Tag Archives: Bible

Rainbow on my Bible

The Power of a Word

(A two minute read)

What we say is powerful, perhaps more powerful than we know.

You and I are made in God’s image. So, just as His words have creative power, our words have creative power.

My words, and the ideas they contain, are planted as seeds. If they fall on good soil, and are fed and watered, there’s a harvest. If they are good seeds, a good harvest. If not – there’s trouble.

Since my words have creative power, I should be careful what I say. Not because other people will judge my words, but that God may.

Words, like actions, have consequences. They are also our offspring, and I’m responsible for them. If a minor child is in trouble with authority, isn’t the parent held responsible? So it is with words. If something I say creates trouble, or strife, or negativity, or distress, shouldn’t I carry the consequences for that word?

My words are also powerful in my own life. Do I use words to build myself up, or tear myself down? Do I proclaim myself accident-prone and then see that become a self-fulfilling prophecy? Or do I speak words of grace and dexterity over myself?

What I say about myself comes out of my secrets, the things I hold closest to my heart. My beliefs about myself. I say what I believe, and believe what I say. And it shapes me. So what’s my template?

If I myself is all I have, so as to only measure myself against myself, or – worse still – against you, my options are very limited.* But when I measure myself against who God says I am, my growth potential is unlimited. So I go looking for those words.

To have success, and make positive change in my life, I speak God’s words. Because with God, nothing is impossible. And His words? Well now, His living word – that’s Jesus Christ. What could be more effective than that?

*2 Corinthians 10:12
† 1 Peter 2:9

If you liked this essay, try this one.

Augustin Hirschvogel: Sandals with Classical Ornaments

The Road to Emmaus

(A two minute read)

There’s a story in Luke’s gospel known as the Road to Emmaus.

A pair of Christ’s disciples were walking from Jerusalem to a nearby town after the terrible Passover during which He was crucified. Jesus joined them, although they didn’t recognize Him at first. They were discussing His crucifixion; they didn’t understand it.

This is a snapshot of my own walk with Jesus.

Jesus came alongside me when I didn’t know Him, or expect Him (indeed, I had rejected Him as a younger man, effectively rendering Him ‘dead.’). With the people walking on the road to Emmaus, He slowly and surely revealed Himself to them by showing them from Scripture why it was ‘necessary for the Christ to suffer these things.’

They invited Him in when they reached their destination and remained ignorant of Him until the moment they broke bread with Him. In other words, they didn’t know Him until they had communion with Him and were in relationship with Him. Then, the gospel says, they finally recognized Him.

He immediately vanished from sight (into the realm of faith) in the same instant.

God is like that for me. He reveals something and then, in the twinkling of an eye, departs until next time. But He has left His Spirit behind, to guide me, establish me and build me up (or wear me down) until I am deemed ready for the next encounter with Him.

My heart is a trumpet, 
Listen to it sing.
My heart is a torch,
Watch it burn.I gave you feet for a reason,
Now, use them to follow Me.’

Read more poetry here.

Image: Augustin Hirschvogel: Sandals with Classical Ornaments via Wikimedia Commons