Sacred Words by Rocky Fleming

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”  John 1:1-2 (ESV)

In this Christmas season wouldn’t a gift that our Savior wants from us, to be the gift of good words that we pass on to others?  Good words are a gift to the listener.  Most of us agree with this.  They are also a gift from Jesus to us, which is the Gospel.  That’s why it is called Good News.  Do the good words to us from Jesus pass through us to others, or are they bottled up for our own consumption and not others?  Jesus spoke of where good and bad words originate in us.  They begin in our heart and what we have stored up there.

“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

Words, whether they are good or bad, reveal the spiritual condition in a person.  Remember this, for it will guide you when bad things are spoken to or about you.  How you choose to respond to bad words will keep you safe or lead you to the dark place they originated in another person.  If we are not careful the words inspired by darkness in the hearts of those who attack us will invite us to join it if we return insult for insult. Do whatever you can do to avoid joining it, for where it leads is dark and evil and hopefully the people who attack you will one day understand and be delivered from it.

Like most people I can be roused if the wrong button is punched. I must guard against that vulnerability. Even so there will come an orchestrated effort by evil to bring me into its darkness, and I must have my go to plan to go to. That plan is to bless rather than curse, to lift up rather than put down, to remember who I am and WHO I serve, rather than having my identity redefined by the dark words of another person.  As a member of the “royal priesthood” don’t we want to maintain our spiritual dignity as God’s child, and not be drawn into the darkness that invites us to join it? When we put it that way, we see how our witness for Christ can be best served by what we do not say, and that we choose to speak with grace and dignity rather than insult.

Words can tear down or build up. They can inflict pain or healing. Words can merely inform, or they can transform. A good teacher will agree with this, and surely a pastor who speaks for God would see the serious responsibility with his words to represent God well. If not, he speaks words darkened by envy, fear, or personal ambition. One can know the condition of a heart like this, and it would be best to avoid him.  If the Fruit of the Spirit is not being shown in this person, the Holy Spirit is not in his words or heart. Remember what Jesus said, “By their fruit you will know them.” (Matthew 7:15-20) and “of the heart his mouth speaks.”

God asks His children to be stewards of what He has entrusted to us, and the top of the list are our words. Why do I say this? It is because we can do so much good with words, but we can also do much bad with them.  As a steward of what God has entrusted to us, we must consider Him first with our words. Do we navigate life by considering first that our life should be about God’s glory and His purposes? Do we consider that when we are tempted to slander or gossip or bear false witness against a person? Can those words bring God glory? Of course, they can’t, and our words can’t be reclaimed after they go out.  What words do you want to go out of your mouth or say in other ways THAT BRINGS GOD GLORY and blesses rather than curses?  Do we consider that we embrace the Accuser’s voice and become an instrument in his hands when we slander another person? Do we consider that we murder the name of a person because we follow the Accuser’s lie? Do we ever consider the judgement we bring on ourselves, and the accounting we will have before the Lord, in this lifetime and the one to come?  How can we face Him when we tear people down, especially a fellow believer? How can we judge another when we don’t really understand them or take time to get to know them and discover their burden or their heart?  We cannot, and that is why we misjudge others most of the time, for we neither know the facts or are blinded by our own flaws.  If we did, we would understand that God is very displeased with His children when we join the Accuser in slandering others. But here is the good news:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory,

glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Over two thousand years ago the spoken word of God became flesh. The Incarnate Word of God was born in that manger in Bethlehem and His name is Jesus.  The Incarnate Word is pure and holy and His Spirit lives within a follower of Jesus.  As a disciple of Christ, do we reflect His characteristics, His ways, His grace, His kindness, and tenderness, or do our words sound like the Accuser? We all make mistakes with our words, and God is willing to forgive us if we repent and ask Him for His forgiveness.  Go to Him and ask for it if you have hurt others with your words.  Then go to the one you have wronged and ask for forgiveness from him or her. Bless with your words and mend the break, and God will be delighted in you. Finally, as we approach a new year let us begin afresh with the use of our words. Let us build up rather than tear down.  Let us shut the voice of the Accuser over our life and listen to the voice of Jesus.  Then our words will show that Jesus is indeed living in our heart, and our heart is good.

Merry Christmas my friends. May God bless you and keep you. 

Your brother,

Rocky