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Girlfriends in God - Sept. 3, 2009

September 3, 2009 
An Incredible Gift 
Sharon Jaynes

Today's Truth 
"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit" Proverbs 18:21 (NIV).

Friend To Friend 
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).  When God created the world, stocked the seas with marine life and the skies with winged creatures - when he caused the stars to ignite the night sky and placed the sun to light the day and the moon to illumine the darkness - He did so with words.  "And God said, ‘Let there be light.'"  "And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." "And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.'" "And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night…'" "And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.'" "And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds...'"  "And God said, Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'" .… "And it was so."  God spoke and what was not - became what is. When God created the heavens and the earth, He used a mighty force - words. "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth" (Psalm 33:6).

Amazingly, when God created mankind in His own image, He gave us that same powerful tool. He didn't entrust words to zebra's, birds, monkeys, elephants, lizards, or horses.  He entrusted words to mere mortals.  Our words also have creative potential. They can create a smile on a discouraged child's face, lighten the heart of a husband loaded down with burdens, fan into a flame the dying embers of a friend's smoldering dreams, cheer brothers and sisters in Christ to run the race with endurance, and bring the message of hope and healing of Jesus Christ to a wounded world. Words are one of the most powerful forces in the universe and, amazingly, God has entrusted them to you and me.

How will we use this incredible gift from God?  Will we use words to bring life or death?  Encouragement or discouragement?  Let's pay particular attention to the words we speak and use our words to speak life into the people in our little part of the world today.

A careless word may kindle strife;
A cruel word may wreck a life.
A bitter word may hate instill;
A brutal word may smite and kill.
A gracious word may smooth the way;
A joyous word may light the day.
A timely word may lessen stress;
A loving word may heal and bless.
(Author Unknown)

Let's Pray 
Dear Father, I am amazed that You have entrusted us with such a powerful tool…words.  May we use our words to bless and not to curse, to build up and not to tear down, to heal and not to hurt.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart by pleasing in Your sight.

In Jesus' Name, 
Amen.

Now It's Your Turn 
Read the following verses and fill in the blanks:

Genesis 1:3 And _______ _______, "Let there be light," and there was light.

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed ___     _________ ______________so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

Psalm 33:6 By the ______________________ were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

What did you discover about the power of God's words?

Now, on a similar note, what can you surmise about the power of your own words?

Throughout the day, ask yourself this question: Did my words build up or tear down?

To comment on today's devotion, visit www.sharonjaynes.com/blog.  You can read other Girlfriend's comments as well!

More From The Girlfriends 
Today's devotion is taken from Sharon's book, The Power of a Woman's Words and The Power of a Woman's Words Bible Study.  There is great power in the words we speak and the people we impact.  If you would like to learn more about how to harness this powerful resource and use your words to speak life into others, this book will be a great resource.  Why not get a group of girlfriends together and learn about The Power of a Woman's Words together! 

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Matthews, NC 28106
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