Author: debo

We are talking this week about how our words affect others. Today we’re going to talk to married people, or those who will someday be married. (That’s probably most of you!) What kind of words are you speaking to your spouse? What percentage would you say are encouraging and constructive? What percentage would you say are discouraging or destructive? That may be a hard one to answer, because as I have said before, often we treat our families and our spouses less kindly than we treat everybody else. Do you think it is about time to change that? I think it is! Let’s make a pact, right here and right now, that we will only speak to our mates, the way we want to be spoken to. Do you think that might change your marriage completely? Wonderful! Even in times of conflict, we can still be nice, we can still speak in control, and we can still speak in an edifying manner. When it comes to issues that need to be dealt with, we don’t have to brush them under the rug, we can be kind, and our words can be constructive. I like constructive words spoken to me, so I can do the same for my spouse. Since we are to pursue peace with all men as the Bible says, that should start at home. Why not make your home life a little more peaceful, by speaking kindly to your spouse. That could be one of the best things you can do for your kids. Not only does it bring confidence into your home, it brings peace. What you model in your home, will very likely be how your kids will treat their spouse, so let’s be excellent examples. So today, I’m encouraging you…..to be nice, let your words be edifying, uplifting and encouraging. Very likely, the words you’ll be hearing will take on a different tone, because of the seed you have sown!

What do you think about the phrase, what you hear is what you speak? I am so thankful for the many ways words have encouraged me in my life. The phrase also has other connotations. Think of it this way, how people have been treated, is often how they treat others. It applies not only to words, but to actions. What I find admirable is when you find someone who has lived with negative words, or been treated poorly in their life by parents, classmates, or whomever, and yet they really make an effort never to act or speak like they have been treated in their past. Counselors and psychologists will tell us that it is really rare for someone who has been raised in a totally negative environment to take a 180 degree turn and act exactly the opposite. It definitely takes an act of the will, but also takes the power of God. When you see someone who was raised in an angry environment really make an effort to react another way, you know it is going against the world’s prediction for that person’s life. As much as we know the truth of the saying “hurt people, hurt people”, it doesn’t have to be that way for the believer. If we have been hurt, we can make a choice to walk in forgiveness, and then change directions. That is what happens in salvation, we chose to follow Christ. If you know someone who is trying to overcome negativity in their own life, and are working to live the opposite of how they were treated, encourage them with your words. It is no easy task, and your encouragement may be just what they need to keep trying. Old patterns are hard to break, but it is possible with the power of God, and words of encouragement from a thoughtful friend.

Our words affect others. Can you remember back to a time when you were cut to the quick by someone’s words? Or a time when someone said something to you that made you believe you could accomplish anything? Words can be that extreme. Proverbs says that the power of life and death is in the tongue. Our words are destructive or constructive. It is interesting to examine our words and see who our speech is motivated by. Words that are destructive are full of: bitterness, envy, selfish ambition, earthy concerns and desires, unspiritual thoughts and ideas, disorder and evil. It’s not hard to see that the enemy is the motivating factor behind destructive words. Constructive words are motivated by: mercy, love for others, peace, consideration, submission, sincerity, impartiality, and righteousness. These are the kinds of things that God desires for us to communicate. When we build, lift and encourage with our words, we are using our ability to lift people to a higher place, exactly what God wants to do in our lives. When talking with others, let’s make a determination to put a guard on our lips, and let nothing but constructive words come out. Sometimes that means we just keep our mouth shut. Like Thumper in the movie BAMBI, “If you don’t have somethin’ nice to say, don’t say nothin’ at all.” My sister has a cute plaque at her door that says, be nice or leave! It brings with it the same thought; find ways to say nice things. Find good just like Phil 4:8-9 tells us to do. Think and speak about things that bring blessing and healing.

This week we are continuing the topic of the power of words. I think this is a topic we could stay on for months, because words are so powerful to hurt or to heal and we are conversing all the time. This week we will speak specifically about how our words affect other people. You can probably look at your own life and see where words have hurt someone you love. I can remember one particular instance when as a little boy my son spilled massage oil all over the freshly cleaned living room carpet…..my words were less than kind, and I had to ask for forgiveness from my sweet little boy, who just wanted to give someone a nice massage. It was a lesson that hit too close to home, because I have used massage oil as an illustration in message of how powerfully our words can bring healing. (God has a sense of humor…..and I think I flunked the test!) There are times that we do need to bring correction but the best way I have found to do that is through the oreo method. The cream inside is the important part, and if you cushion your correction with a compliment on each side (the cookie part), it seems to go down better. In the oreo method, the process makes us say 2 things positive to one thing that needs adjustment, or is the area that we need growth or change. Wash it all down with a little milk (the Word) and it makes everything taste great! (Or at least a whole lot better!) Let’s use our words constructively, and build, encourage and edify those around us.

Intro:
Do you hate friction and turmoil as much as I do? One of the reasons I hate tension is because I am a peacemaker by nature. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your daily eword. I do like everyone to get along well, and I especially like it when there is joy in the room. What is very evident is that words are very often the way that tension is created, but words are also the pathway to peace. We are going to look at that this week, and find a way to use our words to ease conflict and tension, and find a way to use our words to bring peace and joy. My prayer for you this week is that if there is conflict in your life, let’s seek for resolution. God is not the author of turmoil, but of peace…..Let’s use our words to live peaceably with all. Here is your daily eword.

Monday
It’s not hard to see how we get ourselves into trouble with our words. Sometimes it is just thoughtlessness, or speaking before we think things through. Sometimes we let our emotions take us places we should not ever go. When we meditate on our negative thoughts, they often take the jump from a simple thought, to imagination, to become a strong hold. It talks about that in II Corinthians 10:4,5,6. The best definition I’ve ever heard for the word stronghold, is something that holds on strong in your life. It can become like an actual force that keeps you from growing or moving ahead, because it has entangled its talons around your life.

The thing that happens so often when we let something become a strong hold in our life is that we begin to think, imagine and meditate on all the negatives that go along with the thing that is holding on to us strongly. All of the sudden, instead of a small thing that needs to be dealt with, we have a huge mountain that very often is far removed from the original issue. Sometimes people can’t even remember what the original issue was, and they are still upset and in turmoil.

God’s desire for us if that we live on the higher plane. When issues come into our lives that need to be resolved, we use our words constructively, and find resolution to conflict. An interesting fact that has been proven in studying healthy marriages is that those who are good at conflict resolution are the ones who will have a lasting, productive, joy filled marriage. It filters over in other areas as well. If we can get good at using our words constructively, especially when working through conflict, we can live peacefully with all men as we are told to do in the Bible. Sometimes wisdom would say, there are some people that are better kept at a distance because of their behavior toward you. We do need boundaries and the Bible tells us to guard our heart. Just because the words “I forgive you” have been spoken, doesn’t mean that it is wise to put your heart and soul on the line again, but it also is not an excuse for building walls around your life.

My prayer for you this week is that if there is conflict in your life, let’s seek for resolution. God is not the author of turmoil, but of peace…..Let’s use our words to live peaceably with all.

One thing that kids do naturally that older people can learn is to enjoy even the small things. There is so much that we have seen and done that we can yawn at small moments of joy instead of jumping up and down and being glad! But we need to re-learn this lesson. Life is wonderful! Jesus came to give us life to the full, overflowing and abundantly. Even with bumps along the way, life can be a wonderful, beautiful ride. That doesn’t erase the fact that bad things can happen to good people, because we do live in a fallen world. We need to remember that we are richly blessed – just even by where we live. We have so many opportunities that many people around the world never get to experience. Probably all of us had 3 meals plus snacks yesterday – that’s something to be glad about. We probably had a soft bed to sleep on, computer access to all that we desire to be connected to, and someone to love you. Those are great things to be thankful for. So instead of thinking about all the things you don’t have, or wish you could have, being content is saying, I’m thankful for the place I am in right now. That’s a great place to be!

God’s Word is alive in me, and His Word never comes back empty. God will finish what He has started in me, and I am an overcomer in this life. No good thing will God withhold from me, because I walk uprightly. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. I choose to seek Him every day of my life. I hope these words roll around in your head and your heart all day long. We are instructed in the Bible to meditate on the Word day and night, so get started. That will bring real encouragement to your life.

Today, I want us to say the same thing over our families and our finances. The word confession means just that, saying the same thing, and what better things to say than confession directly from scripture.

For your family: My family is walking in the path that God has for them. All my children are taught of the Lord, and great is their peace. My family are God’s sheep and they know His voice. They will not follow the voice of a stranger. They are bought by the blood of Jesus and a part of God’s family. We live an operate in unity and harmony. Our lives are an example of the unity within the God head. My mate and I are walking in harmony, and we demonstrate love to each other and to God. We are a living epistle before our family and friends of the blessing of living in God’s divine will.

For your finances: My God supplies all of my need according to His riches in Glory. He is my Jehovah Jireh, and the God of more than enough. We use wisdom and discretion in our spending, and we are liberal and generous in our giving. We live to give and we love to give. We sow our finances into God’s kingdom where we know it will produce for us, not only for now, but for eternity. We are blessed coming in and going out.

One thing I’ve noticed about human nature is that we get committed to something when it directly affects us. For example, when sickness attacks our body, we begin to get serious about reading healing scriptures. When we have a financial shortage, we real get serious about tithing and reading the Word about finances. Advance preparation is storing up for the future. We can do that with the Word of God. If we really want to be Spirit led believers, we should spend time, attention and energy on the importance of understanding the operation of the Spirit of God. We want to be attentive listeners. God wants us to check our heart, and then let Him flow through us. If we seriously want to live the abundant life, it takes discipline and diligence. It takes reprioritizing our life. It takes simplifying our life. It takes saying no to the good, so you can say yes to the best. What is most important? If we want to be Mary’s who choose what is right and most important at the right time, we have to say no to some things that really don’t matter. Living above natural human existence, living in the presence of God, living a life that is led by the Spirit of God, let make this our priority. Life can’t get better than that! That is living your best life.

Many Christians live way beneath their privileges as believers. They live a purely natural human existence, day by day, moment by moment. They live average lives, bumping along, often from disaster to disaster, or from trial to trial, without doing anything about it. They don’t really read the Word, they don’t really pray – they might pray before they eat, or before they go to bed at night, but their existence is purely on a natural level. It can happen to any of us – actually, I’m repenting, I’ve done that before! We are called out of darkness to live in the light! We can experience so much more when we are following after God and being led by the Spirit. The Bible tells us to draw close to God, and He will draw close to us. If I reach out to God, He’ll reach out to me. If I talk to God, He will fellowship with me. If I seek Him, then I will be found in Him. If I call on Him, He will show me great and mighty things. Those are things we can begin expecting! We make the first step. So Regardless of the size of the storm, keep going! You’ll have a much better chance of making it to shore. Jesus was asleep on a pillow during a storm on the lake with the disciples. They were distraught and Jesus was resting. I think that could probably be what would be said about us when storms of life are pressing in on us. We get distraught, but Jesus is still telling us to rest. Let’s be prepared, and live above this natural life. Let’s live the higher life God is calling us to!

Sports are a great learning tool for life. The lessons we learn include not giving up, perfecting our skills, having a good attitude in the midst of a down turn, and even smiling in the face of adversity. Whatever the sport is, the object is to continue getting better. If it is baseball, you keep swinging till you get it right and make contact with the ball. In the big baseball game of life, we know who the final winner is. Sometimes we may feel like we’ve lost the inning, but we don’t stop at three strikes. We keep on going. In fact, I love what I heard one minister say once. “My bat, my ball, my yard and my win.” I love that kind of tenacity. Sometimes there are set backs. They happen. Sometimes we strike out. Sometimes we can’t get on the field because it is raining, or snowing, or windy. But we don’t let the win slip from our hands. In the midst of the journey, it is important to continue loving the game. Everyday we need to enjoy the journey. Keep on looking for jewels that God places in your path. Keep on finding joy in the small moments of life. The greatest win of all is coming…..eternity in heaven. But remember, Jesus said that His desire was the God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let’s bring a little of that heaven into our sphere of influence today.