Be Gentle

“Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

It stands to reason, then, that ungracious words can produce an adverse effect on our well-being. Allowing ourselves to express frustrations enables “feelings” to rage unchecked in our system.

But when we make certain words and tones off limits, we begin retraining the neural pachways of our brains toward gratitude and positivity – a process that Scripture calls the “renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2) and one that secular science is finding more and more support for. And this is something our Pastoral team has mentioned in several Sunday sermons as of late.

I find it fascinating how the Lord has created us as holistic beings. The physical affects the emotional, which can bolster or wreak havoc on the spiritual.

I don’t know about you all, but for myself I am really having to bring my thoughts back to Christ constantly right now. Rallying together with others and comparing or complaining about the loads we are bearing, the election season!!, and the coming holiday stresses are not good things for us to be doing Christians! Even when we do not move forward with the intention of participating, it is all around us in the world right now. Praise the Lord that for the Christian this is not our home! We are set apart for HIS kingdom and HIS glory!

The only real load we have ever bared was taken from us at the Cross when our Savior chose to drink from the cup the Father gave HIM – so that in and through HIM we could be made FREE!!! Praise the Lord! In light of this not much matters except furthering HIS kingdom.

The more you shovel your feelings in the Lord’s direction – the less important your feelings will actually feel – in the BEST possible way!

Minute by minute,

Lord, help me to be calm.
Jesus, give me kind speech.
Father, show me how to be gentle.

👉Colossians 3:12 says, “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
👉Ephesians 4:2 admonishes us to “be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
👉And of course, the famous “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23 includes gentleness with love, joy, peace, self-control, and other stellar attributes.

The Bible has a lot to say on gentleness –

Don’t use grace as an excuse not to grow.
In Christ, we CAN choose gentle speech.
And when we get it wrong, cause we will, know that Christ’s love covers a multitude of sins.

Let’s follow the Lord’s example this season, being slow to anger and abounding in love. (Numbers 14:18).