Words, Deeds and Seeds

On August 23, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Proverb 12: 14

A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words, and the deeds of a man’s hands will return to him.

You will see this proverb again. Because there were so many good verses to choose from, I will return here after Labor Day when we resume our normal schedule. I have added a link for the entire proverb again so you can see for yourself how rich it is.

God’s kingdom works differently than the world system. The Bible is an instruction manual leading us into the truths of life. In today’s verse we are given a great insight but as we look at it closely we find that it stands in direct opposition to the way most of us have been taught.

This passage reveals that success comes from our words, rather than our hands. Our hands, it says, are sowers of seed. Now, of course, seed bears a crop. That crop will be good if the seed was good or bad if the seed was bad. So, I am thinking of this verse as identifying that what you sow with your actions will return to you. Sow kindness, reap kindness. Sow selfishness, reap selfishness.

Your success, though, is in your mouth. What are you saying??? We cannot be overly cautious about the words of our mouths. I know sometimes we use phrases in a joking manner but honestly, why would we do that? Why would we say stupid stuff even in jest?  When I read that a person’s life is filled with the fruit of his words it warns me that I should guard my mouth and ALL the words I speak. For example, I am never “scared to death.” And, you may be annoying me but I don’t need to say, “You’re killing me here.” There are dozens of examples in that vein but let’s shift gears a bit. We do the same thing with our health and our welfare. “I’m so broke I can’t pay attention.” Look again at the verse. We are filled with good by the fruit of our words. Therefore, we must speak good, and that means speaking good about our financial wellbeing, our health, and every other aspect of life. “God blesses me in everything I do. The blessing of God is following me around. God blesses my pocketbook. God meets my every need.” Those statements are just as easy to say as anything else and they are not only true, but they are ultimate truth.

Tune in to the power in your words. Speak prosperity, health and wholeness. Meanwhile sow good seed with your actions. Be kind to others considering their needs above your own (Philippians 2: 3). Sow generosity, tolerance and patience. These shall return to you.

Proverb 12

 

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Show Me

On June 28, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 12: 33             Voice Translation

Good trees produce good fruits; bad trees produce bad fruits. You can always tell a tree by its fruits.

This is not a farming tip today, though I guess it is a good thing to know. Actually, Jesus spoke this verse in teaching that our words reveal our character. We can no more hide the health of our hearts than a bad tree can camouflage its bad fruit.

This goes to the heart of our evangelical message because it is hard to convince people about the good fruit of Christianity when they perceive rotten fruit on our trees. However, there is another group we should bear in mind because not all evangelism is to strangers. Let’s think about our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers as well. What are our actions and words saying to these people about Christianity?

In the United States, the state of Missouri is known as the “Show me state.” So, if we were all from Missouri we might say, “Show me your Christianity!” You see, if our words are not in keeping with our fruit they will have no weight. The fruit on our trees speaks much more loudly than our words. Our Christianity can best be measured in how we treat other people. People see how we treat each other and they judge all of Christianity by that simple measure, and perhaps rightfully so.

If Christianity is about anything, it is about loving others. This love, is an action verb. It’s not about having a feeling. It is about demonstrating and expressing kindness, gentleness and all the other character traits of our dear Father. Without the outward expression of selflessness and consideration for others, our Christian message fails.

Think about the children we are raising. They hear a lot of messages out there and we are trying to compete with our message of Christian love but are we modeling it? What does it do to an impressionable heart when you claim you are a Christian but do not produce fruit? I tell you it confuses our young people. Even more, it alienates them from the Christian message. And what is the Christian message if not love. But this is not a message which can be conveyed in words alone. It is in our actions, and, as I’ve said, most notably in the way we treat others. These children are saying very loudly to us, “Don’t tell me about your Christianity. Show me.”

I believe they have a right to expect Christianity to be demonstrated to them. They ought to see Christianity in action. Believe me, they will not follow someone who is not authentic and sincere. It is okay to make mistakes. We all do, but there is so much persuasion in admitting fault to your children, even in apologizing to them when we err.

I hope you will give this some thought and let it sink into your heart. We must produce good fruit if we want our Christian message to have any credence at all. The fruit is most noticeably demonstrated, and weighed, in how we treat others, including our children, friends, and associates. We evangelize every day with our actions. The question is, what message are we sending?

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