Let Your Speech Always Be Gracious

This phrase was stuck in my head today 'Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt'... it sounds like a command to me... 'be gracious'... but it isn't... the Greek is actually really interesting.

There are many times in the Bible where 'be gracious' is used like a command or better yet a prayer. Man is often asking God to 'be gracious'... that happens over 20 times in the Hebrew scriptures... but the scriptures don't show us people commanding other people in this way. In fact Paul seems very careful in how he phases this and even asks for prayer about how to communicates to people... Here is the context:

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison - that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak." - Colossians 4:2-4 ESV

"Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." - Colossians 4:5 NASB20, 4:6 ESV

That, 'Let your...' is so important.

You can't command graciousness.

Still, graciousness is the wise way to deal with outsiders. Seeing your communication as an opportunity (which is how a person interested in evangelism thinks) is also wise.

How do you answer each person? Graciously, that is how.

What is the gracious answer? It involves the mystery of Christ. That a believer is hidden in Christ and that the Holy Spirit is indwelling the believer... somehow and in some way what is said can reveal God if it is said the right way and has the right content.

Wow!

"Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." - Romans 5:2 ESV

Ok. Knowing that...

'Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt'

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Great Parking Spaces

I get good parking spaces. Not all the time but often. People in my car tease me about it because it is shocking sometimes.

At one point in my life I was a passenger in the car with a man of God i respected at the time... and still respect. He told me that he often prayed for a good parking space and then just drove up the area where he wanted to park. As a passenger I saw this man get great parking spaces right in front of where we were going.

I remember sitting there and making a decision. That provision was not just for him. It was for me also. I started doing it. I dealt with it like it was an adventure. It was an opportunity to see God do something. It was a game we could play together. It is a time I can concentrate on Him.

"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" - Romans 8:31-32 ESV

"... but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." - Hebrews 4:2b KJV

Years later I drove with that same man of God. This time i was driving and I told him what I did with parking and he said something like, 'Wow, I should start doing that again.'

At some point He had stopped believing God in that area of his life. He had stopped mixing faith with 'God is for me' in regards to parking. He had stopped driving to the area he wanted to be and just started settling for where he thought it would be 'practical' for him to find a space.

I don't think less of this person. He is a giant as far as I'm concerned and I'm not worthy to untie his shoelaces but It says something to me about the nature of grace and promises. They are mystical. They can slip through our fingers. We can forget because it isn't what we are seeing day to day in the world. We can neglect the favor that God wants to give us.

I apply this principle (pray then drive to the front) in some areas of my life but not all areas. Parking spaces are 'low stakes' things. It isn't going to cost me money... just some time. I won't lose my life if that day I have to park somewhere else. Still because i live this way there are the moments when I do seem to 'walk on water' in high stakes areas. Not on a stormy lake but in life.

This last week I prayed and drove to NYC to visit a few relatives and God met me there. He really did.

I saw a man of God park his car and it changed my life. He did it as a believer and I became one in a moment. I already was a believer in Christ but I suddenly became one for something new. I became one in practice.

I pray God would use us as a catalyst for someone's faith this week. I pray God would use us... weak but willing... faith mixers... believers.

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Fallen But Filling In The Gaps Ourselves

Lies. I'm thinking about lies. Why we lie. How often we lie. Who do we lie to. All of it.

As you may have guessed I believe mankind is fallen. I didn't always believe that but I do now because the Bible states it and proves it. Anthropology also brings this out.

Lies, to me, are an evidence of the fall.

I know... people who believe in evolution or some other scenario where man is 'progressing' also have an explanation for lies and lying but 'wow'... the fall just puts it right into perspective for me.

Fallen people have gaps in knowledge and they try to fill them in ways that are beneficial. We do it to survive and to dodge guilt and shame but the thing is... we all do it. Some just make it into a lifestyle.

'Gaps' are a result of the fall.

I see three things that are just part of the human experience but to me they provide evidence that mankind is fallen and needs Heavenly intervention.
- The fact that we lie (gaps in knowledge)
- The reality that people age, get sick and then die (gaps in our biology)
- That we kill each other (gaps in love... we see the need to remove a person who would just die anyway later because it benefits us in some way)

Jesus came to deal with all of these things and He has.

The 'progression' folks have strange convoluted answers for all three of these things but just look at them. They are cracks in our existence that we all suffer from. They are downward cycles with no escape.

The liar needs a savior.

Go ahead and tell a liar that their children's, children's children are going to outgrow lies and hatred. Not only is that a lie but it is no comfort to them.

We all need a perfect person who sees us just as we are and loves us just as we are. Some one who won't lie. Some one with no gaps. Some one to give us hope.

Jesus loved His lying disciples. He embraced murderous humanity as we killed Him. He carries those who grow old and die into His bosom and makes them young again.

Jesus is the solution but many still don't want Him. His way is a narrow way. For some it will take them realizing He isn't 'a' solution. He is the only solution. Still others would rather die lying to themselves and hold on to that false control of perception until it is too late.

I love the term 'believer' to describe someone who has trusted Jesus because a believer is someone who doesn't just settle for things as they are now 'by sight'. They trust in a higher better way and you can see glimpses of that higher better way in their lives. They touch the Holy One and light shines from that Holy One into a dark world.

"But that is not the way you learned Christ! - assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." - Ephesians 4:20-32 ESV

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Jesus Spoke About Hell

This is our gentle savior speaking in this next passage about future events. He speaks about a place of eternal joy and one of eternal punishment.

" 'When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.' " - Matthew 25:31-46 ESV

There is no way to get around it. Hell is a place. People are going there. It is spoken of as a permanent place. People need to know this.

Jesus is loving beyond what you or i can understand. That is why He told people that this place exists.

The Bible says some things that are hard to hear and understand. It show us things we want to see like love, mercy and hope but it also shows us things we may not want to see. Hell is one of those things. We are afraid of that kind of thing and with good reason. The way to deal with fear is face it... not run from it or hide it.

Jesus speaks more about Hell than He does about Heaven.

I don't speak about this all the time. I don't bring it up with everyone but I do talk about it and I don't avoid the subject. People need to know about this. They need to know that the train they are on is going to crash and that there are only a few stops left where they can get off before that happens.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." - Revelation 3:20-22 ESV

Answering that knock on the door is the only way. Jesus is the only way off the train we are on as fallen people.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' " - John 14:6 ESV

Answer the door. Talk to Him. Believe in Him. He wants to be your lifeline.

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HE Is The Hero

Jesus is the real hero
Not me
I get the privilege of knowing HIM

Beware of theologies and philosophies that put you at the center and rely on your performance to progress. They are false.

"Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." - Philemon 1:1-3 ESV

Great perspective there...

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building." - 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 ESV

We get to collaborate... co-labor

The Bible calls us stewards... we care for something because that is a role we have been given by the real hero of the story.

In this context i can define these words this way
Humility - I am not the hero. I can function in excellence because I know the excellent One
Meekness - I come under the authority of the hero so that I won't be deceived into functioning like a villain

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The Prayer Assignment

In Bible school one of my classes gave 'prayer assignments'. We were supposed to pray for a list of people, countries and churches. Then at the next class we had to check a box saying we did the assignment.

This challenged me greatly because I thought things like, 'Is God going to answer these prayers if we just did them to get a good grade?'... is that really how things work?

The big test came when I didn't do the assignment but there I was with my pen hovering over the check mark. I wanted to get a good grade. Was i willing to lie to do that? Was I willing to lie about PRAYING to do that?

I remember being tempted to check the box anyway. I don't remember if i ever did. I might have. I'm kind of a rascal... but aren't we all.

I'm praying right now for a few things and people. Am I doing it to check a box? I don't really know but I'm doing it by faith.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." - John 14:12-14 ESV

Jesus' name is big and unique to me. He Is God Himself who came to be a man. He is my Savior. He came to Earth because of love and healed everyone who came to Him for healing. He Is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. He Is sitting at the right hand of the Father. He knows me so much better than I know Him. God sees me and all that I do and don't do.

I'm a little nobody but I can name drop as well as anyone else and I plan to drop His name all over the place. I plan to pepper my prayers with His name. His name isn't a curse word to me. His name Is like an iceberg of divinity. His name Is weighty and wonderful. I'm going to use it and God help me if I misuse it because it is important and powerful.

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You Are Not Divine

Jesus is the only divine person (human being). We are not divine. We will not become divine. If we believe in Jesus we become a new creation but that newness and identity happens because we are hidden in Christ not because we are little Gods. Our new nature is linked to His nature and intertwined with the life of the Holy Spirit.

We are a creation. Jesus always was. We have a beginning but no end. Jesus has no beginning and no end. He always was.

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!" - Psalm 139:13-17 ESV

We were an idea in God's mind. When he made the Earth He made it in such a way that He saw our physical bodies in the Earth at creation. The moment a man's sperm fertilizes the egg of a woman a thought becomes reality. The 'idea' that God saw in his mind becomes a person who will mature and 'come into' their personhood.

He 'foresaw' and 'foreknew' you and i.

New age or new thought teachings use Bible words but they don't use them the way the Bible does. Most of them hinge on personal divinity apart from Jesus. To them Jesus was an example of what you or I can be. They teach the seeds of divinity are in everyone. They teach things like 'the law of attraction', 'spiritual awakenings' and 'sending light and good thoughts'. You can do these things or be involved in such things because of your realized or unrealized divinity.

It sounds so good because they use words like love, mercy, grace, light, rebirth and other words with Biblical roots but ultimately these teachings put you in a performance program.

Religion is a program to get to God or please God which is false and impossible because you can't do either of those things. Jesus did those things already for us.

New Age or New Thought tricks you into a process to become or awaken your divinity. They will even quote Jesus and 'name' him but it isn't the same Jesus. Their Jesus Is what we would be if we only adopt the right program. He is a teacher or an example not GOD HIMSELF becoming a man. To them He was a man who became God.

People were created in God's image. Jesus is the only man who came from Heaven but because of Him many will go to Heaven. He did what no other man could do and His name is exalted above every other name forever.

"Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory [is] above the earth and heaven." - Psalm 148:13 NKJV

"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all." - John 3:31 NKJV

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, [and] coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to [the point of] death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:5-11 NKJV

We have one life. It is often hard. Yes. There is greatness in each person. That greatness is NOT divine. It is human. You are not a god. You never will be. You don't need to be. You can just be you because that is who God wants. He wants to adopt you into His family because you are friend of His Son.

"But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work." - 2 Timothy 2:20-21 NKJV

If you believe then you can be a vessel of honor that is fit to live in the house. A created thing treated like a son forever.

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