"Tight lines" is a blessing fishermen offer each other, a wish for lines taut with the weight of good fish. May God grant that the lines written here be taut with His blessings.
Tuesday, 04 August 2009 | |||
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Good Conversation | |||
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I grew up on the King James Version, in which the word
"conversation" still possessed a now obsolete meaning of
something like "conduct" or "behavior." There's an
example just before this week's text,
Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2. In verse 4:22, the word that was
"conversation" in the KJV is translated "way of life"
in the NIV/TNIV. Yet there is still in our text a connection between conduct and conversation. As Paul unpacks last week's theme of living in unity together in the church, a great deal of focus is placed on how we talk with each other. We are to speak truth (not just "truthfully" as in the NIV), put aside anger, put aside unwholesome talk and seek speech that builds others up. Just beyond our text, in verse 4, obscenity, foolishness and coarse joking are also warned against. In the Gospel for the week, Jesus begins by warning the Jewish leaders to quit grumbling among themselves and listen to what God is saying through Him. Their own angry and foolish grumbles are getting in the way of the Good News He has for them. The demise of conversation is often lamented as the result of constant entertainment through television, the Internet, etc. Yet we keep talking with each other, even if it's via cell phone and text messages. How can we cultivate any conversational arena to be pleasing to the Holy Spirit (v. 30) and make it talk that builds each other up in Christ? Is it possible to have good Christian conversation in 2009? | |||
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Profile |
I am the pastor of Valley Covenant Church in Eugene, Oregon. I love to flyfish and hike along the beautiful rivers in our area. I welcome your comments as I share sermon work in progress and occasional other thoughts.
Thank you for visiting this blog. I invite you also to visit my web page.
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