace to those who
hear.” Think about the fact that all
believers have been saved by grace; therefore we are to live and speak in grace
as there are times when the raw truth can do more harm than good, so we are to
be gracious when even speaking the truth.
In
prophesying about our Lord Isaiah spoke of His graciousness “The Lord GOD has
given Me the tongue of disciples, That I may know how to sustain the weary one
with a word” (Isa. 50:4a). This as I
said was prophesied and then Luke gives us an example in Luke 4:22 “And all
were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were
falling from His lips; and they were saying, "Is this not Joseph’s
son?" I suppose that it can be said
that people can change their minds in a hurry for after these thing were said
of the Lord those same people tried to kill him by pushing Him off the cliff,
yet He walked right through them and no one touched Him. They go from saying kind things about Him to
not being able to understand the truth that He was giving them through the
reading of the prophet Isaiah. If they
would have accepted the truth then things could have been different. By speaking the truth to them about who He
was, this was gracious speech, but as noted they did not understand or believe
it.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I am thankful for this section of Ephesians
as speaking at times is something that I need to work on.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Humility
along with graciousness is something I need to continue to work on when it
comes to speaking.
Today’s quotation is from President
Calvin Coolidge who says “Press on: Nothing in the world can take the place of
persistence. Talent will not…Genius will
not…education will not…persistence and determination alone are overwhelmingly
powerful.”
5/13/2019 10:24 AM
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