Complete in Thee: Edifying Speech

Monday, March 2, 2009

Edifying Speech

"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

"Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

(Ephesians 4:17-32)

In the passage above, Paul compares two lives: the old and the new. One is the life we had before we were in Christ; the second is the life we now live through Christ. This thought really puts the rest of the passage into perspective for me. A lost person cannot truly follow these guidelines because they are the work of "renewal in the spirit of your mind." Our new self is created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness, so this is what will happen in our new lives. We will

Put off lying
Put on truth-speaking
Put off sinful anger
Put on Spirit-control/self-control
Put off stealing
Put on diligence
Put off hurtful speech
Put on edifying speech
Put off bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, evil speaking, and malice
Put on kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness

It's so easy to fail in the area of putting off/putting on. Even last night I made an unkind comment at the dinner table about another girl. Those things just don't need to be said! My heartfelt desire is to never ever say anything negative about anyone, ever, if I can help it ("so far as it depends on you...") That includes gossiping about one sister to another, or about one girl friend to another... It's just not necessary!

Today I decided to try an experiment... one that I've already failed in, but have picked myself up to try again... to not say a single unkind word about anyone today. I'd like to try for tomorrow too. I want to make edifying speech a habit in my life. I'd like it to be said of me, as it was said of Eric Liddell, "I never heard him [her, in my case] say a bad word about anybody." Do you want to join me in this experiment?

Remember,

Each person you know was, like you, made in the image of God, is loved by God, and Jesus died for that person. If you have this perspective, you will not be so ready to speak ill of them.

5 comments:

Leahna said...: DO I? (want to join you in your expirement)

Of course I do1 I know it was more of a rhetorical ? since all believers are to live in the Spirit. :)

But yes, I want to be as the woman pictured in Proverbs 31 "In her tongue is the law of kindness."; March 3, 2009 at 12:21 PM
Pure Little Ladies Ministry said...: Way awesome post!! Something I need to work on, too. =S

Oh, and you haven't responded to my e-mail concerning articles for the TT...if you could reply to that as soon as you can, then I can know what to work on for it.
-_^

Anyhow, have a wonderful day!! I'm off to my bed...sick with a cold, and a mound of Etymology to do. =S lol!!

Love,
Toria; March 3, 2009 at 2:14 PM
Anonymous said...: I'll join you! It's a very good challenge...though definitely a challenge. Isn't it good that the Lord gives us strength to keep His commands?; March 3, 2009 at 3:46 PM
Amanda said...: I can but try, at least!; March 4, 2009 at 1:41 PM
Margaret Dashwood said...: That was very convicting Melanie...yes, I will join in the expirement too...no 100% for the test but I will at least try!!:)-bethany; March 4, 2009 at 1:58 PM

PRAYER REQUESTS

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" (Ephesians 6:18)

PLEASE PRAY...

* That I would draw nearer to God every day and never allow my relationship to become stagnant ritual; particularly that I would grow in the area of submission, patience, 1 Corinthians 13 love, and wholehearted devotion

* That I might have wisdom as I edit "The Marquis' Daughter"; that the Lord would bless and work through it; and that I might find just the right publisher for it.

* That I would submit to the Lord's work in my life, whatever it may be; that I would take each opportunity He brings me (even the seemingly hard ones) to draw closer to Him and point others to Him

*That our Etsy shop might be successful and that it would be a means by which we can glorify God and share the Gospel

Ephesians 2:1-10

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

"The heart set to do the Father's will need never fear defeat. His promises of guidance may be fully counted upon. Does it make sense to believe that the Shepherd would care less about getting His sheep where He wants them to go than they care about getting there?"

"God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to."

"If God, like a father, denies us what we want now it is in order to give us some far better thing later on. The will of God, we can rest assured, is invariably a better thing."

"Obedience to God's will is the secret of spiritual knowledge and insight. It is not willingness to know, but willingness to DO (obey) God's will that brings certainty."

"Victory over all the circumstances of life comes not by might, nor by power, but by a practical confidence in God and by allowing His Spirit to dwell in our hearts and control our actions and emotions. Learn in the days of ease and comfort, to think in terms of the prayer that follows, so that when the days of hardship come you will be fully prepared and equipped to meet them."

"And shall I pray, Oh, change Thy will, my Father,
Until it be according unto mine?
Ah no, Lord, no, that never could be, rather
I pray Thee, Blend my human will with Thine."

"A crucified life cannot be self-assertive. It cannot protect itself. It cannot be startled into resentful words. The cup that is full of sweet water cannot spill bitter-tasting drops, however sharply it is knocked."

"And as we rest our hearts upon what we know (the certainty of the ultimate triumph of good), leaving what we do not know to the Love that has led us all our life long, the peace of God enters into us and abides. And then we see our light."

[A Practicing Christian]...it means that every single act and feeling, every experience, whether pleasant or unpleasant, must be referred to God. It means looking at everything as something that comes from Him, and always looking to Him and asking His will first, and saying, "How would he wish me to deal with this?"

Christ says: "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work. I want you."

"I was not born to be free. I was born to adore and to obey."

"What is saving but taking us out of the dark into the light? There is no salvation but to know God and grow like Him."

"I will not try to convince you of anything about God. I cannot. You must know Him. I only tell you I believe in Him with all my heart. You must ask Him to explain Himself to you, and not take it for granted that He has done you a wrong because He has done what you do not like. Whether you seek Him or not, He will do you justice. But He cannot explain Himself unless you seek Him."

"Sometimes a thunderbolt will shoot from a clear sky; and sometimes into the life of a peaceful individual, without warning of gathered storm, something terrible will fall. And from that moment everything is changed. That life is no more what it was. Better it ought to be, worse it may be. The result depends on the life itself and it's response to the invading storm of trouble. Forever after, it's spiritual weather is altered. But for the one who believes in God, such rending and frightful catastrophies never come but where they are turned around for good in his own life and in other lives he touches."