Words, part 2--Guest Post by Kelsey

About Gossip, Tearing Down, Slander, and Backbiting:

James 3:7-12  “For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh."

Our words affect other people.

Prov. 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue”

Are We Salt Water:

Psalm 50:19-20 “thou givest thy mouth to evil”

Romans 3:13 “their throat is an open sepelchre”

Or Fresh Water?:

Prov. 12:18 “the tongue of the wise is health”

Prov. 15:4 “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life”

Prov. 31:26 “She openeth her mouth with wisdom”

Prov. 15:1 “A soft answer”

“Kind words produce their own image in men's souls; and a beautiful image it is. They soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used.”–Blaise Pascal

Refrain [to stop, quit, cease or leave] and Shun [to stand aloof, keep away, avoid]

1 Peter 3:10 “he that will love life”

2 Tim. 2:16 “shun profane and vain babblings”

Don’t be deceitful, be sincere.  Psalm 55:21;
Ezekiel 33:31 "And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness."

Don’t try to justify yourself, it will only make things worse.  Job 9:20;

Prov. 21:23 “whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue...”

Our words also affect our reputation as followers of Christ:

Psalm 39:1-2

1 Tim. 4:12  “let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example”

Matt. 5:13-16 “let your light so shine”

How do we as humans respond to the presence of God?  
With silence.

Zech. 2:13 “be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord”

Job 40:1-5 “I will lay mine hand upon my mouth”

Isaiah 6:1-5 “I am a man of unclean lips”

Psalm 46:10 “be still and know that I am God...”

A friend and I were talking about this verse the other day, and she commented that usually when we come to God in prayer, we have 10 million things we want to say to God.  Some of them might be really wonderful, but we should just stop for a minute, and think.  We are coming before the Almighty God, the Ruler of the Universe, the Wonderful Counselor.  Shouldn’t we want to hear what He has to say to us??  Of course, the Lord is our Father and Friend too, and He does want us to talk to Him, but shouldn’t it seriously excite us that we can listen to GOD?  What an amazing and humbling privilege!

Psalm 144:3 “Lord, what is man?”

But there are times when we shouldn’t be silent.

There is a season for everything:  Ecclesiastes 3:1-7

Here are some examples of times NOT to be silent:

 -When we need to stand up for what God says is right, such as against abortion or homosexuality.
-Prov. 30:11

-Psalm 107:8,15,21,31:  "Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

-2 Timothy 4:2

-Heb. 13:3

-Lev. 19:17

Part 3 coming next week!  Thanks for reading!
-Kelsey :o)