COMMUNICATION
HOW DOES GOD COMMUNICATE WITH US?
2 Peter 1:20-21 . . . Above all, you must understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves or because they wanted to prophesy. It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God.
Jeremiah 36:2 . . . “Get a scroll, and write down all my messages against Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Begin with the first message back in the days of Josiah, and write down every message you have given, right up to the present time.”
Ezekiel 1:3 . . . The Lord gave a message to me, Ezekiel son of Buzi, a priest, there beside the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians, and I felt the hand of the Lord take hold of me.
Zechariah 7:12 . . . They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the law or the messages that the Lord Almighty had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the Lord Almighty was so angry with them.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 . . . All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.
God communicates with us through his Word, the Bible. So we should read it daily.
John 1:18 . . . No one has ever seen God. But his only Son, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart; he has told us about him.
John 1:14 . . . The Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.
Hebrews 1:1-3 . . . Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. But now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.
Colossians 1:15 . . . Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation.
Colossians 2:9 . . . In Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body.
God communicates with us through his Son, Jesus Christ. So we should talk with him daily.
John 16:15 . . . All that the Father has is mine; this is what I mean when I say that the Spirit will reveal to you whatever he receives from me.
John 14:26 . . . When the Father sends the Counselor as my representative-and by the Counselor I mean the Holy Spirit-he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you.
John 15:26 . . . I will send you the Counselor-the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will tell you all about me.
John 16:8, 13 . . .And when he comes, he will convince the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. . . . When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not be presenting his own ideas; he will be telling you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.
Romans 8:16 . . . His Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children.
God communicates through his Holy Spirit. So we should interact with him daily.
John 8:9 . . . When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.
Romans 2:14-15 . . . Even when Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, instinctively follow what the law says, they show that in their hearts they know right from wrong. They demonstrate that God’s law is written within them, for their own consciences either accuse them or tell them they are doing what is right.
God communicates to us through our own human conscience. We should listen to the voice of our conscience daily.
Genesis 9:12-17 . . . God said, “I am giving you a sign as evidence of my eternal covenant with you and all living creatures. I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my permanent promise to you and to all the earth. When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will be seen in the clouds, and I will remember my covenant with you and with everything that lives. Never again will there be a flood that will destroy all life. When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” Then God said to Noah, “Yes, this is the sign of my covenant with all the creatures of the earth.”
Romans 1:19-20 . . . The truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.
Psalm 19:1-4 . . . The heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to all the world. The sun lives in the heavens where God placed it.
God communicates with us through his creation of nature. All nature sings . . . and speaks. Look for God’s fingerprints, footprints, and even voiceprints in his handiwork.
Acts 14:16-17 . . . In earlier days he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left himself without a witness. There were always his reminders, such as sending you rain and good crops and giving you food and joyful hearts.
Acts 17:26-27 . . . From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand which should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. His purpose in all of this was that the nations should seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him-though he is not far from any one of us.
God communicates through the providential order in life. God’s gifts are a sure sign of God’s presence, as surely as your gifts reflect your presence in someone’s life.
John 11:25, 43-44 . . . Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again.” . . . Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And Lazarus came out, bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”
Acts 2:22 . . . “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus of Nazareth by doing wonderful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know.”
God communicates through the miraculous. There are great miracles like the resurrection of the dead and small miracles like a baby’s smile. Recognize the unspoken voice of God in every wonderful thing he does.
1 Kings 3:5 . . . That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”
Daniel 7:1 . . . Earlier, during the first year of King Belshazzar’s reign in Babylon, Daniel had a dream and saw visions as he lay in his bed. He wrote the dream down, and this is what he saw.
Matthew 2:13 . . . After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up and flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to try to kill the child.”
Isaiah 1:1 . . . These visions concerning Judah and Jerusalem came to Isaiah son of Amoz during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah-all kings of Judah.
Ezekiel 11:24-25 . . . Afterward the Spirit of God carried me back again to Babylonia, to the Judeans in exile there. And so ended the vision of my visit to Jerusalem. And I told the exiles everything the Lord had shown me.
Daniel 8:1 . . . During the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, saw another vision, following the one that had already appeared to me.
Obadiah 1:1 . . . This is the vision that the Sovereign Lord revealed to Obadiah concerning the land of Edom. We have heard a message from the Lord that an ambassador was sent to the nations to say, “Get ready, everyone! Let’s assemble our armies and attack Edom!”
Acts 10:3, 9-17 . . . One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said. . . . The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the city, Peter went up to the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, and he was hungry. But while lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.” “Never, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never in all my life eaten anything forbidden by our Jewish laws.” The voice spoke again, “If God says something is acceptable, don’t say it isn’t.” The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was pulled up again to heaven. Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found the house and stood outside at the gate.
GOD COMMUNICATES THROUGH DREAMS AND VISIONS. THESE MAY NOT BE PART OF YOUR EVERYDAY EXPERIENCE, BUT THE BIBLE SHOWS MANY EXAMPLES THAT DID HAPPEN.
Habakkuk 2:2 . . . The message God delivered through angels has always proved true, and the people were punished for every violation of the law and every act of disobedience.
Judges 6:11-12 . . . Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the oak tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash had been threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!”
Judges 13:3 . . . The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son.”
Zechariah 1:9 . . . I asked the angel who was talking with me, “My lord, what are all those horses for?” “I will show you,” the angel replied.
Matthew 1:20 . . . As he considered this, he fell asleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to go ahead with your marriage to Mary. For the child within her has been conceived by the Holy Spirit.”
Luke 1:11-13 . . . Zechariah was in the sanctuary when an angel of the Lord appeared, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was overwhelmed with fear. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! For God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son! And you are to name him John.”
Luke 1:28 . . . Gabriel appeared to [Mary] and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
Luke 2:9-11 . . . Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord-has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!”
Acts 8:26 . . . As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
Revelation 1:1 . . . This is a revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him concerning the events that will happen soon. An angel was sent to God’s servant John so that John could share the revelation with God’s other servants.
God communicates through his angels. Perhaps you have never seen an angel, but some of us have seen evidences of their work. They are a clear part of Bible teaching. They are here, around us. God uses angels for his purposes.
1 Samuel 3:7-10 . . . Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before. So now the Lord called a third time, and once more Samuel jumped up and ran to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “What do you need?” Then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Yes, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed. And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Yes, your servant is listening.”
Jeremiah 29:19 . . . “They refuse to listen to me, though I have spoken to them repeatedly through my prophets. And you who are in exile have not listened either,” says the Lord.
God communicates to us through other people. Most of the time he uses godly people. But sometimes he uses pagan people to communicate unwittingly to his people.
HOW CAN WE KNOW WHEN GOD IS SPEAKING TO US?
Psalm 46:10 . . . “Be silent, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”
1 Kings 19:10-13 . . . Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I alone am left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” “Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
We are to be still, quiet and prepared to hear God speak. Sometimes we should spend time in his presence without feeling the need to verbalize prayer. Just go into his presence and listen, ready to hear him speak to your heart and mind.
John 10:27 . . . My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
John 14:21, 25-26 . . . Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them. . . . I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Counselor as my representative-and by the Counselor I mean the Holy Spirit-he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you.
John 8:47 . . . Anyone whose Father is God listens gladly to the words of God. Since you don’t, it proves you aren’t God’s children.
The best way to be certain of God’s voice is to know God. If we don’t know the person, how can we recognize his voice?
HOW DO WE KNOW GOD HEARS US?
Psalm 4:3 . . . You can be sure of this: The Lord has set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him.
Psalm 34:15 . . . The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help.
Proverbs 15:29 . . . The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous.
1 John 5:14-15 . . . We can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we know he is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for.
God is unmistakably attentive to us. God promises in his Word that he hears us. The God who is everywhere all the time is as close as our next word to him.
WHAT DOES GOD WANT IN OUR COMMUNICATION WITH HIM?
Ephesians 3:12 . . . Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome.
Psalm 145:18-19 . . . The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him sincerely. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them.
Hebrews 10:22 . . . Let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
Psalm 62:8 . . . O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.
God wants us to approach him in confidence with honest, trusting hearts. We can do this when Christ has changed us and his Spirit is within us.
Colossians 4:2 . . . Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.
He wants us to make our communication with him a priority. You know our friends because of regular contact with them. Devote yourself to regular, consistent contact with God. Don’t bring a lazy mind and thankless heart to the Lord of life. Bring an alert mind and a thankful heart.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 . . . Keep on praying.
God wants our communication with him to be continuous. Keep the prayer line open, even though you are not verbalizing prayer every minute. If you don’t want God to “take his phone off the hook,” then don’t “take your phone to God off the hook.”
Psalm 63:1-8 . . . O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better to me than life itself; how I praise you! I will honor you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest of foods. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. I think how much you have helped me; I sing for joy in the shadow of your protecting wings. I follow close behind you; your strong right hand holds me securely.
God wants us to communicate our adoration for him. The more we know God the more we long to simply be in his presence. God is more than a Santa Claus whom we ask for things. He is a God to worship, adore, and praise.
Job 13:23 . . . Tell me, what have I done wrong? Show me my rebellion and my sin.
Psalm 26:2 . . . Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and affections.
Psalm 139:23 . . . Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
God wants us to ask him to show us sinful areas in our lives. He wants us to be honest and vulnerable with him.
Psalm 32:5 . . . Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
Psalm 51:1-6 . . . Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my shameful deeds-they haunt me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. For I was born a sinner-yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being.
God wants us to confess the sin in our lives, because he knows it frees us to enjoy life as he created it to be.
Psalm 25:7, 11, 18 . . . Forgive the rebellious sins of my youth; look instead through the eyes of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord. . . . For the honor of your name, O Lord, forgive my many, many sins. . . . Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins.
Hosea 14:1-2 . . . Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down. Bring your petitions, and return to the Lord. Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you the sacrifice of praise.”
God wants us to ask forgiveness for our sins and return to him. God is not grudging in forgiveness but is profuse in forgiveness. He wants to forgive. Ask him.
Job 1:20-22 . . . Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground before God. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be stripped of everything when I die. The Lord gave me everything I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.
Hebrews 5:7 . . . When the ground soaks up the rain that falls on it and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has the blessing of God.
Luke 22:42 . . . “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.”
God wants us to submit to his will as we commune with him. We must bring our will into line with his, rather than expect that he will bring his will in line with ours.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 . . . Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
1 Samuel 12:23 . . . As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right.
Ephesians 1:16 . . . I have never stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly.
Colossians 1:9 . . . We have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom.
Philippians 1:3 . . . Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.
1 Timothy 2:1 . . . I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. As you make your requests, plead for God’s mercy upon them, and give thanks.
God wants our communication with him to include others and their needs. We aren’t the only ones who needs God’s help!
John 11:41 . . . Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me.”
Romans 14:6 . . .Those who have a special day for worshiping the Lord are trying to honor him. Those who eat all kinds of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who won’t eat everything also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God.
1 Timothy 4:4-5 . . . Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it. We may receive it gladly, with thankful hearts. For we know it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
Philippians 4:6 . . . Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
God wants us to communicate to him our gratefulness. What are the last three wonderful things God did for you? Have you thanked him?
WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE FEEL OUR COMMUNICATION WITH GOD IS NOT WHAT IT SHOULD BE?
Psalm 4:3 . . . You can be sure of this: The Lord has set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him.
Psalm 34:15 . . . The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help.
Proverbs 15:29 . . . The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous.
We are to have faith that he is listening.
James 4:8 . . . Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites.
1 John 1:9 . . . If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.
We should be sensitive to any sinful areas in our lives and ask for his forgiveness.
Ephesians 3:12 . . . Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome.
Hebrews 4:14 . . . That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him.
Romans 8:26-27 . . . The Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
We are to confidently continue to approach God. God does not invite us to be timid in prayer, but bold (not brazen) in prayer.
1 Chronicles 16:11 . . . Search for the Lord and for his strength, and keep on searching.
Psalm 5:1-3 . . . O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I will never pray to anyone but you. Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
Psalm 55:17 . . . Morning, noon, and night I plead aloud in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice.
Psalm 86:3 . . . Be merciful, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly.
Psalm 88:1 . . . O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out to you day and night.
Psalm 40:1 . . . I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.
We are to persistently seek God and patiently wait for him to respond in his timing.
WHAT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO COMMUNICATE THE GOOD NEWS?
Romans 10:14-15 . . . How can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?. . . That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Titus 1:1-3 . . . This letter is from Paul . . . I have been sent to bring faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives . . . And now at the right time he has revealed this Good News, and we announce it to everyone.
Luke 24:46-48 . . . Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah must suffer and die and rise again from the dead on the third day. With my authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: “There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.”
Matthew 28:19-20 . . . Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Mark 16:15, 20 . . . “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.” . . . And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked with them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.
Acts 1:8 . . . When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere-in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 4:20 . . . “We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we have seen and heard.”
Acts 20:27 . . . I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants for you.
God has given us the responsibility and the privilege of telling others about him. We should share it with delight and enthusiasm because it is not only Good News, but the Greatest News.
HOW CAN WE BEST COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER?
2 Corinthians 6:11-13 . . . Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you. Our hearts are open to you. If there is a problem between us, it is not because of a lack of love on our part, but because you have withheld your love from us. I am talking now as I would to my own children. Open your hearts to us!
Our hearts are to be open.
1 Thessalonians 2:7 . . . As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but we were as gentle among you as a mother feeding and caring for her own children.
We are to have a gentle spirit.
Isaiah 50:4 . . . The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know what to say to all these weary ones. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will.
We are to seek the Lord’s wisdom and understanding.
Acts 23:1 . . . Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God in all good conscience!”
We are to convey our interest and attention with our body language-especially our eyes.
Colossians 4:6 . . . Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will have the right answer for everyone.
Ephesians 4:29 . . . Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Our words are to be gracious, effective, good, helpful and encouraging to others.
Proverbs 13:17 . . . An unreliable messenger stumbles into trouble, but a reliable messenger brings healing.
We are to be a reliable source of communication.
2 Corinthians 1:13-14 . . . My letters have been straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can’t understand. I hope someday you will fully understand us, even if you don’t fully understand us now. Then on the day when our Lord Jesus comes back again, you will be proud of us in the same way we are proud of you.
We are to be straightforward and clear so we can increase understanding.
2 Corinthians 6:4-10 . . . In everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in jail, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We have proved ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, our sincere love, and the power of the Holy Spirit. We have faithfully preached the truth. God’s power has been working in us. We have righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves. We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are well known, but we are treated as unknown. We live close to death, but here we are, still alive. We have been beaten within an inch of our lives. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.
We are to communicate God and his ways through our lifestyles. What we do may speak much more eloquently than what we say.
WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS OF POOR COMMUNICATION?
James 3:2-12 . . . The tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life. It can turn the entire course of your life into a blazing flame of destruction, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
2 Timothy 2:14 . . . Remind everyone of these things, and command them in God’s name to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them.
2 Timothy 2:23 . . . Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights.
Psalm 56:5 . . . They are always twisting what I say; they spend their days plotting ways to harm me.
Proverbs 26:6 . . . Trusting a fool to convey a message is as foolish as cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison!
Poor communication can lead to a lack of control, quarrels, evil and foolishness.
PROMISE FROM GOD:
2 Corinthians 3:3 . . . Clearly, you are a letter from Christ prepared by us. It is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on stone, but on human hearts.
