The Power of Words

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Eph 6:17 ..and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword
of the Spirit which is the word of God.

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

Phil 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Luke 17:20-21

20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Matt 10:24“A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.

Proverbs 25:15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.

_________________________________________________________

What's the thread running through all of the scripture written above? Words....The Lord has opened my eyes to something that has been hidden in plain sight (at least to me) for some time.

The Lord has impressed upon me the nearness of the kingdom of God (within us..that's kind of near). He has also impressed upon me the power of words and how we use them. Let's consider Phil 4:8 specifically right now. The Lord tells us to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, etc. Have you ever tried to just hold those specific words in your consciousness for 20-30 seconds?

This is a big deal, this idea has the power to change your life, no kidding. I believe the Lord gave me a kind of mental picture of our spirit sitting inside our bodies looking like a fat flourescent long light bulb. Our spirit sits inside of us and irradiates our entire body with whatever is in our spirit. So what are we holding within our spirit, and, what is that doing to us? Okay, now back to holding a word for 20-30 seconds in our consciousness..

Holding a thought for 20-30 seconds these days is not easy. We live in the age of endless distractions and ADD. When's the last time you read the Pslams? Did you notice at the end of every other sentence you see the word "selah?" What does "selah" mean?

From Wikipedia:
Selah (Hebrew: סֶלָה‎, also transliterated as selāh) is a word used frequently in the Hebrew Bible, often in the Psalms, and is a difficult concept to translate. (It should not be confused with the Hebrew word sela‘ (Hebrew: סֶלַע‎) which means "rock.") It is probably either a liturgico-musical mark or an instruction on the reading of the text, something like "stop and listen".

Selah means stop and consider, or "hold that thought" or let that thought marinate your brain. I cannot overstate the importance of this, so again I will ask you, have you tried to hold a single word like "peace" or "love" or "faith" in your consciousness for 20 or more seconds? I challenge you to begin to do this. It will affect you physically, emotionally, spiritually, no kidding..

Have you ever heard "you are what you think?" That concept goes hand in glove with why we are told to keep the word of God in our minds day and night, why we are told to "think about these things" and why we are told:

Psalm 1:1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

What's so incredible about all this is the simplicity of the concept, yet how powerful it is. Everything, and I mean everything the Lord tells us to do is for our own benefit and the benefit of those around us, whether we know it or understand it or not. Words have the power of life and death. If you want to change your life for the better (I do) then change the words you hold in your consciousness most of the time. It's not that I've had a bad life, in fact I am unbelievable BLESSED, yet there is always room for growth while we walk this earth. The place of growth for me now, and maybe you, is in this area.

Try holding different words in your mind for 20-30 seconds and notice how they physically affect you. Try thinking about "energy" or "peace" or "love," then try "wickedness" or "death" and I hope you will understand that this will change your life.

When you understand how powerful words are (they are more powerful than any drugs), then you will also understand why we must go on a "news diet." This world system we live in is a gutter. The vast majority of news (to include bloggers) is world focused. Dirty laundry sells, people love it, but what is it doing to them? Each word you take within you is like a pill you swallowed that WILL have an effect on you...good or bad.

There is a narrow path that leads to life (Matt 7). On that narrow path are thoughts which lead to actions which lead to destinies (the small gate). We must labor to cut out all the mental weeds in our garden. We must learn to say NO to all the words and ideas that the broad path has to sell. We must do these things so we can be like the wise servants of Matt 25 who used their "talents" to show the master that we have produced more than what was given. We must have fruit growing on our tree from the seeds that have been planted (the WORD).

All words have impact on us..all of them, but the Words of God are formed and delivered to us as a perfect package. I believe the Lord showed me that a single word is like plucking a single note on a guitar, that note resonates throughout our entire being with certain effect. Words, grouped together are like playing a chord, again, there can be resonance that has a certain effect on our entire being. Music is not always beautiful though, there is not always resonance, which is why we must carefully guard ourselves from the words of this world.

Unfortunately many people calling themselves Christians have become "bored" with the Lord and his word. They have gone searching after politics and current events and what the devil is doing in the world because the Word of God and the kingdom of God alone are just not quite enough. Let us guard against this mistake. The kingdom of heaven is NOT in Washington DC, or Moscow, Russia ITS WITHIN US. The change we need for this life and the next begins and ends within us. Our joy, peace, abundance, happiness etc etc ALL begin and end within us. Don't take my word for it, take the Lord's Word for it.

What did Jesus mean when he said Luke 17 "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you?"

Why did the Lord tell us what to think about and meditate on day and night? WHYYYY? I believe that what is written to you today is at least in part an answer to "why?"

Take your words like you would take a prescription from a physician. We follow the Great Physician who has prescribed certain words for us. Let us not turn a deaf ear to him.

Grace and peace