Speak

THE DEVIL IS GAINING GROUND

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THE DEVIL IS GAINING GROUND

I am writing this article as a witness of my Christian belief that the Bible is the infallible Word of God. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, He inspired men to write what God instructed for the welfare of His creation. Since God created man with a free will to choose their destiny, we have the privilege to choose the pathway of life as we desire.

In the past year, I have witnessed political rancor and bitterness of feelings towards the President of the United States of America as I have never seen in my 60 years as a voter. I have had the privilege of voting for eleven presidents beginning with Dwight D. Eisenhower.

I support the First Amendment of the Constitution. Although the First Amendment to the Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech,” Americans don’t have the luxury of always saying whatever they want. Your right to free speech is limited by where you are, what you say, and how you say it. Now, it appears that we must be extra careful because of political correctness.

My point is to be a Christian witness over political ideology. According to the Bible, we are given instructions by God so that we can live a peaceful life here on earth. Where the problems come into play are because the instructions in the Bible are ignored.

Romans 13, it says “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.

1st Peter 2:13, 14 and 17. “13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and praise those who do good…17 Honor everyone. Love the Brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor” Peter goes on to talk about also honoring your boss as well as being willing to suffer for doing good. Those are not easy things to put into practice.

Ecclesiastes 10: 20. Don’t bad-mouth your leaders, not even under your breath, and don’t abuse your betters, even in the privacy of your home. Loose talk has a way of getting picked up and spread around. Little birds drop the crumbs of your gossip far and wide.

There are stern warnings from God concerning our speech. Matthew 12:37 says; “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

Following is a list of words that the Bible considers sin. Do you connect any of the words with our present political arena? How about with our news media? How about people?

“Gossip” – “Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature.”

“Rumor” – “Unverified information of uncertain origin usually spread by word of mouth; hearsay.”

“Slander” – “The utterance of defamatory statements injurious to the reputation or well-being of a person. … A malicious statement or report.”

“Backbite” – “To speak spitefully or slanderously about (a person).”

“Talebearer” – “A person who spreads malicious stories or gossip.”

“Rail” – “To condemn or attack in bitter, harsh, or abusive language…”

“Revile” – “To denounce with abusive language.”

Have you ever been a victim of false statements? I have and it is not a situation that I would wish on anyone. Fortunately, Jesus was with me and I was exonerated of the false statements. Some people accuse others of doing wrong when they do not know it to be true.

I believe that the deterioration of our great country is due to Satan’s influence of deceit. It all began when God was taken out of daily lives. Today, it continues to be an ongoing trend with a greater influence. Is the devil gaining ground in his war against Christianity and the foundations that America was built on?  Satan has got us spending so much time on judging others that we have lost our prospective of life.

According to Romans 3:23. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That is why God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. According to Acts 4:12, neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

2 Corinthians 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

So, is there a solution to the way our country is going? Yes, if we would follow God’s instructions in His Holy Word, the Bible..

2 Chronicles 7:14, If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Mark 12: 30-31, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

I look forward to the day that America and the world will experience a revival and many will come to Jesus Christ and His salvation. Hopefully many will do so soon. I pray that you will consider the Lords invitation as He loves you and so do I.

THE WORDS YOU SPEAK, THAT’S WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE.

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THE WORDS YOU SPEAK, THAT’S WHAT YOU WILL RECEIVE.

Before I begin my topic, I want to wish all a Happy New Year. For those that have received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, may the Lord bless you with the desires of your heart? For those that haven’t, may you consider the invitation of Jesus to enter into His eternal gift of salvation? It is a free gift with many promises. The most important is eternal life with Him in His kingdom.

I have written a blog sometime back similar to this. With some, they are able to control their tongue, others speak like the words come from a cesspool. The Bible tells us that we will account for what we speak according to Matthew 12:36 But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the Day of Judgment. Also in Proverbs 6:2 (NKJ) it says; you are snared by the words of your own mouth, you are taken by the words of your mouth.

Words are powerful, they can get you into trouble, and you can curse others of which the devil can then place on a person. You can speak ungodly things and consider them innocent. I ask you, does God? Whether you are a Christian or not you will be held accountable for every idle word regardless if it slipped out of your mouth or not. When you have true faith in Christ it produces obedience. If a Christian is guilty of such behavior, they need to confess and repent and receive God’s forgiveness.

When you speak aloud, the Devil can take your words and put them into action. Most people don’t realize that Satan is the one who increases the problem. When you confess to being a Christian, you cannot praise the Lord one day and speak against God or someone the next. Christians should not willfully practice sin. I know that there are going to be some that will say it is no big deal. I believe that if it wasn’t a big deal, then God would not have made a point of telling us that we need to tame our tongue according to the Book of James.

Jesus said that you will have what you say. It will depend on you faith or your doubt or whether you have His salvation or not. Those that have not received Jesus’ invitation for salvation cannot expect to receive His blessings. On the other hand, you can believe on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and enjoy His blessings according to Mark 11:23 (NKJV) For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

Oh, what a promise. Is there any reason to do otherwise? There is a lot we don’t understand but we must realize that we are responsible for our own destiny. You must know that God loves you more than you love yourself. He already proved this by sacrificing His Son for our sins and Jesus shedding His blood to cover them.

We are entering a new year and you can add a new resolution that you would consider receiving Jesus Christ’s invitation of salvation. If you do, God and the Heavenly Kingdom will rejoice. I love you and pray you don’t delay in making the most important decision of your life.

POWER IN THE WORDS YOU SPEAK.

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POWER IN THE WORDS YOU SPEAK.

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Have you ever considered how the words you speak affects your life? I have come to learn that what I speak has a great bearing on how my life is going to turn out. It is going to be good or it is going to be bad depending on what words I speak.
According to the Bible, the words you speak are going to affect your life in way you cannot imagine. The most important factor we need to realize is how the enemy (Satan) can use the words you speak and cause you so much grief. On the other hand, how the Word of God can give you so much peace.
The devil cannot read your thoughts, but if you speak aloud, he knows what you say and he knows if you put any of your words into action. In other words he can hear what you say, read what you write, and observe what you do.

 There is nothing in the Bible to indicate that Satan is omniscient. There are no verses that say he knows everything or that he can read our thoughts. But he is very adept at predicting human behavior. That’s why you should Choose Your Words Carefully.

There are over a hundred verses in the Bible that caution you about the words you speak. With that information, you must admit that God is telling us to use our words carefully. Have you ever considered that the words you speak may be the reason you are in the circumstance you are in. Let us look at a few of the Bible verses that tell us about the words we use.

Ephesians 4:29 (ESV) 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.

Matthew 12:37 (ESV) for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Proverbs 18:21 (ESV) Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Colossians 3:8 (ESV) But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

James 1:26 (ESV) If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.

James 1:19-20 (ESV) Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

DEUTERONOMY 30:19 (NLT) “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!

The last verse above says that you choose between blessings and curses. Let me point out some illustrations that the devil uses against you. Remember what I said about the devil using our words against us. Somebody says they have a cold or the flu and a person responds with “Oh, I’m sure I’ll catch it”. That person just opened the door for Satan to go to God and demand the right to infest them and then it happens. God has done His part by warning you through His word, the Bible. Satan is roaming about like a lion seeking to devour people like that. It could be more serious than something like a cold.

Let’s look at some other examples. Have you ever said something like, “How could I have been so stupid,” or “I’ll never amount to anything,” or “I am so confused?” I cannot imagine what the devil is going to do with those statements. Here are just a few more words that we hear that can cause our lives to be in turmoil: “I’m afraid not,” “I’ll be damned,” “Dam you,” “That scared the life out of me,” “I’m so sick of hearing that,” “I laughed till I thought I would die,” “This heat is killing me,” “My arthritis is killing me.” “I am heavily in debt and don’t know how I’m going to get out,”   I’m sure you get my point regarding the words we use in describing a situation in our lives.

There are going to be people that will believe that I may be stretching the subject. I used to think the same way until I began to understand some of what God is trying to tell us in His Word. Oh, I don’t know everything and I don’t pretend I do. There is not a human being alive that knows everything. God wants us to know as much as we can learn about Him while here on earth.

Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, this world we live in is infested with the influence of Satan. He has conditioned us to speak and act with doubt, fear, and death. If the devil gets you to speak negative words, you give him an opening to bring destruction into your life. Any negative attitude is giving the devil an opportunity to attack you.

Is it common for you to put yourself or others down? Do you have a chip on your shoulder? Do you have a negative comment or bash every imperfection in the world around you? If so, you have opened the door for Satan and his demons to attack you. Satan and his demons are relentless in their efforts to bring you down and influence you in what you say. They watch and consider everything you say and do.

Satan and his demons are in a supernatural realm. We are not able to combat him on our own. If you try, you are sure to fail. We need to partner with God. This a decision you have to make or you can continue on the pathway of destruction. This is the case with most spiritual issues. We must act first and then God will do His part that only He can do. We have to equip ourselves with “Sword of the Spirit and the Word of God.” In any war we have to study and know the capabilities of the enemy. Yes, we are at war with the devil and those that are his soldiers.

When Jesus died on the cross, He not only provided the gift of salvation but gave us everything He inherited from God. Jesus defeated the devil and stripped him of all his authority by the power of His blood.

PROVERBS 4:20-22 (NKJ) 20 My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.

The above promise is just one of thousands that are found in God’s Holy Word. Each person is responsible for learning what God has given us. He isn’t going to force you to accept His gifts. He wants you to come to Him willingly. When you speak, you are expressing a choice, life and blessings or what the devil offers…destruction. Personally, I will take the written guarantee that Holy Father has given to us in his Word. If you agree, you must learn to speak words of love, kindness, life, blessings, faith, praise, thanksgiving. These are words of life in its fullness. Jesus spoke words of life and when we speak in agreement with His Word, we are speaking words of life, health, and happiness. Follow His example. Love to all.

ARE YOU ON THE RIGHT COURSE?

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ARE YOU ON THE RIGHT COURSE?

I am sure most of us like to travel and see beautiful sights, explore and find exciting things. The great USA has a lot to offer as an example. I have seen a lot of this great country, not as much as I would like but I am still alive and who knows. When we travel we must take a certain course to reach a certain destiny. In order to become a born again believer, a person must take a certain course to reach that destiny. My question today is, are you on the right course? Let us look at some Scripture in order to help you determine if you are on the right course.

JAMES 3:2-5 NIV 2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. 3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

Are the words you speak directing your life? I can assure you that the Bible says they are. What you say determines what you get in life. It did for the people of Israel. And the Bible says the things which happened to them are lessons for us (1 Corinthians 10:11).

I’m sure that many times the words you speak may in a joking manner or they may be said without thinking. Jesus said you will have what you say. He is telling us that the words we say set the course of our life. I want to point out a real important lesson regarding what you speak. For example if you curse someone, for whatever reason, the devil can take those words and use them against the person and against you. Another example is you speak negatively about something or someone, it will most often become a negative situation because the devil is out to cause trouble in any way he can. Satan uses our words to attack us. If you pray for someone or something and implement any negative words with your prayer, it most likely will not have a positive effect. Satan is looking for any way to destroy your faith or belief in God and he does so through the words you speak.

In what form you express or believe your words, the power behind them will drive you to your destination very quickly. The Book of Proverbs on several occasions calls a person a fool that cannot control their tongue. Words spoken by your tongue express your beliefs and release authority in your life. This works for everyone, whether they realize it or not. Now that you know this truth, act on it. Ask the Lord to help you always speak the right words to steer your life to victory. Love to all.