The Power Of The Tongue

Hello All,

This week, I was reminded just how important it is for there to be good, healthy communication within the body of Christ. It was years ago that I learned, after having stepped over my words in a regrettable way, that I never wanted that to be the consistent pattern of my life. Thanks to the Word of God and His grace, I have succeeded more than I have failed, even though some of my failures have been pretty significant. I felt that with all the experiences of this past week, that I might just blog about a few principle statements that may have alleviated some of the issues of this past week and may keep you from the road to regret this week.

Principle #1 : "Think" Before You Speak

You've probably seen this acronym elsewhere. I myself heard it for the first time when Pastor Greg Laurie used it in a message a few years ago. I was in the car, desperately trying to write it on my hand while I was driving! Talk about "hands free!" In any event, the acronym is a filter. Ask yourself, "Is what I am about to say:

- True. This would help to alleviate a ton of problems in and of itself. If I have to find out if something is true, that would force me to go and ask someone about a given matter before airing it.

- Helpful. Are my words going to help the given situation? Will these words work toward a resolution or a reconciliation? If so, they are helpful and I should say them. If they will act as gasoline upon a fire, then I should abstain.

- Inspiring. Inspiration, meaning that a person is provoked to act righteously after hearing what has been said. Sometimes my words just provoke, but not to righteousness!

- Necessary. Does what I want to say, NEED to be said? Is this absolutely important to the discussion or can it be left unsaid?

- Kind. Ah, and here is a great needful reminder. Is this kind? Perhaps no more would need be uttered if I put what I would want to say through just this part of the filter!

Principle #2 : The Bible Talks A Lot About Our Speech; Learn It!

I have done my own search and now I think that you should do one. Open up Blue Letter Bible and type into the search engine, either the word "speech" or "tongue." Check out what comes up. Look at how many admonitions that the scriptures give regarding the way that we talk with one another. You might be surprised. Here are a few of my favorite examples:

"Walk in wisdom toward those [who are] outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."

Colossians 4:5,6

"Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell."

James 3:5,6

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer."

Psalm 19:14

Collect your own set of favorites. The first time that I did this exercise, it was because my mouth had gotten me into trouble (again!) and I wanted to put a guard over my lips. I made myself read over and over again, these and a great many more verses. It was worth the time and investment.

Principle #3 : You Will Regret Less, If You Say Less!

Again, brevity is the key. I will often regret what I have not said. But that regret is alright. It's better than regretting something that I have said that I cannot take back. I'll pass on that sort of regret. This means a lot of things for me. It means, not necessarily in this order:

- Editing Myself. Not saying what comes to my mind first. I wish that I always obeyed this rule, but it is what I aspire to.

- Choosing My Words With As Much Care As Possible. I do my very best to mean what I say the first time, but not to be mean in what I say. Again, I wish I had a 100% record.

- Never Saying Anything In Anger. At these times, I am prone to be headed for Regretville and for long agonizing nights of wishing that I could take "that" back.

I hope that you who read will understand that your words, have the power to give life, to bless, to encourage and to honor the Lord. That same power can equally be used for death, cursing, discouragement and shame to the name of the Lord. Place a guard over your lips. Beware. I will put a guard on my lips yet again this week. I pray that you might do the same.

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

Your Guess Is As Good As Mine

Hello All,

For those of you who are not on Facebook, I shared this video, courtesy of Alan Diaz, earlier today. So far, the comments have been that the video is funny, but a deeper argument has ensued: Is it real or is it fake? After viewing, feel free to leave your comments either way. For me, it really doesn't matter, as I laughed incredibly hard!

Worst Best Man Ever @ Yahoo! Video

Blessings... To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

Still Pending!

Hello All,

I must apologize for my lack of "blogtivity." A combination of factors have contributed to this. Along with the usual busy-ness, there has also been a lack of interesting material to contribute. Actually, the real problem is that the material that I would love to write about is priviledged information, and many of the participants read here. As a result, I am unable to write of the things that I am involved in on a daily basis. In many of these situations, there is great pain, sadness and toil of soul. There are people that are dealing with broken relationships, court cases, loss of employment or property loss. That is happening all around us.

Many times, I get the opportunity to encourage and strengthen these brothers and sisters. In some cases, I feel that I have said all that can be said, and still feel as though there is nothing that has been accomplished. The stories drag on with no end in sight and I wonder, "How can these brothers and sisters continue to deal with this scenario?" I question the Lord and ask, "How long will you allow this trial of theirs to continue?" I don't usually get an answer to that question.

Instead, I am reminded of our own trials of faith that we have gone through as a family. I remember a time, not too long ago, where Lela and I were trekking across the globe, waiting for visas in a Spanish town. They never came and confusion reigned. We kept getting a little hope here and a little hope there, but in the end, the Lord brought us home and planted us in a new place. The point is that in the midst of that trial of our faith, things seemed endless!

As I sit from this vantage point, on the other side of the trial, I realize that it was not endless, but it sure felt that way. But what I have really come to realize is that these cases, while they are still pending, are assured to be good stories in the end, because these friends love Jesus and they will see Jesus deliver and bring them to a good place, even though this time of their lives are anything but good. For these, there will be vindication and restoration. God does His best work from the most ruined landscapes.

To my friends, and you know who you are: Stay focused on the Lord and hang on with all your life! We love you and are praying for you. In any way that we can participate with you, we will. But know this: This will end, God will be glorified in your lives and the joy of a good testimony will be yours.

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

Men's Retreat, Pt. 3

Hello All,

I had mentioned that I would provide pictures of the Men's Retreat. Unfortunately, my pics did not turn out very good, so I will have to go back on my promise for now. Other guys took shots and I'll do my best to gather them. For now, I will have to give what Chick Hearn used to say was a "words eye view."

Our retreat took place pretty close to home at the Aliso Creek Inn and Golf Course in Laguna Beach. It's tucked away and presents a mountainesque atmosphere, but does not force us to drive to the mountains, which would have taken a possible 6 hours out of our weekend. The place is a little rustic and a little conference center, with a 9 hole golf course right in the middle of the campus. The place was perfect for us men.

The next important part was the speaker. This took a little longer to find. I had made the reservations for the place almost a year ago; our speaker was secured just 4 months ago. I had asked several speakers and had been turned down on each call. I was wondering what was going on, and why this had been so difficult to secure. Did we have leprosy? Were we uncool?

In the end, it was the Lord who sovereignly had a choice that was perfect for our men. Back in July, not looking for a speaker at that moment, but checking in on Sanctuary's website, a church in Beaumont led by Pastor Rod Collins, I had a brilliant idea. Pastor Ridge Burns, an associate Pastor at Sanctuary, had a recorded message on their website. I listened to about 5 minutes and remembered where I had heard Ridge before. Back in the 90's, Ridge had spoken at Saturday Night Life, a service that I played drums at. I remembered that he was funny and engaging, but was also a very powerful speaker.

I called; He accepted. I knew that he would be good; he turned out to be great! The Lord really spoke through what Pastor Ridge prepared for us and both Pastor Chris and I felt that we could not have had a better speaker for our men on this weekend.

He spoke to us about a day in the life of Jesus beginning in Mark chapter 4. The thrust of his messages ended with an observation of God's power, and men and women marveling at this man that they reverenced. This man Jesus changed the rules. The seas obeyed Him, demons were sent out by His word, a girl was raised from the dead and a woman was healed from a humiliating, lingering issue of blood. In each of the sessions, the Spirit of God cut deep into our hearts, touching on issues that every man can relate to. I looked around during each of the sessions and noted that the men were eating up every word, a gift that is rarely exhibited.

That included me by the way! For all the retreats I have done, I have found that often times, because of my worries or the administrative detail that I have to attend to, I mostly casually observe. This weekend was different. It seemed that at every session, God was cutting me deeper and causing me to confront my own stuff. It was not just Ridge, but Robert Custer in our room Friday night, Mike Shepard at the Laguna Beach prayer meeting at 6:30AM Saturday and then Sean Sullivan at the 7:15AM devotions. God just kept moving upon my heart, the lump in my throat growing with each passing moment. It was difficult, but really refreshing to be so moved.

I was not the only one, as there was a great amount of evidence that this was a wide spread phenomenon, something that made me feel that we had succeeded. To me, as the Pastor who oversees Men's Ministry at Kingsfield Church, this was the highest goal, the one which mattered the most. I was so grateful to be a part of this weekend, and to have given some direction to it, though I will never take credit from the Holy Spirit, who reigned in our hearts in a major way.

And here was THE sign that this weekend was a success: I can't WAIT for next year! The problem will be topping this last year, which is actually not my problem at all. I am sure that the Lord will be just as faithful in all the years to come to the Men of Kingsfield Church.

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez