death – Speak True Life

This past Friday, January 26, 2018, a dear friend and former coworker of mine made a post on her Facebook page that she has allowed me permission to share with you. I’ve titled it Byers Speak Life because the message she shares is representative of what my blog is grounded on. It’s also a much needed reminder to help God’s children to set 2018 on fire for Christ. May you read it, meditate on it, and let it take root in your heart and thoughts.

Good Morning, Good Friday, and GOD Bless All!!!

I am putting forth my best effort to be positive, uplifting, hopeful and faithful with the intention of encouraging myself.

James 3:5 says “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.”

The tongue is strong and mighty; can speak life and unfortunately, can destroy life, friendships and relationships. Speak positively, speak encouragement, speak empowerment, speak love, speak justice, respect, and show human kindness, because our lives depend on it. Telling a child what they can’t do, what they’ll never be able to do, that they’re useless, worthless and will amount to nothing; how ignorant they are, how ugly they are, that they’re not loved or wanted, can be the murderous death of an innocent spirit.

Decide before you speak what will come out of your mouth, whether it will be healing or hurtful. Hopefully, our hearts reflect what we speak, and hopefully, we do (emphasis added) not speak from a bitter, self-righteous or angry heart. It’s a real task to speak positive and speak life when seemingly all around you is going wrong or is topsy-turvy, but when we speak from a positive place it turns life around and works in our favor.

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

Blessings, love, and Speak Life, my friends, over yourself and others 😉

Sister Byers, I could not have said it better!! The words that proceed from your mouth expose the things you believe in your heart. It’s imperative that Christians take heed how they represent our Heavenly Father to this lost and dying world, for we will all one day give an account for it.

I have some friends who are dealing with deaths in their family—some of them, multiple. Death hit close to home this year. I lost an uncle who was the pillar of our “Pender” family based in Kansas City. In the past, I greatly feared death. In 2006, the loss of a young man I knew in passing tore through my fears like a hurricane. I mourned the death of this child as if he were my very own. Baffled by the depth of my tears and depression for weeks on end, I cried myself to sleep each night asking, “Lord, why—why him—why this son?”

The weight of my grief drove me into depression. I asked others to pray for me. My breakthrough came as I lay silently crying one night: Death is a Given—Accept it & Make Peace with it. God is the only one with power over it! And, BOOM, there it was! Yet, to totally break the yoke of the fear these words followed: God gave you children for a time and a purpose, just as He gave HIS SON for a time and a purpose?

My peace with death doesn’t mean I don’t sorrow for the lost. It means I take comfort in God’s arms and acknowledge this truth: “For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.” (Romans 14:8); and it will play out to the very end.

Today, I am sharing an excerpt from my first book, My Soul Cries… Holy, Holy, Holy, that I hope will give a new perspective on dealing with death.