Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Use Your Words To Bless Others
Use Your Words To Bless Others
The first man said, “Brother Bo, in all the years that I’ve been married,
not once have I have ever told my wife that I loved her. I was never trained to
be expressive.”
The other man added, “Bo, I don’t feel a need to say ‘I love you’ to my
wife. What other proof does she need? I’m still here married to her, am I not? I
guess I want my actions to speak more than my words.”
Because I realized what epoch they came from. Let me give you an idea
of how old they were: I was wondering if they were classmates of Jose Rizal or
Emilio Aguinaldo.
Just kidding.
Everyday, he would spend time with me. He filled my heart with love.
Like those two older men, I remember how Dad didn’t speak much.
He had this special grunt language that I learned to decipher through the
years.
If you’re a parent, don’t hold back simply because you’ve never done it
before.
You might be saying, “But Bo, my kids are now adults. I guess it’s too
late.”
You can pick up the phone and tell them how much they mean to
you. Honor them and give them the blessing.
Remember: You’re the only one who can do it. You’re the only one who
can give them this special blessing.
As a parent. As a spouse. As a friend.
So one day, Dad scolded me. He said, “Bo, you have a gift to preach! I
don’t have that gift. I wish I had it. But I don’t. You do. If I were you, I’d say
yes to every single invitation. Because you need to use your gift. If you won’t
use it, God may take it away from you!”
There was anger in his voice. But in the process, words of honor slipped
out of his lips. In a tangential way, he was praising me. And my spirit was
rejoicing. Though he didn’t say it, I got an inkling of how proud my father was
for me. Those words meant so much to me, because I still remember them today
—after 20+ years!
But all that wasn’t enough. Deep inside, I still wanted my own father to
praise me. I wanted my Dad to honor me.
Don’t be stuck in your old ways. For the sake of the children, you can
change. Use your words to bless others.
Remember: When you honor a person with your words, you’re not just
making that person feel good. Because words have power. God has imbued our
words with immense creative power. Your words can create life. Your words
can perform miracles. Your words can heal wounds. Your words can refresh the
spirit.
But I know some people do the very opposite: They use they’re
incredible power to curse.
You Have The Power To Bless Or Curse
One day, a woman came up to me and asked for prayers. She said a
mangkukulam cursed her. She’s been sick for a year, suffering terrible pains in
her body, but doctors couldn’t find anything wrong with her.
It was probably true. Because when our prayer team prayed for her, the
healing was instant. She never suffered pains again.
Scary, right?
I’ve got news for you: You don’t have to be a mangkukulam to have this
power. All of us have this power.
When Parents say, “Buwiset ka! Wala kang kuwentang anak! Ang tigas
tigas ng ulo mo! Ang bobo mo!” (You’re worthless, You’re dumb), they’re
cursing their kids. They’re prophesying doom to their children. They’re acting
exactly like voodoo witches.
He was married five times and divorced five times. He had six sons. But
he was so busy building his empire, he never really spent time with his
children. He was also very critical.
For example, his son Paul Jr. would write letters to his father. The letters
would come back with the spelling and grammatical errors corrected—but there
was no reply from the father. Paul later became a heroin addict.
His other son, Gordon, dealt with his father only through the court, fighting
over money.
His other son Ronald went into filmmaking, and his father ridiculed him.
Another son worked with the father in the family business. But he took
his life, stabbing himself in the stomach and taking an overdose of pills.
You too have the power to bless and curse people with the use of your
words. The Bible says that life and death are in the power of the tongue.
When some Filipinos hear “Esau”, they automatically get hungry. (Focus
on the story, please.)
When Isaac was old and blind, he called his son Esau and said, “I’m
going to die soon. I want to give you my blessing. Go and hunt a wild animal
for me, cook it the way I want it and serve it to me. Then I’ll give you my
blessing.”
Quickly, she cooked a goat from their flocks. She then told Jacob to bring
the meal to his father and pretend that he was Esau, so he could get the blessing.
Isaac, being blind, was fooled. He thought Jacob was Esau and gave him
his blessing. He said, “May you have abundance, may the nations serve you,
may all those who bless you be blessed, and may all those who curse you be
cursed.”
When Jacob left, his brother Esau came in. Isaac was so surprised. And
he said, “Sorry Esau, I gave the blessing to Jacob. I can’t take it back anymore.”
What’s weird? The brothers weren’t fighting for their father’s gold, or
their father’s cattle, or their father’s land.
Why?
When I tell my son, “I’m so happy that you’re my son. I know you’ll be
very successful in all areas of life and everything you touch will prosper,” I’m
not only honoring my son, I’m also giving him a supernatural blessing.
When I tell my wife, “I love you. You’re the best thing that ever
happened to me,” I’m not only honoring her, I’m also giving her a supernatural
blessing.
Part of this supernatural blessing is a prophecy…
You can shape the destiny of your children, of your friends, of your loved
ones by your words.
Here’s what I learned: People will rise to the level of what you
prophesy. People will adjust to your prophecy.
Remember, if you don’t tell your kids who they are and what their
destiny is, someone else will. The television will tell them. The internet will tell
them. Bullies in school will tell them.
Once upon a time, I was 13 years old who was a poor student in school. I
didn’t know what to do with my life.
But one day, this woman came up to me, prophesied to me and said, “Bo,
you’ll receive the gift of wisdom. I believe in you. You’ll preach God’s Word to
many people.” She then asked me to give a talk to our prayer group. She did it
again and again.
When the Father introduced Jesus to the world, He said, “This is my son with
whom I am well pleased.” What was the Father doing? He was honoring and
blessing the Son.
I believe God says these same words to you. “This is my child whom I am
well pleased!”
You may have a difficult time swallowing that. “No Bo, I’m a big
sinner. I’ve failed God. I’m sure He won’t say that about me.”
But that’s Grace. When God looks at you, He doesn’t see your mistakes. He
sees the goodness He created in you.
Last Thursday, I listened to Fr. Cantalamesa preach.
Who is he? Fr. Cantalamesa is the Retreat Master of the Pope. Whenever
the Pope goes on retreat, he’s the guy who gives it. For 30 years, he’s been the
Preacher to the Papal Household.
Fr. Cantalamesa said something that blew me away. He said he likes saying
to God, “Father, look at me… and rejoice!”
Wow.
He doesn’t only love you, He rejoices over you. When God sees you, I
believe He’s so happy, He sings, jumps, and dances for joy.
So I preached fear, hoping that people will get scared enough to change
their lives. I looked down at my listeners. I told them to shape up or else…
Because I changed.
Today, I preach love. I can’t help it. God has filled my heart with so much
love, it overflows.
So when his mother got pregnant with a baby girl, the little tyke was
delighted. Everyday, he’d rub his mother’s tummy and sing to his baby sister,
You are my sunshine, You are my sunshine, You make me happy, when stars are
grey…
But when the baby was born, there were complications. The baby was in
critical condition.
Little Michael waited at home, wondering why his mother and his baby
sister weren’t coming home yet.
A few days later, the doctor told the mother that the baby may not last
long. The mother decided to bring Michael to the ICU and see his baby sister
before she died.
She knew it was against the ICU rules, but she knew she had to do it. She
brought in little Michael and let him stand beside his very sick baby sister.
That was when the Head Nurse saw Michael and shouted, “Children are not
allowed here!”
But before they could pull him out of the room, little Michael sang to his
baby sister, You are my sunshine, You are my sunshine. You make me happy,
when stars are grey, You never know dear, how much I love you, please don’t
take my sunshine away…
Immediately, the baby grew calm. Her heart rate, which was abnormally
fast, slowed down.
The Head Nurse noticed what was happening and said, “Little boy,
whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. Something is happening to the baby!”
Michael kept singing to his sister. And everyday, she got better. Until she
got totally well.
Bo Sanchez\Jan.2010