“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Prov. 18:21, NKJV).
This verse reminds me of the power that words have, and that I have to watch what I say. Words can either encourage or destroy, and, because they can stick in one’s mind forever, they can positively or negatively affect the lives of others. This is important to me because I have not always been careful with my words, and have hurt people as a result.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Prov. 18:21, NKJV).
This verse reminds me of the power that words have, and that I have to watch what I say. Words can either encourage or destroy, and, because they can stick in one’s mind forever, they can positively or negatively affect the lives of others. This is important to me because I have not always been careful with my words, and have hurt people as a result.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27, NIV).
The law of inertia states that an object at rest or in motion will remain so unless acted upon by an outside force. Maybe not intentionally or consciously, but when things don’t go our way, we reason it’s the outside forces’ fault, not ours!
So that’s the reason I’m stressed and miserable. No one wants their progress halted or rest interrupted by “outside forces,” but can these forces really halt and interrupt? Do they have that power and control over us? Jesus tells us not to worry.
“Then [Jesus] said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ ... Peter remembered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!’” (Mark 11:14, 21, NIV).
Here is an odd story about Jesus. Hungry, Jesus sees a fig tree with leaves because it was out of season. Finding it has no fruit, He curses the tree, and it dies. Why does Jesus do that? Doesn’t it seem unreasonable? Why does Mark tell this story?
The gospel accounts are not collections of random stories of things Jesus did. Each gospel book is a revelation of who Jesus is. So either Mark wants us to think Jesus is an unreasonable tree killer, or something deeper is happening here.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor” (Eccl. 4:9, NKJV).
One day, two new girls enrolled at my school. They were surrounded by a crowd of girls who wanted to meet them during recess. As I made my way over, I recognized I had met one of them in church that past Sabbath! We immediately became best friends. We were the only Seventh-day Adventist girls in the entire public school.
I loved my friend. She was funny, happy, smart and kind. After we graduated from eighth grade, we attended different high schools, but still spent every Sabbath together, studying our Sabbath School lessons and enjoying potluck with the youth.