Word for Today, The Power of Your Words
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
I'm struck by the contrast of how sharply different words
affected the lives of two different people mentioned in the
story below, but I'm much more deeply affected by the words of
Eugene Peterson when he writes about how much he's been schooled
and trained in getting his own way, and how that kind of thinking
tries to run his life, yet how he's managed to surrender that
kind of thinking and struggle to love others, even as he stumbles
about, even failing.
My friends, I've failed in love, too. There have been times when
I've desired to love, yet I've tried to love out of my own
effort, and I find myself failing, over and over again. Yet I
believe in the power of love, and I believe in the power that
God's Holy Spirit has to empower me and each one of us with His
Spirit, renewing and reviving us each day and throughout the day.
I'm grateful for the cross of Jesus Christ, which takes into
account my dismal failures and demonstrates to me that I am
deeply loved, fully accepted, and completely forgiven. Because
of His great love for me, like Eugene, I am able to choose love.
Moreover, because of Christ, I'm able to seek the will of God
because God's Spirit is never far away, "For in Him we live and
move and have our being..." (Acts 17:28a, NIV).
Your Brother in Christ,
Brian
[WFT] Sun 22 Sep 02 - The power of your words
WORD FOR TODAY by Bob Gass
Word for Today <wft@frater.net>
22 Sep 2002
The power of your words
" LET YOUR SPEECH AT ALL TIMES BE GRACIOUS "
COLOSSIANS 4 : 6 (AMP)
Think your words don't matter much? Think again! Consider these
two stories:
One day in a small country church an altar boy accidentally dropped
the communion wine. The priest immediately slapped him and said,
"Leave, and don't come back!" That
boy became General Tito, the brutal communist dictator who ruled
Yugoslavia for years.
In a big city Cathedral, another altar boy dropped the communion
wine. His Bishop turned to him and gently whispered, "It's okay. Some
day you'll be a great priest." That boy grew up and became
Archbishop Fulton Sheen, whose sermons touched the hearts of
millions on US national television.
Your words either build people up or tear them down. Solomon says,
"There are those who speak rashly like the piercing of a sword, but
the tongue of the wise brings healing" (Proverbs 12:18 Amp). Know
what? What comes out of your lips reveals what's in your heart, and
all your "I didn't mean its" don't change that one bit!
Eugene Peterson writes, "Every day I put love on the line. There's
nothing I am less good at. I am far better in competition than in love;
far better at responding to my instincts to get ahead, than at figuring
out how to love another. I'm schooled and trained in getting my own
way. And yet I decide every day to set aside what I do best, and
attempt to do what I do very clumsily - open myself to the frustrations
and failures of loving, daring to believe that failing in love is better
than succeeding in pride."
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Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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