I CAN ONLY CHANGE ME; AND WHEN I CHANGE ME, I CHANGE US!
I CAN ONLY CHANGE ME; AND WHEN I CHANGE ME, I CHANGE US!
Genesis 1:26-27 NLT
Then God Said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals that scurry along the ground. “
So, God created Human beings in his own image. In the image of God, he created them; male and female he created them.
When God created, he spoke – We are created to be like him – Our words create. They are containers for power.
2 Cor 10:5 AMP – We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the true knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ….
Eyes and ears are like a portal to your brain, right? Yes! What we hear and see helps develop thoughts that we either disregard or keep and meditate on. But not all that enters our thoughts are from the natural. We can get thoughts from Satan too. That is why the Bible tells us to put on the helmet of Salvation so we can protect ourselves and our mind. It is also why we are told to take every thought captive. Asking- does this thought line up with the Word of God? Is this Truth?
Proverbs 23:26 Amp – My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways. I believe that what we see directly affects our minds and thus our hearts – Same with our ears.
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast ( that is committed and focused on you – in both inclination and character, because he trusts and takes refuge in you with hope and confident expectation.
2 Tim 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but He has given us a spirit of power and of love and of sound judgement and personal discipline- abilities that result in a calm, well balanced mind and self-control.
Romans 12:2
NLT – Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know Gods will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
MSG – Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You will be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well informed maturity in you.
Philippians 4:8 NLT
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Proverbs 4:23
NLT – Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
MSG- Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that is where life starts.
Matt 12:33 A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad.
This scripture is talking about a heart and mouth connection. A heart and mouth connection.
If you are thinking about something/ meditating on something it will come out and if you speak it, you can take it on. Your creating….
James 3:1-12
Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our moths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you’d have a perfect person, in perfect control of like.
A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything- or destroy it!
It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
This is scary: you can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue- its never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and woman he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!
My friends, this can’t go on. A spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don’t bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don’t bear apples, do they? You’re not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?
1 Peter 3:10 NLT – If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies.
Ephesians 4:29(-32) NLT – Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Prov 15:28 NLT – The heart of the Godly thinks carefully before speaking; the mouth of the wicked overflows with evil words.
Prov 21:23 NLT – Watch your tongue and keep your moth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.
Psalms 34:13 NLT – Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it!
NIV – Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it!
Isaiah 58:9 – means that if we can control our tongue, we can get a quicker answer to our prayers
James 1:26-27If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
These last two scriptures from the OLD Testament and NEW are saying that if we are really pleasing God, really living our faith out then two things will come from us:
1 – We watch our words
2 – We are meeting felt needs
Love is seen and felt!