Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
In that Sunday afternoon prayer meeting, Uncle Joe, with tears, testified that the Lord had spoken to him that week as he sat on the couch in his living room. The Lord said to Uncle Joe, "People who have a lot to talk about don't say very much. And the ones who don't say much have a lot to say."
The prayer meeting was held that day in the living room of the farmhouse in which Uncle Joe grew up, and he proceeded to reminisce about his younger days on the farm. He remembered certain days when women from the surrounding community would drive their wagons to the house to work together on some quilts. As a lad, he had noticed that his saintly mother would not join in the long, idle talk of some of the other women as she worked. Whenever something good was brought up, he noticed that his mother's attention and participation increased, and that her contribution to the conversation would be good, but even then, it would be short. Afterwards, if the conversation returned to other, less edifying things, she would quietly busy herself once more with her quilting.
Uncle Joe's testimony reminded me of his sister's description of Preacher Clark in the long ago days when he traveled from town to town with the healing power of God. She was a child of about nine when he came preaching in her little crossroads community of Middlesex, NC. "There were miracles just like in the Bible", she told me in her old age, "withered hands immediately were made perfect; blind eyes were opened." Then she paused and added, "He didn't talk much."
When the power of God is present, it makes man quiet and glorifies God. Where there is no power of God, man blossoms in his filthiness and foolishness. We are saved from sin only when the power of God is in our lives. Outside the shelter of God's saving power, there is nothing man can do, or think, or say, that is holy and good.
Are you known as a talker? Remember, the man who talks the most usually has the least to say that is worth hearing. Solomon said that a fool is known by a multitude of words. And desiring to make us wise in the fear of God, Jesus warned us that we would give an account to God for every idle word we speak. Therefore, let us take heed to James' godly exhortation: "Let every man be swift to hear", he wrote, "and slow to speak."
"God is in heaven, and thou upon earth," Solomon, with his marvelous simplicity, advised Israel, "therefore, let thy words be few." This is the simple, yet profound wisdom of God that Uncle Joe's testimony was affirming.
We really do not have to talk much in order to be righteous. In fact, God's righteousness stills the tongue of man as it purifies his heart. The purer the heart, the fewer the words. A wise man is known for his work, not his talk.