Words…

Smile an everlasting smile a smile could bring you near to me
Don’t ever let me find you’re gone cause that would bring a tear to me
This world has lost its glory let’s start a brand new story now my love
Right now there’ll be no other time and I can show you all my love

Talk and everlasting words and dedicate them all to me
And I will give you all my love I’m here if you should call to me
You think that I don’t even mean a single word I say
It’s only words and words are all I have to take your heart away

You think that I don’t even mean a single word I say
It’s only words and words are all I have to take your heart away
It’s only words and words are all I have to take your heart away
It’s only words and words are all I have to take your heart away

Those of you who lived through the 90’s will be familiar with this band ‘Boyzone’. Well, they were a bunch of handsome hunks. These are the lyrics to their song titled, ‘Words’. Sometimes words are all you have. Sometime words and talk maketh a man. Think about many of our politicians. They just give great speeches and excite the public. Remember Hitler was a great orator and won over the masses with his speeches. Most of his followers had genuine respect and love for him. That is the power of words. Not convinced, eh? If you have been for an interview, you’ll notice the organizers would have already filtered through the qualifications and criteria of the candidates. Most hopefuls who turn up have similar qualifications or so. Yet, they call so many. Why? Haven’t they got enough from your resume? It mentions your hobbies, experience, etc. It has your photograph too. What more are they looking for? Amongst a few other things, they’re hoping to gauge you by the words that flow from your mouth. You still need more? Tough crowd to convince hmm…. Remember Genesis? ….when God spoke the universe into existence! He didn’t sit down with His clay modeling kit and bam! He spoke all of creation into existence; and then He breathed life into man. Now have you comprehended the gravity of words? Sure, these are words of God. And they are life. But, understand this: you and I were created in the image and likeness of God. We were created to dominate creation, to be like God on this earth. With mankind’s fall from grace, we lost a lot of this supremacy. Satan deceived us and stole our inheritance as sons and daughters of The Most High until…..

Jesus Christ paid the price for you and me and everybody, in full! There is no longer a bridge between God and man. You just need the willingness of a hungry heart. Ephesians 4:7 tells us, ‘But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.‘ If you stand unwavering in faith with the righteousness of Christ, you too can speak things into existence. Yes! Now, you’re excited! Am I going to list some spells and potions, magic tricks? Of course not! Most believers are languishing in ordeals because they do not exercise their God-given inheritance. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. Faith comes from hearing the Word, but salvation comes from confessing{speaking} the Word. {Please read Romans chapter 10 to understand more about salvation, especially verse 9, 10 and 17. You could also refer to Ephesians 2:8. This is such a beautiful topic. I hope to cover it soon.} Now do you understand why the Apostle’s Creed/ I Believe is such a powerful prayer?

Let’s go back to finding a solution to our problems and not stagnating in ordeals. You see, life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. – Proverbs 18:21. Jesus Himself tells us in Mark 11:23, “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.” Again in Matthew 17:20, we see this being reiterated. Jesus promises the disciples, “For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” And yet again with the fig tree incident, Jesus seems to be obsessed with speaking to mountains! While the disciples were still swatting flies away from their awe-struck, dropped jaws, Jesus remarks, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.” What is your Mount Everest that your’e struggling to climb? What is that unimaginably huge hurdle your’e trying to get over? Okay, so you think out of the box and have tried to build a tunnel right through it. Your’e midway and it’s all so dark and scary and you wonder if you’ll ever see the light of day! Maybe your’e an architect and your’e just going to zap that mountain out of existence. Easier said than done, huh! Been there, done that 😉 Notice, Jesus didn’t suggest we try to bring down the mountain. He didn’t even tell us to build a dangerous rocky road and go up and down the twisties! He gave us clear instructions. You have a mountain of a problem. Just speak to that mountain! Too easy to be true, huh? Beyond human comprehension…sure, I’ll give you that. If you have the shield of faith, and you are geared up with the whole armour of God as mentioned in Ephesians chapter 6, those mountains will succumb to your word. They will have to obey. Please understand, basic spiritual rules apply. If you want to transport your soul and swap your body with that of Jackie Chan’s, that aint happening. {Hmm, I should make a list of spiritual rules to clear that.}

That being said, ‘all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.’ -James 3:7-8. Again in James 1:26 we find, ‘those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.’ Your words have the capacity to destroy your mountains. But they can very well destroy you too. 1 Peter 3:2 goes on to teach us, ‘For whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.‘ Remember what is written in Proverbs 18:21. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Now, that choice is completely yours. You can speak life into your situation/ circumstance/ friends/ family/ relationships/ health/ body/ job/ workplace/ frame of mind/ state/ activities/ chores/ possessions/ favour/ spirits/ habits/ lifestyle; but you can also speak death. Like, Jesus cursed the fig tree and killed it. You can curse an evil/ habit/ spirit/ ill-health into oblivion. You can bless the work of your hands/ labour/ relationships/ health and watch healing, transformations and success blossom right out of nowhere. It is all in your tongue. I’ll tell you something big – your thoughts and words are just as powerful/important as your deeds. So be careful with your words. Sieve and filter them before you open the gates of hell with your curses/negativity. Choose to bless instead and watch heaven shower you with love. Yes, even if those people deserve far worse than your curses! Trust me on this please; I wouldn’t endorse something I myself don’t {struggle to} practise. You are enabled by grace in this pursuit. It is an impossible feat for a mere human.

So then my dear readers, ‘Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.– Colossians 4:6. And, ‘Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.’ – Ephesians 4:29. Pray like this: Lord, place a guard at my mouth, a sentry at the door of my lips. – Psalm 141:3. If you have been granted access to something of such great value, surely you must be held responsible for the fruit it produces. Remember that dialogue in the movie Spiderman? It goes like this: with great power comes great responsibility. Jesus cautions us in Matthew 12:36-27 “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived also wrote in the book of Proverbs 13:3: Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. You will be held accountable for every word, my friend. So choose your words wisely; choose life.

In the book of Matthew 5:21, Jesus teaches the people, “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ Now look at the next verse. Jesus continues to warn us about emotionally reckless speech. “But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.” Do not let anger, jealousy, pride ruin your speech and cause you to sin. I completely understand we are instigated daily by people/circumstances. But ‘temptation’ is just an ‘ordinary’ act of the devil. What others do/say to you is their karma; how you react is completely on you, my friend. You will not be able to rationalize and justify your ill-deeds as an act of provocation in the heavenly courts. Ephesians 4:2 tells us, ‘always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.’

You know, you cannot yo-yo with your commands like a stand-at-ease/attention PT drill! You cannot speak life and death into a situation. You will never yield anything good like that. If you let your unbelief control your tongue, you will be committing a spiritual abortion for every good dream you have been proclaiming into existence. Likewise, you cannot go around using foul language and profanity all day while you kneel down in prayer devoutly for an hour at night. If you have been abusing your colleagues/workplace all day long, how can you feel comfortable worshiping God with that same corrupt mouth? James 3:9-11 says, ‘With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.‘ In His ministry on earth, Jesus observed how the Israelites gave so much importance to rituals and rites. The Jews never consumed any ritually unclean animals like pig{pork}. Jesus tried to tell them on more than one occassion that God is not as concerned with your sacrifices and culinary choices as much as your deeds, words and thoughts. They were so focused on remaining ritually clean that they were mistreating their ‘ritually unclean’ brethren. Jesus made it abundantly clear in Matthew 15:11, which is reiterated by Mark in 7:15, “A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.” Jesus did not put any dietary restrictions on His followers. He tells us the focus is on being a good human being; love God, love your neighbour. Practise this effectively first; the rest is secondary.

Remember the good old saying, ‘practice makes perfect.’ So make it a habit to bless, not curse your friends and enemies alike. Make it a habit to speak positively, not negatively. Do not let your emotions control you. Let wisdom and grace dominate your thoughts, words and deeds. Take time to react, if need be. When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. – Proverbs 10:19. Again in Proverbs 29:20, we see ‘Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.’ And yet again, Solomon in all his wisdom says, “A man of knowledge restrains his words, and a man of understanding maintains a calm spirit. Even a fool is considered wise if he keeps silent, and discerning when he holds his tongue.” – Proverbs 17:27-28. Remember, it’s not just restraint; train yourself to speak at the right moment for the right reasons{intentions}. The right word at the right time is like precious gold set in silver. A wise correction to a receptive ear is like a gold ring or an ornament of gold. – Proverbs 25:11-12

Our words have so much power and impact, and can cause us to sin and lead to our downfall, that Jesus goes on to preach, “But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Anything more than that comes from the evil one.” -Matthew 5:34-37. Again in James 5:12, we find a similar verse, ‘But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’, ‘No,’ lest you fall into judgment.’

In Leviticus 19:16, God warns us saying, “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.” Again in Proverbs 10:18, we read, ‘He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.‘ King Solomon says, “It is foolish to belittle a neighbor; a person with good sense remains silent.” – Proverbs 11:12. In Exodus 23:1 again we read these instructions. ‘You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.‘. And again King David cautions us in Psalm 34:13, ‘Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking lies.’ Proverbs 25:18 goes on to explain just how hurtful gossip can be. ‘Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an axe, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow.’ There are plenty more scriptural verses that prove God hates lies and slander. I understand just how difficult this is. I’m still struggling with these. I have overcome a great deal, but I still need a lot of honing in this regard. It seems too much to ask for considering the day and age we live in. But remember, ‘Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God–what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect. – Romans 12:2

Mind your language!

RUELHA