LUKE  4:16–22 – Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”

THEME OF THE DAY: THE QUALITY OF OUR SPEECH.   Imagine being seated in the synagogue the morning Jesus entered, received the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and began reading today’s scripture to those in attendance.  We would have joined the crowd in their response Luke records – And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. But there was something else added to their response – And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth.

Gracious speech. Gracious words.  The hurting souls, the broken-hearted, and those crushed in spirit would have been glued to every word He spoke for they were words of life, of grace, and of freedom.  Now let’s ask the question about ourselves – “What about our speech?”  The Apostle Paul would exhort us to what our speech is to be – Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear (Ephesian 4:29). He doesn’t say, “It is okay to slip every once in a while.” Nor does he allow for a lack of restraint in our speech. Remember, not every conversation needs our opinion.  We don’t have to weigh in on every issue.  And if we do speak, we should model the Lord Jesus and the gracious words He spoke.

Speech matters – a lot.  The Christ-like quality of our speech is the key indicator of a healthy Christian life. As goes the quality of our speech, so goes the quality of our walks with the Lord Jesus. A fitting ending would be another gem from the Apostle Paul showing us what is to fuel and control our speech – God’s grace – Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person (Colossians 4:6).

PRAYER: “Father, please put a guard on my mouth that I might not sin against You.”

QUOTE: “The quality of our spiritual life is revealed by the quality of our speech.”

In the affection of Christ Jesus,

Pastor Jim