Monday, May 31, 2010

Planting Trees and Words

Matthew 12
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Matthew 12:43b

LET IT GLOW
Doing God's will reassures me that I am a part of His family. Not only is
Jesus my Savior, He is my brother and I am His sister. We have a
relationship where we talk and listen to each other. What a blessing.

LET IT GROW
I had a little elm tree growing in my flower bed that had to go so I
could plant petunias there. So I dug a hole in the yard and planted it.
Every day I water it, but leaves keep turning brown on it. Did I wait
too long to transplant my little tree? Will it live and grow into a big shade
tree? I hope it wasn't moved too late.

My words are like that tree. I can say (plant) them too late for them
to produce encouragement (leaves). As timing is important for
transplanting trees, so is timing important for my words spoken.
They can be too late to do any good.

Jesus said a lot about words:
  • the mouth speaks what is in the heart
  • a good man, good heart, results in good things
  • an evil man, evil heart, results in evil things
  • every idle word spoken will be given an account of

The Blackabys said in their devotional book, Experiencing God
Day-By-Day, "Idle words are things we say carelessly, without concern for their
impact on others. James cautioned believers to be "swift to hear, slow to speak, sow to wrath."  Christians should speak only words that uplift and bring grace to others. (Ephesians 4:29)"

LET IT GO
Evaluate whether my words build up others or whether they destroy or hurt others.  Say encouraging words at the right time and not too late.

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