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bigmike

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Stop asking God what He can do for you and start asking what He wants to do through you.
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DAILY DEVOTION
As I Ought to Speak
That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
Colossians 4:4
There are many powerful things in our world. There are weapons capable of devastating wide areas in a single blast. There are rockets strong enough to deliver people and cargo from Earth's gravitational field and out into space. There are huge machines able to move massive amounts of material. But as strong as these things are, they are not more powerful than the tongue.
Words may seem small, but they have great power. Solomon reminds us, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof" (Proverbs 18:21).
We should constantly be aware of the impact that our words have on those who hear them. Are we encouraging others and building up their faith, or are we tearing them down and placing snares in their path? Our words should be kind and helpful and considerate and uplifting. There is a right and proper way for us to use the incredible power of our words. And when they use those words for good, it produces a wonderful result. "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver" (Proverbs 25:11). All of us know people who are a joy to be around because they are a source of encouragement and help, offering us kind words at a time when we really need to hear them.
We need those people. We also have the opportunity to be those people. We can choose to speak as we should, building people up with our speech rather than tearing them down.
Knowing we will answer to God for the impact our words have on others, we should choose them carefully.
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