Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in song and lyrics from Toby Mac singing the encouraging song Speak Life … powerfully singing of we, as Christians, should use our words to speak life (and encouragement) into the lives of others.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Proverbs 16:24 [ESV] ... 24 Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
… Encouraging words are a healing balm for a troubled or ailing soul. [see photo]
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Highlight Passage [context]: Proverbs 16:20-24 [ESV] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… God’s word, thru Solomon, shows us the healing outcome of using encouraging words.
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Reference Passage : … Deuteronomy 31:23-24[ESV] … 23 And the Lord commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you.”
… When God, thru Moses, commissioned Joshua to take the people into the Promised Land, we see an example of how we all should use the power of our words to encourage other believers.
Reference Passage : … Ephesians 4:29 [ESV] … 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
… God, thru the Apostle Paul, shows us how we should use our words to uplift and gracefully encourage one another.
Reference Passage : … Hebrews 10:24-25 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God charges us Christians to get together so that we can encourage one another, especially as the day of the Lord approaches … and that is certainly here-and-now, isn’t it?
Reference Passage : … James 3:7-12 [ESV] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru James, shows His people the power of our words to hurt or to heal.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Kirsten Holmberg, uses a healthcare study on the healing value of encouraging words to illustrate the power and importance of using our words wisely to help or heal others. … The ODB author wrote: A recent study has shown that encouraging words from a health-care provider can help patients recuperate faster from their ailments. A simple experiment exposed volunteer study participants to a skin allergen to make them itch and then compared the reactions between those who received assurance from their physician and those who didn’t. Patients who received encouragement from their doctors had less discomfort and itching than their counterparts.
My readers can probably remember the old adage - “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me?” But we know just how false that one was and is, don’t we? Words can - and OFTEN DO - hurt others, don’t they? And we’ve seen that in our time with the impact social media has had on our world, … where words are used to tear down others and even to lure young people into sexual exploitation - and even death.
But I’d rather remember the advice my parents used to give me (perhaps yours did too) when they would say, “If you can’t something nice, don’t say anything at all!” Because that advice is wisdom right out of God’s word when you read the Scriptures provided above. So many of God’s authors, like Moses and Solomon and Paul and James ALL taught and brought God’s truth about the power of our words to ether hurt or heal.
And so, who - besides myself - is convicted - or directed - today to do what Toby Mac sings in the linked song and “SPEAK LIFE” into someone who needs our uplifting, edifying, encouraging words today?
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, … for giving me the power of Your healing words to speak life into those who need your grace today.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me to use our words wisely to provide Your healing grace thru what we say today. Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.</ span>
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