“Our Daily Bread”   

http://odb.org/2012/11/12/at-risk-for-the-savior/

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                                  

http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht

Ephesians 4:29… Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.  (NKJV)

I earnestly believe that always speaking like the Apostle Paul tells Christians to speak in this opening scripture, is one of the hardest things for Christians to be able to do, on a day in and day out basis…  I still fall short myself, in being able to open my mouth in a way that will show the love of Christ in my heart to those around me, all of the time…

Since God is love; and God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are One in the same (John 14:17-18, 20), then the Christian that is filled with the love of Christ, is also filled with the Holy Spirit…

The Apostle John writes this next piece of wise scripture, toward the end of his live, in…1 John 4:8… He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  (NKJV)  …To know God like the Apostle John writes about in this scripture, is to have the Holy Spirit indwelt by God, into the heart of a sinner at the time they become part of God’s family as a Christian…

There is only one way a Christian could even begin to be able to speak edifying words even most of the time…much less all of the time…  They must be so totally consumed by the power of the Holy Spirit, that His love controls their thoughts and their speech… The natural man is just not wired to respond to adversity with love, in his own feeble strength…

A prime example, would be how we as Christians respond to someone we steadfastly disagree with… In our own weak flesh, we would tell them they are wrong, and that we are right… And the tone of our speech would probably be filled with pride, because of our arrogance…  Now let’s for example, say that we end up being wrong… Do we admit our mistake and apologize ??  For me, this would be extremely hard to do without the power of the Holy Spirit instilling love and humility in my heart, mind and soul…

Jesus Himself teaches us this, in…Matthew 15:18… “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.”  (NKJV)

So if you’re a Christian, show those around you that you indeed have the love of Christ in you heart, by never responding to a difference of opinion with quarreling or disrespect…2 Timothy 2:24… And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, (NKJV)   And if your wrong, don’t be afraid to humbly admit your mistake…

My Grandmother Myers taught my two sisters and myself from a very early age, this teaching scripture written by the wise Solomon, in…Proverbs 15:1… A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.  (KJV)

And if by chance you happen to be right…just keep your gloating to yourself…  Responding with a prideful remark will not be showing the love of Christ that Christians are called to be filled with…  God has given the sinner pure grace when He chose to forgive them of their sins (Ephesians 2:8-9)…  As a Christian, by saying nothing if your right, you are responding as Jesus did to you; and you will be imparting “grace to the hearers”…

Humbly admitting when we are wrong, and not gloating if we are right, is not an easy thing to do…  But if we as Christians just stop and “think Jesus”, as I call it…before we open our mouths with anything other than words that will edify those we are speaking too; and we listen to what the Holy Spirit is urging us to say or do, and obey Him…we will put a smile on the face of our Father in heaven, as we spread the love of Christ to those around us…

Heavenly Father, help all of Your children to be able to respond to those around us with words that will reflect the love of Christ in our hearts… Help us Lord, to brightly show the light of Christ to those around us, with everything we say and do…  As Your children Lord, help us to keep You first in our lives; and Spirit filled by confessing and repenting of any sins that we will make…1 John 1:9…  I pray for Your help Lord, in living our lives in Your will, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

written by bruce r mills