“What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.” This hymn by Joseph M. Scriven, is one of my absolute favorites. It always brings up wonderful memories of my Grandmother and her sisters gathered around the organ singing with glee. And it’s also the first thing that enters my mind when I read Matthew chapter 26. …
Ephesians 5:4
I once saw a sign which read, “No swearing or bad language allowed. As a bird is known by its note, so is a man known by his conversation.” As Christians the unbelieving world isn’t just watching our actions, its listening to the words we speak. And Paul tells us that our words should be anything but foul, offensive, and obscene. This includes swearing, sharing crude jokes, or speaking without self control. For merely by the words it utters, the tongue wields great power, either for good or evil. And we should seek to keep our thoughts and speech pure before the Lord. How? Paul tells us that if we have attitudes of gratitude, and hearts of thankfulness, “foolish talk” will have no place in our lives. The world is filled with enough vulgarity, and we as followers of Jesus need to be different. We need to, “let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. “ (Colossians 4:6)
