Thought for the day

"To see the direct connection between what we speak and what God hears, I want you to read Matthew 12:31-37. When you and I speak, whether aloud or in silence, God hears. What God hears you and I speak determines a great many things. You need to know the connection between what you speak - what you think - and what becomes reality in your life.

Matthew 12:31-37 "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
V32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
V33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
V34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
V35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
V36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement.
V37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

John 6:63-64a "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
V64a But there are some of you that believe not."

The words that Jesus spoke are spirit and they are life. We too can speak words that are spirit and life, by emulating Jesus Christ. We can speak words that build up, enlighten, heal - words with power and authority that create the right outcome, because "The thoughts of the righteous are right."

According to the scriptures, the words you speak are a pretty good indicator of who you are. The words you speak reveal the depth of your relationship with God. If you don't believe that what you say has power, you will create discord, doubt, discouragement, failure & low self esteem, by default.

Excerpt from The power of God Thinking by Keith C. Powell Copyright 2010

Author's note: During a Bible study one time, one of the attendees, a man of about 75 years old said that he didn't believe that prayer was for today.  He believed a certain philosophy that was going around at the time that prayer ended after the Apostles died.  He was adamant and thoroughly convincing that he truly believed that prayer has no efficacy at all.  So I asked him if he would take a challenge for one week.  I said, "would you agree not to pray about anything at all that comes up during the next week, never once cry out to God, never once thank the Lord, never once to ask God for anything, (and I added) and definitely not to pray for your grandchildren this week, no matter what happens."  Of course the reply was no he wouldn't.  What a tragedy to go through life not relying on Jesus to work with you and provide for you as you pass through this world as a steward of the things of God.