Since the beginning, God’s representatives on the earth – his sons and daughters – have always been given the mission of establishing a godly or heavenly culture on the earth. Jesus reaffirmed that principle when he taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” What we need to understand is that through Christ, the Father is now restoring us to the position he always intended his children to possess.  “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).  As God reigns, we too have been given the authority to reign.

As believers, however, most of us do not understand the position and the authority we have been granted in Christ. We tend to see ourselves as mere men and women who differ from the unsaved only in that our sins are forgiven. The psalmist said, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov.23:5, KJV).  What we believe about ourselves typically defines our lives.  A positive, biblical view of ourselves and our abilities opens doors for achievement while a negative view of ourselves and our abilities sets limits on what we accomplish because we will not attempt to achieve more than we believe about our own capacities. The truth is that we walk in much more authority than we perceive and our words carry much more weight than we imagine. 

One of the enemy’s primary strategies is to convince God’s children that even though they are saved and forgiven, they are still worthless, incompetent, weak, broken, powerless and, in many ways, displeasing to their Father.  He convinces them that the wholeness, joy, competence, and glory promised to them is only available after the funeral. Spirits of accusation, condemnation,  rejection, and shame and work tirelessly to keep God’s children from walking in their true identity.

Many Christians are limited by the belief that although they are saved, they are disqualified from doing anything significant in the kingdom of God. They see themselves as prisoners rather than princes and orphans rather than royalty in the household of God.  They have no perception of themselves as highly loved and favored and sense no authority or power in their lives at all. They are literally in bondage to shame and rejection and their shattered identity keeps them from fulfilling a destiny that has already been bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus.

Since they feel that they have no standing, no power, and no authority they believe that their words have no more significance than they do. Therefore, they are typically careless with their words and certainly do not use their words and authority to bless others or resist the evil one.  Our words reveal our hearts.  Jesus said,”Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Mt.12:34). What we believe about who we are and who Jesus is determines our words to a great extent. If you are angry, bitter, insecure, wounded, fearful, feel victimized, and so forth, your words will reflect the beliefs that underlie your self-image. They will be negative, pessimistic, accusing, critical, and demeaning – towards others or yourself.

We have been redeemed to reign and our words carry great power for good or for bad.  They have prophetic power so that the words we speak will begin to create that future for us or for others. Remember the sobering words of Jesus when he said, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Jn.12:34). Thankfully, even our words are under the blood of Christ, but the verse tells us how serious God is about our words.  If he is that serious, then we should be as well. James tells us, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be” (Ja.3:9-10). Make up your mind to be a blessing and to speak blessings. Ask the Holy Spirit to help.  You matter greatly and so do your words.  Direct their power wisely.

The Book of Genesis reveals God’s original intent for his creation. His intent was to endow mankind with heavenly authority by which men and women would rule the earth on their Father’s behalf. If you carefully scan the language of the first two chapters of Genesis you will see that purpose confirmed. God gave Adam, Eve, and their descendants a mandate. He commanded them not just to be fruitful and multiply but to also rule overthe earth and subdueit (Gen.1:28).  To subdue something is to take dominion or establish authority over that thing. David declared that God crowned man with glory and honor and set him to rule overall the works of His hands (Ps.8:5-6).  Mankind, as represented in Adam and Eve, was crowned so that those made in God’s image might rule over the earth.

God’s original intent, then, was to create man, give him the position of a son or a daughter of the King, and then to place “his children” on the earth to rule as their Father’s representatives.  Ancient kings often gave their grown children territory to rule as lesser kings who were still subject to “the great king.”  Even in the days of Jesus, King Herod only ruled over Judea at the pleasure of Caesar. He was granted his rulershipas “king” as long as he represented the interests of Caesar well.  When it came to actual sons and daughters, the idea was to train them to rule just as their father would rule if he were present. They were his representatives who ruled their territories with his permission and authority.  At his death, one of his heirs would then be prepared to rule the greater kingdom as his or her father would have ruled it and to finish the works and campaigns their father had begun.

Of course, our Father will never die, but he still gave Adam, Eve, and their descendants authority to rule over this planet in his name and to carry out his directives. The intent was that man, in close communion with the Father, would rule just as the Father would rule. I imagine that God spoke to Adam and Eve of such things during their evening walks in the Garden of Eden in the same way that Jesus often spoke about the Kingdom of God when he walked with his disciples.

While on this earth, Jesus perfectly represented God in his character and purposes.  In the gospel of John, we find these two quotes. “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (Jn.5:19),  and  “For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it” (Jn.12:49).  These two quotes embody the idea of a representative who re-presents the one who sent him.  In essence Jesus assured us that he did and said what the Father would do and say if he were physically present on the earth.  He summed it up when he told Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn.14:9). Ultimately, we want to be able to say, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Son.”

Because we represent Jesus on this planet, we should speak only as he would speak in any given situation.  Even our words should be submitted to the direction the Holy Spirit.  Because our words have authority to mobilize the spiritual realm, as we speak we will be setting things in motion that will either support the purposes of God or resist the purposes of God.  We will either be aligned with Christ or with Satan.  In many cases our words will either constitute blessings or curses.

In Ephesians 4:29, Paul instructed the church to let no unwholesome talk come out of their mouths but only that which is good for building others up.  The word unwholesomemeans anything that promotes death, weakness, or decay.  If we demean, speak failure, or speak disaster over others, then we have sinned. James is clear that we should only be sources of blessing and never a source of cursing…even regarding our enemies.

A curse is any language that carries a sentiment that does not affirm, build up, or encourage another person. It is a sentiment that embodies judgment and condemnation.  John tells us that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:16-17). Salvation imparts life. Our words must do the same in every circumstance.  So we are to discipline ourselves to make every word a blessing.  Yes…even at home behind closed doors.

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.   James 3:6.

In his letter to believing Jews, James devoted twelve uninterrupted verses to the tongue and the evils of ungoverned words. Our words are powerful and significant. Our Father’s words created an entire universe. We are made in his image and have been given authority by Jesus himself. Our words matter and they have consequences. The phrase that caught my attention in the verse above was “it (the tongue) corrupts the whole person.” The word translated as corrupts also means stains or defiles. The idea of corruption is linked to death and decay. Our own words, then, can trigger spiritual, emotional, and even physiological processes that defile us, stain us, and sow seeds of death and decay within us.

Listen to what Caroline Leaf says about the impact that our choices and even words can have on us physiologically. “Epigenetics is essentially the pathway by which our body takes a signal from the external world (food, events, circumstances) and internal environments (thoughts) and turns them into a set of chemical, electromagnetic, and quantum instructions for our genes. Thus, through our thought and lifestyle choices we can create either a very healthy or very toxic environment around our cells” (Caroline Leaf, Think and Eat Yourself Smart, Baker Books, p.147). Words are external expressions of our thoughts and have tremendous impact on even our physiology. She goes on to say that toxic thoughts, words, food, relationships, etc. throw off our biochemistry and compromise the health of our bodies and our brains and we become much more susceptible to disease (death and decay).

In addition, other research around the world has documented the effects of words at a molecular level. Dr. Masaru Emoto, a Japanese researcher, has discovered that crystals formed in frozen water reveal changes when specific concentrated thoughts and words are directed toward them. He found that water from clear springs and water that has been exposed to loving words shows brilliant, complex, and colorful snowflake patterns. In contrast, water exposed to negative thoughts and words forms incomplete, asymmetrical patterns with dull colors. We all know the proverb that says the tongue has the power of life and death. Science is now confirming that truth as not just figurative language but literal.

Our words, coupled with faith, are the primary arsenal we possess for spiritual warfare. With words we command healing. With words we drive out demons. With words we pray and direct heaven’s power to specific situations. With their words the prophets declared the word of God over men and nations and in doing so released that word to fulfill its purpose. With words storms have been silenced and the dead have been raised.

All of that is amazing but we must also remember that words establish curses. Jesus cursed the fig tree and it died over night. Joshua declared a curse over anyone who would rebuild the walls and gates of Jericho and many years later we are told that the sons of a man who did rebuild the gates of Jericho died because of Joshua’s curse. With our careless words we can curse others and ourselves with real consequences. In his letter to believing Jews, James went on to instruct these men and women to be a people who disciplined themselves to speak only blessings over others (both friends and enemies) and over themselves.   As believers who also walk in the authority of Christ, we must do the same. It makes a difference in every dimension of our lives and the lives of those to whom we are connected. that has been exposed

Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk from your lips. Proverbs 4:23-24

The “heart” is the innermost part of our being. It is where our deepest beliefs and convictions reside. They color and flavor every experience we have and every thought produced by our intellect. Scripture often alludes to the heart and tells us to keep watch over it or to guard it.    In the proverb quoted above, Solomon called the heart the wellspring of life. The word in Hebrew means the beginning place or source like a spring from which a river flows. So for us, our heart is a source of life from which everything else flows.

Biblically, it is hard to define the heart when it is used in this context. It is much more than love or emotions or feelings which we assign to “ the heart” in our culture. It is more than the brain or even the subconscious although the Bible tells us that we believe in our hearts. It simply seems to be the depository of all that we truly are. Some of what is there is beyond our perception so David prayed and asked God to search his heart and to show him if anything that offended God was operating in his heart. We are told that even Jesus resides in our heart. So there is a spiritual dimension to our hearts, a faith dimension, and a character dimension. Out of all that, our life flows strong and clear or trickles out like a polluted stream.

What we speak affects our hearts. According to Solomon, any choice to speak perverse or corrupt things affects our hearts. Paul tells us in Romans 10:9-10 that if we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord, we will be saved. There seems to be a connection in that verse between our speaking and our believing. God has created us in such a way that the things we speak get written on our hearts. But there is a cyclical process that also occurs for Jesus tells us that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Mt. 11:34). What we speak repeatedly becomes established in out hearts and then what is in our hearts comes forth in words – especially in unguarded moments. What we store there by the words we speak then reinforces the beliefs or attitudes or desires that are there so that the heart reproduces itself by prompting the words we speak.

Solomon tells us to guard our heart, which is the wellspring of life, by putting away perverse and corrupt talk. Perverse talk is twisted or distorted talk. It is talk with a spin. The devil is a master at spinning a lie so that is sounds like the truth or a plausible explanation. It is the kind of language that deflects blame to others and always justifies the one speaking. However, Jesus tells us to let our “Yes” be “Yes” and our “No” be “No.” He calls for strait talk because when we begin to speak half truths and put spin on our stories to justify ourselves or to hide our own failings in the matter, then it is only a matter of time until we begin to believe our own lies. It is only a matter of time until we begin to minimize or justify our sins rather than confessing them and repenting so that God’s grace and the blood of Christ can cover our sin. If we excuse our sins, then God cannot. If we blame others for our decisions, then he cannot forgive.

Corrupt speech again carries the idea of lies and deception. It is speech is that promotes death. Corruption is decay and decay is evidence of death. Satan is called Beelzebub – the lord of the flies. Flies are drawn to corruption. Ultimately, corrupt speech is speech that disagrees with or opposes God’s truth. Jesus said that his words are Spirit and they are life. The word of God produces life and health. A word that is in opposition to God’s truth produces death and decay.

Whatever we agree with we empower and speaking something brings us into agreement with whatever we spoke. If we speak as God would speak, then we come into agreement with him and empower his word in our lives as we deepen its presence in our heart. If our words do not align with God’s truth, then we are coming into agreement with lies and the father of lies, the devil. We then empower him to operate on our hearts. To guard our words is to guard our hearts and to guard our hearts is to guard our lives. Words matter.

Ask the Holy Spirit and those closest to you, to make you aware of any of your words that are not aligned with God’s truth. When you discover those words simply repent, align yourself with the Father, ask the Spirit to cleanse those lies from your heart, and then begin to speak God’s truth in the matter until that truth is your automatic response. Then you will know that your mind has been renewed in that area and God’s word then will be your words and will begin to produce the life the Solomon points us to.

This is the third part of a short series on our capacity in Christ to impart life and blessings to others through our words. I want to say again that because, as believers, we have been given authority to represent or re-present Jesus to the world, our words are much more than sentiments hoping that God will be kind to someone. Our words literally direct the power of heaven because we have been commissioned to go and do what Jesus did. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (Jn.14:12-14).

Jesus modeled the life that every believer is capable of living by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus came to reveal the Father to us. Remember when he told Philip that if anyone had seen Jesus he or she had seen the Father. That is the definition of representation. The question then is simply how did Jesus operate as a representative of the Father while he was on the earth in the flesh. We know he lived a perfect life and loved everyone. But most of his representation was accomplished through his words as he directed the power of heaven.

When he said, “Be healed,” the power of heaven was released into a person’s body and God’s will was done on earth, in that body, as it is in heaven. He released the freedom of heaven by his words when he commanded demons to “Come out!” He overcame untimely death with his words when he commanded the dead to “Come forth.” He stilled storms that were putting lives at risk when he declared, “Peace, be still.” The words of the Son of Man who was representing the Father directed the power of heaven. Jesus had been given a commission by the Father. He spoke of that commission when he said, “The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon be because he has anointed me to preach good news …bind up the broken hearted…set captives free” (Luke 4). Where there is an anointing there has already been an appointing or a commissioning. God doesn’t commission men and women without giving them authority and power to carry out the assignment. Jesus understood his authority and the Father’s willingness to back him up and so he fulfilled his commission, primarily through the words he spoke – prayers, declarations, and commands.

We are now the representatives of Jesus and have been given a commission to go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus has commissioned us to go and do what he did in his public ministry as the Son of Man. We too are to heal, to bless, to set free, to calm the storms of life, and so forth just as he did. Like Jesus, we will do most of that through our words as we direct the power of heaven and the presence of God into the lives and situations of others.

Now…like all things in the kingdom, our words must be accompanied by faith in order to move heaven. We should have faith in the authority of our words because of what Jesus has done for us and because the very presence of God lives in us as the Holy Spirit. Peter tells us, “Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God” (1 Pet. 4:11). Peter’s command suggests that our words should be purposeful and intentional and that we should be aware of the authority attached to them. When we say to someone, “The Lord bless you,” we should fully expect a blessing to be released to that person because we have directed that blessing. When we say, “Be healed,” we should fully expect the power of the Spirit to be released and for healing to occur because we have directed that healing. When we command, “Come out,” we should fully expect the angels of God to enforce our command because our words direct the power of heaven.

If the tongue has the power of life and death and we are to be dispensers of life, then we can expect God to make good on our representation of his Son as we administer his grace to those we encounter. This position is, of course, a great privilege and a great responsibility. We should not be a people who are careless with words or a people who feel that our words are merely sentiments. We are to be intentional dispensers of life – God’s love and blessings – in this world and he has appointed us and anointed us to do so. When we speak, we must speak as we believe Jesus would speak in that situation and have faith that the Father will move to re-present his son through us. Have faith that he will and see what happens. Our words of faith that reproduce what Jesus did while he was on this earth bring glory to both the Son and the Father and all of heaven is poised to do just that. Speak life and expect heaven to move. Be blessed as you bless others.

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21

We are continuing to look at the power we have to impart life through our words. We can do so primarily because we have been given the authority of Christ to establish God’s will on the earth and we do so by directing heaven’s resources with our words. God’s original intent was to rule earth through his servants to whom he had given dominion over the earth. That dominion was lost through the sin of Adam but regained through the cross of Christ. In Christ, we have been given authority to take back from Satan what was stolen. We will do that through our words expressed in prayers, declarations, and commands. For the most part, it is how we will establish God’s kingdom on earth. God’s kingdom is a kingdom of health, life, freedom, and blessing and our words have the power and authority to release those things on the earth.

Most of us understand the dynamic of prayer. When we pray, we simply ask God to set things in motion in the spiritual realm to create an effect in the natural realm. Our prayers may be long and specific or short and general. We may ask God to give favor to a person for a specific job he or she is pursuing or we may ask God to heal a specific hurt or disease. We may pray for safety for a person we care about as they travel or ask God to anoint a teacher as he or she steps to the podium. We may also pray for God to open a specific person’s heart to the gospel.

When we pray these things, we either anticipate angels moving invisibly to influence people or situations or we anticipate the Holy Spirit operating in someone’s heart. By faith, we expect God to respond to our words uttered in prayer and activate power in the spiritual realm. These kinds of prayers constitute blessings or positive outcomes in the life of the person we prayed for. As representatives of the Father on earth and ambassadors of Christ, we have heavenly authority to direct the power of heaven toward an earthly situation when we ask according to the Father’s will. When we ask things that are revealed in his word and consistent with his will, we are acting within the parameters of our assignment. When we have a scripture to stand on and declare that scripture in our prayer then the word of God has also gone out from our mouth to fulfill his purposes – on earth as in heaven.

We often think of prayer as a time when we get alone with God and enter into a time of worship, thanksgiving, and requests. But a prayer can also be as simple as a phrase like “Bless you.” If we have the authority of Christ to direct the attention of heaven, then short blessings as well as declarations over people and situations can move the Lord to establish positive outcomes in the lives of people and over situations. He responds to the authority he has given us. What we often carelessly say as a sentiment, truly has the power to direct blessings if we have faith for that.

A prayer based on the written word of God and his promises can be powerful, but a prayer based on a rhema from God can be even more powerful. A rhema is a fresh word from God for a specific situation and if he has told you what to pray for or how to pray for something specifically, you can pray with exceptional faith. Paul tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom.10:17). The “word” referred to in that particular passage is rhema ( a fresh, spoken word from God) rather than logos (the written word). When we ask God how he wants us to us to pray in a certain situation or what he wants us to speak or declare over someone and we hear him, we can be absolutely certain that our prayer will be answered and as our prayers are answered in powerful ways, our faith will grow in exceptional ways. When we ask God what he wants us to say or declare we are partnering with him and he has effectively put his word in our mouth. Too often, we fail to remember that God has chosen to do much of his work through us and much will be done based on our words.

Elijah received a rhema word from God after a three and half year drought in Israel during the reign of Ahab, the wicked king. The Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land” (1 Kings 18:1). Following a confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is a sound of heavy rain” (1 Kings 18:41). Elijah then climbed back to the top of Mt. Carmel and began to pray for the rain God had just promised. Was that a lack of faith or something else? Perhaps, he was also declaring over the drought what God has just spoken to him. Even after a promise and a revelation that rain was at hand, it seemed that God waited on the prayers or declarations of Elijah to activate the promise. It’s as if God stored the promise in heaven, but the words of his servant pulled the promise down to earth.

John Wesley said that God does nothing until his saints pray. That may be an overstatement but it is not a great overstatement. God honors our dominion over the earth and so leaves much of what he will do in our hands. That is more responsibility than many of us want but it is also an honor and a privilege. Think how much more God would do on the earth if every Christian believed that his prayers and declarations were required before God would move and so every believer was diligent in prayer and declarations. If only a small percentage of believers understand the power they release through their words, then God is only doing a small percentage of what he is willing and desiring to do in the earth. When we believe our words don’t matter, then Satan has won a great victory.

More in Part 3

We all know the scripture that says, “The tongue has the power of life and death…” (Prov. 18:21). It seems that discussions or writings about that verse seem to focus on the “death” part or curses established by our negative words. I want to focus on the “life” part for my next few blogs.

Life may be imparted through our words in various ways. In general, any statement that has the intent of bringing positive, life-giving outcomes to a person or circumstance can be seen as a blessing. As followers of Jesus, we have been commanded to bless those around us – even our enemies.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Matthew 5:44

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:8-9

But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. James 3:8-12

As those who represent the Father on earth, we are to represent his character. The first impulse and desire of God is always to bless. In the famous chapter on blessings and curses for Israel in Deuteronomy 28, the Father listed the blessings first because that is his desire and his first impulse. In the same way, he told Balaam who, for a price, was wanting to place a curse on Israel, “You must not place a curse on those people, because they are blessed” (Num.22:12). God wants to bless until our continued, unrepented actions force him to do otherwise. Our first impulse should also be to bless.

Jesus took it even further when he said, “Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you” (Lk.6:27). He also told us, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven” (Mt.5:43-45). To be sons of someone is to have the same character as that person. If we are to have God’s character we will love even our enemies, pray for them, and bless them.

There is a time for discipline and judgment but it always comes after a prolonged refusal to repent and it comes in the perfect measure that only God can know. Even when God’s judgment is required by the actions of men, it has a redemptive intent. Initially, God calls men to repentance through his kindness (Rom.2:4) and we are to be dispensers of that kindness through our spoken blessings and prayers for blessings. God calls us to represent his grace to others and leave any judgment to him. Peter tells us, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God” (1 Pet. 4:10-11). The exercise of our spiritual gifts and the words we speak are to be outlets of God’s grace to not only the church but to the unbelieving world around us as well, so that the kindness of God may bring men to repentance. As a representative of Christ, walking in his authority, your blessings actually direct the good intentions of heaven toward a person.

Just the presence of God brings blessings because there is no other experience in heaven. After David became king over Israel, one of his first acts was an attempt to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. As you recall, David did what seemed right in his own heart without consulting the Lord, the word of God, or even any priests who should have known how God had commanded the Ark to be moved. It was only to be moved by consecrated priests carrying it by poles inserted through rings on the sides of the Ark. David, however, placed it on an oxcart to move it to Jerusalem and in an awkward moment when the oxen pulling the cart stumbled, a man named Uzzah touched the Ark to steady it and died because of his “irreverent act” (2 Sam.6:7). Out of fear and uncertainty about how to move the Ark safely, David parked the Ark at the house of Obed-Edom. Remember that the Ark carried the presence of God and after three months it was reported, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the Ark of God” (2 Sam.6:12). Simply the presence of God created an atmosphere of heavenly blessings or shalom – health, protection, provision, peace, etc. We too carry the presence of God.

Jesus instructed us to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven and when we pray or declare a blessing over someone, we are asking heaven to come to earth in the life of that person. As believers, each of us are to be Arks, carrying the presence of God and extending blessings to the atmosphere around us. The decision to be a person who always speaks life and blessing over others…even when they do not return the favor – makes Jesus very attractive to people as he is seen in us. Our commitment to extend the atmosphere of heaven around us alters the atmosphere wherever we go whether it is in the home, the office, or on the basketball court. If there is anything that would make God’s people stand out in this world, it would be our commitment to speak life and blessings over every situation and person we encounter. If that is not your habit, try it this week and see what happens in your heart and the hearts around you.

But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matt. 12:36-3)

This little verse out of Matthew makes most of us swallow hard. We do so because we know we have said things impulsively in anger or in arrogance – sarcastic, demeaning, and cutting. We have lied or at least put a bit of “spin” on things trying to make ourselves look better in an awkward moment. At one time or another, we have all been a microcosm of the election ads and debates that have infuriated or embarrassed us the last six months.

In a world of words that fill the airways, we loose sight of their importance. The abundance of words fools us into thinking that they don’t matter or that they have no eternal consequences. Matthew’s quote from Jesus would push back against that notion.

James, the brother of Jesus said, “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (Ja.1:19-20). Obviously, ungoverned tongues are not just an issue of our day. Proverbs is full of admonitions about our words, even to the point of declaring that our tongues have the power of life and death.

Ungoverned words reveal the depths of our hearts. That is why the Lord says that by our words we will be acquitted and by our words we will be condemned. God does not look at the appearance of a man but looks at the heart. Jesus said that out of the mouth comes the abundance or overflow of the heart. What pops out in a moment of stress, frustration, pain, or even lust reveals something that is in our hearts – not everything that is there, but something that is there.

Years ago, I had said something to another person that I regretted. In my explanation, I said, “I don’t know where that came from – that just isn’t me.” Another person who was listening in on the conversation said, “Yes it is you, because your words come out of the abundance of your heart.” I was embarrassed and even a little angry at the rebuke, but I couldn’t deny it. I believe the enemy had prompted my words but only because he had found a small voice already in me that he could amplify. Ultimately, I took his rebuke to heart and dealt with the issue. Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

The constant drumbeat of the New Testament is to speak life and blessing over others – even our enemies and, yes, even those affiliated with the other political party. That allows God to continue to sit in the judgment seat rather than us. The constant commitment to speak well of others and to bless them with our words becomes transformative for us. Eventually the darkness in our hearts is pushed out by the goodness we express toward those around us. Even as believers, each of us has two natures – what Paul refers to as the spiritual man (the redeemed part of us) and the natural man (the flesh). The natural man is demanding, self-centered, arrogant, fearful, angry at times, blaming and prone to gossip. That is the part of us that Satan taps into, magnifies and reinforces. As we grow in the Lord, that part of us diminishes and shows up less and less. If that part of us shows up very often, we need to get busy growing in the Lord because that part of us is destructive.

Paul reminds us, “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap destruction, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal.6:8). In the parable of the sower, Jesus compares the Word of God to seed that is sown, takes root, and bears fruit. Our own words are seed as well that can take root and bear fruit. If our words come from the flesh (natural man) they will bear destructive fruit. If they come from the Spirit, they will be life-giving fruit. God cares about the fruit we bear.

Words of life and affirmation reflect the heart of Jesus and create an atmosphere where unity can form and thrive. The great divisions in our country have not been healed by the rhetoric spewing out of the candidates and those who support them. In many cases, their words have taken root and produced the fruit of even greater division and bitterness. The same can happen in our own relationships because of words we speak. Slander and accusation is the language of hell not of heaven and Satan can take the seeds of destruction we have carelessly sown with our words and water them so that they bear a great deal of negative fruit.

We need a nation and a church that turns to speaking life instead of curses over one another. God will eventually honor our choices and if we choose to sow to the flesh with our words, then God will eventually allow us to harvest the fruit of destruction. If, however, we choose to become people who speak blessings…even over our enemies, God will bless us and give us the life and peace that we crave.

I know that many of us have spoken hurtful and even sinful words so long that they have become automatic. They are such a part of us that we aren’t even aware when we speak them. When I say sinful words I don’t mean “cuss words” as much as critical words, gossip, and slander that we fall into at the office or even over lunch with a friend or spouse. Biblically, gossip is listed right there with murder and adultery and yet we often participate in it without thought because it is so natural – from the natural man. A wise person will begin to ask the Spirit and good friends to alert them to those moments when he or she is speaking anything other that words seasoned with grace and life over any person or situation. Once we are made aware of our automatic patterns, we can repent and let the Spirit of God begin to change us.

Our God is a God of words who spoke the entire universe into existence. We are made in his image and that suggests that our own words have power for good or evil. Our words can be a curse or a blessing. God tells us to be a blessing. Paul challenges us when he says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Eph.4:29).

Today is Election Day after one of the most divisive and demeaning campaigns in history. There will be ample opportunity to sow to the flesh today and to speak evil of all kinds of folks. But Jesus says that we will have to give account for those words. So today, let’s be the exception and speak life and blessing even over those who would curse us. Let’s sow to the Spirit and not to the flesh today and be instruments of healing rather than those who keep inflicting new wounds. Be blessed today and may we all, myself included, speak the language of heaven at every opportunity.

From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him. Proverbs 12:14

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. Proverbs 13:4

The two passages above from the Book of Proverbs should be a point of reflection for every believer. They both relate to blessings and prosperity in the life of an individual – especially an individual in a covenant relationship with God. I have often spoken of the power of our words in this blog and the first scripture above relates directly to that. Most of us are convinced of the value of hard work in producing financial blessings and provision. There are numerous proverbs that attest to that truth and the truth that laziness leads to poverty. For the most part, if you work hard you will prosper and enjoy the fruit of your labors. But the above proverb also speaks about the fruit of our lips.

The idea that our spoken words produce fruit is an important concept in a world where talk is cheap and abundant and people are incredibly loose with their lips. And yet, scripture attests to the fact that our words produce consequences. As the Word of God is compared to seed that grows, our own words possess that dynamic as well. What we speak bears fruit in both the natural and spiritual realms.

In the natural, our words prompt either positive or negative responses from those around us. They can engender trust and draw people to us or push people away. Our words also establish ways of thinking that get physically imprinted on our brains (neural pathways) so that we tend to see life through the mindset we have established. If it is a positive, faith-filled mindset then we are in a good place. If it is a doubt-filled, bitter, and pessimistic outlook on life then I will simply not see the blessings of God that come my way. Our words have great power in establishing those neural pathways that become our filters for life.

Thoughts will come to us from a number of sources – our own subconscious, the world that is trying to seduce us, the Holy Spirit or even the devil. Each of these sources introduces thoughts into our minds. When we have a thought and express it in words, we come into agreement with that thought. Whatever we come into agreement with, we empower. Whatever we empower, wields great influence in our lives. Even in the natural world, our words produce fruit that we will have to live with.

But beyond the natural, our words produce fruit in the spiritual realm. Because we have authority, our words activate the spiritual realm to fulfill the words that we speak. When our thoughts and words focus on our brokenness, we inadvertently come into agreement with Satan and he empowers those words to produce even more emotional brokenness within us. Our words are seeds that produce fruit after their own kind.

When a couple begins to throw around words about divorce and the failure of their marriage, they open the door for the enemy to come in and produce the fruit of those words. On the contrary, when we speak life over our marriage, faith over our children, provision over our finances, health over our bodies, and so forth, then those words bring us into agreement with the Father’s promises and that fruit begins to be borne in our lives.

The second proverb quoted above is also interesting. It relates diligence to the richness, not of a bank account, but of a man’s soul. Diligence is constant, thorough work. The constant, thorough work that brings richness to a soul is time in the word, prayer, obedience, and a constant conversation that agrees with the thoughts and promises of God. The fruit of conversation that is seasoned with faith and the truth of God’s word is a rich soul that then produces increased faith, peace, and health for every believer.

John offers an interesting prayer in his third letter that relates to this principle as well. “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers” (3 Jn.2). John tells us that our provision (finances and relationships) and health are directly related to the condition of our souls. A healthy or rich soul depends on diligence in feeding our spirit and in speaking life giving words over others and ourselves – words that agree with heaven, not with this world or with hell. As our soul is enriched and prospers then even our health, relationships, and provision will increase as well. God has established a direct link between our richness of soul and our prosperity and health.

When we are in alignment with the Father, we choose and speak words that agree with his truth and promises and those words bear fruit in our souls, which, in turn, determines our words which the bear more fruit. It is a spiritual cycle represented in nature – the seed produces the plant which produces the fruit which produces more seed which produces more plants, more fruit, more seeds, etc.

As an external manifestation of the condition of our soul, we will experience health, peace, loving relationships, financial provision, favor with men, and so forth because words that pour forth from a healthy soul will engage heaven in producing those things in our lives.   Be vigilant with your words – those you speak over others and yourself – because every word is a seed that has the potential to bear sweet, nourishing fruit or rotten, poisonous fruit in our lives. May you prosper today even as your soul prospers. Blessings in Him.

As most of us already know, a person’s identity shapes the life of that individual in powerful ways – for good or for bad. What we believe about ourselves either releases us to walk through life in confidence or shackles us with a sense of impending failure. What we believe about ourselves either makes us secure in ourselves and in our relationships or insecure in ourselves and our relationships. Our identity or self-image allows us to anticipate being loved and accepted by others or keeps us from believing that others can ever love us – including God himself.

We could go on, but most of us are well schooled in the ramifications of self-image. Sense the 1960’s the world of psychology, counseling, and education has emphasized the issue. However, the world has failed in its efforts to create positive identities in children through participation trophies and schools without failure. They have created children who have not discovered who they are through struggles and they have not attached the values of hard work and achievement to the idea that each child is “special.” This model of making sure children never lose at anything, fail at anything, or miss out on anything has created a generation of spoiled children incapable of being productive, resilient adults who are eventually forced to live in the real world.

In one sense it is true that every person is special and certainly valuable. Every individual on the planet is made in the image of God and has been made for a unique purpose with unique gifts and temperament.  However, the idea that we get rewarded just because we show up or just because our name was on the roster (even if we didn’t show up), violates God’s law of sowing and reaping – you get out of something what you put into it.

That principle is one of God’s great inventions. It is a principle that operates in both the natural and the spiritual realm. It teaches us the value of good decisions, the pain of bad decisions, excellence in what we do, and the destructive nature of sin and laziness. Without this principle we are like individuals with severe neuropathy who have no feeling in their feet. Without feeling, those men and women can’t enjoy the pleasures of hot water or soft clover nor can they feel a piece of glass or a thorn pierce their foot. Without the pain, they won’t know that injury has occurred and that treatment is needed. Infection may set in and a minor injury can become a major health crisis. Bad decisions that produce hurtful consequences send a message of pain to the brain and we have the potential to learn to avoid a bad decision the next time – maybe even a soul-threatening decision.

The positive self-image model currently exercised in America is based on performance rather than on who a person is. The assumption that losing a game or receiving a failing grade will destroy someone’s self-esteem is simply wrong. Self-esteem comes from the discovery that who I am and my value is not based on performance (or the illusion of performance), but on being a child of God and the character that identity instills in me. We must lose in order to discover that we don’t always have to win in order to be loved and valued. We have to suffer hardship to become resilient in a world that won’t treat us as an entitled person unless it is to make us dependent on the one giving the awards. We have to learn to work hard and excel because in the real world we won’t receive a raise or a promotion just for showing up at the office. We have to learn that our performance does not establish our value, although our actions will determine other outcomes in our lives.

In the kingdom of heaven, identity is what keeps us on track. It is not an identity based on behavior or performance but on who we are in Christ. For years, the church has tried to shape and grade its people through the grid of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. That is performance-based identity and leaves the impression that God also accepts us or rejects us on the basis of our behaviors. But the message of grace is just the opposite. We are loved, accepted, and valued because of what Christ has done, not what we have done. Our value is established by whose we are not by what we can do.

In the kingdom, my identity dictates my behaviors rather than my behaviors dictating my identity. When I have a clear identity, I live and behave a certain way because of who I am and who my father is. Life is simply about being a follower of Jesus and a child of God and living up to that I am rather than trying to succeed or avoid failure in order to have value.

My self-talk is very important in this arena. Instead of talking to myself about my behaviors, I need to talk to myself about who I am in Christ. Beating myself up for sinful behaviors does not change me at the core. In fact, it usually undermines my identity. Scripture says that Christ became sin for me that I might become the righteousness of God. How can I become the righteousness of God if I constantly define myself by my sins? Taking on a new identity changes me at the core and my behaviors follow.

That’s why it is so important to divorce ourselves from the idea that our worth and value are based on our performance. Your special standing with God did not come as an entitlement to keep you from feeling bad about yourself. It was earned by Jesus for you at a great cost to him. We work hard, then, and strive for excellence as Christians, not to be loved, but because we are loved and want to be like the one who loves us.

An interesting study was done about dieters several years ago. The research showed that those wanting to stay on a diet did better or worse according to their language. A person who would say, “I can’t eat chocolate” did not fare as well as the person who said, “I don’t eat chocolate.” The first group was focused on avoiding a behavior. The second group made not eating chocolate part of his or her identity. In your struggle to overcome sin, a greater focus on who you are in Christ will produce much better outcomes in the long run than focusing on sin. That is true when it comes to helping our children or other adults become the person God wants them to be as well. Food for thought today.