Tuesday, October 8, 2013
The Cycle Of Words
As I look around the community of believers today, one of the things that shows up is how much and how many could use some building up. My heart goes out to those that spend way too much time feeling the desperation of not being good enough or not understanding or stumbling forward toward God in spite of the other believers and family. I think we all have the same reaction to this when we really stop to see it or think about it. We want to help. We want to be a part of changing these people’s lives for the better. But how? Words, for a start.
We can begin by knowing that we are to help. We are to assist our fellow believers by building them up, according to Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians, chapter five verse eleven,
1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.
So if we can see we are to build others up, the question is how to do it. Well, we need to ask how God does things because Jesus (Yeshua) said He only did what He saw the Father doing and we are followers of Jesus (Yeshua).
John 5:19 Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.
So then, what did Jesus (Yeshua) see when He saw the Father doing something? A part of that answer can be found in Genesis.
Genesis 1:3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
God changes things by speaking! That is what Jesus saw, and in every case I can think of when Jesus initiated something, it always began with speaking. Many who read this will likely be thinking that this is not new and wonder why I am writing about it. I am writing today to say that the negative is also true, and that we should guard ourselves against being a part of the negative.
Jesus said that what is in our heart comes out of our mouth, in Matthew 12.
Matthew 12:34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Again we have heard this many times. But if you are like me, you may have forgotten, as I did, what came before and after this verse.
Matthew 12:33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Jesus (Yeshua) was instructing them and us to make the tree good. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a part of us, thanks to Adam and Eve. What is in our heart will come out, and grow the knowledge we speak, the good or the evil. We can build our fellow believers up by saying the good. Or not. And here is the most important point I want to make today.
Assumptions that are negative do more to hurt the body of believers today than possibly anything else. How could that be? Because we can all have them, and if we dwell on them at all, they end up in our heart. Then guess what? They come out our mouth, and the evil enters the world through our words, tearing down instead of building up. If you are like me when I realized this point this morning, you, like me, want to avoid these negative assumptions, right? Where here is the really cool thing. The same tool can get rid of those bad assumptions! Paul said in his letter to the Ephesians,
Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
He did not say to do that when we felt that way. He said to do it, and then we would feel that way.
In closing let me say that I am guilty of allowing bad assumptions at times rule what I say. Here is our hope. God can help us. If we will take time each day to reach out to God, and then begin to say good things from Him out of our mouth, even if it is just to ourselves, we can put the good stuff in our hearts so that the good tree comes forth from our hearts to build up those in need.
Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. Thank You for guiding us and keeping us. Help us to get the good into our hearts today and every day, Father. Help us to have so much good in our hearts that we speak only the good. Help the good words from our hearts build up those in need of building up, that Your kingdom might be manifest here on earth. In Yeshua’s (Jesus’) name. Amen.