Holy Bible (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Since the July theme for the ChristianWriters.com blog chain is “celebrate”, it’s appropriate that we celebrate words. While there are some “word” celebrations in place, such as the Celebrating Words Festival in Los Angeles, National Writing Day and I Love to Write Day, this will be a smaller scale of just a few minutes.
Words are fun to play with. Such as seeing a sign that says “Giant Tire Sale” and wondering just how big the tires are. Or, thinking of movie titles like “The Sum of All Fears” and imagining what the plot would be for “The Fear of All Sums”?
My favorite personal example came one day at a produce distribution plant. There were rows and rows of boxes stacked to the ceiling. A label on the side of each box indicated its contents. Most were straightforward (tomatoes, peppers, bananas, etc.), however, one box stood out. It’s label read simply: “Squash, Do Not Crush”. I imagine someone was just having fun with words, and it may even be a standard produce plant gag, but, it sure stayed with me. I suppose I celebrate words each time I think of it.
As Christians, our celebration of words must include God’s Word. There are passages that can be fun (remember short Zaccheus climbing up a tree so he could see Jesus (Luke 19), or Balaam’s donkey talking to him (Numbers 22:28)). But, in our celebration, we can move far beyond fun, and we can consider the joy, thankfulness and humility that Scripture brings us.
One of my favorite verses comes when Nehemiah is encouraging the people in Jerusalem to rebuild the wall around the city. He in effect told them “Let me tell you the good things God has done to bring me to this point” – and it worked – their response was “Let us rise up and build!”.
Let’s take that verse and celebrate what God has done for us.
“Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.” Nehemiah 2:18
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Psalms 23:1
“Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.”
“But Noah (and we) found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:8
“Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.”
“And she shall bring forth a Son and thou shall call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
“Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.”
“.. so He was their Savior. In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in his pity He redeemed them.” Isaiah 63:8-9
“Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.”
“For when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:6
“Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.”
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes..” Romans 1:16
“Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.”
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1
“Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.”
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalms 23:6
Those are the true Words we celebrate!
(Read additional blogs this month on the days listed on the right)
I Was Thinking the Other Day About... 
I guess most writers love to work with words, me included 🙂
Here’s a verse that’s stuck in my head today…
“Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 42:10
Thanks Chris – it can be fun but frustrating at times.
And thanks for the Scripture – keep looking for new songs to add to the old.
loved this post. we are wordsmiths. 🙂
Thanks Tracy – that’s what I work at too.
Hi Bill,
Lots of good Bible verses. It takes work to believe in the Word as it is.
Thanks Mike – I agree with that.
Nothing beats a great bible verse and you had plenty! Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks and you’re welcome Suzette
celibrate the Word
good post
Thanks!
Interesting post. Yes, God certainly does have a sense of humor. One of my favorite fun passages is when Elijah is competing with the prophets of Baal and he’s telling them to shout louder because he might not be able to hear them.
Peace and Blessings
That is a good one – :”maybe he’s asleep!”
Thank EG
Fun post. I had a good laugh at some of your ‘word observations’.
Also, you quoted some great scripture. I enjoyed reading it.
Glad you enjoyed it Adam. Thanks for taking time.
Those are wonderful verses to celebrate! The passage that makes me laugh out loud every time is when God made John the Baptist not be able to speak. When the people asked him what to name the baby, they made signs to ask him. I picture them all shouting loudly and s-l-o-w-l-y. Hey, guys! He’s not deaf; he just can’t speak…LOL every time!
I loved this post. Thanks for the smile…and the great insight! (Giant tire sale–HA!)
Thanks Carol – very funny thought on that passage! Glad you enjoyed it.
Uh…you know, I meant John the Baptist’s father…
Yes
What a wonderful post, Bill! I love the repeated verse. It’s one I’ve read, but didn’t know. Now I do. And such good words to treasure and store up in my heart. Words I won’t squash OR crush! 🙂 Blessings to you.
Thanks Cindee – so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the kind words.
What a great post! Loved the giant tires and Squash, Do Not Crush! Too fun! Celebrating the Word of God is the absolute best! Thank you!
Thanks for the encouragement Lynn. Glad you enjoyed it, and you’re very welcome!
Excellent post, Bill! The encouragment from the Scriptures is just what we all need, and that “squash, do not crush” story made me laugh. Reminds me of a couple of things that always tickled me:
1) At my former job, one of the companies we ordered from was Universal Silencer, but a new boss kept leaving the “r” off the second word when he wrote purchase orders. Considering that our office was in the same building with the fabrication shop and it was a constant source of bangs and machine noises, I always laughed at his purchase orders requesting Universal Silence.
2) In my newspaper reporting days, I often passed old billboards when traveling, and some of them were beginning to fall apart. One in particular, an ad for a fireworks stand, was missing half its contents. So, what the passerby saw was a graphic of the earth with a space shuttle shooting away from it, along with the large words “World! Buy One, Get One Free!”
Thanks Traci – glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the comments. Great “word” stories too!
Hi Bill, you are so right – word play is fun!! I especially like puns and dangling participles. Punning is a favorite activity in my family, and we are all rather bad at it. LOL I especially enjoy telling puns to people who don’t get them. These literal folks just stare at me with blank expressions. They must think I’m mad, but I think they’re missing loads of fun. 🙂
I also agree with you that the true words we celebrate are God’s words. He is awesome to given us His promises!! And we can feast on them at any time! Thanks Bill.
Thanks SandiGrace – I guess, if we’re writers, it’s a requirement to like words in all forms and fashions.
I saw your other “correction” comment too – what we need is one of those Greek words that means He has given them in the past, He is giving them and He will give His promises in the future!
Correction: He is awesome to Give us His promises!!
Great post, Bill. Had some great reminders I needed to see today. (Sorry for posting so late this month. Long story.)
Thanks Deborah – glad it was timely for you. Don’t apologize on your timing – I’ve found I enjoy getting responses throughout the month.