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Enriching Speech

Well...God convicted me once again of something I shared with someone that I should not have. Sigh....

I thought about it before I said it but my mouth shared it anyway. I wish time had a rewind button. Pause. Rewind. Delete!

So, friends who are keeping up with my progress...I blew it once again! Truly that is the problem with too much conversation: it can lead to too much information. Ya know how it goes - "well, so-and-so is so-and-so and yada yada" and so it goes. Ugh.

I'm learning some things in my head and I need God's Spirit to awaken them deeply in my heart. For instance, I've said it before but it is God's Spirit in me who speaks edification and blessing. My job? I must simply yield to the indwelling power of God. It's there! It's every present! The very DESIRE to speak only blessing is there, residing in me because it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. The trouble is...I forget that. I forget that I am dead. I forget that it is Christ who is living in me. This is the reality that must fully root itself in my heart.

And it's this reality to which the Spirit keeps bringing me back: Christ is in me. 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 woke me up again to this truth this morning (It's amazing how he keeps brining me back to scriptures involving speech! Yikes!). It says:

"I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him, in all utterance (speech) and all knowledge..."

Okay. Let's stop right there. That's enough to halt me in my tracks. This passage begins with the fact that I, as a believer, have been given the grace of God. Now, grace is so much more than "unmerited favor." It goes WAAAY beyond that! Grace is the "empowering presence" of God. It's the power to live the life of Christ fully and completely! Grace is not weak; it is mighty, indeed! Paul says here that "the empowering presence of God WAS given to me by Christ." His very essence fills up my being. John 1:14 says that Jesus was full of grace and truth. He was full of the empowering presence of the Father AND NOW he has given me that same authority, that same position as an heir of God. Christ is in me (Col. 1:27)! Not WILL be...but is, presently, actively dwelling in this holy temple. This empowering presence of God is the source of everything that I need to live godly. 2 Peter 1:3-4 says that  I HAVE ALREADY BEEN GIVEN all things that pertain to life and godliness. I am "enriched in everything" (1 Cor 1:4). How? Through the power of Christ living in me! I have ALL that I need within me to live holy and righteous, flowing in the fruits of God's Spirit. This includes my speech.

Paul says here that because of the empowering presence of God's Spirit, even my speech is enriched. Oh, Jesus! Conquering my speech is not a work to be done...but a work that HAS been done! My 'work' is to simply REST and YIELD to the work that the Spirit has placed inside of me. Truly, to 'work OUT my salvation'...to get it OUT OF ME! Isn't that what Paul says in Philippians 2:12-13? Work OUT your own salvation...because it is God who works IN you both to WILL and to DO!? The working of God inside of me is so rich and deep that the very ability to do right and the very will to do right is in me. Truly, it is His Spirit in me willing and doing. I must yield to it. This is why Paul exhorts us in Colossians 4:6 to always let our speech be with grace, aka - always let your speech be done FROM the empowering presence of God!

So, Holy Spirit, this is my prayer this morning. By your grace I yield. By your grace I believe. It is all through you that I stand. In you I live and move and have my very being. Thank you that your Spirit is living in me...not a little, but completely! I thank you that I have been given all things that I need to live godly. I thank you that you have enriched me in all things. I declare that even my speech is enriched by You. Now, give me grace to yield to this truth. Give me the grace to remember this truth all day long.

In Jesus name. I believe it.

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