Dear all,
Happy weekend!!!
Today I read the followings.
Psalm 106:32
"By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord, and trouble came to Moses because of them;
for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses' lips"
Today, the scriptures remind me to mind my tougue.
It is a very uncommon situation that:
Moses was unable to get into the promise land, not because of breaking the stones which ten-commandments (十誡)written on it (I always think this should be a worse act than the rash words @@),
but the rash words coming out from Moses, when Israel complains again (which shows their lack of faith to Moses and to God).
(Refers to Numbers 20)
V12 "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them." Numbers 20:12
To me, it is still a little confuse what this sentences means - lack of trust? faith? honor?
But it is a good reminder that we need to guard our tougue to avoid rash words.
"The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person,
sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itselt set on fire by hell" James 5:6
Tongues set your life in hell, what a horrible picture.
I think we all known and get practiced on not saying bad words like foul languages, however, written in 2 Timothy
"Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly." 2 Timothy 2:16
"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.
And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful." 2 Timothy 2:23 - 24
How much do we talk spirtually, do we always honour God in our conversation?
Perhaps why Israel have the complaining attitudes as habits, is that Moses did not do a great example to honor God. He did not lead them to think and talk spiritually, and did not practice to be grateful.
, so when troubles come, they start discouraging each other, saying destructive words and forget what God has done.
I have been learning for ages to speak what helpful for building "造就" others (Ephesians 4:29) and still not always able to do so, yet it is still need to keep learning and practicing.
Let's practice.
Love in Christ
Andy
Hi Andy,
回覆刪除Thanks so much for your sharing. I think of your deep conviction and level of awareness in raising this struggle we all can face. I love your point on this topic. It is really something we all need conviction on is not to gossip as well as using bad language! I used to struggle with this a lot myself but as I mature as a disciple I realise what consequence this has on others around me and how it can hurt them and cause divisions in the body of Christ. Being more sensitive in this area is something I am still learning. You can all keep me accountable in this area.
Sometimes I find for myself in my daily conversations I want to share something freely with others as I may feel very excited or a bit overly concerned to share this but what impact does this have to other person's ears?
I think it's always more helpful myself to not mention the NAME of someone who has the problem or struggle in their life or to share TOO much detail with other people so that I can protect the body of Christ. Only speak what is helpful and upbuilding to others. I thank God that a sister on the Guangzhou IHOP mission team helped me out with this flaw in my character. It was by God's grace that I became more and more aware of this.
Lets be encouraged to protect one another's hearts and faith and be more sensitive to exactly what content we share about the other person to others. Will it benefit others? Will it be wholesome speaking that will be upbuilding to glorify God?
This scripture serves as a reminder to me that Andy has also pointed out to us was: Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but ONLY what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may BENEFIT those who listen. Very convicting scripture for me to apply in my life.
I really wish that after today's message that we are reminded to share the sin we struggle with to our close friends at church and help each other to shine more for Jesus!
Have a relaxing Sunday evening and make the most of it!!
Love Shelley-bean
Hi Shelley,
回覆刪除Nice to see your feedback. As a talkative person, haha, i always unintentionally hurt others because of some gossip.
It sometimes hard to distinguish whether some of the patterns of others you talk about is gossip (or not).
Thought more today and find that one of the indicator of whether you are gossip on someone, is that, are you trying to help the one to grow/improve
or You share about it because you want to find more ways to help the one, or you try to just laugh or talk about it.
To someone close, even you "hide" the name, everyone can guess it, but it is use to make this a habit. Do we have the heart that trying to make the one who we gossiping become better?
That's why we need to think twice before we speak. :P
Love in Christ
Andy