Your Tongue

Recently I read about a sad story of a man who ended his life. Before ending his life he wrote about the events happened in his life from the time he was born. Since his birth was unexpected (unexpected pregnancy), his mother hated him. From the infant age onwards she uses to shout at him for everything. Any problem in any place she use to point to him and will use abuse words on him. So the regret of having parents who treats him like a loser made him actually a loser. In all the walks of life he had to face discouragement and more than that he use to take all the blame, what so happened in his surroundings. That made him more discouraged and finally he ended up his life. 

In this story, everything started because the person’s mother was not able to control her tongue. “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness” – James 3:9. The tongue has the power to take life or make life. God created the world and everything through his word. “Although small, the tongue has great power” – James 3: 5.

Even if you are a dedicated person of God, if you are carelessly using your tongue, you deceive your faith and your God. A servant of God means he is an ambassador of God and he represents God among people. If he is not using the tongue properly, he is putting down the name of God and more over he is disrespecting God and the position he is in. “Even if we seem religious, if we do not control the tongue, we are deceiving ourselves and our religion is vain” – James 1: 26.

I request the brothers and sisters who are reading this message to be very careful in using your tongue. Respect God and his words.

Grow your Hair

In the Bible, Old Testament Judges, we study about Samson. From Judges 13 onwards we can see the life history of this Jewish person who was called by God to be the leader and Judge. When he was a boy itself, God blessed him with the Spirit. Judges 13: 24, 25. But in the next chapter we see his weakness exposed even though he was a man of God. Even though God commanded them not to marry outside Jews, he wanted to marry a Philistine woman. Satan found an opportunity to get into this person and he cashed it in. 

 

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” – Mathew 26: 41.

Satan will have different ways to conquer you. He might make you to take decision suddenly and destroy you (suicide). But most of the times, he will slowly take one by one step to destroy you. God gave strength to Samson to protect Jews, but he used it for his own pleasure. He went and fought against the Philistines for getting his weak desire. These were the steps devil took to put him under. 

When devil understood Samson can be tamed, it sent Delilah to him for temptation and finally Samson failed in it. The way Satan did it; you can read it in Judges 16. Delilah did not leave Samson without letting him tell his strength. His strength was his hair and once the enemy understood it, they shaved it fully. 

Same thing happens to many one of us. When we walk with God, he gives us his Spirit and guides us to do supernatural things. But even then Satan will try to get into us. Once we open a window for the devil, he will search for our weakness to know our strength. If we give room for him he will find our strength and destroy it to finish us.

Carefully read Judges 16: 21, 22 – “The Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison. But his hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.” 

Yes, Samson’s strength was his hair and once the hair started to grow, Samson understood his strength has come back. Devil can take away our strength and make us weak. But God will give us a second chance to show our strength. The question is how you are going to use the new strength. Here in the life of Samson, he used the strength to kill all the Philistines who came to see his death and in the process he himself got died. 

Our strength may not be physical. But when it is gone, go to your basics. Ask God to change your situation and surrender unto him. Once he gives you the strength back, instead of trying to take revenge on the enemy, use the strength to do things which you are supposed to do. Use it to glorify the Lord. If your strength is music, sing and help someone to sing for the glory of God. If your strength is in doing a specific work, do it and help others to do, and make efforts to bring them to Christ.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” – Colossians 3: 23, 24.