Join Mary Lowman and Alisa Childers as they converse about how historic Christianity can stand up to all our doubts and criticism. Among other things, Alisa is the author of the best-selling book Another Gospel? In their conversation, they talk about her book, progressive Christianity, and how to strengthen our own faith in our ever-changing world. I know you’ll be encouraged and challenged, so please join us.

Alisa Childers – Part one

The Christian Working Woman with Mary Lowman exists to encourage, equip and empower workplace Christians in the marketplace.

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What is your heart full of? We are examining why our words matter; and why what we say is important as followers of Jesus.

In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus shows what our words expose when he says,
No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. 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 6:43-45).
Jesus is explaining how we can judge a person’s character. Much like if we were to look at a tree or plant to tell if it is a “good” tree or not, our words show the fruit of our hearts.

What does the fruit of your words reveal about the condition of your heart? If you were to take inventory of the conversations and comments that flow from your tongue on a regular basis, what would you notice? When you are at the office, what pours forth from your lips, out loud, or utterances under your breath? When you are at home with your spouse, your kids, or your roommate or interacting with a stranger, what do your words display?

We can learn a lot when we pay attention to the words that come out of our mouth. If you find your words are harsh, impatient, laced with anger, self-defeating or deflating, or derogatory toward others, it’s time to examine your heart. Your words reveal what your heart feels and what’s inside you.

Your words can be the indicator light that something in your heart needs the healing touch of God.

Your heavenly Father wants to minister to the corners of your heart that are producing bad fruit—the places that are angry, bitter, wounded, weary, or hardened. Hear me when I say we all struggle with our words. Different circumstances, seasons, or people will provoke the depths of our soul to surface through our speech. When you stop long enough to observe your words and get curious about where they’re coming from you can get yourself off autopilot and intentionally invite God to search you and help you.

One of my favorite prayers comes from Psalm 19:14,
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart

    be pleasing in your sight,

    Lord, my rock and my redeemer (Psalm 19:14).
As Christians, our hearts have been and are continually being changed by the power of God. And that change is reflected in our words.

Words Matter

As followers of Jesus, it’s easy to get stuck in battles He's already won. I'm Mary Lowman of The Christian Working Woman, and this week, Judy Dunagan, author of The Loudest Roar, will help us understand and live in Christ’s victory. So, join us as we let God’s roar diminish the enemy’s lies to a whisper.

The Loudest Roar

You’ve heard it said there’s no such thing as a free lunch. That sentiment is pretty much on target, except of course for the free salvation which Jesus offers us because he paid the price for our sins. It is free for those of us who accept his offer, but he paid a big price. He made a huge commitment when he said to God, as he prayed in Gethsemane, “Not my will but thine be done.”

I’ve been talking all week about finding freedom through commitment. Instead of running away from being committed to something or someone, we need to walk toward those commitments that God wants from us. That’s because committing ourselves to do God’s will is the pathway to real freedom, the freedom of our spirits, the freedom of knowing what we do matters to God.

For ten years I decided to run my own show and go for what I wanted. In spite of knowing better, I truly turned my back on following Jesus because I thought that would mean I could never have my way. But let me tell you what my pursuit of freedom led to. It caused me to abandon many Christian principles, which had been faithfully taught to me by my parents, teachers and pastors. It led me to live a very selfish life that was totally focused on what I thought was good for me.

Deciding not to be committed to what God wanted for my life caused me to make many poor and sinful choices—choices about relationships, about jobs, about where I lived and who were my friends. It led me to behaviors that were anything but Christ-like, to a lifestyle that blended in with the world around me. It would have been hard to distinguish me as a true believer in Jesus Christ during those years.

What I’ve learned—now over 40 years later—is that to refuse to be committed to Christ and his principles for my life is to choose disaster and chaos and total frustration. I thought I was choosing what would make me happy by choosing not to be committed to a Christian lifestyle and living my life for others. But I was so wrong.

Now, with all these years under my belt since then, I can tell you a commitment to Jesus Christ is indeed the way to freedom. And that means you commit your weeks and your days and your hours to his control. It means saying yes to what he wants you to do and no to yourself. Yes, there is a price to discipleship and Jesus asks us to count the cost, but the return on your investment is abundant and joyful and fulfilling.

Freedom through Commitment – 5

You remember the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him he needed to make a commitment: He needed to sell everything he had and give it to the poor, and then come follow Jesus. This young man became very sad when Jesus told him this, and he didn’t follow-through because the commitment was too costly for him.

He made a decision not to make a commitment, but notice it made him very sad, not happy. No doubt this was a huge commitment Jesus was asking of him, because Jesus knew money was his god. He couldn’t follow Jesus until he loved Jesus more than money. But Jesus was not asking him to do the impossible, nor was he trying to make his life miserable. Just the opposite. Jesus wanted him to have an abundant life, a life that cannot be bought with money. But he wasn’t willing to make that commitment, and he went away sad.

Commitment comes with a price tag, whether it’s a commitment to marry someone, or to take a job, or to work on a committee at church. And we should consider the cost of any commitment we make. But we should not fear commitment just because it has a cost, because commitments are the doorway to finding the freedom we’re looking for.

For example, suppose you decide to be committed to reading and studying your Bible more. To make that happen, you commit to some structure you impose on yourself to read the Bible systematically and regularly and to keep a journal of what God says to you as you read. Then you start to reap the benefits of this commitment as you see how God uses his Word to teach you, change you, comfort you and guide you.

Maybe you decide it’s finally time to do something about your eating habits, and you make a commitment to eat a healthier diet with fewer calories. Then you have to pay the price of that commitment by not buying junk food, not going to fast-food restaurants, not overeating, and putting veggies and fruits on your menu. When you pay that price, you start to reap the benefits—like, you look better and feel better, you have more energy, you sleep better. Then you realize that commitment is worth the price tag.

Perhaps you decide it’s time for you to get more involved in your church, so you sign up for a small group study, and you spend time there weekly. Eventually you offer your home for a study, and that takes a little time and effort, even a little money. But what do you benefit? New friends, a support group, good information poured into your mind, wholesome relationships. It’s a commitment worth the price.

There truly is wonderful freedom through being committed.

Freedom through Commitment – 4

Freedom through commitment—can that actually be true? We find freedom by making commitments. Think about it: You found freedom from the bondage of sin and the prospect of hell by making a commitment to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. You found freedom to prepare yourself for the future by committing yourself to get an education. You found freedom to have an income and support yourself when you made a commitment to take a job. Freedom truly comes through commitment.

Yet many people find it very difficult to make any kind of a commitment. Why is it so hard? One reason is fear of failure. Someone has said, “Fear of failure and humiliation go a long way in limiting how much someone is willing to risk committing to a course of action.” It’s true that commitment brings with it the possibility of failing, but lack of commitment means you never have a chance to succeed! Of course there will be failures, but the road to success is always lined with some failures. Like all fears, this fear is a tool of the enemy, which he uses very effectively to cripple us and keep us from the good things God wants to do for us and through us.

Another reason some find it hard to make commitments is the fear of boredom. We’ve been conditioned to being entertained a lot in our technological society, so the idea that we might have to endure something which is not as much fun or as exciting as something else can paralyze us and prevent our involvement in things that really could be meaningful. And then there’s the reality that we refuse to be committed because we’re lazy and we just don’t want to put out the effort!

I think one of the most common reasons people refuse to be committed is we’ve cluttered our lives with so much stuff that we just “don’t have time” to do things that are perhaps much more important. But it’s important to stop and ask yourself why you are so busy that you can’t take on other commitments. Is it because you allowed yourself to be pushed into things that really weren’t what God wanted you to do? Maybe we need to de-commit to some things that really aren’t so important.

Is commitment really that necessary, you may ask? Isn’t there something else, something less scary? No, there is no way to be what God intended you to be and do what God intended you to do except by personally committing yourself to something or someone. Sitting on the fence, waiting for something better to come along, and fearing the responsibilities of commitment will not bring you contentment or fulfillment.

Alisa Childers – Part one

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