Words of wisdom

Proverbs 11:9

“Evil words destroy one’s friends; wise discernment rescues the godly.”

Proverbs 11:17

“Your own soul is nourished when you are kind, 
but you destroy yourself when you are cruel.”

Proverbs 15:1

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but hard words stir up anger.”

Proverbs 15:4

“Gentle words bring life and health; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”

Proverbs 16:24

“Kind words are like honey-sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”

Proverbs 18:4

“A person’s words can be life-giving water; 

words of true wisdom are as refreshing as a bubbling brook.”

Proverbs 18:20

“Words satisfy the soul as food satisfies the stomach; 

the right words on a person’s lips bring satisfaction.”

Proverbs 20:15

“Wise speech is rarer and more valuable than gold and rubies.”

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Please join me this week in praying for God to give us positive, Christ-honoring language. Pray for wisdom and discernment. Pray that through our language, others will see Christ through us and be drawn to Him.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Encouraging words

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 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for God to give us positive, Christ-honoring language. Pray for wisdom and discernment. Pray that through our language, others will see Christ through us and be drawn to Him.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

OMG

Oh, my Lord.
Oh, my God.
Jesus Christ.
These should be said with reverence when addressing our Creator.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Exodus 20:7 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for God to give us positive, Christ-honoring language. Pray for wisdom and discernment. Pray that through our language, others will see Christ through us and be drawn to Him.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Emotional words virus

I love this image. It clearly shows how our anger and angry words spread to others. Our dispute may be with our spouse, but then each spouse may turn that anger onto their children who may turn their anger to their friends. It's true with other emotional speech as well. It's like a virus that spreads from person to person. Fortunately, the opposite emotions can be spread, also. A kind word, a compliment, can infuse positivity through the home, office, and other environments.
     Since I've been working on this where I've had the most difficulty in the past (at the office), I've already noticed a difference in others.
     One time my mom said "I don't like it when people say "Have a nice day." It sounds fake."
I said, "But, I say that."
She said, "Yeah, I know."
     Whether it sounds fake or not, I'll keep saying it because others respond to it; it makes them smile. Maybe those four little words spoken in the elevator will lift someone's spirits for the day and they'll say something encouraging to a co-worker who'll then be able to put a positive spin on a situation addressed in a meeting and all of those people, well, you get the picture.
     There are so many bible verses about our words which tells me it is something that God takes very seriously; so much so that we will be held accountable for it on the day of judgment.

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.”

Matthew 12:36-37 ESV

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, 

this person's religion is worthless.

James 1:26 ESV

Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Proverbs 29:20 ESV

For as long as I can remember, I had a banner in my bedroom with different colored happy faces on it (pink, blue, yellow) and a poem that I probably read about every single day. I still remember most of it, but had to look up the rest:

Begin the day with friendliness,
keep friendly all day long,
keep in your soul a friendly thought,
your heart a friendly song.
Have in your heart a word of cheer
for all who come your way,
and they will greet you too, in turn,
and wish you a happy day.

Have a nice day, my brothers and sisters in Christ :D

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Please join me this week in praying for God to give us positive, Christ-honoring language. Pray for wisdom and discernment. Pray that through our language, others will see Christ through us and be drawn to Him.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Like nails in a fence

Words have so much power that negative speech can render eternal damage. My daughters and I were victims of verbal (and emotional) abuse and even though we're no longer subjected to it, we still deal with the after-effects.
     When a child uses language to tear others down, we see him (or her) as a bully but when an adult does the exact same thing, they are sometimes seen as powerful, without the negative connotation, and that's just wrong. That type of harmful language can affect the entire life of the abused, their very path.

The people who I know who are "verbal bullies" seem to have a few characteristics in common:
- narcissistic
- spoiled or neglected as a child
- insecure
- angry
- prone to temper tantrums when they don't get their own way
- vengeful
- spiteful

One of my professors was like this and as a result, I dropped out of college and seemed to have no path or direction for years.
     A landlady sent my first husband a story about a man who, with every harmful word, drove a nail into a fence. When he did come to repent and removed the nails, the holes left by his words would never go away.
     The other side of this story though, was that she professed to be a Christian yet did not forgive. Forgiveness would have filled those holes, no matter how deep.
     We need to pray for those who speak harmful words just as diligently as we need to pray that our own words are pleasing to God.

“Telling lies about others is as harmful as 

hitting them with an ax, 

wounding them with a sword, or 

shooting them with a sharp arrow.”

Proverbs 25:18

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Please join me this week in praying for God to give us positive, Christ-honoring language. Pray for wisdom and discernment. Pray that through our language, others will see Christ through us and be drawn to Him.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Words and meditation

How did you do yesterday with your words? I did okay; not great. There were so many "opportunities" for negative comments that I just followed the advice of Thumper's papa, "If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all." However, it occurred to me that if I'm going to do this right, I need to also work on my mind and heart.
     This morning, I opened my list of relevant bible verses, and this one was the very first one:

Let the words of my mouth 

and the meditation of my heart 

be acceptable in your sight, 

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19:14 ESV

     How perfect. This will be part of my daily prayers while God helps me with this.

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Please join me this week in praying for God to give us positive, Christ-honoring language. Pray for wisdom and discernment. Pray that through our language, others will see Christ through us and be drawn to Him.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Pray for Christ-honoring language

It has been on my heart lately to do a better job of thinking before I speak. I've been paying more attention to what I say, and there are days when it's pretty negative. Some days it's gossipy. Some days I speak badly about others.
     We've been learning about Colossians in church and the lists of sins that Paul gives. Several are manifested in what we say. He wrote in Colossians 3:8 (ESV) But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
     "Obscene talk" isn't limited to cursing. (I've also learned that the "substitute" curse words still count as cursing, so I'm trying to watch that, also. Someone in my family used to say, "shoot, darn, heck, fire" which sounds harmless enough but the cursing is the reason or conviction that we're saying it for/with.)
     I was reminded of a sermon from 8 years ago; it touched me that much. The preacher spoke about just one verse: But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. Matthew 12:36 NKJV
     He told us to think about all of the negative things we say in a day. At the end of the sermon, he told us to be silent, close our eyes and imagine a world where we all only spoke in a way that was honoring to Christ. That means no negativity, no name-calling, no gossip, no tearing each other down. After a couple of minutes, someone from the congregation shouted out, "wow!"
     If you have two minutes this morning, do that for me and I'll do the same. Maybe through prayer and meditation, we can lift each other up and be a light to all those we come in contact with today. I would love to hear from you and find out what a difference it made.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, 

do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, 

giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for God to give us positive, Christ-honoring language. Pray for wisdom and discernment. Pray that through our language, others will see Christ through us and be drawn to Him.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @archadia27

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

A devious mouth

Put away from you a deceitful mouth,

And put perverse lips far from you.

Proverbs 4:24 NKJV

We speak what's in our hearts

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, 

and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, 

for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Luke 6:45 ESV

Seek peace

What man is there who desires life and loves many days, 

that he may see good? 

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. 

Turn away from evil and do good; 

seek peace and pursue it

Psalm 34:12-14 ESV

What comes from your mouth

It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, 

but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

Matthew 15:11 ESV

I've been watching what I say this week (more closely) and filtering what I'm going to say by thinking first and speaking second. I didn't realize how negative I can be! Just little things, but they still create an atmosphere around me that people pick up on. Example: when asked what I thought of lunch, I was going to say, "The service was slow." But, since I thought first, I turned it around to, "the food was wonderful." It's just that small little twist, speaking the positive instead of the negative that not only changes how others perceive you but also affects your outlook. You will have a much better day if you look for the good in people, situations, feelings.

I read a book about positivity several decades ago. It was excellent and I wish I still had it or at least remembered the title, but the one piece of advice that has stuck with me all of these years is take note while you're speaking...how many times do you say a negative word? How many times do you say: can't, won't, no, 'un'-words like unable, unwilling, unlikely, etc.? When I started noticing these things in my own speech, I was amazed at how many negative words I used. It's the 'glass is half-empty vs. half-full' of language. Plus, I discovered that when I changed how I spoke to include a positive selection of vocabulary, I genuinely felt better and happier. Give it a try. Let me know how it works for you.

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Please join us this week as we pray that our tongues be tamed and that our words are fitting of an image-bearer of Christ. I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

Rid yourself of these things

But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: 

anger, 

rage, 

malice, 

slander, and 

filthy language from your lips.  

Do not lie to each other, 

since you have taken off your old self with its practices and 

have put on the new self, 

which is being renewed in knowledge 

in the image of its Creator.

Colossians 3:8-10 NIV

Time for change

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.
Ephesians 4:29

I attended a church service several years ago where the Pastor preached solely on this one Bible verse. He closed with this thought:
Close your eyes for a moment and try to picture a world without unwholesome talk, no cursing or yelling, or cruel words. Can you imagine how different our world we would be?
Try to picture it. Try to do that with your own language; set that example for others. We need to build each other up instead of shaming, calling people out, berating each other. We need positive, healing language. It's time for a change. Be the change.

Paul continued with: Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
Ephesians 5:4

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Please join us this week as we pray that our tongues be tamed and that our words are fitting of an image-bearer of Christ. I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

The power of words

     I'm always in awe when I think about something specific and then go to Church the next day and the Pastor preaches about that exact thing. I shouldn't be surprised though since God is omnipotent. As we were praying last week for hearing, I ran into several Bible verses about speaking and anticipated making that the topic of this weeks' prayer. Additionally, I know several people who endure verbal and emotional abuse by loved ones and wanted to include them in our prayers this week, also.
     Yesterday, the Pastor preached on James 3:1-12 about words and about taming the tongue. It was if God was telling me, "Write more specifically about this." I got goosebumps!
     I'm sure we all have experience with someone who consistently tears people down with words, and hopefully, we all have experience with someone who consistently builds others up with words. What we have to be concerned with is our own tongue. Be diligent about speaking with love. Don't gossip. Refrain from cursing and slanderous language.

James writes:

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.

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.

James 3:9-10

Have you ever visited another part of the country and within a couple of days find yourself speaking like the residents of that area? You start imitating their dialect and word choices without even thinking about it. By the end of the first week, you're saying "warsh" instead of "wash", or "soda" instead of "pop" just by being around others who speak a certain way. Think of the difference we as believers can make by simply watching what we say! Tame your tongue and others will follow.

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Please join us this week as we pray that our tongues be tamed and that our words are fitting of an image-bearer of Christ. I'll post daily reminders on:
twitter @7DegreesOfMe
instagram @archadia27
facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power