Watch What You Say!
By Debbie Anderson

James 1:26
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.


1 Peter 3:10
For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.


I was at a friend's house one weekend for a bible study. The teacher, who is a pastor, as well as a prophetic minister, spoke a word of healing over my life.

God only speaks positives, not negatives and this brought to my attention how many times I had spoken a negative into my life. So much so, that I was no longer aware of the subtle way Satan had been using my words against me.

Then I picked up a book another friend had sent to me and these words hit me in the face:

"Evil words defile". A Man's very heart can be defiled by his words.

Matthew 15:11 says: It is not that which goeth into the mouth that defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth. This defileth a man.

The Message Bible says:
It is not what you swallow that pollutes your life, but what you vomit up.

What we say has a greater impact on our spirits than we understand. Our words build or tear down. We paint mental pictures, images - visions - with our words. Our words are producing images for the good or evil. What sort of pictures are you painting?

For one hour put a rubber band on your wrist and every time you say or think a negative thought, pop yourself. After an hour passes, do an inventory of how many times you popped yourself.

And then decide -- Are your words worthy to be hung on the walls of your heart?
Prov. 18:21 says that life and death are in the power of the tongue ...

So let's CHOOSE Life and let our words agree!

James 3:3-5(Message)
A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!
5-6- It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
7-10- This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!
10-12- My friends, this can't go on. A spring doesn't gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don't bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don't bear apples, do they? You're not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?



If you would like to comment on this article, please send an email to:debbie@vine3.org