Eat Your Words

From an early age, I was exposed to the inherent human principle that what we speak can usher into existence either creation or destruction. "You can't UN-say your words..." was a familiar and altogether wise statement that my Mother spoke into my brothers' and my lives. It was valid, and for the reason of its pristine and apparent truth, I never questioned it. She has always been one of the few constant figures of influence in my life who, with specific regard to aforementioned credo, has always offered positive words of love and affirmation. And, as the Word of God shows us, "Love never fails."-(1 Corinthians 13:8) In spite of the acrid and often condemning environment of negativity that this fallen world offers, and in spite of the circumstances that befell us, my mother rang consistently supportive and nourishing words every day. She still does. And I now do so for my children. Our confession shapes not only our lives, but the lives of everyone we are entrusted as well.

One of my mentors and now Father-In-Law on my wife's side, Bob Harrison teaches a very insightful observation regarding the life of a caterpillar. For its entire life-season as a caterpillar, it produces a silk that will eventually be spun out of its mouth and used to create the chrysalis or cocoon in which the caterpillar will undergo the magnificent metamorphosis into a glorious butterfly. He sites very poignantly, that we create our environments, where we live, and what we will become with what comes out of our mouths. There is a marvelous word-picture of God's perfect example poured out for all creation to simply observe and obtain in that ideal.

We not only live in the environments we create with our words, but we create the environments of our future, or rather our very futures themselves from the confessions we make every day. The Word of God is so very clear that "Death and Life are in the POWER of the tongue, and those who love it shall eat its fruit" or "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love to talk will have to eat their own words."-(Proverbs 18:21) I appreciate the latter "God's Word" Amplified Translation as it cuts to the heart of the matter. The Word of God offers us two incredible exemplary images that literally embody the concept of eating Words. The Prophet Ezekial is given WORDS on a scroll to eat before speaking to the house of Israel: "Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth."-(Ezekial 3:3) Also, John the Revelator is given a scroll to consume: "So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey." I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings."-(Revelation 10:9-11) We do "eat our own words". It is invariably congruent to the idiom "You are what you eat". For in truth, we will reap the seeds of positive or negative choices in either account. When we make poor dietary decisions, we fare poorly within our physical man. When we make poor choices with our words, we reap the inevitable consequences of what we unleash into the fabric of existence. "For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."-(Matthew 12:37)

Did it ever occur to you that through your confession, you create more than your own current state or future conditions? Have you considered that you will have an unwittingly powerful, albeit silent effect on every person who sees, witnesses or touches upon your life? Something to consider... Saint Francis of Assisi influenced literally hundreds of thousands around the world to live for Christ, and yet one of his most famous quotes is "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words. " He chose his words with care and love. Whereas on the polar opposite extreme we find the nihilist, Friedrich Nietzsche, whose words and confessions influenced many, but one in particular who altered the history of mankind, manipulated and misunderstood his words and used them as a catalyst for evil. His name was Adolf Hitler. I will employ the use of an erroneous line of text here, as I personally take issue with ending a perfectly good paragraph with that name.

We underestimate, on a daily basis, the true power of our words. Nevertheless, we are bound to the law of creative or destructive confession. Why? Because precious people, even God is bound by His Words. When remarking on the Purpose of Prayer, our dear friend, Dr. Myles Munroe teaches: "The reason people don't hear God speak very often is because when He does, He knows that His Words will not only become LAW for all creation, they will become law unto Himself as well." "So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."-(Isaiah 55:11) If God speaks, He must accomplish it. That is the very essence of CREATION itself. GOD SPOKE. He used His WORD to create the Earth and all that dwell therein. "And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light."-(Genesis 1:3) If we are made in God's image and likeness, (and we are), then that self-same principle applies to us as well. We create our world, our life and the environment we possess with our confession. The grave difference between God and us is that the Lord cannot fail with His Word, He is perfect. But we who have the power of free-will, can choose death. It is odd, but this is the magnetic path of our innately sinful flesh, to choose death over life. That is why we must choose Christ. Jesus IS life. In that one incredible, eternity-changing decision, we loose the fetters and bonds of the gravitational pull of the flesh, and allow the Holy Spirit to speak for us.

That is why prayer is imperative for ALL believers. Prayer is not an act of religious rite, but in truth the act of communicating with God with our WORDS, with our confession. Jesus Himself gave incredible testimony to the truth of the necessity of personal prayer throughout the example set during His ministry. Jesus prayed for guidance in places of quiet solitude -"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed"-(Mark 1:35) "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed"-(Luke 5:16). But perhaps the most influential moment of prayer to all believers is when the Disciples asked the Master "How should WE pray?" And the Lord answered- "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."-(Matthew 6:9-13) Jesus otherwise NEVER prays with His Disciples. That confirms that we, individually MUST communicate and confess GOOD and SIN to God the Father, IN THE NAME OF JESUS in order that we might be directed to straight paths. Yes, prayer is meant to be a communication of positive confession. And it must be constant and consistent in order to be effective. The Bible never mentions an "Intercessors Ministry". It mentions times of intercession, but what the modern church has done to almost entirely hedge out the necessity for personal prayer is disarming. Please do not misunderstand me. I love those who have seen the need and follow the call to be in such ministries, but I also must say how unfortunate we are as a body when we rely on a group of stalwart believers to fulfill that which we are either too lazy, too busy or quite frankly too unimpressed by to do. The Word of God says very clearly: "Pray without ceasing"-(1 Thessalonians 5:17) So, lest anyone think that they will see any good thing from the Lord by leaving the future of the Church environment, the future of the members and their own paths to a group of people whose shoulders were never meant to carry that heavy burden. "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves"-(James 1:22)

What we speak in our every day walk will inevitably take form into our existence. If you confess "I am so fat." or "I am just not good with (fill in the blank)", you will most definitely never get in shape, and never be good at... whatever. But on the far opposite end of the scale of choice, if we say "I will get in shape" or "I am getting better with (fill in the blank), we WILL. I know right now someone is saying "That's just the power of Positive Thinking". Well, yes it is. But the truth behind the reason that the Power of Positive Thinking does not offer lasting fruit to most is two-fold. First, if we approach the process with the same consistency that we generally do our prayer life, it will not take root nor become effective. Second, if GOD is not the focus, He cannot move through it. In order for our confession to manifest positive results in our lives, we must remain focused on HIM. Trust is the center of any healthy relationship, and that is a valid truth with our communion with the King of Kings as well. But above even that, if we speak LIFE than the seeds of our speech will bring forth LIFE. That is God's Law, His truth and principle. So, as we open our mouths today, let us all heed that Biblical truth which Proverbs 18:21 declares, remembering that, whether spoken with Death or Life, we will EAT OUR WORDS.

Conquering the Tragedy of Self-Mystification

When I was fairly young and impressionable, one of my peers told me "You have the Devil in you." At first I chuckled uncomfortably at what I was hoping was a jest, but he stoically repeated himself "You have the Devil in You." When I pressed him for further explanation, he explained to me that I was not going to be a very positive influence on the world, and would more than likely not be able to do anything about it. In lieu of the fact that this person was very important to me, and I looked to them for a great deal of influence and guidance, I was devastated. Instead of shrugging off what was a sick joke, I absorbed that prognostication of a dark and hell-bound future. I received it as one would a word of encouragement, but in absolute reverse. Years passed, development continued, and I found myself reflecting in some pivotal moments of my latter childhood gravitating to the thoughts of having "the Devil in me". In my teen years I made some terribly stupid, arrogant and rash decisions and although I knew in my unsaved soul that they were the fool's path to destruction, I recalled those words once again... And somehow allowed the mistakes and missteps to fall into a file marked: "Devil In Me". I carried that brand into my young adulthood where I continued on being a sinner, making more paramount mistakes and laying milestones of idiotic behavior all whilest I wore the brand as a badge of accepted identity. I actually believed as Huckleberry Finn said "If I'm goin' to Hell, I might as well go whole hog!". I used to tell people that "I have a parking spot reserved in Hell". While I didn't join a cult, or become a Satanist, neither did I believe that God had his hand on me. And I was angry about that.

My testimony is a full-fledged book, but this instance represents one of the typical tools that the adversary uses with all of us: Self-Condemnation rooted in Self-Mystification. The enemy uses rhetoric or "mystification" through words, delivered or even thought regarding our human condition in an attempt to destroy us using our perception as the poison. The use of mystification in the literary sense is the use of language to deceive others or to disguise the conditions of our social existence. "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof."-(Proverbs 18:21) Did you know while God has a plan for your life, Satan also has a plan for your life? While God wants you to receive His grace, mercy and love through the saving blood of Jesus Christ, the enemy wants you to receive his condemnation, punishment and hatred through the grand deception of self-condemnation.

Jesus tells us in John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." What does Satan seek to destroy more than any other idea or posession? Our faith. Our power of belief. If he can destroy our hope, he has already sown the seed of self-destruction that will inevitably lead to our eternal demise. What is more, he has also undoubtably sown the contagion that will lead to the destruction of others on an exponential level. Don't believe me? Take a deep look at the people responsible for sowing words like the one I received as a child and I assure you that behind their intention or motive lies another person spreading the lies of the enemy through to them. It is a satanic cycle, and just as the enemy is a counterfeiter and perverter of all of God's glory and grace, he is also a counterfeiter and perverter of multiplication. It is like a disease. One word has the potential to kill or bring life. However, that word has no future, or power if we are equipped to break it.

Although my cycle of self-perpetuated destruction was driving a cliff's edge at a raging speed with almost no control, there was still the little boy clutching to grab the wheel saying "Wait!! I know there is more than that!! It can't be true!" And after a long, arduous and dangerous journey to find a glimmer of hope, I found Jesus. Moreover, He had been waiting for me to realize that He was there all the while, to break those words, to correct the wrong and destroy the enemy's hold on my life and purpose. He was waiting there to give me life... and life more abundant.
I learned that "His grace is sufficient." I broke through and God is now using that which the enemy meant for evil against him. I have even forgiven the peer whose words I perpetuated and watered. In spite of the past, I love them still and pray for their breakthrough daily.

But what can we, who know and believe do for those who struggle, oftentimes in silent invisibility, diagnosed with an "incurable disease of self-perpetuated destruction"? We can do what the Lord tells us to and build people up. Truly edify them. Let the Holy Spirit guide their growth and conditioning, while we LOVE ANOTHER. We truly do have the potent power of death and life in our words. I love Cervantes' legendary literary hero Don Quixote de la Mancha. I have been privileged to play the role on stage and learned a great deal about this very subject through that experience. In the book, Don Quixote is a "knight-errant" roaming the countryside seeking to right the wrongs of those that would cause harm and evil, and any who defile the name of his beloved "Dulcinea". Now, bearing in mind that the man is somewhat mad, and the age was not one of knights, wizards, giants or chivalry, he lived life "not as it is, but as it SHOULD be". The Lady Dulcinea was in reality a scullery maid of ill-repute who was a victim of self-mystification and condemnation. But he did not see her as, treat her as, or speak to her as such. He spoke life to her. And his words truly transformed her into "Dulcinea" healing her wounds and restoring her HOPE.

That is who we should be through the power of Christ and His blood. The way to break the mystification of the enemy is through the power of blessed, edifying positive confession. Speak LIFE. And if you find today that you have been struggling with this issue- Know that Jesus is waiting for you, to call you by your true name and His words will truly transform you into who you are meant to be, healing your wounds and restoring YOUR HOPE.