FOOTBALL DEVOTIONAL

Prayer

Wisdom, Passion, The Lords leading, integrity, use of our tongues...

says that death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat of its fruit..... Words are powerful fellas truly powerful, words can heal and encourage and they can tear down and hurt. I want you to think about something....If I paid you ten dollars for every nice and uplifting thing you said this schoolyear and took five dollars for every negative thing, would you have any money left or would you owe me money?

INTRODUCE MASARU EMOTO, Emoto tested the power of spoken words. He placed two cups of cooked white rice in two separate mason jars and fixed the lids in place, labeling one jar “Thank You” and the other, “You Fool.” The jars were left in an elementary school classroom, and the students were instructed to speak the words on the labels to the corresponding jars twice a day. After 30 days, the rice in the jar that was constantly insulted had shriveled into a black, gelatinous mass. The rice in the jar that was thanked was as white and fluffy as the day it was made. This dramatic example of the power of words is also detailed in Emoto’s books.

Your words have creative and destructive power, whether you know this or not you were created in the image of God, thats a completely other subject but says: 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him........When God speaks entire worlds are created, situations change, power is created.....You can use the power of God when you declare and say the same thing he says about a situation, if you dont feel up to something instead of being lazy or not following through, you could quote Psalm 76:16 “ I will go in the strength of the Lord. When I say the same thing that God’s word says, than what I am doing is inviting the power of God to work in that situation, that s a good reason to what the bible says.

Talk about Coach Johnson when running the ball straight up......

Many great men and women down through the ages have offered counsel on how to keep our

tongues checked and caged. Like Will Noris, the American journalist who specialized in rhymes that

packed a wallop. He once wrote: "If your lips would keep from slips, / Five things observe with care: /

To whom you speak, of whom you speak, / And how . . . and when . . . and where."

Publius, the Greek sage, put his finger on a technique we tend to forget when he admitted: "I have

often regretted my speech, never my silence."

King David put it even more bluntly in Psalm 39:1: "I said, 'I will guard my ways, that I may not sin

with my tongue; I will guard my mouth as with a muzzle.'"

That's what it takes, boys. A conscious, tight muzzle on the muscle in your mouth.

With emphasis on "conscious."

To accomplish that disciplined objective, I offer these three suggestions:

Think first.

Before your lips start moving, pause ten seconds and mentally preview your words.

they accurate or exaggerated? Kind or cutting? Necessary or needless? Wholesome or vile?

Are they accurate or exaggerated?

Kind or cutting?

Necessary or needless?

Grateful or complaining?

Wholesome or vile?

Grateful or complaining?

Talk less. You increase your chances of blowing it if you talk too much. Furthermore, compulsive talkers find it difficult to keep friends. Conserve your verbal energy!

talkers find it difficult to keep friends. Conserve your verbal energy!

Start today. Fit that muzzle on your mouth now. It's a project you've put off long enough.

Blessed are they who have nothing to say and cannot be persuaded to say it” (James Russell Lowell).1299

“Blessed are they who have nothing to say and cannot be persuaded to say it” (James Russell Lowell).1299

The six most important words: “I admit I made a mistake.”

The five most important words: “You did a good job.”

The four most important words: “What is your opinion?”

The three most important words: “If you please.”

The two most important words: “Thank you.”

The most important word: “We”

The least important word: “I”

blessing