Speak Life ~Toby Mac Style

Last weekend I had the opportunity to hear one of my favorite Christian Contemporary artists (again) speak words of life at his concert in Baltimore. The more I see Toby, the more I like him and appreciate what he is doing to build the Kingdom of God. I attended the concert after a very busy day at our TUMC bazaar. Under normal circumstances one would have been too tired to attend such an event after a very busy week. But I know that Toby’s music lifts me up, so I made the extra effort to attend, and to take along some friends.

This time, his very short testimony of one of his songs truly spoke to my heart in a new way. I have been enjoying his song entitled “Speak Life,” but during this concert he told us the story behind the writing of the song. Toby had read the Raggamuffin Gospel when he was younger. He says he remembers reading Mannings words, “When you speak to someone you either speak life or you drain life, there are no neutral exchanges.” Hence, the song that Toby wrote was birthed.

I’ve been thinking of this quote all week, “There are no neutral exchanges.” What about me and my words? Sure it is easy for me to speak life when I am doing the work of the church, that is easy. But what about when I am running into the grocery store to buy something quickly or as I move about my busy day in the world? When I am doing errands I have a purpose and I move through that purpose quickly. To be honest, people who are serving who are not on my same page when I am rushing around irritate me.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not mean, I am not impolite; but I don’t speak words of life. I thought these were neutral exchanges. Toby’s words, “There are no neutral exchanges” have been haunting me. I can do better, I can be better. Maybe these exchanges have a divine appointment for me or for someone else. Maybe I am the one to speak life into someone else’s life who is drowning. After all, I know the Good News, and maybe I can speak enough life to allow a person to trust me so that I can share that Good News which is what really matters.

Meanwhile, this week I have been practicing speaking life into the lives of those who would otherwise be “incidental” in my day. They have been wonderful exchanges. I am learning and growing.

How about you? Do you speak life or do you drain life? Are you the one from which someone will remember the conversation or are you the one they wish they will never wait on again? As for me, I am trying to practice new habits.

Thanks Toby, for giving me a new perspective on the way I speak in common everyday exchanges of words.

The Kingdom of God is Near!

Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near! Those are the words of Jesus as he begins his three year ministry around the Sea of Galilee. I love the Gospel of Matthew as this apostle is always taking us back to the history; back to the Hebrew Bible, in order to support the claims and words that Jesus is stating. Why does Matthew do that? It’s simple, Jesus was constantly quoting the Hebrew Bible Scripture! (The Old Testament.) Jesus was always tying in the former to show why he had come. Jesus is forming this new community, this new covenantal community to be a reflection of the heavenly kingdom; God’s community. We pray this in the Lord ’s Prayer—Thy Kingdom come! We are to be a reflection of the heavenly kingdom on earth.

Jesus is trying to show us what that Heavenly Kingdom looks like. In a series of parables, especially in Matthew 13, Jesus is showing us what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…..A sower who sowed some seeds; a Mustard seed; a treasure hidden in a field!

How can you describe that which is indescribable? We are constantly facing this challenge when we speak of the Heavenly Kingdom; when we speak of Jesus. I’ve tried to explain what it was like giving birth to my baby daughters. It is impossible. So, too, Jesus runs across this very same problem. He wants to tell us, tries to explain to us very patiently, about God’s Kingdom. Our limited language skills cannot comprehend.

And so we are stuck; stuck trying to describe the indescribable. Stuck trying to do what Jesus is calling us to do without a real picture of what that can look like, but we are trying.

The good news is that there are pockets of what Jesus is describing becoming a reality on earth. There are places where the face of Jesus has been seen shining so brightly that we know it can be nothing less than God on the move.

We are to be the ones to help usher in that Kingdom, that Kingdom of God. Where have you seen this Kingdom of God on earth? I have personally experienced that Kingdom of God in real life: When I first became a widow with two young children to raise, there were so many people who surrounded me to help me, to encourage me, and to love me when all else seemed lost. A church full of people I never knew, who surrounded me and encouraged me. A new community who loved me even though they did not know me. That is the kingdom of God in action. That is the Kingdom at its best. That is truly God’s light shining in the darkness.

So where can you help usher in the Kingdom of God this day? Where can you be that light for Christ that shines in the darkness? Where can you be the one who says, yes, Jesus. I am here, send me!

Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near, it is at the reach of your hand, it is at the end of your fingertips. Reach out, grasp the hand of God, and join in the ushering in of His Kingdom!

This song might inspire you to be a part of building God’s kingdom on earth.