It's just so easy to transfer our negative or insecure feelings about someone into our conversations with others. It's like our subconscious goes: 'If I fill their heads with bad ideas about that person, no one will notice my failings.' Not good! We have the ability to decimate other people's idea of the person we're talking about. And, what about those moments we've said something negative about someone...and they've overheard us say it. Those moments feel so awful because we're aware of how much damage our words can inflict.

And what about the spiritual impact of our little rant moments? Matthew 7:12 CEV says, 'Treat others as you want them to treat you.' We shouldn't do or say something we wouldn't want tossed back at us. So, unnecessarily harsh words? Not so keen on them boomeranging back? Best not to throw them out in the first place.

Today's verse, 'If you can control your tongue, you are mature' (James 3:2 CEV) is basically saying that it's near impossible to control our tongues? Well, as always, asking God to help us is the answer. We can't always wrestle our tongue away from the stupid, but he can. If he can get a storm to quieten with his words, he has the power to stop us creating black clouds with ours.

So what now? Who was the last person you said something bad to/about? Send them a note, apologising and telling them something positive they've brought to your life.

How much easier would life be if we could pause, rewind and take back all the stupid, thoughtless stuff we've said. Are we imagining that beautiful world? It's pretty great, right? Sadly, that's not the world we live in, and once those words are out they are... out!

We sing, 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.' More like: 'Sticks and stones may break my bones (which will heal fairly quickly) but words can do near irreparable damage that can take many hours/years of pain and processing to heal.' It's not difficult to see how our words can be hurtful; it's harder however to stop saying hurtful things back and to forgive people when they've said stupid stuff to us.

Everyone messes up their words. What are we most likely to do: gossip, criticise, boast, quote the Bible a bit too much in a bit too holier-than-thou way? It's worth figuring out which one we're most prone to and work out how to do it less. We cannot shrug off destructive words as 'no big deal': 'If you can control your tongue, you are mature' (James 3:2 CEV). Let's think about what we say and how we say it, because our words matter.

So what now? Think back to the last time you said something carelessly and hurt someone (I'm sure you won't have to think too hard). If you haven't already, ask God for forgiveness, march yourself back to that person and apologise.

The apostle Paul put up with a lot of nonsense from the early Church. In Galatians 5 he's having a stern word with the Galatian church (funny that!) for insisting that believers be circumcised. (Not convinced he's angry? Just look up Galatians 5:12.) He's unhappy because people are misrepresenting the gospel. The Galatians had bought into a lie that said we need more than faith in Jesus to be saved. They thought they could be saved by obeying some rules. Paul sets them straight: 'For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love' (Galatians 5:6 NLT).

People often feel they have to earn their forgiveness from God. It doesn't work like that. We can't earn a free gift. We can however show our gratitude by saying something like: 'God, you've made me worthy, thank you so much! I'm going to love others as an expression of how grateful I am!' Which is sometimes hard to do.

We're really self-centred, us humans. Serving others doesn't come naturally and it takes time and effort to develop an 'others first' heart, but the more we appreciate what God has done for us the easier it will be.

So what now? Get some serving practice in this week. Every opportunity you see to serve another human take it. Make tea, carry heavy things and spread around heaps of encouragement on your loved (and not so loved) ones. You are saved to love and serve.

For every movie there's a short descriptive blurb telling us the gist of the story. For the great movie War Room the blurb is: 'Prayer is a powerful weapon'. If we haven't seen the movie, it's about a lady who battles to save her marriage through prayer in a room (the 'war room') in her house.

If we could choose a Bible verse blurb to describe Jesus' 'earthly business', it might be: 'Jesus went around doing good' (Acts 10:38 NLT). The full verse is: 'God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.' What does it mean that Jesus 'went around doing good'? The Gospel books Matthew, Mark, Luke and John show Jesus doing good - praying for people, loving the unloved, showing the heart of his Father through his words and deeds.

What stands out about Jesus doing good is that he was often interrupted while he was going somewhere else. He had plans, but needy, broken people stopped him to ask for help. Much of the good Jesus did was done when he let himself be stopped. It mightn't have looked like he had a plan - but that was the plan. To stop and help.

So what now? If you start your day with a prayer like 'God, help me to do good today,' keep your eyes open for those opportunities. Instead of ignoring an interruption on your way somewhere else, stop - like Jesus did - and help someone in need.

It's easy to read a verse like Philippians 4:19 NKJV - 'God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory' - and come away with little more than 'riches, all my needs'. But, that is definitely not the whole meaning.

Read this fuller passage: 'God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others... he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God' (2 Corinthians 9:8-11 NLT).

When we see godly promises of plenty, they're 100% tied to generosity. The reason that God gives to us is to produce another kind of harvest, one where we re-sow everything given to us. The things that God trusts us with - finances, talents, knowledge, love - are meant as an investment. It's our job to enjoy them and then use them to show God to others. God gives to us, not so that we can be comfy, but so that we can step out into generosity.

So what now? Dig out something from a cupboard that you got as a Christmas gift. Yes, Christmas was three months ago, but...unless you have a use for it, give it to someone who'll love it.

Our hope in a wonderful future with Jesus, our blessed hope, so key to our faith, is summed up like this: 'Because I [Jesus] live, you will live also' (John 14:19 NKJV). Because Jesus died, and then rose again, we have the hope of doing the same. God first resurrected Lazarus and Jairus' daughter, then he resurrected his own Son, in the most prophecy-fulfilling, awesome way possible. Because Jesus rose, we know we're assured of the fullest kind of life too, forever. That's the crux of the gospel. It's pretty significant.

Paul knew how important that truth is, and wanted the Corinthians, some of whom weren't convinced about the importance of Jesus' resurrection, to get it too. In 1 Corinthians 15:4-8 Paul lays out the facts... After his death, Jesus came back, and was seen by his friends, up close. Then he was seen by crowds. And, as Paul was writing, people who'd seen the resurrected Jesus were still alive to tell their individual stories. And, those individual's stories told the same thing... they'd seen a living, walking, talking Jesus. If we know anything about gaining proof, we'll know that solid witnesses are everything. Our faith has solid witnesses.

On our doubt-filled days, or on the days when people want us to prove our faith, let's remember: our blessed hope of eternal life with Jesus, of living the fullest of lives forever, is built on facts.

So what now? Tell someone about your blessed hope. Be confident in your well-rooted faith, and pray for an opportunity to share that hope today.