Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.  Ephesians 4:29, GNT

It was my first year playing volleyball for the men's team at Pacific Union College.  I had overcome a lot of anxiety to even try out, but even though I had good friends on the team I often felt more pressure than joy when game time came around.  One game in particular was particularly difficult.  We were the visiting team, playing in a strange (or stranger) smelling gym than our own, and in the deciding set we fell behind, unable to dig up a string of aces from the home team.  Not a good feeling when you're one of the back row players who's supposed to be able to handle those things with ease.  I could shake off one shanked ball, but a few in a row was frustrating and deflating, especially when our own teammates on the sidelines went from cheering us on to tearing us down.  I don't remember whether we won or lost that match, but I do remember what it felt like when those who were on my own team spoke as if they were my worst critics.  I know...not the greatest memory to share, but it reminds me of the fact that there's incredible power in how we use our words, especially with those in our circles of community and trust.  How we speak to one another has power to give life or drain it, to help or to harm.  I believe God wants us to leverage the power of our communication in the best of ways, and in the book of Acts, we see what happens when the Holy Spirit transforms the way we speak.

REACHING THE HEART

"...we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." Acts 2:11

When the Holy Spirit filled the followers of Jesus on the Day of Pentecost, visible evidences of fiery tongues appeared over their heads, and audible evidences could be heard by others gathered in Jerusalem.  But notice the particular emphasis of the testimony of those who heard.  It wasn't only the wonderful works of God they were impressed by.  It was that they heard the disciples share the wonderful works of God "in their own tongues" (Acts 2:11; cf. 2:8).  Why was that such a big deal to them?  These worshipers had come to Jerusalem from faraway places.  They included both Jews who had been dispersed and converts to Judaism (v. 10).  Yet annually they made incredible effort to reconnect to a worship experience in a language that they likely didn't hear or use everyday in their communities or even their homes.  They could have easily felt like fumbling foreigners in their attempts to reconnect with God, but now the upper room community was able to communicate about God in ways that made them feel at home.  Yes, the disciples spoke in a way these worshipers could understand

but also in a way that made these worshipers feel understood.  

I believe the Holy Spirit wants to do the same in our day, giving us power both to communicate and to connect, power to speak to others' minds and reach their hearts.

MAKING GOD BIG

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word...For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Acts 10:44, 46, NKJV

Later in Acts, we read about another situation involving the collision of cultures.  At the Spirit's prompting, Peter accepted an invitation into a Roman centurion's home and faithfully opened his mouth to share the gospel with Cornelius and his family.  And when these foreigners received the message of Jesus, the Holy Spirit fell upon them as evidenced by the way they began to speak.  Apparently, the Holy Spirit transforms the communication of both those who preach the gospel and those who receive it too.  But notice there are two ways the hearers of God's Word in this story were enabled to speak:  1) "with tongues" or languages that allow others to understand and be understood, and 2) all to "magnify God."  

Question:  What does our communication magnify?  What have our conversations lately made a big deal of?  More often than we probably like to admit, our communication tends to magnify problems, the faults of others, or complaints about this or that.  Maybe our speech tends to magnify self, or ego, or whatever's popular.  When we indulge that kind of magnification, we tend to leave others feeling small in faith or low on hope.  Ah, but when we daily receive the good news of Jesus, 

the Holy Spirit can overhaul how we communicate so we can make a big deal of God.

We don't have to ignore problems or whatever's popular, but those things really  don't light a candle to God's goodness.  While we're honest with present hardships, we can still give voice to gratitude and acknowledge the bright spots of God's ongoing activity in our lives.  and when we do, we make Him large in the eyes of others and thus widen reach of the gospel.

Friends, it's all too easy to feel disconnected and discouraged in the world we live in.  Even in our own workplace, classroom, church pew, or home, those right around us are lonely and overwhelmed.  God is inviting us to be filled with His Spirit so we can be filled with life-giving communication for precious people in our circles of influence.  May we speak in a way that gives grace to our hearers (Eph. 4:29), connecting with people's hearts and magnifying God.