Helpful or Hurtful | Crosstraining 1.13.15

Ephesians 4:29 When I was a kid, I remember my step dad building the deck that was on the front of our house. He was very good at building, and he asked me one day if I’d like to help. He allowed me to hammer a few nails in. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very good at it. It took me five minutes to hammer in a single nail, and, even once I was finished, the nail was crooked and bent. My step dad quickly realized I wouldn’t be much help. I would actually cause him to do more work if I gave him a hand. Just like my step dad realize I was going to hurt more than help, we all need to analyze our words to see if how we speak is helpful or hurtful. Many times, when we are trying to be “helpful” we often cause alot of hurt. When we gossip, we are spreading information that doesn’t need to be spread. Even if something is the truth, doesn’t always mean it needs to be shared. In fact, as we said yesterday, if the person we are talking to isn’t either part of the problem or solution, it is gossip and shouldn’t be shared! What about your words? Are they helpful or hurtful? // TWO-A-DAYS // GO A LITTLE FARTHER WITH YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONS // Go through these questions with your spouse, kids, or friend, or you can even journal about the answers to these questions:

1. What was the best part of your day?
2. What was the toughest part of your day?
3. Where did you mess up today?
4. Where did you see God today?

Reflect: Reflect on the conversations you’ve had over the last week. On a scale from 1 (very hurtful) to 10 (very helpful), how would you HONESTLY rate how helpful or hurtful your words have been? Why is it so easy to slip into hurtful words? Pray: Ask God to help you speak words that are helpful and give life to others instead of words that are hurtful and take life from others. READ THROUGH THE NEW TESTAMENT: Today’s Reading: Mark 7]]>