SPEAKING WISELY - THE FRUIT OF OUR LIPS & HOW FRUIT SPEAKS
(6-2024 by Carol Scheitlin)
Words are powerful. Words can be hurtful or they can be healing, building, restoring and actively blessing.
This is Carol Scheitlin of New Life Expressions. This month I’d like to speak about the words we speak. Do our words reflect the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit Who lives and dwells within us?
Are we speaking of God’s love, life, healing, truth, faithfulness and joy with patience goodness, gentleness, meekness and self-control?
If our words aren’t matching up with these qualities, there’s HOPE.
Let’s talk about it...
THE RELATIONSHIP FACTOR:
The most vital relationship is the one we have with God, our Savior. One thing that distinguishes the God of the Bible from all the world’s false “gods” is that our God is a God of relationship. He desires a loving relationship with us, His creation. And through Jesus, the way has been made for us to be saved, to be filled with His Spirit, to be brought into an awesome and wonderful relationship with Him.
The HOPE I speak of is found in the relationship with our Savior Jesus, Who loved us so much that He gave Himself for us. He died on the cross to fully pay the penalty for all our sins.
Have you received this love of Messiah Jesus? Are you assured that when you breathe your last breath here on earth, that you will go to Heaven and have eternal life forever with the Living God?
The Bible says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
When, in our hearts, we believe and trust in Jesus, and receive His free gift of salvation, we have the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. HE produces the good fruit within us. The Bible tells us that this good fruit of the Holy Spirit is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
God made us to be in relationship. He equips us with this good fruit so our relationships prosper.
God has made us to be nourished, first and foremost, through a relationship with Him.
God has also designed us for relationships with each other. Especially within His church body, we can be blessed with beautiful Godly relationships -- to grow us, strengthen and encourage us together in His love and in His Word.
God uses the various relationships in our lives to refine and shape us to be more like Him, so we can bear much good fruit. It’s a process. We’re growing, being pruned and refined. It may not always be easy, but He is working in us, and through us, and will help us every step of the way in all our relationships.
THE HEART FACTOR:
The Bible says: “ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth GOOD; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.
"For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)
In this Scripture, God’s Word reveals to us that our speech is connected to what’s going on inside our hearts. Our words expose what’s really inside of us.
Our own hearts can sometimes deceive us into thinking that we are doing pretty good, that we are all right, and that all is well. But our spoken words so often expose our weaknesses. What is really within us, what we may be thinking in our hearts, or struggling with deep inside – our fears, our anxieties, our hurts, our pain - so often comes out in what we say.
For example, bitter words may spill out from a heart that is carrying pain – a heart that needs Jesus. A bitter heart needs healing and help. Jesus is the only One Who can heal those deep inner wounds, free us, and give us NEW hearts.
“..if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)
Jesus is the Answer.
Jesus can heal hearts and hurts. He can remove hardened hearts, prone to sin. He alone can give us NEW hearts that beat for Him, that look to Him, that abide in Him. Then, the words coming from a heart that He’s redeemed, healed, renewed and revived can more easily overflow with words that reflect HIS heart, His grace, His love, mercy and faithfulness.
THE BAD FRUIT OF OUR SINFUL NATURE:
It has been said that:
“A careless word may kindle strife,
A cruel word may wreck a life,
A bitter word may hate instill,
A brutal word may smite and kill.”
The Bible says that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21)
The main problem is that we are all born with a sin nature. We all fall short of walking and speaking perfectly. In the heat of the moment, we may be tempted to blurt out things that are careless, cruel, and even brutal. It’s something we need to be diligently guarding against. Words spoken carelessly not only can hurt our witness, but also hurt the body.
May GOD’S Word speak now to us.
“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
Do not incline my heart to any evil thing..” (Psalm 141:3-4a)
What can we do when we are tempted to speak too quickly and unwisely?
Stop.
Pause.
Pray.
Ask God for help.
Taking even just a few seconds to say a quick quiet prayer before we speak abruptly can help prevent strife, and all kinds of bad consequences.
Ask God to help. Memorize that Scripture verse, and watch what God will do.
If you are the one being hurt by unkind angry words, pray to God for wisdom as to how you should respond. Pray to God to show you how not to get entangled in angry or heated words. Proverbs 15:1 says: “A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Be wise. Remember those specific Bible verses that can help your situation.
And pray for the people in your life whose speech may be harsh. Pray that God will open their hearts to know His salvation & receive His healing, His peace, His joy and the love that only Jesus can provide.
Speech matters. Words affect lives. GOD’S Words bring life, wholeness, fullness, healing, and blessing. You can look to His strength to defeat the power of any sinful tendencies.
Let’s take a look now at the GOOD FRUIT of LOVE that GOD produces, and the Hope we have.
THE GOOD FRUIT OF GOD’S LOVE:
Think of these verses from GOD’S WORD:
“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a)
Only God can produce this kind of love within us and within others.
For it is GOD’S LOVE within us that:
- will enable us to be kind and patient,
- will guard our heart and our lips so we won’t speak unkindly or carelessly,
- will help heal hearts, build and restore Godly relationships, heal marriages,
- will help us to forgive others.
Only in Messiah Jesus, can we have this kind of victorious love.
His heart of love within us will lead us to speak wisely and helps us to guard good relationships, especially within the body of Christ. (Ref: Matthew 18, regarding going to a brother or sister directly to resolve things when conflict or misunderstandings arise.)
God’s love doesn’t speak evil. It doesn’t sow discord. It doesn’t plant seeds of divisiveness.
Love forgives, prays for, speaks and believes the best, trusting that GOD is able “to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us..” (Ref: Ephesians 3:20-21).
Love perseveres.
It keeps praying,
keeps loving, keeps trusting,
and doesn’t give up on GOD.
GOD never fails.
God’s LOVE never fails.
THINK ABOUT YOUR LIFE AND YOUR SPEECH RIGHT NOW. Think about your relationship with God, and your current relationships with others. Is God bringing some situation or a relationship to mind at this moment?
Here’s my prayer: Help each of us Lord. We thank You now, Lord, for the victorious power, Your victorious love, and the anointing of Your Holy Spirit - given to us as a gift. May we receive Your gift, and speak Your Words of truth, life, blessing and peace to others, directed by the heart of Your love within us. Remove any bitterness that we may be holding in our hearts. Forgive us for any time that our words may have hurt others.
May we seek to build relationships and build up our family in Christ, in gentleness - caring for those who may have failed us, forgiving in our hearts those who have wronged us. May we spur each other on to love, God’s grace, and unity. We repent of times when we have spoken unwisely or carelessly. Help us to look to You to heal hearts, heal marriages, strengthen good relationships. Give HOPE to those who need it.
Lord, use our mouths, from this point on, to speak of You, to speak healing Scriptures, to prioritize Your love and Your Salvation. Bring each person in our families to come to know you Jesus. Reconcile hearts. Help us to always walk in forgiveness. In this way, we show Messiah’s love to many others. Keep us pure in heart and speech dear Lord, for Your honor and glory. We pray these things in the powerful Name of our Risen Savior, Messiah Jesus.
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”
(Psalm 19:14)
“Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul
and health to the body.” (Proverbs 16:24)
Thanks for visiting. Visit this website next time for a message entitled: "TOSSING OUT THE JUNK FOOD: 3 GODLY GOALS FOR A GREAT SUMMER RESET"
Want to know more about a relationship with God?
If your identity is not found in Jesus - If you don’t know Jesus, you can know Him! A few quick things to help you get started:
- Pick up the Holy Bible and start reading! (The Gospel of John in the New Testament is a great place to start!).
- Click HERE to find out about God’s FREE Gift of Salvation.
- Get connected to a solid church where the Bible is taught. Book by book, verse by verse teaching, is a great way to gain rich understanding!
- Turn from darkness and the bondage of sin, and trust Messiah Jesus to give you life and make you NEW in Him!
Carol Scheitlin is director of New Life Expressions, writer, author, and blogger. She has served short term on various outreach missions around the world, long term in engineering and manufacturing businesses, and for many years directed a worldwide outreach. She loves encouraging people to see Messiah Jesus throughout the Scriptures – and to know God’s awesome, perfect and sacrificial love. Only through HIM can we know this deep love, and have real hope, victory - and New Life!
Carol has written 12 books, being published over time. The first two books, "Let the House of Aaron Say", and "I Will Bless Those Who Bless You" are currently available on Amazon. Book #3 will be available, Lord-willing, in the upcoming months.
For more info, quick links to order books, check news, the latest resources and updates, click HERE for News & Updates.
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