Understanding what the Bible says about our words and thoughts, blessings and curses and our ability (empowered by Him and His Word) to train are minds overtime to edit what we think about and say.

 

To Pray:

Psalm 19:14 “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Easy doable first step for anyone wanting to line up with God’s Word on this topic.   Pray this Psalm every morning and night and ask Him sincerely to renew your thinking and words.

Simple powerful prayer to pray….   Redeeming ALL of our thoughts and Words for the sake of the Lord and the Kingdom is a foundational principle and KEY to living the victorious Christian Life.

1.____Our Spoken Words are Powerful and can be used for good or evil__

Ephesians 4:15 “Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”

Main point:    A body can never act in unity if all of its parts are doing their own thing.   Kingdom Key:  We must in all things submit to God as Lord and head of our lives.                   The Most Common obstacle:  Self wants to be in charge.   We like to be in charge of our lives, our schedules and our resources and we enjoy using them (at least many of us do) to serve ourselves instead of being focussed on the Kingdom.

The Kingdom can only flow in a body of believers that has fully submitted to the Lord.   We can all readily understand how are physical bodies simply could not function if we had more than one head involved or worse yet, if each of our body parts was self-directed and their was no coordination between the parts.   My hand would be doing one thing, my feet going in differerent directions etc.. that would be bad enough.  But my internal organs would simply fail to function and life would cease before it started as it is the precise coordination of these things that allows for life.  Kingdom life is the same.. It cannot exist and thrive where the body parts aren’t tuned into and obeying what the head is saying.

Proverbs 10:11 “The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain”

Kingdom Key:   Words are immensely powerful, godly words produce abundant life,

In our discussion time, the question was raise, what does it mean to be godly?      This ties back into the above comments.  To be godly is to be tuned into all the time and to obey every instruction that comes from the head.  The body part cannot miss godliness if it is tuned into and acting only on the instructions of the Head (Christ)

Proverbs 12:6 “The words of the wicked are like a murderous ambush, but the words of the godly save lives.”

wicked vs godly….   murderous amush vs saving lives.

Proverbs 12:18 “Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing. “

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H4832&t=KJV

מַרְפֵּא marpêʼ, mar-pay’; from H7495; properly, curative, i.e. literally (concretely) a medicine, or (abstractly) a cure; figuratively (concretely) deliverance, or (abstractly) placidity:—(in-)cure(-able), healing(-lth), remedy, sound, wholesome, yielding.

Our Words can cut or they can heal….  as we get hold of these things, we find our speech transforming.  Sarcasm and other mocking tones and words fall away as we begin to get a hold of how restorative our words can actually be.

Proverbs 16:24  “Kind words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”

Same Hebrew word Marpay behind healthy for the body.

Proverbs 18:4 “Wise words are like deep waters; wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook.”

This imagery is so powerful… above we are told like a fountain (endless supply) and it was mentioned in our group time that this imagery is one of joy (bubbling brook).

2 Peter 1:19 “Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.”

the Bible is full of wise words and the words of the godly, but ones that have been tried and tested and purified to express the exact will of God.   The Word of God is an infinite source of wisdom and wise words that we can encourage one another with during every stage of our walk.   Yes, truly a gifts of knowledge or wisdom, the ability to hear the fresh mana from being able to rightly discern and hear the voice of the Lord today is awesome and to be desired.  But the words in scripture are available to all of us and can be spoken often amongst us to encourage us and bless us each one as we grow.

2.________________________________________________________________

Ephesians 4:29 “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”

Our part:  we are admonished not to use foul or abusive language.    Understanding the above verses motivates me to desire intensively for all my words to be good and helpful.

Easy doable application:   start small, set apart a window of time each day whether 5 minutes, 1 hour etc and monitor every word that you speak with this goal in mind, that they would be good and helpful to those who hear.

Ephesians 5:6 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”

There are many deception voices in among the body of Christ. 

1. The truth with a twist of a lie hidden in.   Going back, we talked about how the Word is powerful and works because in part of its purity.   If a taint is added, and the Word is changed, it is no longer the Word but a different tainted thing that lacks many of the attributes the original pure Word has.   It is not life giving, it is not Kingdom establishing, it does not uphold the biblical principles and often causes confusion, brings in justification of sin and lawlessness etc.  Galatians talks about how they had zero tolerance for anyone teaching a different/false gospel among them.    They guarded their ears from being exposed to these corrupted and false teachings as they understood the biblical principal that a little yeast spoils the whole lump.    
2. Very often this involves picking and choosing the parts of scripture that are appealing and full of promises and blessings but then omitting the parts that require sacrifice, self-denial, responsibilty, and cost.    Preaching a partial truth is a form of deceit and is a snare that is easily fallen into.   
3. Fear of man often keeps us from confronting in love those who are walking after their own appetites or who have been led astray by temptation.    More often than not, the number of false witnesses and those willing to back the worlds or human perspective on a situation, far outnumber those who are willing to take all their direction directly from the Word  of the Lord.   Just as only Joshua and Caleb believed God’s report over man, we must guard our hearts from seeking out the other ten spies who will lead us astray and away from God’s will and Word.

Proverbs 15:4 “Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”

This might be my own personal scripture of the year.   This reminder that a gentle words are a tree of life echoes the verse in 2 Timothy.   Perhaps this is an excellent back pocket verse for helping us deal with impatience, frustration, anger, self etc when dealing with the people that seem to break our peace and joy often.   

2 Timothy 2:24-25 King James Version (KJV) “24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;”

It is all of these elements together that seem to be effective and yet even when they are all there, it is still not assured that those who hear will come to repentance and to the acknowledging of the truth.   In a way, this is spelling out that in God’s way of thinking, we are to treat no one like a lost cause, and to recognize that it is not God they are opposing not us they are opposing but it is themselves that they are opposing by their actions.   It helps me to understand how God approaches me and can look on me with compassion in the areas that I am still ensnared and opposing myself and His Kingdom due to my inability to acknowledge the truth.

Proverbs 18:14 “The human spirit can endure a sick body,but who can bear a crushed spirit?”

Why is deceit the number one tactic of the enemy?    Because deceit has the power to crush a spirit and to murder hope.   A couple of things that stand out to me in this.   There is a very good possibility that depression and other forms of hopelessness are commonly rooted in the person suffering having a crushed spirit which literally saps the will to live.    This would be a valuable clue as to how to pray for and help those struggling with these kinds of tormenting thoughts and pressures.    If so, then the root cause it that somewhere in the heart of one suffering in this way is a lie, a seed of deceit that has taken root and has displaced a life and hope giving truth of the Word.   

If the lie can be uprooted and replaced with the truth, than healing would be sure to follow.   This is supported by the verse that says the perfect love of God casts out all fear….  and the torment that fear brings .

1 John 4:18 King James Version (KJV) “18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

Proverbs 4:20-24 warns us to guard our heart above all things because out of it are the issues of life.     Paul confirms this when he told them that their blood would not be on him as he shared with them the full message from God and had left nothing out.

Acts 20:25-28 King James Version (KJV)  25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.  26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.  28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

3.________________________________________________________________

Colossians 3:1-2 “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.”

Our part is significant here.  We might assume that are thinking and our actions will be automatically renewed when we receive Jesus.   The reality is, in many, or even most, possibly in some way all, the promises hang on us hearing and acting on our part.   SET YOUR SIGHTS… this means we must do this.  God will not do it for us.   We have to respond to and do something to accomplish our part.   If we are able, then of course, simply acting immediately on His commands is ideal.   If we are not able, then we must run back to God and ask Him to help us to even our part and to change our desires and abilities so that we can be enabled to do what we are called to.

The only way we have to become familiar with the things of heaven is through the study of the Word.  The Word tells us the ways of the Kingdom, the will of God and the realities of our new lives as citizens of the Kingdom, heirs to the promises, adopted children of God and new creations in Christ.  It is through the daily washing of the Word and the renewing of our mind via meditating on the Word that we begin to at first catch glimpses of, and eventually are thinking becomes completely renewed by and rewired by the realities of the heaven.  Praise God, their are testimonies of those who had this happen almost instantaneously…  Oh how I long for that to happen in my own mind.   But for many, it is a process, one of choosing immersion in the Word and in His ways.

There is an expression “You are what you eat”.    Most of us kind of get it that if all we eat is junk food and sugar, that our bodies will not thrive.    Secretly many of us have been planning to revitalize our lifestyles and sincerely take up exercise, sleeping the right number of hours, eating the right kind of foods because we believe that good health is in some ways a byproduct of the right kind of habits and diet. 

The reality is, our mental/soul health mirrors all of these elements.    Sleeping could be compared to time spent abiding in God’s presence and REST, the place where we can with confidence cast all of our cares and worries on Him.   A diet devoid of junk food and sugar could be compared with feasting daily on the Word of God and total avoidance of the things of darkness, of wordliness, etc.  Exercise could be likened to taking all of what we learn past the place head knowledge to a place of action, first in small ways, but as our faith muscles grow stronger, in greater and more intensive ways.     

It is hard on the flesh to deny self and do what is truly best for the flesh (as opposed to what feels good to it).    The motivation often comes when living with the negative side effects become more inconvenient than the effort it takes to change.  Knowledge can help motivate us long before that time and to get healthy and stay healthy long before we hit that other place.  I encourage you therefore to always keep your eyes on the conditionals in the Bible.  What are the negative consequences that will surely come from not lining up?  What are the wonderful blessings that will come if we do?  Let us therefore choose to stir up our thinking on the things of heaven and train our selves now to longer fixate on the things of the earth.

Hebrews 12:2 “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

Over and over we will see this need to abide in, keep are eyes on, to follow, to focus on the heavenly perspective etc.       Basically we are being told to keep things in a Kingdom perspective as our human perspective will inevitably fall short and mislead us.  Jesus knew the cross was the only means to the end He had come to accomplish and there was no way to bypass the pain and shame of it.    He Himself kept His eyes on the joy that would come from His great sacrifice.      To endure the moment, we too must look ahead and see what the Kingdom gain will be.

Disregarding shame is one of the hardest things for any human being to do.   When someone is “mistreating us” or speaking harsh words or casting judgements, looks, tone etc our way, we have this powerful reaction to these things spurred on by a deep sense of entitlement and indignation that anyone would dare to treat us that way.   This is in stark contrast to Jesus who was treated in the most humiliating and shameful way and yet He simply pushed the shame of it aside and endured the pain of it.    These are in fact some our greatest opportunities to reveal the Kingdom to someone who is hard hearted or hurting and unable to to stop themselves from the cutting remarks and cruel words and looks.   For someone to respond in meekness, in love, so secure in who they are that they have no need to defend themselves against such things but trust the Lord to be their redeemer even in times as this WOW.  This reactiveness and defensiveness has to die for the Kingdom to be fully expressed in and through our lives.

2 Timothy 2:24-26 King James Version (KJV) 24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive (fight); but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

Jesus understood that those in opposition to Him were really in opposition to themselves and that the only chance they stood was for Him to reveal the Kingdom realities to them by how He lived even in the midst of persecutions.    This is my present verse that I am meditating on and looking to the Lord to transform me in.

Philippians 4:8 “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

How do we endure?  Just as Jesus did.   We fix our thoughts (by meditating often and intentionally on the things listed in this verse) and rehearse in our mind what will be accomplished as we line up with the Word.   

 

4.________________________________________________________________

Ephesians 4:23 “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.”

How do we let the Spirit do this.  We ask for His help and tune our ear to His promptings.   When we fall short, we eat our humble pie and ask forgiveness from God and man.  We spend daily time in the Word and meditating on the Word.   We surround ourselves with others who are accountable to the Lord and seek out their encouragement and prayers.   We decide in our hearts to submit fully to God in all areas so when the correction comes, we can receive it as a blessing instead as an offense.  Pride flares and pricks at correction.  Meekness is a trait required to be renewed.

James 3:2-12 K“For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.  Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.  Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.  Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.  See how great a forest a little fire kindles!  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.  For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.  But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.  Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.  Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?  Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.”

KEY TO THE KINGDOM:  Our Words absolutely direct the course of our lives, be it for good or evil so taming our tongue is essential.

Kingdom wise, the battle for our tongue, our words is rather epic in scale.   If we have got self-control over our tongue, the rest of the ship etc will line up as our tongue is the director of our lives.    Letting the Lord renew our thoughts and words is absolutely essential for the Kingdom to be expressed in and through us.     Victory is rooted here which is why it is so very difficult to overcome.  The enemy knows this and therefore does all to use our thinking and our words against us.

 

Romans 12:2” Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Our lives can be so pre-occupied, so deeply running on autopilot of customs, routines, habits etc that we can forget that the rails on which we are running may or may not be helpful to the Kingdom.   To make room for God to renew our thinking and transform us we need to:

1. Set apart daily time to read the Word and pray (talk to God, and especially listen to God)
2. consider our ways and compare them with scripture.   Since we have a new identity, a new citizenship and and are part of a different Kingdom, it follows that are customs and habits will change.   When I lived in France, everything changed.  We shopped daily at the farmers market for our fruits and vegetables etc as we had a tiny little fridge and freezer.  Our routines were different because their routines were different. We ate our meals at different times.   We had to speak and change the way we acted (to my chagrin, what is considered normal courtesy and interaction here, communicates some entirely different to the French male population) as the memos our actions conveyed were perceived differently in that culture.   Kingdom wise for me, I have been systematically taking everything that we do, our use of time, our use of our resources, what we celebrate and  how we celebrate, our prioirities, the contents of our home, the traditions that were passed down to me etc and holding it up next to scripture and seeing if it belongs in the Kingdom or must be purged to make room for the Kingdom.  Very often there is a worldly substitute taking up mental or physical space in our time and energies that needs to be removed to make room for the Kingdom blessings and realities to be established in our hearts and homes.    Very often their are “giants” (things like fear of man, fear of death, unbelief, fear of sickness, gluttony, self-centredness, worldliness, pride etc )that need to be overcome and totally driven out before Kingdom peace and reign can rule in our lives.    Basically, the Kingdom will simply not come to those who are unwilling to conform to it’s ways. (Galatians 5:19-26)

Galatians 5:19-26 KJV “¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ²⁰Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. ²⁴And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. ²⁵If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”

Romans 8:26 “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”

I find this to be immensely encouraging.  During our chat, it was shared that some feel this refers to praying in tongues…  and others believe it is when we are so overcome with emotion that up out of our bellies come tears and sorrow on such a deep level that no words are adequate to express it.   It is so encouraging to know that in our weakness the Holy Spirit is right there makeig intercession for us through our pain and weakness.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G4726&t=KJV

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.  We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”

 

5.________________________________________________________________

Acts 7:38 “And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us.”

 

1 Thessalonians 4:18 “So encourage each other with these words.”

 

 

6.________________________________________________________________

Luke 10:17 “When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”

 

 

Luke 4:36 “Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!”

 

Proverbs 6:2 KJV“Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.“

 

 

7.________________________________________________________________

 Luke 6:43-45 ““A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.  A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

 

 

Psalm 55:10 “Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness within the city.”

 

Proverbs 25:28 “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.”

 

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

 

Proverbs 4:23 English Standard Version (ESV) “23 Keep your heart with all vigilance,    for from it flow the springs of life.”

 

8.________________________________________________________________

Exodus 4:10-12 “But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”  Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

 

Luke 21:15 “for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!”

 

 

9.________________________________________________________________

Matthew 12:36” And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.”

 

Psalm 50:19-22 “Your mouth is filled with wickedness, and your tongue is full of lies. You sit around and slander your brother— your own mother’s son. While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you. Repent, all of you who forget me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you.”

 

 

10.________________________________________________________________

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue,  And those who love it will eat its fruit. “

 

Romans 8:5-6 “Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.  So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”

 

 

 

11.________________________________________________________________

1 Corinthians 14:9  “It’s the same for you. If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space.”

 

1 Corinthians 14:15 “Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.”

 

 

Reminders:

Proverbs 23:12 “Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge.”

 

 

Common Blocks:

Be Mindful of Mental strongholds

• Mindsets, habits, cultural customs, family traditions, family traits etc, repeated patterns (ie reacting a certain way to a certain person, thing etc), automatic pilot

1.________________________________________________________________

John 13:2 “ So[it was] during supper, Satan having already put the thought of betraying Jesus in the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son” [The Amplified Bible]

 

2 Corinthians 10:4-6 King James Version (KJV)  “4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)  5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;  6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

 

2.________________________________________________________________

Deuteronomy 6:16 “You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah.”

 

Exodus 17:1-7 “At the Lord’s command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness of Sin and moved from place to place. Eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded.    “Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the Lord?”  But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”  Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!”  The Lord said to Moses, “Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you.  I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.   Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?”

 

 

Ephesians 5:11-12 “Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.  It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.”

 

 

 

Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.”

 

 

Jeremiah 3:14-15 “And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.”

 

 

 

Luke 12:1-3 “Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees—their hypocrisy.  The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all.  Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear!”

 

 

 

Proverbs 17:19 “Anyone who loves to quarrel loves sin; anyone who trusts in high walls invites disaster.”

 

 

 

Proverbs 25:23 “As surely as a north wind brings rain, so a gossiping tongue causes anger!”

 

 

Proverbs 26:20 “Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.”

 

 

Psalm 64:1-8 “O God, listen to my complaint. Protect my life from my enemies’ threats. Hide me from the plots of this evil mob, from this gang of wrongdoers. They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows. They shoot from ambush at the innocent, attacking suddenly and fearlessly. They encourage each other to do evil and plan how to set their traps in secret. “Who will ever notice?” they ask. As they plot their crimes, they say, “We have devised the perfect plan!”  Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning.  But God himself will shoot them with his arrows, suddenly striking them down. Their own tongues will ruin them, and all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.”

 

 

Psalm 101:5 “I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbours. I will not endure conceit and pride.”

 

 

Psalm 102:5 “Because of my groaning, I am reduced to skin and bones.”

 

 

Psalm 106:24-26 “The people refused to enter the pleasant land, for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them. Instead, they grumbled in their tents and refused to obey the Lord. Therefore, he solemnly swore that he would kill them in the wilderness, that he would scatter their descendants among the nations, exiling them to distant lands.”

 

Romans 1:29 “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarrelling, deception, malicious behaviour, and gossip.”

 

 

Titus 3:1-2 “Remind the believers to submit to the government and its officers. They should be obedient, always ready to do what is good.  They must not slander anyone and must avoid quarrelling. Instead, they should be gentle and show true humility to everyone.”

 

 

Titus 3:9-11”Do not get involved in foolish discussions about spiritual pedigrees or in quarrels and fights about obedience to Jewish laws. These things are useless and a waste of time.”

 

 

1 Corinthians 10:1-11 “I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground.  In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses.  All of them ate the same spiritual food,  and all of them drank the same spiritual water.  For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did,  or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.”  And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.  Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death.  These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.”

 

 

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Luke 12:11-12 “And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say,  for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.”

 

 

Luke 12:25-26 ” Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things? “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?”

 

 

Matthew 6:25-28 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life”

 

 

Matthew 6:34”Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

 

 

       Lamentations 3:23 “Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”

 

 

Proverbs 12:25 “Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.”

 

 

1 Peter 3:4 “But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.”

 

 

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Matthew 12:36 KJV “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”

 

 

James 1:19-21 King James Version (KJV)  “19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:  20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.  21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. “

 

 

Take Home Suggestions:

• Wind yourself up with Thankfulness every morning (thank God for 5-10 things) and at confess to God, ask for forgiveness and accept forgiveness for the things that popped out of your mouth that shouldn’t have each day. Pray for his help in the areas that you are having a hard time changing.   Then move on.  He will be faithful to your efforts and over time you will see things change.
• Start being aware of what you are inputting, which magazines you read, shows you watch on TV etc…. ask God to reveal to you if something is a bad influence and start (at your own pace) being more selective about what you are inputting.