Forget what the Constitution of the United States of American says…there’s no such thing as free speech. Here’s why:

Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat it’s fruits.

Proverbs 18:21

Have you ever eaten the fruit of your tongue? I know I have. Which story do I tell?

I was 20 years old. Amy and I were engaged to be married and we went to Dillard’s to make selections for our upcoming bridal shower. My future mother-in-law met us there and we made selections of everything from towels to place settings. I didn’t have much to say. What Amy liked, I was partial to. Until it came to the flatware. We were looking at the multitude of options when this one jumped out at me – as being unsightly! I believe I said something like this: “That is hideous. It’s gaudy. Who in the world would want to eat with something like that?” I made my point. That was not our selection and not what we eat with today.

However, later that evening, we were at a big family gathering at my future mother-in-law’s house. We set down to eat and guess what flatware was at each place setting on the table? You guessed it! Twenty-six years later, every time we eat at my in-laws I’m reminded of those careless words.

The writer of Proverbs reminds us that every time we open our mouth we have the opportunity to speak life or death. That’s it – only two options. We can speak blessing into and over the lives of others or we can speak curses into and over the life of others.

What kind words do you tend to speak the most? What do your conversations with your spouse sound like? With your children? How about at your work? Or about your church? How about your social media feeds?

Do your words bless those around you? Do they encourage and build others up (1 Thessalonians 5:11)? Or do they tear others down? Are they words of untruth, gossip, division, or negativity?

We don’t have the right to free speech, but we do have the right to use our words to bless others. Let’s do that!

 

 

 

 

 

Just a few days ago we commemorated the18^thanniversary of 9/11. Just like me, I’m sure you can remember the events of that day- where you were when you heard the news and what you did as the rest of the day played out. Even if you weren’t alive and didn’t personally experience that tragic day, you know the events. You’ve read it in a textbook and others have shared their story of that day with you. Sort of like how I am with the events that surrounded the attack on Pearl Harbor. I wasn’t alive to personally experience it, but I know the story because it’s been passed down to me generation after generation.

If you are a Texas Tech Red Raider football fan you are almost certainly like that with the unforgettable touchdown pass from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree in the 2008 game with the Texas Longhorns. Texas came into Lubbock ranked number one in the nation with hopes of playing in a national championship game and left…well, beaten and disappointed. Every Texas Tech fan tells that story –especially when things aren’t going so well –and so, even if you didn’t personally witness the miraculous throw and catch, you know the story well.

Yet there might be a story we arenot sharing so well…

…and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord

 or the work that he had done for Israel.Judges 2:10

Are we passing down a knowledge of and a love for God like we are other things? Do my kids know my story with God as much as they know my story of 9/11 or the Red Raiders? It’s my responsibility to make sure my family and the next generation knows the story of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words

that Icommand you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to

your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk

by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a

sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write

them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Here’s what we need to be about:

1. Sharing our story of faith in Christ

Our story of salvation is part of our family’s story of salvation. The more others hear our story of faith, the more likely they are to experience their own faith story. If we can’t share our story with our family, who can we share it with?

2. Taking every opportunity to point to Christ

We must look for teaching moments in every minute of every day. When we sit in our house, when we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise. God gives us opportunities each and every day that we can seize and use to point others toward Christ.

3. Showing Jesus by the way we live

The greatest enemy to real faith might well be our spiritual activities –  reading the Bible, praying, attending church, etc.  Those are all good things and we should be doing them. But if we are not living out faith in our everyday lives, others pick up on that. We can’t just post our faith on our walls, we must be living it in the halls.

What story are you sharing today? Everyone loves a good story. Let’s make sure we are sharing the most important one!

 

 

 

 

 

I was introduced to parliamentary procedure as a young lad in Future Farmers of America. We worked to learn Robert’s Rules of Order and then participated in contests in which we had to work through several professional scenarios using parliamentary procedure to arrive at pre-determined conclusions. I learned rules such as how to call a meeting to order, put a motion on the table, amend a motion, table a decision, call out a point of order, and most importantly how to adjourn a meeting. One of the rules I remember is called, “call the question”. It’s a time when anyone in the meeting can, with permission from the moderator, ask to end the debate and take a vote.

I’m not sure where Joshua learned Roberts Rules of Order but we see him exercise this “call the question” during his final challenge to the people.The book of Joshua tells how he led the people of Israel into the Promised Land and conquered it. Throughout the book Joshua urges the people to follow the Lord and worship him alone. Now in his final message to the people he recounts their story from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Esau; from the Red Sea and Jordan River; and the battles with the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, Jebusites and termites. Joshua ends his message with this call to worship the one true God…with a call to make a choice.

…choose this day whom you will serve…

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua 24:15

Without much thought it’s easy to respond as Joshua did, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” After all, it’s one of the most popular verses in all the Bible. We have it hanging on the walls of our homes and stuck on the bumpers of our cars. But is it merely hanging on our walls or are we living it in the halls? Is it simply stuck on our bumpers or is it fixed in every thump of our hearts?

It’s so easy to get caught up serving our work, our stuff, the pursuit of success, our kids and their activities, and the list goes on. So, it’s good practice to call the question: whom am I serving?  It’s really quite easy (though convicting) to determine the answer to that question. Ask yourself these three questions:

1. Where to I spend my time?
2. Where do I spend my talent (gifts and skills)?
3. Where do I spend my treasure (money)?

Be honest with these three questions and you have called the question.