Update #154 - Life or Death

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” Proverbs 18:21

Seacliff Beach, California

It is said that women speak 10,000 words or more a day – and men around 3000. I am not sure if this is myth or truth, but in my life it seems accurate. I have a shy friend who uses MUCH less than his 3000 word quota.

Conversations with him can go like this:

“How are you?”

“Fine thanks.”

“So what did you think of that sermon/experience/movie/TV program etc.?”

“Ah…I, well, um, it… um, yeah.”

Jokingly I used to infer the need for a microphone brain implant…so I could hear the conversation I was being left out of. But, in a way, he is smart. He chooses words carefully; very very carefully.

Words have power. Their potency can bring either life or death into situations (Proverbs 18:21). Words cause creation, like when God spoke the world into being (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, and 26). They can also cause death – have you ever seen a child after an overly severe reprimand?

We have the same power inside of us - we can speak truth, righteousness, purity, loveliness, good reports, virtuous, praiseworthy things producing hope, encouragement and life or we can fill our mouths with hatred, arguments, jealousy, anger, rivalry, division, envy, gossip, slander and dishonoring talk resulting in disunity, dismay and ultimately death (Which would you rather hear?).

I didn’t fully grasp the impact and power of words until I travelled to South Africa in 2006. Past phrases, thoughts, comments, statements, remarks spoken over me, to me, or about me had a deep and lasting effect – one I didn’t even realize. I had ingested and processed them. I had taken the praise as truth concerning who I was - and defined my core identity based upon it. Sadly, what I believed and what God said about me didn’t exactly line up. I had chosen to rely on people’s observations of me vs. God’s opinion because of their prevalence, volume, and re-occurrence.

I needed word surgery.

I needed to excise all the wrongly consumed convictions and replace them with God’s perceptions; with truth. Not all I believed about myself was bad – being “a gifted administrator” isn’t evil, it just isn’t my core identity; being a daughter of God is.

Lots of relearning and ingesting of truth followed – and prayer (by me and with others) for God to make his opinion of me louder and more pronounced than the other words I was hearing.

I had to learn my real identity and choose to live from that perspective. It wasn’t an easy process. Death words don’t stop - and I don’t always immediately recognize them for what they truly were (especially when they come from trusted sources!).

What is your view of yourself? What is God’s view of you? Where do the two differ? Where does your identity stem from – God? Your parents? Your peers? Your boss? Your pastor? When you hear a “death” word what is your reaction? Devastation? Depression? Disheartenment? Or do you compare it to the truth God speaks about you? Finally, what words are you speaking – does the majority bring life or death to others?

Updates:

Travel – Just back from Lubbock, TX (pray for rain – they really, really need it).

Work – We made it through July! We had our last event of the month this morning – a brunch for 15… August will be a bit tamer, one to two events a week vs. three to five!

Training – Monday and Wednesday nights through the first of October.

Requests:

Travel - Off to Nigeria, most likely, right after Labor Day.

Work – Convergence Forum on Wednesday in Foster City / Convergence Webinar on Monday the 8th: http://inst.net/events/index.html to register or for more information; prayer for the upcoming trip to Nigeria, hopeful return to Texas, and our upcoming ventures to, most likely, Indonesia and India.

PS: Here are some of the things God says about you – this is your true identity:

You moved from:

• Darkness to Light

• Enmity to Friendship

• Save to Free

• Condemned to Forgiven

You are:

• Indwelt by the Father – Ephesians 4:6

• Indwelt by the Son – Colossians 1:27

• Indwelt by the Holy Spirit – 1 Corinthians 3:16

• Set free from sin – Romans 6:22

• The temple of God – 1 Corinthians 3:16

• Body of Christ – 1 Corinthians 12:27

• Victorious – 1 Corinthians 15:57

• Triumphant – 2 Corinthians 2:14

• A son / daughter of God – Romans 8:14

• Complete – Colossians 2:10-11

You have:

• The mind of Christ – 1 Corinthians 2:16

• All spiritual blessings – Ephesians 1:3