The Power of Words

The Power of Words

So over this past week, one thing that has completely consumed my mind is this, how much power do words have? How much can words do, what affect can they have, how much power truly is behind words?

I heard a quote Friday night which really only made me think about it all the more, Dick Iverson said that, “Your life, rather a success, or a failure, will be lead by your words.”

This was huge to me, because earlier in the week I was having a pretty good conversation with a friend about how our confession can determine the outcome of a situation, rather for good or bad. If we get into a circumstance in life and say, “Oh, I’m going to loose, it’s hopeless” you are probably going to loose, because you have a wrong mindset and are already putting out a statement of defeat; but when you declare that you are going to win, well that changes everything.

Why is it that so many people struggle to control what they say? I read in a book once that, “the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire” I love how they compare words to a forest fire, because that is how gossip tends to work.

Words have so much power! Take a look at the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Equal rights were finally given to a people because one man wasn’t afraid to stand and speak up; and on the other side of the table, take a look at World War 2, it was started over 1 mans rhetoric…

I know personally this is something that I’m working on; it is so easy to say something bad that can hurt people. You have no idea what your words can do to someone, that’s why it is so important to watch what you say. People already tend to have a problem with being insecure; you don’t need to add to that…

Well, I think I’ve said enough on that, so I’ll end it with this, a letter from James to, “the twelve tribes”

“Controlling the Tongue
Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.
True Wisdom Comes from God
If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.”

Be Blessed!!!

Value

Value

So the other day I was thinking if I died today, if something happened and tomorrow didn’t come, would my life leave an impact? I started to think about all the things I do, and everything I’ve done, when I came to realize that the question isn’t if you’ll leave an impact, the real question is what kind of impact you will leave.

Everyday we make decisions that affect other people, but how often do we go out of our way t help people, even if it is inconvenient to us? How often do we give something that will actually cost us something? How often do we help people?

I know at Capital, and especially at the gym, I see people who are just barely holding on. They don’t know how much they have left, where to go, what to do, and everything inside of them is telling them to quit. When I see that, I take the initiative to go over, ask how they are doing, I’ll generally tell few jokes, hang out with them for a few seconds while trying my hardest to get them to laugh or smile, then wish them the best and say goodbye. I do this because I know what it feels like to feel like you’re all alone, and that none cares. It’s called being afraid and insecure.

Problem is, so many people are afraid, and even more are so insecure that if they don’t have someone beside them cheering them on, pushing them every step of the way, they will feel as if nothing really matters, and that they should just quit. You don’t need a huge fan club; all you really need is Jesus. Now as cheesy as that may sound, guess what, it’s the truth. You can have all the money in the world, all the fame, the cars, the house, everything this world has to offer, and still feel like nothing. Think on that for a second.

We live in a society that screams that if you don’t have everything, you’re nothing, when that isn’t true at all, it‘s absurd really. Do you really think that that car can make you happy? Do you really think that once you’re married, all your insecurities will just be a thing of the past? Not the case, you need to understand that if you don’t find your true worth, your identity, what gives you your value, you will never have peace. The reason why I do what I do is because want everyone to experience the peace, and the clearness of mind I have.

How can a man be at peace when he doesn’t have everything, or complete control? The man finds peace when he comes to the understanding that this life isn’t all about him; that he isn’t made to have control of everything, and that even if he wanted to, he could never have complete control. So he approaches every situation in life taking them as they come, and he doesn’t worry, or stress, because ultimately, neither change a situation. He does not care that he doesn’t have everything in life, because he understands that objects don’t bring happiness, or value, to a person. The most important thing for the man is this; he understands that he will not be remembered for what he had, but for what he gave; so everyday he makes it his main goal to serve people, and to honor the king.

Who is the king of your life?

I live for Christ, no secrets here…

Galatians 2:20
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

I end with this, an old saying, “If a man doesn’t live for something, he will die for nothing.”

What are you living for?

Fruitless

So today at work, a friend of mine was talking, and I said something that caught her off guard. I said, "I'm not religious, I can't stand religion."

This kind of struck her as odd, and she replied, "See Dan, that's what I don't understand, you're so discipline, and religious, but you hate religion. How does that even work?"

I looked at my friend and simply replied, "I have a standard, that doesn't make me religious. I don't live the way I do because I have to, nobody forces me to live like this… it's because I want to." She was profoundly confused, and didn't know quite what to say to this.

How can a man believe in God, live a certain way, and not be religious? When someone hears the word religion, they usually automatically think rules. I don't do anything I do because I was told I have walk and talk a certain way, I choose to live the way I do.

I don't look at porn, because I don't like to degrade woman, and lust after another man's wife… What is so weird about that? I don't drink because all you are doing is poisoning yourself, and I value my health, I also like to be in a clear state of mind. I don't swear because people only swear when they can't think of anything intelligent to say, and I don't like looking like a fool.

So in the end, I must say people are confused, you don't have to be religious to have standards!!! And when it comes to being religious, I am anti-religion, because it's against my relationship. I don't live out of rules and guidelines; I live out of love and relation. And for the record, what even makes someone a Christian? I hear so many people say, "I'm a Christian." yet they drink like everyone else, party like everyone else… how does that even work? All I have to say is this, a tree will be known by its fruit. I don't care what you say, let's see some action.

What Might have Been

What Might Have Been


In life unfortunately, sometimes we find ourselves looking back and wondering what might have been. It’s a hard thing looking back at a situation knowing that you could have made it better, but didn’t choose to take any action.

I’m not talking about a situation were you might have, or might not have been able to make a change. I’m talking about the time you knew you could do something, and you knew you could make things better, or that it would have been awesome, but you never took action.

I know for me, there are a few situations in life where I totally dropped the ball, now I’m wondering, we do we set ourselves up like this? If you know you can help, or make a change, and you know it won’t hurt you, why wouldn’t you?

Why do we let fear hold us back so many times in life? Why not do something, what if this could change your life, if it’s the thing that will help you break through, or advance on to the next level? Why hold back? If you’ve already assessed a situation, and know that there really aren’t any huge consequences, if any, than why not? The dream you don't fight for, could haunt you the rest of your life.

I guess I’m just thinking out loud… I can tell you this much though, I’m inspired not to hold back, I’m tired of saying what if, or thinking about what might have been. Get out there and “Do”. Don’t just say something, make a change.

Perceptions

Perceptions

So the other day, I heard someone talking about perceptions. He said how we let our perceptions throw us off, and how many things aren’t always the way we perceive, then it led me to thinking about how sometimes we have preconceived ideas that cause us to miss out in life. Which ultimately led me to thinking about how we perceive life, and value.

It’s unfortunate how our perceptions and preconceived notions can actually cost us in life. So many times we say, “I don’t know if can go on.” When there is so much left in us. We think, “I don’t have anything, or anyone.” When there are many people who care for us, and we have more than we really need.

The problem most of the time isn’t that we are lacking something; it’s that we are insecure, and have forgot how to be content. So many people, especially athletes, come out and say, “I can do all things, through Christ who strengthens me “but totally ignore the verses right before that in Philippians 4:11 - 12

Philippians 4:11 - 12
11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. #

I love how Paul comes out and says “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.” This is so relevant to society today, because we are never satisfied. We always want just a little bit more, enough is just isn’t ever enough; we need to learn how to be content…

Another huge problem is we have the wrong preconceived notions walking into situations in life. How can we expect to do well, if we are walking in with the mindset that we’ve already been defeated? Why do we act like we know everything that is going to happen? We let fear take it’s coarse in our lives, when the real question is what good does worry do for anyone?

Fear doesn’t change what’s happening, all it does is make you loose sleep, and makes you stress out. If something isn’t going good, worrying isn’t going to help, you need to “be the change you want to see in the world” if you don’t like a situation you’re in, change it. We need to be good at making the best out of every situation in life, no matter how bad it is, even when we do fail.

Failure is a part in growing, if you are too afraid to step out of your box, you will never do anything great in life. Failure lets you see what you can do better. Unfortunately, instead of taking a risk, we sit back and think, “Well if I screwed up…” and the consequences of failure run wild through our heads; and most the time, we make the consequences much worse than they are. If you are afraid of the horse, forget about going pro, or being bucked off, you’ll never get on the horse in the first place…

You’ve got to have the right mindset in every situation in life, and we need to realize that things usually aren’t what they seem. You’ve got to have an overcoming mindset, or else you will fall victim to fear, and to insecurities. What is driving you?

Psalms 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation—
So why should I be afraid?
The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
So why should I tremble?

Well ya, that’s all for now.

Be Blessed!

Distractions

Distractions

So I was just reading James, I love James and I read it a lot, when I started to think about Staying focused, and the Power of words. Lately we’ve been going through the series at Capital, and the main thesis is to go out and “Do”… or as Judah would say, “Don’t just say you’re a Christian, live it.” Then I started thinking, what stops people from going out and putting some action behind there faith? What kind of attitude do we have? What is our demeanor? How do we talk? What do we actually say, act like, and do when we go out and put some action behind our faith?

When looking at my own life, I can look at specific times, where I’ve gotten distracted. I spent more time in the gym then I did at the church I was doing an internship for during my second year there… What Happened? I lost focus, I took my eye off of the prize, and got distracted.

One of the biggest problems we see today is people simply get sidetracked. They say, “I’ll go out, and do that as soon as I’m done with work…” They get home and realize they didn’t do it, then say, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” Tomorrow comes and they say, “I’ll do it sometime this week.” Saturday comes, and they say, “The Pastor was just talking to the general public, he wasn’t actually telling me to go out and do something…” We need to learn how to prioritize. Which is more important, your hour of Bible study, or Lost? Which is more important to you, the Gym, or ministry? Which is more important, doing what the Bible says, or fulfilling your own selfish desires?

Now I’m not saying that everything you do should be centered around Christ, although it should, I’m simply saying that if you don’t prioritize correctly, you will never fulfill the purpose God has intended for your life.

Another huge question is our demeanor, and what do we talk like when we go out and “Do”? If you read James 3, The entire chapter is about the power of the tongue, and how we need to watch what we say. If you are going out, with the attitude of, “well I have to do this, better get it out of the way…” and complain while looking angry, how does that show the love of Christ?

Are we distracted? Have we become so self centered, that everything we do needs to benefit us in some way? Are we Selfish?


Colossians 3 8-17 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,# circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,# slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.#

Everything we do should represent Christ…

Well I’m challenged… God is Good!

Be Blessed