The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. – John 6:63
For years, Readers’ Digest had a featured column on vocabulary building. On more than one occasion, it was a reminder of the power that is contained in words. Proverbs 25:11 says, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” An old hymn, seldom sung these days, states, “Christ the blessed One gives to all wonderful words of life.” Indeed, the words of Jesus are health, healing, and the source of eternal life.
What about you and the words you speak? Are you speaking of life, of the kingdom of Heaven? Or are you prone to utter words that bring destruction from the bottom of the pit? If your words from yesterday were played back for you, would you be satisfied or embarrassed by what you conveyed? When you speak God’s Word over your life and the lives of others, it is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit… discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart“ (Hebrews 4:12).
Jesus said that words come from what is in the heart, from what is in your thoughts: “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Follow the admonishment in Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Be a wellspring of “golden apple words” to those around you today (Proverbs 25:11).
Pray for the hearts of believers in Washington, D.C., to be strengthened in the things of the Lord, as they face opposition from every side.
Today’s Verse: John 6:63
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Matthew 15:1-11
Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 “‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
