by Robin Wiley (poem by Delmer Korf)
Delmer was my stepdad who passed away about six years ago. He wrote many poems and short stories in his lifetime; none ever published as far I knew; however, he generously shared them with others including myself. I recently came across one that touched on a commandment the youth studied in Sunday School this past week.
Nelda Garcia, their teacher, covered the #9 Commandment – ‘Do not bear false witness against your neighbor,’ which in essence means do not lie. Instead speak truth from a place of love and encouragement. It is easy to fall into the trap of gossiping or speaking ill of someone. Words are powerful and can either heal or hurt others. Our words are a product of our hearts, so if our hearts are in the right place, our words will follow.
The more we turn to God’s Word and soak it in – it speaks to our heart and then we in turn, speak His language.
Dive into:
James 3:4-12 which is about ‘taming the tongue’ and controlling our words
John 8:44-47 is about being mindful of the “father of lies” and instead seek God’s truth
Ephesians 4:1-16 is about speaking truth in love and being in unity with others
May your words bring light and life, through Christ, to those around you this week. May you become encouragers as you honor God through His commandments.
A Prayer
By Delmer Korf
Lord, help me to be humble and not with pride to walk,
Don’t let my tongue, then, stumble when I, with others talk.
Let no malicious thoughts arise to lead my tongue amiss,
Help me to win the ultimate prize is my prayer, only this.
If I should lead some soul astray and thus, he would be lost, could you, then, my sins allay or be in outer darkness tossed?
We plead for others every day, for those scorn your love.
We hope this day, that they all may repent, and meet ‘up above.’
So now we pray to you dear Lord we know our prayers you’ll heed.
Help us to study your Holy Word and give us the daily bread we need.
Our daily bread comes from your Book - it was written so long ago.
If in your Book we’d daily look we’d know, of course, it’s so
We thank you Lord as our prayer we close with all thanksgiving, then,
You’ll hear us be it poem or prose as we close with a fervent, AMEN!