For those of you who know me, you know that I joke around with people and enjoy having a good laugh. I try to refrain from giving someone a hard time until it appears they don't mind. I also have to be willing laugh at myself when others are joking around with me. Unfortunately, there have been times when I have taken joking with others a little too far and have hurt people's feelings. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but too often my words do not bring comfort.
Our challenge for 2012 is "Comfort". Each of you who have taken this challenge now have in your possession a balloon because the Hebrew word used for comfort means "to breathe life into". Comfort is to bring a breathe of fresh air to someone who is hurting. My biggest challenge will be to let my words be words of comfort rather than looking for a quick laugh. This also means that I need to be more proactive in speaking first to someone. We define that as simply being friendly to others. Jesus shows us how this should look when He approaches people like...Zaccheus...the Samaritan woman at the well...the call of Matthew...and many other examples. It is too easy to fall back into a "Greet Those I Know" mode or a "I'm Busy and Focused So I Didn't See You" mode. So let's take this challenge to our mouths and let our words be words of comfort and encouragement.
Let's look at how the Bible views words of comfort. Colossians 3:17 tells us to "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another". If the Word of Christ dwells in us, we have the power to bring words of comfort and healing. Let's not just overlook this by saying, "Well, that's now how God made me". The truth is that regardless of our former life, God has REMADE us through the power of the Holy Spirit and is constantly remaking us. Hebrews 10:24 tells us to "Spur one another on towards love and good deeds". Our words need to spur, encourage and point us to those things which are lasting. The Church should be the one place where we speak honestly with each other - Sometimes that is comfort, sometimes that is confronting, but always done in love, tenderness and gentleness. Proverbs 16:24 reminds us, "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones". And Proverbs 22:11tells us, "He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend". So not only does God value words of comfort, He empowers us to speak them.
Put yourself in the place of....Billy Cundiff. He is the field goal kicker for the Baltimore Ravens and he missed an easy field goal which could have sent the AFC championship game into overtime. How how would you like to him? You have spent your entire life practicing this craft of kicking field goals. You have paid the price to excel and with the season and the Super Bowl on the line, you miss the kick and your team loses. Or how about being...Kyle Williams. He is the punt returner for the San Francisco 49ers who had the only two turnovers of the game. The first led to the Giants go ahead touchdown when the defense had stymied the Giants offense. The second led to the game-winning field goal in overtime. He had worked his way from the practice squad into becoming a vital part of the 49ers and had now cost his team the NFC Championship and a trip to the Super Bowl. Both of these players are better at their craft than 99.9% of the people in America, but will be ripped by the media and fans of their respective teams. If you were them, what would you want to hear?
Chances are, this week we will NOT run into Billy Cundiff or Kyle Williams. But we will run into others who are struggling in their lives. If we don't speak words of comfort, we may never know how bad they are hurting. If our conversations are only superficial, we will never make an impact for Christ. For the members of Hillcrest, you have a reminder of the cookies you took to give away this week. Let's see if we can allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into speaking words of comfort and life. Ask Him to help you cause people to breathe again. May this Sip from the Well motivate you to allow God to rearrange and change the priorities of our speech. Oh, and if I have been too hard on you, please forgive me and let me know so I won't do it again.
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