Monday Motivation: The Power of Words

Adventure Kids

Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

The thing about fruit is that it doesn’t grow overnight. Any plant that yields a flower, vegetable, or fruit, takes time to yield the fruit. Whether the fruit is good or rotten. This metaphor, comparing what the tongue says to what is grown from planting is powerful. In our words towards our spouse and kids, over time we plant and water one of two kinds of fruits. We are planting life in our relationships or death. The power of our words goes right to our loved ones’ hearts and minds. It can cause hardness to the things of the Lord or it can cause them to want to draw near. 

James 3:5b  says, “How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!” A small fire can grow out of control quickly. When a fire is ablaze, not only are the flames destroying what they touch, but often smoke causes just as much damage. Our words towards others are the same way. Even if we are only talking to one person, often our words are heard or shared with others, and the damage is done. May our words bring life!

ACTION STEPS with your kids: Read Proverbs 18:21 together. Commit to memorizing it as a family. Pray together and ask the Lord to help the words that you speak to one another bring life, not death. 

Monday Motivation

Adventure Kids
Colossians 3: 12-14, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

God’s chosen ones! What a treasured phrase as a believer.

We are chosen and wanted by our Savior. We are holy and beloved. Not because of anything we have done, but because of who He is.

Chapter 3 of Colossians is an excellent passage to read and know if you are unsure of what your life should look like to others after you’ve accepted Christ. Verse 12 says to put on these things. Just like you do with your clothes each day, take off the dirty and put on the clean. Put off your old self, and put on your new self in Christ.  

It is a daily choice to put off our sin. Even more so, it is a moment by moment choice to turn away from sin and choose the righteous path. It isn’t easy. But Jesus didn’t say we could or should, do it without Him. He wants to be the strength that we depend on when putting on this list each day. 

  1. Compassionate hearts
  2. Kindness
  3. Humility
  4. Meekness
  5. Patience, bearing with one another
  6. Forgiving
  7. And love, which binds everything together. 

If we are loving our neighbor (i.e. our spouse, our kids…) as ourselves, we are going to be doing all of the things listed here. Let’s lean into Jesus today. Take time today to list these words out, define them. Ask the Lord to grow you in each of these ways.

ACTION STEPS with your kids: Read Colossians 3 together as a family. Talk through each of these characteristics. Have each person talk about which is easy for them and which is hard, and why. Pray together asking the Lord to grow our dependence on him and to work in our lives to grow that specific characteristic. Encourage one another this week!