Midweek Encouragement - “What in the World Are You Talking About?”

“What in the World Are You Talking About?”

        ^{“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”}

^{Luke 6:45 NIV}

       ^{What do you usually talk about? Researchers used to say that women talk more than men, but a 2007 study said otherwise. According to researchers at the University of Arizona, we men talk just as much as women. Using digital voice recorders over an eight-year period, researchers studied how many words hundreds of American and Mexican college students spoke over several days. The students carried the voice-activated recorders for almost all of their waking hours, on average about 17 hours a day. The study found that women spoke 16,215 words a day, while men spoke 15,669.}

         ^{But what do you talk about? We talk about the weather, about our favorite sports team, about the price of gasoline, and about our kids and grandkids. We talk about the delicious food we had at the local diner and for which candidate we’ll be voting in the fall. We talk about our family members and our local elected officials and about the return of warmer temperatures. But do we talk about the One who gave His life to make a life-changing difference in us?}

         ^{A certain woman was visiting her brother and his family one time when her nephew stopped in the midst of his play and steadily gazed up at her. “What are you thinking about?” she asked him.}

         ^{“You’re a Christian, aren’t you, Aunt Mae?” he finally asked.}

         ^{“I hope so, dear,” she replied.}

         ^{“But you never talk about Jesus,” he said. “If you loved Him very much, wouldn’t you talk about Him sometimes?”}

         ^{Aunt Mae, taken aback a bit, stammered a reply: “We may love a person without speaking of him,” she said.}

         ^{“Can we?” her nephew asked innocently. “I didn’t know that. You talk about Daddy and Momma and your brothers and sisters all the time. And you talk about other people, too . . . even me. But not Jesus.”}

         ^{“Well, yes,” Aunt Mae admitted, her heart quickened with conviction. “I suppose that’s been so.”}

         ^{“Let’s talk about Jesus sometime,” her nephew suggested before getting up to go outside to play. And then with a backward wink, he added, “’Cause I love Him, too, and I like to talk about Him.”}

         ^{We talk about what and who matter the most to us. And what we say reveals how we feel about them. Have you talked about Jesus lately? Do you frequently mention His name in conversation with not only other Christians, but with unbelievers? I really don’t believe we can love Him without talking about Him. Do you? Do you love Him? Do you talk about Him? If not, why not? Maybe you should see what Mark 8:38 says about this, too. Let me know if your conversations change to include Jesus! :o)}

^{Pastor Dale}

Pastor Dale (PD) and Pamela his wife are honored to serve the Mt. Laurel Church of God. If this Mid-Week Encouragement has helped you, perhaps it may encourage someone else. Feel free to share this message with anyone you choose. And if you'd like to receive PD's Mid-Week Encouragement, just send an email to (kingdomguy@gmail.com) and I'll accommodate your request.