Voices

        When I asked the Lord what I should write about for the blog, the word that came to my spirit was “voices”. H-m-m-m, what can I say about voices? This is what I believe the Holy Spirit brought to my mind.

         Our voices are very important. We use our voice to get saved. Romans 10:9-10 says, “... if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

        Salvation occurs in two places – in our hearts and in our mouths.

      With our voices, “we destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ...” (2 Corinthians 10:5). With our words, we triumph over the enemy. “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death” (Revelation 12:11 NIV).

     We defend the Gospel with our voices. “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame” (1 Peter 3:15-16 ESV). “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16 ESV).

     Our voices bring deliverance. “For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 NKJV). Esther took her life into her hands, spoke up for her people the Jews, and God delivered them.

        When we use our voices to speak the truth in love, we grow up in Jesus. "Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church” (Ephesians 4:15 NLT).

        With our voices, we praise the Lord. “So I will not be silent; I will sing praise to you. LORD, you are my God, I will give you thanks forever” (Psalm 30:12 GNB). Praise removes chains and opens doors. “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.  Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose” (Acts 16:25-26 NIV).

        We can use our voices to defend the rights of the downtrodden. “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9 ESV).

       May the Lord help us to examine ourselves to discern how we use our voices. Do we use what we say to tear down or to build up? “Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out” (Colossians 4:6) MSG). We need to remember, with our voices we can kill or give life. “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose” (Proverbs 18:21 MSG).

    In closing, Psalm 119:130 NKJV says, “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple”. When we use our voices to speak God’s Word, we bring light to the world.

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