Church of the Hills

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as it fits the occassion, that it may give grace to thos who hear."                       Ephesians 4:29 ESV

Some of you reading this post know what "The Verbal Challenge" is about and some of you don't have a clue.  So, to bring everyone up to speed, let me give a little history...

A few weeks ago, we were in a teaching series at Church of the Hills (COTH) called "GENERATIONS" from Titus 2.  COTH is seeking to be an intentionally inter-generational because we believe there is great value in being a community that has both the wisdom from age and the energy from youth! In second message in this series, I talked about how God is creating a new people (1 Peter 2:10), a new community, that would be known for its faith, hope and love.  As part of the response to this message, I asked us all to read Ephesians 4 and Romans 12 during the following week.

This past Saturday morning (9/26), I was spending time in Scripture and journaling. I use "The Loving God Journal" by Pastor Rick Duncan of the Cuyahoga Valley Church as a guide for my quiet time. Included in the journal is a plan for reading through the Bible in a year. Again, I was directed to Ephesians 4.  I had already underlined verse 29 in my Bible (that ought to already tell you something about what God is working on in my life!).  As I thought more about this verse, I wondered, "What would it be like if, for one week, I intentionally sought to remove the harsh, hyper-critical, complaining and sarcastic words from my conversations, and replaced them with appropriate words of affirmation, encouragement, praise and thanksgiving?" So I posted this thought in the way of a challenge on my Facebook page and, almost immediately, I started see responses. The vast majority of these responses were from people who, like me, genuinely struggle with this issue in their life, and, who want to see a change.

One of the people who saw this post was my friend, Mark Zimmerman, from Moody Radio Cleveland, WCRF. Mark is one of the hosts for the Weekday Morning Show, 5-9a. Mark asked if I would like to come on and talk about "The Verbal Challenge" on Monday morning (9/28).  I had a great talk with Mark today and will be back on next week to have a follow-up conversation.

As a part of this challenge, I thought I would try to practice what I preach (always a good goal for a pastor), and offer you some words of encouragement.  The way I want to do this is through some blogposts over the next few days related to "The Verbal Challenge".  Hopefully, some of you will post responses. Sometimes responses may be describing the ways we have seen changes in our own lives and in the lives of our families and co-workers, because of the change in our speech.  Other times, the responses may be very transparent in nature, about how we weren't as careful and thoughtful as we should have been with our words.  That's okay.  The idea of "The Verbal Challenge" is not perfection, but a greater sensitivity to the power of our words.  We certainly want to pray for one another!

One of the things that occurred to me this morning is communicating the importance of understanding the context of the passage in which Ephesians 4:29 was written. Beginning in chapter 4:17, the Apostle Paul was addressing the Ephesian Christians on how their life-styles should be radically different from their former life-styles, before they came to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  In fact, the change in their lives was SO radical, Paul referred to the difference as "the old self" (4:22) and "the new self" (4:24).  Paul tells the Ephesian believers to...

"put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" Ephesians 4:24 ESV

Paul then begins to challenge these believers about their life-styles, part of which is their speech.  But here is a very important point, Paul was talking to people who had the potential of significant change because they had been made new in Christ! Paul was not challenging unbelievers to change their speech, he was challenging believers. Why did Paul not challenge the unbelievers to change the way they talked?  Because he knew that change of this nature is an "inside job", one that begins by a person first giving their lives to Jesus Christ.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."                                                                                      2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

I am aware that there may be someone reading this who desperately wants to see their speech and language change, but they have not had their heart changed through faith in Jesus Christ yet.  It is through the power of the indwelling Christ that we see lasting and meaningful transformation in our lives.  Maybe for you today, God has used this post to show you the real need in your life is forgiveness of sin and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

2,000 years ago, the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, willingly went to the cross to die for our sins. He was crucified, buried, but on the third day, God the Father raised His Son to life.  And because Christ lives, we can live also!  If today, you realize that you have never opened your heart up to Jesus, but you want to do so today, pray this prayer...

"Dear God, I know Jesus is Your Son and that He died on the cross and was raised from the dead.  Because I have sinned and need forgiveness, I ask Jesus to come into my heart.  I am willing to change the direction of my life by acknowledging Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and by turning away from my sins.  Thank You for giving me forgiveness, eternal life and hope. In Jesus' name, AMEN."

If you prayed that prayer, please let me know.  I want to do what I can to encourage you in your new life in Christ!

So, here we go... Day 1 of "The Verbal Challenge".  I pray it is a great one for you!

Randy

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