Acts 13: 13 Now when Paul and his
party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John,
departing from them, returned to Jerusalem. 14 But when they departed from Perga, they
came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day
and sat down. 15 And after
the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to
them, saying, “Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation
for the people, say on.”
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“Stop right there” a leader
said to me in the middle of my long list of complaints. “If you have a
complaint, you must also have three solutions.” All of a sudden, I had nothing
to say.
- Sometimes I want to complain.
- Sometimes I want to spout out negative words.
- Sometimes I want to say what’s on my mind and that thing may be bad for others.
Paul has now emerged as the
leader of the group. When they arrived in the synagogue on the Sabbath day, the
normal order of church service went on. A request came up. “Does anyone have
any words of exhortation for the people?” Fortunately, Paul was available.
- GOD wants me to be ready to say something about HIS love.
- GOD wants me to be ready to speak about JESUS at any time.
- GOD wants me to be available to say a word of encouragement to people who need it.
Having something to say is
one thing, but being available to say it is another. My heart will speak what
is in it. I had to do an experiment. I paid attention to how many negative
discussions I started or was part of and then I counted the number of positive
conversations I had and the times I mentioned GOD. I found out I spoke negatively
most of the time.
GOD wants me to have
something to say. I am grateful for HIS love, grace and mercy. HE include me in
HIS plans.
- What are you saying?
- Are your words mostly negative or do you have anything positive to say?
- Will you start practicing speaking about JESUS, not just saying ”GOD” to people?
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