A short phrase in the Bible that is amazingly deep with meaning is the phrase, ”God said.” What was the reason for God speaking? There are many; He created something from nothing by speaking it into existence.

Psalms 33:6 By the word of the Lord, the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host.

The Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have always communicated with such truth, intimacy, and depth that they are like one in unity and essence.

God has often spoken to people. Exodus 33:11 ”Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses’ face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.”

Many people know John 3:16, ”God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,” but many forget that Jesus spoke those words to a man named Nicodemus.

The Bible is called ”The Word of God” and is said to be ”living and active and sharp as a two-edged sword.”

We having been created in the image of God have great power in the words that we speak, and with that power comes the responsibility to control them.

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

The words that I speak can create unity and oneness with other people and communicate love to them, or they can cause great division, strife, bitterness, and hate. With my words, I can solve problems or cause them. I have the responsibility with such power to exercise great self-control over what I choose to say.

James 3:8-12 The tongue is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

Amid this growing anxiety, unrest, anger, and frustration, that is rising rapidly; I have strong opinions about what is right and what is wrong. As I read the news, Facebook, and listen to YouTube commentaries, I can feel myself getting caught up in the anger that is swirling around me like a great storm.

So what do I do, and what do I say? I know from reading and listening to others who have voiced opinions and concerns that it doesn’t matter what I would say. Some will take substantial issues with it. One of the biggest problems is that it is so easy for people to say things that aren’t true and to circulate things that aren’t true. An example is a post going around by Trey Gowdy which is fraudulent. It is easy to check those out to see if they are true or not. It seems safer to remain an autonomous observer and go fishing. But by virtue of my position as a Pastor, I am a leader, so I need to do that, but with wisdom and cautiousness.

The cool thing about writing is I can reread it several times, pray about it, set it aside for a day and read it again, and hopefully up the odds that something wise comes out of it. Many who write on social media don’t take those same precautions.

(This is a repeat of a blog I wrote a month ago with a few changes. These guidelines seem more necessary now than when I wrote them.)

During these times, I am following these principles.

1. Everything I do and say needs to be a good advertisement for God. I am an ambassador for Jesus. A question I ask myself daily is, ”If I were a skeptical unbeliever, would I be drawn to faith in Christ by someone who was acting and talking the way I am?”

2. Part of my responsibility here is to be aware of the opinions and values of those around me, which changes all through the day as I move from situation to situation. Practicing deference is a significant discipline for those who want to influence other people positively. Deference as I define it is, ”Limiting my rights and freedom so as not to offend those who I want to convince to follow and love Jesus the way I do.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

3. I will forgive anybody of anything quickly, no matter how rude or obnoxious they might be in expressing their views, opinions, or criticisms toward me or others around me that are family or friends. I will not answer rudeness with rudeness, a critical statement with defensiveness or an insult with an insult. I will respond with grace, humor if possible, I will give a blessing from God, and I will offer to pray for them if appropriate.

1 Peter 3:8-9 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.

4. I will accept, be patient with, and love those who are different than I am in their views, values, beliefs, and opinions. I will not argue or debate with them about where they are. I will ask questions and honor them by listening attentively as they give expression to their views. I will answer questions they may ask with no arrogance or superiority because of my freedom. During the days of the New Testament there was a massive division in the church over whether it was alright to eat meat offered to idols and Paul gives this advice;

Romans 14:1-4 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

I ran my chain saw for 4 hours today cutting firewood and loaded it into a trailer. I now have a big pile of “rounds” in my driveway waiting to be split and stacked. When I got the wood unloaded and the pick up and trailer parked it was 3 pm. I ate 2 cheese sandwiches that patty fixed for me and then I sat down in my chair to rest a minute and fell dead asleep. I woke up about 30 minutes later and was so stiff I could hardly move so I sat in my hot tub for 15 minutes and went to bed. I got up at 7 pm, rode my stationary bike, ate dinner, am now writing this blog, will read my Bible and pray, and then back to bed for hopefully 8 good hours of sleep. The worst thing about getting older is not being able to do what I used to be able to do, not that long ago. My name is “Dee”, but I have been thinking about changing it to “EEE” for empty, as in my gas tank!

I am always bugging guys to pray with their wives. In the half dozen men’s accountability groups that I am in that is one of the things that all of the guys who are married report on. As much as I push it I have to admit that much of the praying that Patty and I do together she initiates. She didn’t in the old days when we were just getting started in the discipline because she wanted me to be the spiritual leader, but now that it is a normal part of our married life she regularly will say, “Let’s pray for_______”, and we pray for them right then. Patty has such a high level of compassion for people that she is always carrying a load of concern for various individuals who are going through trials or are facing a challenge. Our first priority is our kids, their spouses and our grand kids. Then extended family like my sister and others who may be struggling with life. We are praying a lot now for people in our church that we hear about having a health issue, marriage problems, kid problems, job or money struggles during these times.

Occasionally we will pray for our own problems, but not very often, we mostly just intercede for others. As I think about our marriage I would describe our relationship as a relaxed unity. Our unity isn’t something that we are really aware of, or are struggling to maintain, it is just sort of there in a nice comfortable way that brings lots of joy and contentment into both of our lives. The reason for our “oneness of spirit” I believe is our praying together. There is a supernatural bonding that takes place between people who pray together that God makes happen. It is the reason why married couples who regularly pray together have such a low rate of divorce. Couples who pray together stay together. The same is true in churches who have a high level of corporate prayer in their church life, there is great unity and a high level of love for each other, for those in the world and for God.

I nag, nag, nag about the importance of corporate prayer in our church. I am sure there are some who get tired of it, but it is so important and so powerful I won’t quit until every person in our church is involved to some degree.