“Our Daily Bread”     http://odb.org/ 

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                                  

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

“Homily Grits Devotional”   http://www.homilygrits.com/ 

Colossians 4:5-6… Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. ⁶ Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.  (NKJV)

This opening scripture was written by the Apostle Paul, to the believers in the church of Colosse…  The Book of Colossians was known as one of the Apostle Paul’s “Prison Epistles”, along with Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon…because they were all written by the Apostle Paul from a prison cell in Rome (Acts 28:16-31)…

We know that the Apostle Paul was writing to believers, because he urges them to “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside”…  The outsiders were people not yet believers as Christians in God’s family…  The instructions the Apostle Paul was giving them, is still excellent instruction for believers today…  People, who are not yet Christian’s in God’s eyes, are constantly watching professed Christians, in order to find some kind of fault in their character…  We as Christians are to be visibly different than those still living in the shadows of darkness and sin, as part of Satan’s family… 

When Christians stoop to sinning, right along with non believers…they certainly aren’t the beacons of light Jesus urges all Christians to be, when Jesus says this, in…Matthew 5:16… “ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  (NKJV)

Glorifying the Lord in everything we say and do as a Christian, should be top priority in the life of a Christian who is living for the Lord (1 Corinthians 10:31)…  Christian’s, who are not living for Christ, will not stand out as beacons of light…

We see the Apostle Paul use the word “salt” in the opening scripture…  Salt, in Jesus’ time, was used to improve the flavor of foods eaten…and to also preserve meats and other food from spoiling…  Words of grace that were “seasoned with salt”, were words that would be heard by others, which would have a soothing or healing effect…  Harsh words of anger or vulgarity would not distinguish a believer from a non believer… 

I can’t help but feel that the Apostle Paul was remembering words spoken by Jesus Himself, when He spoke about believers and salt, as recorded in…Matthew 5:13… “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”  (NKJV)

Words coming out of a Christian’s mouth that don’t glorify God, are words that should not be spoken to begin with…  Jesus tells us that words coming out of our mouth defile our heart…Matthew 15:18-19… “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart proceed evilthoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”  (NKJV) 

And it’s not just words that come out of the Christians mouth, that show others the evil in their hearts and minds…  Today, I write primarily for the younger generation…in hope that some of them will see today’s writing, and think twice about what they speak; and what they post both in written words and other evil or lewd content, on the internet…  What I am sure most young adults fail to realize, is that once something is posted to the internet…it is out there in cyberspace forever… 

Company’s serious about hiring employees that want to train for bigger and better positions…will use the internet to search for possible employees with good moral and ethical standards…  When they see disgusting pictures and filthy language…I would be sure many would skip over such a person for the clean cut, Boy Scout type of employee…  My son David was an Eagle Scout…and I am sure it opened some doors to his better job offers…

And if you are a younger person, lucky enough to have a mother or grandmother still living…and they are on a social media network like Facebook…what do you think goes through their mind, when they see their immediate family disgracing themselves by posting lewd or ungodly words, pictures, videos, or anything else that God would look at and cringe ??  I speak about my own family here, as both of my sisters and dear Mother are professed “born again Christians”…and spend time on Facebook, keeping up with family activities…

I close today with much for some people to ponder…  These words written by the Apostle Paul, should be words that all Christians should consider, before opening their mouth with unkind words, actions, or deeds…Ephesians 4:29…  Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impartgrace to the hearers.  (NKJV)

Heavenly Father, controlling what comes out of our mouth can at times, be an impossible task…  I myself, still have not been able to totally tame my own tongue (James 3… http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jam3&version=NKJV )   I pray Lord, that Your Word would make a lasting impression on Your children who are failing at pleasing You in their words and deeds… I pray that all of us will try to do our very best to speak only words that will be pleasing to Your ears…  I pray that You help all of us improve in this area of our lives, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

written by bruce r mills