#23: Transformation!

On episode 23, Tim shares how God transformed his life, from a life of irresponsible speech to something different.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome everybody into episode twenty three of Bring Heaven Down.
My name is Tim and I am the host of
this daily devotional podcast that shows up in your feed
Monday through Friday while you are currently listening. Hit that
follow button so this podcast will show up in your
feed wherever you are listening to this podcast, and also

(00:22):
rate and review the show so that this podcast can
get more exposure and we can bring Jesus into more lives. Also,
if you have a question about a topic or a concern,
or you want to let me know something personally, email
the show Bring Heaven Down the Number seven at gmail

(00:42):
dot com. That's Bring Heaven Down the number seven at
gmail dot com. Last week I talked about has Jesus
transformed your life? Because we are saved by faith alone,
but there should be evidence of our faith by our actions.

(01:08):
Faith without good deeds is dead. So what I want
to talk about today is really the evidence of my faith.
How God transformed my life from where I was struggling
before to where I am right now. So hopefully you

(01:28):
can relate to it, hopefully it applies to your life.
Let's talk about this together. Grab your favorite drink and
a cup of coffee. And let's bring heaven a little
closer together. How has God transformed my life? Well, in

(01:56):
the past, I used to swear too much, curse too much.
And a few years ago I was convicted and led
by the Holy Spirit to change the amount of curse

(02:22):
words that I used. And it's not like I was
a cussin like a sailor kind of guy. I was
in every other word. But it doesn't have to be
every other word. It could be every once in a while,
it could be every either sentence. And for me, it
wasn't every other word, and it wasn't every other sentence,

(02:44):
but it was to a point where I felt convicted
enough to say, how immature do I need to be
to use this word when there are thousands and thousands
and thousands of other words that could replace this word.

(03:06):
So I started to feel convicted about it and say,
instead of swearing casually and just irresponsibly, why don't I
be more intentional with the words that are coming out
of my mouth? And in James Chapter three it talks

(03:28):
about this. James Chapter three says this in verse one
through nine, not many of you should become teachers, my
fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will
be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways.
Anyone who is never at fault in what they say
is perfect able to keep their whole body in check.

(03:50):
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to
make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.
Or take ships as an example. Although they are so
large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered
by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise,
the tongue is a small part of the body, but
it makes great boats. Consider what a great forest is

(04:14):
set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also
is a fire, a world of evil among the parts
of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the
whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself
set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles,
and sea creatures are being tamed, and have been tamed

(04:34):
by mankind. But no human being can tame the tongue.
It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With
the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with
it we curse human beings who have been made in
God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and
cursing my brothers and sisters. This should not be Can

(04:56):
both fresh water and saltwater flow from the same spring,
brothers and sisters. Can a fig tree bear olives or
a grapevine bear figs? Neither can be a salt spring
produce fresh water. So it talks about team and the tongue,
and it says the tongue controls the whole body, like

(05:18):
a small peace controls the ship. So our tongue controls
the tone of the direction that our bodies go. And
that's what it says here. The tongue is a small

(05:38):
part of the body, but it makes great boasts. With
the tongue, we praise our Lord and father, and with
it we curse human beings who have been made in
God's likeness. It corrupts the whole body, says, the whole
course of one's life on fire, and is itself set
on fire by hell. You never regret holding your tongue.

(06:01):
You never regret maybe keeping something in that's potentially evil,
then allowing your tongue to spit it out and potentially
cause havoc. And I was convicted to stop swearing, and

(06:28):
sometimes it still comes out. I'm not perfect in this
area of my life. I don't swear as often as
I used to, and when I did, I felt, you
know what, why don't we just change this word into
something else? Darn it, shoot, bummer, dang. Those are fine words.

(06:51):
So that's an area in which God has transformed my life.
In another area that I would say I'm going through
this right now, I would say that with the amount
of business in my life, with a wife and two
kids and another one on the way, with being a

(07:12):
part time youth pastor at church, and hosting this podcast,
working for iHeartRadio in the production hosting, I'd say an
area that I'm feeling convicted in right now is finding
a place, a quiet place by myself to pray, just

(07:36):
for a few minutes. And I don't do this every day,
but when I put my son to bed, when it's
my turn to do it, and I'm in his room
and we say the our Father, who are in Heaven,
as Jesus taught us to pray, I look up at

(07:59):
this in his room as if I'm looking up to
the heavens, and the intimacy that I feel with Jesus
in that moment is so high because I am personally
making that intentional decision to pray. It's not before a meal,
which is just kind of a routine. It's not before bed,

(08:22):
which is just kind of a routine. It is routine
to pray before our kids go to bed. But I
could just sit in his room put them to bed,
and nobody would know. So I am making an intentional decision,
an intentional choice to pray. Look up at the heavens
and say, our Father, or in heaven, allow it be

(08:44):
thy name, thy Kingdom. Come, Thy will be done on
earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day
our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we
forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not
into temptation but to the rest from evil. For Thine
is the King and the Power and the glory forever
and ever. Amen. And when I privately say those words,

(09:08):
even just right now, because I am recording this podcast
by myself in the basement of our house, the intimacy
that I feel with Jesus when I pray privately is
intense and high. How has God transformed your life? Email
the show bring Heaven Down the Number seven at gmail

(09:30):
dot com. How has God transformed your life? I would
love to share your story and talk about ways that
God convicted you so we can encourage others. If you
feel led to do it. Email the show Bring Heaven
Down the Number seven at gmail dot com. Thank you
for choosing Jesus today and I hope that you learn
more and more about our Lord and Savior, Jesus fur