The power of words

From Robert Love in the January 27, 2012 issue of The Week:

"...as Mark Twain said, 'The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.'"

Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold In settings of silver.

Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him


James 3:
3 Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.
4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.
7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.
10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

Choose your words wisely and use them in the correct manner.

Grace, Mercy, Faith, Salvation, Redemption

From the December 2911 issue of Yavoh:

"grace is 'unmerited favor', mercy is 'unmerited favor'. Faith is 'believing the promises (the word) of God'. Salvation is receiving 'redemption'. Redemption is ' being purchasesd out of slavery'.

What is the difference between grace and mercy since both are 'unmerited favor'? Grace means you received something you did not deserve. Mercy is receiving something you did deserve. Grace is God sharing His blessings with us while mercy is God restraining His judgments against us."

Think about this

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did'. When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you'.

'If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got'.

Christmas and Hanukkah

From the Nov-Dec issue of Gates of Eden - a bimonthly publication by Daniel Botkin in writing about a study of the Book of Maccabees:

"The Hannukkah story is found in the Book of Maccabees. The Jews, to whom 'were committed the oracles of God' (Rom. 3.2), never considered Maccabees to be Divinel-inspired, authoritative Holy Scripture. Nonetheless, Maccabees is an important book in Jewish history...not inspired, but it is inspir...
...
...
.God's people were pressured to celebrate a king's birthday on the 25th day of a winter month
.The celebration included wreaths of ivy
.There was revelry and feasting on swine's flesh
.Those who ignored these winter festivities, and instead celebrated Yahweh's festivals of Leviticus 23, were viewed as the weird ones
...
There is a sad irony in the fact that Christmas and Hanukkah both fall on the 25th day of a winter month. On the 25th of Kislev, Jews celebrate their victory over the Hellenists' attempts to force them to mingle heathen customs with the worship of God. On the 25th of December, Christians mingle heathen customs with the worship of God. The Maccabees refused to honor the real birthday of a temporal king on the 25th day of Kislev. On the 25th day of December, Christians celebrate the imaginary birthday of the real eternal King of kings.

Money

Artist Tom Sachs, quoted in The Wall Street Journal:

"If you worship money, you'll always feel poor."

1 Timothy 6:
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

The Door Will Open - It's up to you

"You are what you learn. If all you know is how to be a gang member, that's what you'll be, at least until you learn something else. If you go to law school, you'll see the world as a competition. If you study engineering, you'll start to see the world as a complicated machine that needs tweaking. A person changes at a fundamental level as he or she merges with a particular field of knowledge. If you don't like who you are, you have the option of learning until you become someone else. There's almost nothing you can't learn your way out of. Life is like a jail with an unlocked, heavy door. You're free the minute you realize the door will open if you simply lean on it." - Scott Adams in Dilbert.com

Matthew 7:
7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Revelation 3:
20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
21 "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

A lesson to learn

From Readers Digest, November, 2011 - submitted by Fran Lebowitz:

The opposite of talking isn't listening.
The opposite of talking is waiting.