When I was asked to write these short messages for the paper, they said they were devotionals for people to read! Devotion, which is the root word where devotional comes from is defined as:
1: religious fervor 2: an act of prayer or private worship. 3: a religious exercise for private use 4: the fact or state of being dedicated and loyal.
So what’s the point? We use words so loosely these days! We’ll say we “love” the tacos at Fuzzy’s or 3 Parrotts and in the same breath, say to our wife “I love you!” Really? Do we have as much honor and affection for a taco (that starts out good, but ends up… well, we all know where food ends up!) as I do for my soul mate in this life? I know, I know… Some people are already saying, “Give me a break, they don’t mean the same thing!”
Here’s a question though, where did Wordsor the vocalization of thought process start? Now, if you are a “believer” or what some people call “saved” or a Christian, then you go to the bible to find out right? Because after all, we say that’s where our hope comes from and where we find answers for life! So, with that said, we see from the book of Genesis that it all started with… “And God saidlet there be light!” and BAM! The energy from His word still powers the universe today and will for an eternity.
Ok, so how does this transfer to us? Well, if you read on in the book of Genesis, you will find that He created us in His image! So, my suggestion is this, if He started this whole thing we call life, with words, then wouldn’t we maintain and get through our lives with words? We interact with others, hurt or heal, build up and tear down with… Words! If this is the case, we really need to make every word count. The fact is we all have to talk to get along in life, but what we say is entirely up to us! The words we use are in our power!
Now, you can’t choose if you will live by words, but you can choose the words you live by. When we say, “I’m reading my devotions for the day” what are we really saying? According to the definition above, we are saying that we are “devoted” to who the devotionals are written about! We are declaring our allegiance to the Lord in the words we say. When we say, “I love you!” to our children, we know that “love” is a special word that is set aside for something that can love us in return, not for something that’s here today and gone tomorrow!
Let’s bring a little more sense and realness to the words we choose. Pursue God and Discover Your Good Life today!