A couple of summers ago, our whole family was vacationing in Gulf Shores.  We were blessed to be staying on the 21^st floor of a condo situated right on the beach.  Of course, I spent the entire week worrying that our youngest granddaughter/dare devil, would end up falling over the railing—although she had no worries as she told me with great confidence that it would be ok if she did because she would just land in the swimming pool below us. 

One afternoon, as we were relaxing out on the balcony, I went inside to get my book when suddenly I heard my daughter yell, “OH MY GOSH!!!”  Of course, my first thought was—Lexi went over the railing.  I ran outside instead to find exhaust fumes so thick you could not see the beach below us.  “What happened???” 

My husband was the first one who could respond, “You are not going to believe it, but the Blue Angels, 5 of them, just flew past at eye level with our balcony.  They were so close we were looking directly into the cockpits!!!”  Well, you can imagine the disappointment I felt.  A once in a lifetime event….and I missed it! 

During my quiet time the next morning, as God often does, He chose to use my disappointment to speak to me and grow me.  He asked, “What would you have done differently if you had known ahead of time the Blue Angels were going to be dropping by?” 

Well, first of all, I would not have wasted one single moment inside getting a book.  I would have camped out on that balcony so I didn’t miss it.  And, I would have been prepared.  I would have invited everyone I know to our balcony to be a part of this amazing experience.  I would have had my camera out and ready and I would have taken time to explain to my grandchildren who the Blue Angels are so they could fully appreciate what was going to happen.  

But, the reality is, the last thing I had on my mind that morning when I got up was that the Blue Angels would be doing a fly-by that day.  God spoke again and said “And yet, you do know that one day I will either call you home or you will see the return of my Son to gather all believers, and you still live like that’s the last thing on your mind.” 

In James 4:14, it reminds us “that we are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”  The fact is, I may have 1 hour or 20 years left—only God knows. The same goes for the lost God puts around us every single day.  We never know how much time they have.  Each encounter we have with them could very well be our last. 

This isn’t meant to be a message of gloom and doom, but of joy in being given these lives of ours to share the amazing gospel message of a God who loves us so much that He sent His son who was willing to be beaten, tortured and brutally crucified for us so that we can spend all eternity with Him.  Why would I not want to live every day of my life as though it could be my last and spend it sharing my Jesus story with a lost and broken world who so desperately needs to know Him? 

Romans 10:14 says, “How then can they hear about Him unless someone (you and I) tells them.  How will they believe in Him who they have not heard?”  They need to hear from us that there is hope in a dark world and that hope is Jesus.

God uses all kind of situations to show me the MANY areas in which I need to grow.  The truth is that I value this lesson He taught me far more than the temporary thrill of getting to see the Blue Angels, amazing as they are! 

God has challenged me to live every single moment of every single day as though it were my last opportunity to tell those around me about the love of Jesus.  He has asked me to be a witness for Him everywhere I go–to everyone I encounter—to make an impact on the world FOR HIM every day I am given here. 

Do people see Jesus first and foremost in how we live our lives and how we love others?  I have heard it said “our evangelism is not effective because our lives do not reflect the Jesus we are proclaiming.” 

A story I heard tells of a little girl who came home one day and was telling her mom of a lady she had met. When her mother asked what the lady’s name was, the girl replied, “I don’t know, but she must have been Jesus’ grandmother because He is all she talked about.”  Oh how I pray that one day, someone will say of me, “I can’t remember her name….but all she talked about was her Jesus!” 

Colossians 4: 5-6 says, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders, make the most of EVERY opportunity.  Let your conversation be ALWAYS full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” 

As God has challenged me, let me also challenge you.  Wake up every morning with one thought:  “God, let me live my life today in such a way that people every where I go will see Jesus—not me—in everything I think, say and do.”  Begin praying daily “Let the words of my mouth (everything I say), and the meditation of my heart (everything I think), be pleasing in your sight O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 

We are His witnesses in a lost and fallen world and our time is short.  Make the most of it.  Treat every opportunity as if someone’s life depends on it because my sisters and brothers….it does.

In our society today, we are constantly reminded that we need to make sure we are being politically correct whenever we speak. In theory, that sounds very reasonable; however, when you take God out of things even the most innocent statement can be regarded as a politically incorrect statement.

As Christians we should always be aware of every word that comes out of our mouths—not because we are concerned about being politically correct, but because we want all our words to be pleasing to God and bring Him glory and honor. In fact, our words are so important to God that He addresses this issue over and over again throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Proverbs 12:18 – “The words of the reckless (thoughtless) pierce like swords but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Proverbs 18:21 – “The tongue has the power of life and death…”

Proverbs 12:25 – “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”

Proverbs 10:11 – “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.”

I would go out on a limb here and say that God is being very specific in letting us know our words can have the ability to be either powerfully destructive or they can bring new life and hope to those who are lost and hurting.

Now I know that we have all said hurtful things to others—words that once they left our lips, we wished we could pull back in our mouths.  We have also had hurtful things said to us.  How do we keep a guard on our lips so that those times are very few and far between?  God has also given us some clear instructions in His Word about how to accomplish that.

Proverbs 15:28 – “A good man thinks before he speaks; the evil man pours out his hurtful Words.”

We should ALWAYS take a moment in EVERY situation to pray and ask God to give us words that will be pleasing to Him—words that will draw others to Him, not push them away. We need to never let our pride or emotions take control of our words.  When we do, harsh and hurtful words will come spilling from our lips as we try to prove we are right or defend ourselves. Oh, that I would have learned that lesson early in our marriage when in the middle of a “discussion,” the words that would fly out of my mouth were anything but pleasing to God and were hurtful to my husband.  Then too late, I would feel so ashamed about how I had spoken to my husband—the man I love more than anything on this earth.  But, our God in His mercy and patience has never given up on me and continues to teach me every day how important my words are.

In order for us to have words that are controlled by God, WE MUST HAVE LIVES THAT ARE CONTROLLED BY GOD.  Let’s look at a couple more scriptures that teach us how to give God control of our lives and words. First and foremost, we must make sure what we put into our minds will always align our thoughts/words with God’s standards and not those of society.

Philippians 4:8-9 – “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is TRUE (lines up with God’s truth), whatever is NOBLE (honorable), whatever is RIGHT (not in the worlds eyes, but right according to God’s Word), whatever is PURE (free of contamination – worldly views, sin), whatever is LOVELY (innocent, humble, pure), whatever is ADMIRABLE (deserving respect, high esteem), if anything is EXCELLENT or PRAISEWORTHY (having worth, merit or value in God’s eyes) – think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me – put into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you.”

Second, we must make sure our words always allow others see Jesus in us—even when hurtful things have been said to us. Use Jesus as our example—He endured more hurtful words than you or I will ever have to hear and yet He responded with love, grace, mercy and forgiveness.

Colossians 3: 12-14, 17 – “Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.  17- And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

I Thessalonians 5:11 – “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up just as you are doing.”

Wouldn’t it be an awesome testimony to our God if the way others spoke was motivated by the way they heard Christians speaking to others? 

God—let it begin with me.  May this be my daily prayer: “Let the words of my mouth (EVERYTHING I SAY) and the meditation of my heart (EVERYTHING I THINK) be pleasing in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer” Psalms 19:14.