Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.[Ephesians 4:29-30]
Some years ago, a famous New York Fifth Avenue jewelry store had a promotional presentation.
With great pomp and considerable advertising, they unveiled the display of a flawless 70-carat diamond. For this trivial bauble, the company had paid a record $1,050,000. For days the curious waited in line so they could get a short glimpse of the diamond.
* A short, bald man peered condescendingly at the gigantic jewel protected in the theft-proof glass case. He leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I can see a flaw in that diamond, but let's keep it a secret between us. I wouldn't want to say anything to the company."
* A chic and stylish lady concluded, "You know, it really isn't that beautiful."
* "It's too large," said one woman in rhinestone-studded glasses.
* "I think it's vulgar," commented a third.
At the end of two weeks, the guard who was protecting the jewel said, "These last two weeks I've heard a lot of trash talk. I'm amazed these folks spent their time waiting to see something so pitiful."
Trash talk happens when a person sees something good and then finds flaws to put it down.
Well, trash talk is what the Pharisees did to Jesus the day He rode into Jerusalem. The Pharisees trash talked Jesus when He associated with sinners (Matthew 9:11). They trash talked Jesus for not obeying man-made laws (Matthew 9:14). They trash talked Jesus and His disciples for the way they remembered the Sabbath (Matthew 12:2). They trash talked the Lord and His followers for the way they kept traditions and washed their hands (Matthew 15:2). They trash talked Jesus for the stories He told (Matthew 21:45-46). They even trash talked their own employees when they were touched by the words of the Savior.
It's not so much different today.
Today we have people who put down Christ and His people for a multitude of reasons. They think we're phony and foolish. They thinkwe're narrow-minded and near-sighted. They think we are backward, prejudiced and judgmental.
How sad.
It's sad they feel that way about us and the Savior whom we represent. It's even sadder if their feelings have some basis in truth.
Perhaps that's why St. Paul told the Ephesian church they were to let no corrupting talk come out of their mouths. Instead, Christians should be identified by using their conversations to build people up and support them.
That is, after all, what the Holy Spirit wants. It is what glorifies the Christ who gave His life so that we might have life.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, forgive my loose tongue and grant that I may say those things which are beneficial to others. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Some years ago, a famous New York Fifth Avenue jewelry store had a promotional presentation.
With great pomp and considerable advertising, they unveiled the display of a flawless 70-carat diamond. For this trivial bauble, the company had paid a record $1,050,000. For days the curious waited in line so they could get a short glimpse of the diamond.
* A short, bald man peered condescendingly at the gigantic jewel protected in the theft-proof glass case. He leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I can see a flaw in that diamond, but let's keep it a secret between us. I wouldn't want to say anything to the company."
* A chic and stylish lady concluded, "You know, it really isn't that beautiful."
* "It's too large," said one woman in rhinestone-studded glasses.
* "I think it's vulgar," commented a third.
At the end of two weeks, the guard who was protecting the jewel said, "These last two weeks I've heard a lot of trash talk. I'm amazed these folks spent their time waiting to see something so pitiful."
Trash talk happens when a person sees something good and then finds flaws to put it down.
Well, trash talk is what the Pharisees did to Jesus the day He rode into Jerusalem. The Pharisees trash talked Jesus when He associated with sinners (Matthew 9:11). They trash talked Jesus for not obeying man-made laws (Matthew 9:14). They trash talked Jesus and His disciples for the way they remembered the Sabbath (Matthew 12:2). They trash talked the Lord and His followers for the way they kept traditions and washed their hands (Matthew 15:2). They trash talked Jesus for the stories He told (Matthew 21:45-46). They even trash talked their own employees when they were touched by the words of the Savior.
It's not so much different today.
Today we have people who put down Christ and His people for a multitude of reasons. They think we're phony and foolish. They thinkwe're narrow-minded and near-sighted. They think we are backward, prejudiced and judgmental.
How sad.
It's sad they feel that way about us and the Savior whom we represent. It's even sadder if their feelings have some basis in truth.
Perhaps that's why St. Paul told the Ephesian church they were to let no corrupting talk come out of their mouths. Instead, Christians should be identified by using their conversations to build people up and support them.
That is, after all, what the Holy Spirit wants. It is what glorifies the Christ who gave His life so that we might have life.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, forgive my loose tongue and grant that I may say those things which are beneficial to others. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
א (Alef)
Psalms 119:1 How happy are those whose way of life is blameless,
660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
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Psalms 119:1 How happy are those whose way of life is blameless,
who live by the Torah of Adonai!
2 How happy are those who observe his instruction,
who seek him wholeheartedly!
3 They do nothing wrong
but live by his ways.
4 You laid down your precepts
for us to observe with care.
5 May my ways be steady
in observing your laws.
6 Then I will not be put to shame,
since I will have fixed my sight on all your mitzvot.
7 I thank you with a sincere heart
as I learn your righteous rulings.
8 I will observe your laws;
don’t completely abandon me!
ב (Bet)
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
don’t let me stray from your mitzvot.
11 I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I won’t sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, Adonai!
Teach me your laws.
13 I proclaim with my mouth
all the rulings you have spoken.
14 I rejoice in the way of your instruction
more than in any kind of wealth.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and keep my eyes on your ways.
16 I will find my delight in your regulations.
I will not forget your word.
ג (Gimel)
17 Deal generously with your servant;
then I will live and observe your word.
18 Open my eyes, so that I will see
wonders from your Torah.
19 Though I’m just a wanderer on the earth,
don’t hide your mitzvot from me.
20 I am continually consumed
with longing for your rulings.
21 You rebuke the proud, the cursed,
who stray from your mitzvot.
22 Remove scorn and contempt from me,
because I observe your instruction.
23 Even when princes sit and plot against me,
your servant meditates on your laws.
24 Also your instructions are my delight;
they are my counselors.
ד (Dalet)
25 I lie prostrate in the dust;
revive me, in keeping with your word.
26 I told you of my ways, and you answered me;
teach me your laws.
27 Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wonders.
28 I am melting away from anxiety and grief;
renew my strength, in keeping with your word.
29 Keep deceitful ways far from me,
and favor me with your Torah.
30 I choose the way of trust;
I set your rulings [before me].
31 I cling to your instruction;
Adonai, don’t let me be put to shame!
32 I will run the way of your mitzvot,
for you have broadened my understanding.
ה (Heh)
33 Teach me, Adonai, the way of your laws;
keeping them will be its own reward for me.
34 Give me understanding; then I will keep your Torah;
I will observe it with all my heart.
35 Guide me on the path of your mitzvot,
for I take pleasure in it.
36 Bend my heart toward your instructions
and not toward selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
with your ways, give me life.
38 Fulfill your promise, which you made to your servant,
which you made to those who fear you.
39 Avert the disgrace which I dread,
for your rulings are good.
40 See how I long for your precepts;
in your righteousness, give me life!
ו (Vav)
41 May your grace come to me, Adonai,
your salvation, as you promised;
42 then I will have an answer for those who taunt me;
for I trust in your word.
43 Don’t take away completely my power to speak the truth;
for I put my hope in your rulings;
44 and I will keep your Torah always,
forever and ever.
45 I will go wherever I like,
for I have sought your precepts.
46 I will speak of your instructions even to kings
without being ashamed.
47 I will delight myself in your mitzvot,
which I have loved.
48 I will lift my hands to your mitzvot, which I love;
and I will meditate on your laws.
ז (Zayin)
49 Remember your promise to your servant,
through which you have given me hope.
50 In my distress my comfort is this:
that your promise gives me life.
51 Though the arrogant scorn me completely,
I have not turned away from your Torah.
52 Adonai, I keep in mind your age-old rulings;
in them I take comfort.
53 Fury seizes me when I think of the wicked,
because they abandon your Torah.
54 Your laws have become my songs
wherever I make my home.
55 I remember your name, Adonai, at night;
and I observe your Torah.
56 This [comfort] has come to me,
because I observe your precepts.
ח (Het)
57 Adonai, I say that my task
is to observe your words.
58 I beg your favor with my whole heart;
show pity to me, in keeping with your promise.
59 I thought about my ways
and turned my feet toward your instruction.
60 I hurry, I don’t delay,
to observe your mitzvot.
61 Even when the cords of the wicked close around me,
I don’t forget your Torah.
62 At midnight I rise to give you thanks
because of your righteous rulings.
63 I am a friend of all who fear you,
of those who observe your precepts.
64 The earth, Adonai, is full of your grace;
teach me your laws.
ט (Tet)
65 You have treated your servant well,
Adonai, in keeping with your word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
because I trust in your mitzvot.
67 Before I was humbled, I used to go astray;
but now I observe your word.
68 You are good, and you do good;
teach me your laws.
69 The arrogant are slandering me,
but I will wholeheartedly keep your precepts.
70 Their hearts are as thick as fat,
but I take delight in your Torah.
71 It is for my good that I have been humbled;
it was so that I would learn your laws.
72 The Torah you have spoken means more to me
than a fortune in gold and silver.
י (Yud)
73 Your hands made and formed me;
give me understanding, so I can learn your mitzvot.
74 Those who fear you rejoice at the sight of me,
because I put my hope in your word.
75 I know, Adonai, that your rulings are righteous,
that even when you humble me you are faithful.
76 Let your grace comfort me,
in keeping with your promise to your servant.
77 Show me pity, and I will live,
for your Torah is my delight.
78 Let the proud be ashamed, because they wrong me with lies;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me,
along with those who know your instruction.
80 Let my heart be pure in your laws,
so that I won’t be put to shame.
כ (Kaf)
81 I am dying to know your salvation;
my hope is in your word.
82 My eyes fail from watching for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
83 For I have shriveled like a wineskin in a smoky room;
still, I don’t forget your laws.
84 How long can your servant stay alive?
When will you bring judgment on my persecutors?
85 The arrogant have dug pits for me to fall in;
this is not in keeping with your Torah!
86 All your mitzvot [show your] faithfulness;
they are hounding me with lies; help me!
87 They have nearly ended my life on earth,
but I have not abandoned your precepts.
88 In keeping with your grace, revive me;
and I will observe your spoken instructions.
1 Thessalonians 5:1 But you have no need to have anything written to you, brothers, about the times and dates when this will happen; 2 because you yourselves well know that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When people are saying, “Everything is so peaceful and secure,” then destruction will suddenly come upon them, the way labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there is no way they will escape.
4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that the Day should take you by surprise like a thief; 5 for you are all people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We don’t belong to the night or to darkness, 6 so let’s not be asleep, like the rest are; on the contrary, let us stay alert and sober. 7 People who sleep, sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us stay sober, putting on trust and love as a breastplate and the hope of being delivered as a helmet.[1 Thessalonians 5:8 Isaiah 59:17] 9 For God has not intended that we should experience his fury, but that we should gain deliverance through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, 10 who died on our behalf so that whether we are alive or dead, we may live along with him. 11 Therefore, encourage each other, and build each other up — just as you are doing.
12 We ask you, brothers, to respect those who are working hard among you, those who are guiding you in the Lord and confronting you in order to help you change. 13 Treat them with the highest regard and love because of the work they are doing. Live at peace among yourselves; 14 but we urge you, brothers, to confront those who are lazy, your aim being to help them change, to encourage the timid, to assist the weak, and to be patient with everyone.
15 See that no one repays evil for evil; on the contrary, always try to do good to each other, indeed, to everyone.
16 Always be joyful. 17 Pray regularly. 18 In everything give thanks, for this is what God wants from you who are united with the Messiah Yeshua.
19 Don’t quench the Spirit, 20 don’t despise inspired messages. 21 But do test everything — hold onto what is good, 22 but keep away from every form of evil.
23 May the God of shalom make you completely holy — may your entire spirit, soul and body be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. 24 The one calling you is faithful, and he will do it.
25 Brothers, keep praying for us.
26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
27 I charge you in the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
28 The grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be with you.
____________________________
The Lutheran Hour660 Mason Ridge Center Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63141 United States
1-800-876-9880
www.lhm.org
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