Happy Saturday

Power of the Tongue

by Michael Knight 

 

"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." - Proverbs 18:21 

Words have the power to motivate or destroy, energize or deflate, inspire or create despair. Many successful executives can remember the time their father failed to give affirmation to them as a child. The result was either overachievement to prove their worth, or underachievement to prove he was right. 

Many a wife has lost her ability to love because of a critical husband. Many a husband has left a marriage because of words of disrespect and ungratefulness. Stories abound regarding the power of words. There are just as many stories of those who have been encouraged, challenged, and comforted with words that made a difference in their lives. 

Jesus knew the power of words. He used parables to convey His principles of the Kingdom of God. He used words of forgiveness and mercy. He used words to challenge. He used words to inspire His disciples to miraculous faith. 

Do your words give life? Do they inspire and challenge others to greatness? Who does God want you to encourage through your words today? Affirm someone close to you today.

Christ the Lord Is Risen Today

1. Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia! 
 Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia! 
 Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia! 
 Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia! 

2. Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia! 
 Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia! 
 Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia! 
 Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia! 

3. Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia! 
 Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia! 
 Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia! 
 Where's thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia! 

4. Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia! 
 Following our exalted Head, Alleluia! 
 Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia! 
 Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia! 

5. Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia! 
 Praise to thee by both be given, Alleluia! 
 Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia! 
 Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia! 

6. King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia! 
 Everlasting life is this, Alleluia! 
 Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia! 
 Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia! 

Daily Smile:
Nurse: Good morning Mr. Smith, you seem to be coughing much more easily this morning.

Mr. Smith: That’s because I’ve been practicing all night.

In The News:

College Shuts Down Dorm Room Bible Study
Officials at Florida's Rollins College ordered a group of students to shut down a Bible study they were holding in the privacy of a dorm room -- saying it violated the rules, Todd Starnes reports. The incident occurred in the midst of a campus battle over whether religious groups that require their leaders to follow specific religious beliefs are violating the school's nondiscrimination policy. Four students affiliated with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship were holding an informal Bible study in the common area of a dorm suite when a resident hall assistant entered the room and asked the student leading the study to step outside. "He was told they were no longer allowed inside the dorm -- even with the express consent of the students to do Bible studies," said Greg Jao, InterVarsity's national field director. "They said it was because InterVarsity was no longer a registered student group on campus." InterVarsity was de-recognized as an official campus organization after it refused to comply with the school's nondiscrimination policy. While InterVarsity welcomes all students and faculty, it requires its leaders to be Christians -- something the school maintains is a violation of its policy. A Rollins spokesperson, however, said the incident was simply a miscommunication: "No group is allowed to hold meetings in the common space of residence halls. A fraternity was recently in violation of this as well, and they were asked to meet elsewhere -- so it was not just InterVarsity." The Christian students have taken their concerns to Student Affairs.

Obama Says He'd Strike Down All Bans on Same-Sex Marriage
In an impromptu White House press conference on Friday, President Barack Obama spoke on his administration's recent decision to file a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to strike down California's Proposition 8, saying there was "no good reason" for a ban on same-sex marriage, the Christian Post reports. In response to a reporter who asked why he didn't "just argue that marriage is a right that should be available to all people of this country," Obama said: "What we've said is that same-sex couples are a group, a class that deserves heightened scrutiny. The Supreme Court needs to ask the state why it's doing it, and if the state doesn't have a good reason, it should be struck down. That's the core principle, as applied to this case. Now, what the court may decide that if it doesn't apply in this case, it probably can't apply in any case. There's no good reason for it. If I were on the court, that would probably be the view that I would put forward. But I'm not a judge, I'm the president. The basic principle, though, is let's treat everybody fairly, let's treat everybody equally, and ... I think that the brief that's been presented accurately reflects our views." Obama also said he felt it was important for his administration to become involved in the Proposition 8 case because he found the voter-approved amendment to be unconstitutional. The amendment, passed in 2008, defines marriage in California as between a man and a woman.

Libya: 48 More Foreign Christians Arrested in Benghazi
Libyan security officials arrested almost 50 more foreign Christians last week in Benghazi, Christianity Today reports. According to Agence France-Presse, 48 Egyptian Christians who worked as traders in a city marketplace are accused of attempting to evangelize Muslims, but were arrested on charges of illegal immigration. The Egyptians "were found in possession of a quantity of Bibles, texts encouraging conversion to Christianity, and images of Christ and the late Pope Shenouda of Egypt's Coptic Christians, none of which were for 'personal use,'" a security official told AFP. The Egyptian Human Rights Union Organisation, chaired by Coptic Christian Najib Gabriel, has appealed to the Arab League for help in releasing those arrested. "When arrested, they were not engaged in proselytism," he said. "They were just having pictures of the Christ and the [late Coptic] Pope Shenouda, things always carried by Christians to invoke blessings." On Thursday, Libya's prime minister urged militias, one of which is suspected to have arrested the Christians, to join government security forces. "Militias, however, often act with impunity, running their own prison cells, making arrests and taking confessions in total absence of state control and oversight," the Associated Press noted.

Methodist Men Join Calls Against Boy Scouts Change
The General Commission on United Methodist Men has joined conservative voices urging the Boy Scouts of America not to open its membership to homosexuals, Baptist Press reports. In February, GCUMM sent a letter to Wayne Brock, Boy Scouts of America chief Scout executive, calling on the group not to implement proposals being considered at the BSA's annual meeting in May to open Scouting leadership and membership to homosexuals. The Methodist organization also called on Scouting to revitalize its relationship with the faith community. More than 40 other faith denominations and conservative groups have voiced similar concerns, including the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, the International Communion of Evangelical Churches, the American Family Association and the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute.