Speaking Life and Not Death

Today God ministered to me through my devotional! Had an ugly evening with my little girl as her disrespect, and my exhaustion caused me to be harsh and lose it.. Have we all been there?.. Maybe different scenarios... Someone did something you didn't like, said something to you the wrong way and you just ran with it, and fed into it? 

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

Are we speaking life into our loves ones, into our church, into our ministries, into our coworkers, into our neighbors, into strangers we meet daily, or are we speaking DEATH? .. Lets be honest with ourselves today and ask God to reveal any areas where we may be speaking Death.. We speak it people eat it! Lets be careful with the Words that come out of our mouths.. One of the many names of God is WORD -The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Lets make sure that every Word we speak, speaks GOD, that GOD (the WORD) comes out of our mouth verbalizing - love, life, compassion, forgiveness, understanding..

From The Praying the Names of God by Ann Spangler devotional:

Much as I love words, I also know that human words, in addition to being beautiful, can also be deceptive, treacherous, and empty. We can talk a blue streak without saying a single thing. By contrast, God's Word is "living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12). God's Word has the power not just to communicate his purpose but to accomplish whatever he intends. It never returns to him empty. When God speaks, things happen. Read the first page of Genesis if you doubt it:

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so.

God said, "Let the land produce vegetation." And it was so.

The world was created by God speaking it into existence. Jesus, the Word of God, the second person of the Trinity, was thus present at the world's beginning. But the perfect world that God created was soon corrupted through sin. Jesus came to earth to recreate the world, restoring it to God's original purpose. Miracles happened when he spoke. Storms ceased, the lame walked, people were delivered from demons, and the dead were raised. These were signs that a world deformed by sin was being reshaped by God's all-powerful Word. Listen to the record of the Gospels:

Jesus said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

Jesus said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." And the man got up and went home.

Jesus rebuked the evil spirit. "You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out.

Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out.

Jesus is still speaking, still reshaping the world, one person at a time. As his followers, we need to study and pray over his words. We need to listen carefully and expectantly for his voice. Try spending ten to fifteen minutes today meditating on John 1:1 - 4 and Genesis 1:1 - 5. May God's Spirit nourish your mind and heart as you listen for the voice of the Lord.