Pastor Travis Burkett
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Words have the power to bring life or death?” If you’ve interacted with people for any amount of time, you probably learned those words to be true. Our words have a really powerful impact on others and ourselves. We don’t really dwell on the reality that words have the power of death or the power of life, but how can we actually speak life? It sounds like such a strange concept, doesn’t it?
Psalm 141:3 says, “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips.” The ability to speak life all starts with God. It is God who gives us His Word. The Bible teaches us everything we need to know to speak life into others and ourselves. Well, that leads us to another phrase we don’t think of every day: guarding our hearts. The Bible tells us that Satan is active for our hearts and is aggressive to create ways for us to stumble. Therefore, we must set a guard and allow God’s Word to transform us from the inside out.
I remember when I was a boy, my brother and I would play paintball along the river. We would spend days building forts and creating barriers to make it difficult to successfully attack. Once completed, we would invite some friends over to enjoy a few games of paintball. My brother’s strategy was always more successful because he kept someone back to guard. My friends and I just wanted to attack, but it was those who successfully remained on guard that won the battle.
You know, setting a guard on our hearts will help us to speak life into people. The best life that we can speak is the Gospel. JESUS! Because of Jesus, we have life. We can speak life by speaking the Gospel. We can share the Gospel, live the light of the Gospel, and post the Gospel! We live in a very broken, dark, and empty world. A world that craves the light of Christ. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gave a command just before He entered Heaven.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
This verse is the final command that Jesus gave to His followers before ascending to Heaven. It’s so important! We speak life by living out the great commission! The reality is, we cannot speak life and death. It is a choice that we must make to speak life and share Christ.
May we “set a watch.” Guard your heart because Satan is active for your attention. May we live out words of life by sharing Christ!
Comments