BIBLE LANGUAGE OR FOREIGN LANGUAGE, PT 2, No. 566
BIBLE LANGUAGE OR
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Part 2
“But I say unto you,
That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified,
and by thy words thou shalt be condemned”
(Matthew 12:36, 37).
To speak a language fluently, it needs to be part of us. Part of our minds, our hearts, and to come freely from our mouths. God gives parents a mandate in Isaiah 59:21 (NRSV): “And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the LORD; my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouths of your children, or out of the mouths of your children’s children, says the LORD, from now on and forever.”
So, what is coming out of your mouth? What is coming out of your children’s mouths?
Let’s look at a few examples today. The Bible tells us to JUMP FOR JOY with ecstatic joy and delight, not just when everything is happy and great, but when we are going through trials. When people persecute us, revile us, and say all manner of evil against us falsely (Matthew 5:1, 12 and Luke 6:22, 23). What kind of language do we use when we go through trials? Grumbling and complaining and “poor me”? Or do we rejoice in God’s unfailing goodness no matter what we are facing.
What is our daily language? Pessimism, “down in the dumps,” negativity, and even self-pity? Or do we speak Bible language? Jesus came to not only give us life but life ABUNDANTLY. Over and over again, the Bible tells us to ABOUND in our lives – in joy, hope, love, faith, self-control, patience, thanksgiving, and so on. He wants us to “abound in the work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58), and of course the work that God has given us to do is our realm of motherhood.
The Greek word for abounding is “perisseuo” and means “more and more, to excel, to exceed, to go beyond that which is necessary, superabundant in quantity and superior in quality, over and above, enough and to spare.” This is Bible language, dear mothers. I know you don’t hear many people talking with this overflowing joy and cheerfulness.
I wonder how many Christians truly speak Bible language. Do the people around us hear our “kingdom” language or do we talk the same humanistic language as everyone around us?
This is how God wants us to live and the language He wants us to speak. It’s over the top! It’s beyond the normal. In fact, how can we be anything less when we are indwelt by the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Normal Christianity is abundant, abounding, and beyond the norm. It is sub-normal Christianity to be average, normal, status quo, and fitting in with the crowd. If we are not speaking an abounding language, we are not speaking Bible language.
What about the answer of most mothers of two or three children when asked if they are hoping for another baby? “Help, No. I’m done!” Christian men talk about “getting the snip” like having a cup of coffee.
Is that the language of the Bible? No, it is the opposite to God’s heart. It is opposite to the very first words God spoke into the ears of man Genesis 1:27, 28). Whenever God speaks of blessing His people He speaks of multiplication. The Bible is opposite to the language of the church today. Many Christians openly confess that they could never afford to have any more children. And yet the Bible says the opposite!
Deuteronomy 28:4: “Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.” All these blessings come AFTER the fruit of the womb.
Psalm 37:25: “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”
Philippians 4:19: “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” And so many more Scriptures.
Don’t you think it is time for us to line up our language with the Bible?
Love from Nancy Campbell
PRAYER:
“Dear Father, You have brought me into Your kingdom. The least I can do is speak the language of Your kingdom. Please help me to be richly filled with Your Word. Even though I live in a humanistic society, please help me to see it as a foreign language. Amen.”
AFFIRMATION:
I’m practicing my Bible language daily. I want to be a fluent speaker of God’s kingdom language.
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