I am so excited!!!! I wasn't sure even which thread to put this on, since we've currently got 4 of them that are so interrelated, but I think this is the most appropriate one so I'll put it here.
I've been studying all day on the theme of our thoughts, our words, our emotions, and the fear of the Lord. I have to confess that I've been having a really hard time at stopping swearing. Mainly because I haven't been allowing myself to "replace" the words. With nothing to replace them with, it's kind of left me floundering so I asked the Lord to help and show me what to do. He just showed me and I'm so excited! He used something that most would think is totally unrelated lol, but it's perfect!
I had read a devotional a while ago that dealt with how our Lord dealt with emotional pain when His heart was troubled and when He was crucified. It really hit home with me because I live with constant pain. When dealing with his emotional pain, he didn't lash out, he didn't complain, he didn't swear. He prayed and when He spoke, this is what He said:
John 12:28 Father, glorify your name!”
Well, I've been sitting here studying all this time and naturally the pain in my back had gotten worse. My cat came and insisted I take a break to give her her treats and when I stood up the pain shot through me like an arrow and I swore in my mind. I guess that's better then saying it out loud, but not to me, so I immediately told the Lord I was sorry and asked His forgiveness and He immediately reminded me of that devotional. That's when it hit me! I can use that for swearing as well as pain!
What's really strange and why I know this was from the Lord, is because I've honestly never used a swear word or replacement swear if you will because of the pain before! It's just never happened in the last 10 years. But for it to happen now when I've been studying so hard and praying for the Lord to help me learn how to conquer this with His help, was just too perfect to be a coincidence!
So now, instead of replacing swear words with more innocent words such as "shoot", I can simply say, "Father, Glorify Your Name!" and mean it! That not only prevents me from swearing or using any kind of vulgar or coarse words, but it totally changes my emotions and thoughts immediately!!! So that takes care of the problem of that list of "reasons" and things we're feeling too! What an awesome way to do it! Thank You Lord!!!
This is the list I'm talking about that I posted earlier in this thread for those who don't remember:
Receiving one’s self in the fires of sorrow
What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name. John 12:27-29 (R.V.).
My attitude as a saint to sorrow and difficulty is not to ask that they may be prevented, but to ask that I may preserve the self God created me to be through every fire of sorrow. Our Lord received Himself in the fire of sorrow, He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour.
We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to receive ourselves in its fires. If we try and evade sorrow, refuse to lay our account with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life; it is no use saying sorrow ought not to be. Sin and sorrow and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them.
Sorrow burns up a great amount of shallowness, but it does not always make a man better. Suffering either gives me my self or it destroys my self. You cannot receive your self in success, you lose your head; you cannot receive your self in monotony, you grouse. The way to find your self is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be so is another matter, but that it is so is true in the Scriptures and in human experience.
You always know the man who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself, you are certain you can go to him in trouble and find that he has ample leisure for you. If a man has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous, he has no time for you. If you receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people.
Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year
So it looks like I'm going to be both thinking and saying aloud, "Father, Glorify Your Name!" a lot now, and as far as I'm concerned, the more the better! What better thing to do or ask then to ask Him to glorify His Name in whatever pain, anger, hurt, or whatever, that I'm experiencing at the moment? What better way to change my attitude instantly too!
You know, thinking about all this made me realize something else. When our Lord was flogged, tortured and crucified, I would think that if there was ever in this world a legitimate cause for swearing, or using vulgar or coarse language, that would be it! But He didn't! Not one "bad" word came out of our Lord's mouth. In the gospels we can read every word He spoke from that evening at the last supper until the moment He died, and He did not utter any word that would be offensive to use in front of a little child at any time.
I am not by any means trying to be legalistic here or in any of the studies I do. I am very simply presenting what the Bible says as I try to learn from it what His Will is for how I should live, just as He tells us we are to do. I'm not talking about "rules" and "laws" here. Or at least not "only" about those. I don't know about others, but I want to live in such a way that my life here and now is pleasing to my Lord who gave His life for me. Like a little child, I want to please my Heavenly Father and I want Him to be pleased with me! Being obedient to my Lord brings me great joy! It's when I fail Him that I'm miserable and in tears!
It's kind of funny but most people are scared (and so was I) by the passages that tell us that we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross, and that in order to find our lives we have to first lose them.
Mark 8:34-35 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.
The reason I say it's kind of funny is because it wasn't until I did begin to give up "my" life, my "self" and live for Him, that I began to consistently experience real joy! It took quite awhile, but I finally realized that when we give up our lives and live for Him instead, that's when He gives us a more abundant life! So what He says really makes sense, because when we lose "our" lives for Him, we begin living more abundantly then we would have ever known was possible before!
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
I don't ask anyone to do the things I do, or believe what I believe. I only post my studies to help those who are also on this journey or who might be following behind us later and find this helpful. I try very hard not to post just what I think God's Word is saying, but instead try to post His Word and show people where and how I get what I do from my studies. Not so they'll know I'm "right", but so that others can learn "how to study" by following the same principals. I know some folks think I post too many scriptures and I have tried to post fewer, but that's why I post so many so people can see the context of them. Scripture must be read in context, not only with the passage and book it's from but with the entire bible for it to make sense.
Ok, enough of that! Time to go get at least something done around here LOL God bless you all and I hope this helps someone else too!
What the bible says about swearing & using vulgar words
I've been studying all day on the theme of our thoughts, our words, our emotions, and the fear of the Lord. I have to confess that I've been having a really hard time at stopping swearing. Mainly because I haven't been allowing myself to "replace" the words. With nothing to replace them with, it's kind of left me floundering so I asked the Lord to help and show me what to do. He just showed me and I'm so excited! He used something that most would think is totally unrelated lol, but it's perfect!
I had read a devotional a while ago that dealt with how our Lord dealt with emotional pain when His heart was troubled and when He was crucified. It really hit home with me because I live with constant pain. When dealing with his emotional pain, he didn't lash out, he didn't complain, he didn't swear. He prayed and when He spoke, this is what He said:
John 12:28 Father, glorify your name!”
Well, I've been sitting here studying all this time and naturally the pain in my back had gotten worse. My cat came and insisted I take a break to give her her treats and when I stood up the pain shot through me like an arrow and I swore in my mind. I guess that's better then saying it out loud, but not to me, so I immediately told the Lord I was sorry and asked His forgiveness and He immediately reminded me of that devotional. That's when it hit me! I can use that for swearing as well as pain!
What's really strange and why I know this was from the Lord, is because I've honestly never used a swear word or replacement swear if you will because of the pain before! It's just never happened in the last 10 years. But for it to happen now when I've been studying so hard and praying for the Lord to help me learn how to conquer this with His help, was just too perfect to be a coincidence!
So now, instead of replacing swear words with more innocent words such as "shoot", I can simply say, "Father, Glorify Your Name!" and mean it! That not only prevents me from swearing or using any kind of vulgar or coarse words, but it totally changes my emotions and thoughts immediately!!! So that takes care of the problem of that list of "reasons" and things we're feeling too! What an awesome way to do it! Thank You Lord!!!
This is the list I'm talking about that I posted earlier in this thread for those who don't remember:
- anger
- frustration
- sudden and unexpected pain,
- sudden unexpected fright,
- fright in general
- hurt-hurt feelings
- habit
- for shock effect
Receiving one’s self in the fires of sorrow
What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name. John 12:27-29 (R.V.).
My attitude as a saint to sorrow and difficulty is not to ask that they may be prevented, but to ask that I may preserve the self God created me to be through every fire of sorrow. Our Lord received Himself in the fire of sorrow, He was saved not from the hour, but out of the hour.
We say that there ought to be no sorrow, but there is sorrow, and we have to receive ourselves in its fires. If we try and evade sorrow, refuse to lay our account with it, we are foolish. Sorrow is one of the biggest facts in life; it is no use saying sorrow ought not to be. Sin and sorrow and suffering are, and it is not for us to say that God has made a mistake in allowing them.
Sorrow burns up a great amount of shallowness, but it does not always make a man better. Suffering either gives me my self or it destroys my self. You cannot receive your self in success, you lose your head; you cannot receive your self in monotony, you grouse. The way to find your self is in the fires of sorrow. Why it should be so is another matter, but that it is so is true in the Scriptures and in human experience.
You always know the man who has been through the fires of sorrow and received himself, you are certain you can go to him in trouble and find that he has ample leisure for you. If a man has not been through the fires of sorrow, he is apt to be contemptuous, he has no time for you. If you receive yourself in the fires of sorrow, God will make you nourishment for other people.
Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year
So it looks like I'm going to be both thinking and saying aloud, "Father, Glorify Your Name!" a lot now, and as far as I'm concerned, the more the better! What better thing to do or ask then to ask Him to glorify His Name in whatever pain, anger, hurt, or whatever, that I'm experiencing at the moment? What better way to change my attitude instantly too!
You know, thinking about all this made me realize something else. When our Lord was flogged, tortured and crucified, I would think that if there was ever in this world a legitimate cause for swearing, or using vulgar or coarse language, that would be it! But He didn't! Not one "bad" word came out of our Lord's mouth. In the gospels we can read every word He spoke from that evening at the last supper until the moment He died, and He did not utter any word that would be offensive to use in front of a little child at any time.
I am not by any means trying to be legalistic here or in any of the studies I do. I am very simply presenting what the Bible says as I try to learn from it what His Will is for how I should live, just as He tells us we are to do. I'm not talking about "rules" and "laws" here. Or at least not "only" about those. I don't know about others, but I want to live in such a way that my life here and now is pleasing to my Lord who gave His life for me. Like a little child, I want to please my Heavenly Father and I want Him to be pleased with me! Being obedient to my Lord brings me great joy! It's when I fail Him that I'm miserable and in tears!
It's kind of funny but most people are scared (and so was I) by the passages that tell us that we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross, and that in order to find our lives we have to first lose them.
Mark 8:34-35 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.
The reason I say it's kind of funny is because it wasn't until I did begin to give up "my" life, my "self" and live for Him, that I began to consistently experience real joy! It took quite awhile, but I finally realized that when we give up our lives and live for Him instead, that's when He gives us a more abundant life! So what He says really makes sense, because when we lose "our" lives for Him, we begin living more abundantly then we would have ever known was possible before!
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
I don't ask anyone to do the things I do, or believe what I believe. I only post my studies to help those who are also on this journey or who might be following behind us later and find this helpful. I try very hard not to post just what I think God's Word is saying, but instead try to post His Word and show people where and how I get what I do from my studies. Not so they'll know I'm "right", but so that others can learn "how to study" by following the same principals. I know some folks think I post too many scriptures and I have tried to post fewer, but that's why I post so many so people can see the context of them. Scripture must be read in context, not only with the passage and book it's from but with the entire bible for it to make sense.
Ok, enough of that! Time to go get at least something done around here LOL God bless you all and I hope this helps someone else too!
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