) Now though the Lord has finally been able to convict me entirely and I'm ready to repent and stop eating the broken pieces and the crumbs. I'm ready to be further separate myself from this world and be the godly woman He's called me to be. Somehow when I read these verses, I can't see that person swearing/cursing etc. for any reason:
1 Peter 2:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:11-12 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
When I've used swear words or cussing in front of others, even as a joke, I've become part of the crowd and I'm accepted as "one of them". Looking back on my life, I can clearly see that now, and I don't want to be one of them anymore. I want to be someone who people can see is always different from them so that they will want what I have that makes me different. (Jesus of course)
You know, like Lulu said, for a long time after we were married, my pet name for Bruce was "jerk". It was a joke between us of course and I never thought too much about it until one day Bruce pointed out to me how bad it sounded to others. Of course I defended it because no one likes hearing they've done something wrong. But after praying I knew he was right so I asked both the Lord and Bruce to forgive me and haven't called him that since. (well I did slip once in a while at first, but you know what I mean)
Now, being a member of God's household, a citizen of heaven and while here an ambassador of Christ, I just don't think I would be being a very good ambassador for Him if I continue to use words in that way. To me, after having read all those verses I posted before, I think that by using words that way, I am both setting a bad example for others, and more importantly am putting my Lord in a bad light since I represent Him.
The hard part for me is determining what I "should say" then. I'm accustomed to taking my thoughts captive and replacing them with God's Truth, but in this case I need to replace them with ordinary words lol, and believe it or not, that's harder for me because that means I have to think about it and can't do it instantly.
So I decided that in instances where I would normally be upset and frustrated and so might say "shoot" (or whatever lol) that if I'm feeling that way because of something I've done/a mistake I've made, etc, then I'll simply say, "Oh no!" or "oh no, I did it again!" That way I won't be using any curse word at all.
Although all the verses I posted have convicted me of this, I think these are the ones that really got me:
James 3:9-12 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
James 1:26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
1 Peter 3:10 For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.
