Have you ever wondered if your words have any real power or impact on a situation? Or if it even matters what you say at all? Or what about cussing? Is that okay or not? In Matthew 12:34 Jesus said that "whatever is in your heart determines what you say." So basically, in life, whatever is deep down on the inside of you is what you will end up saying. When you're pushed to your limits you'll end up saying what you really think about a situation. Everyday God brings things before us to see what we will call them. Even from the beginning of creation this is what He did. The first thing He told man to do was to name the animals - to call them something. It is the same way in our lives. When God brings before you any sort of problem or situation, what are you going to say about it? Are you going to speak God's word over that situation, or something else? Remember, whatever is truly in your heart is what you will release.
Even names in the Bible have significance. The names people had represented their character. Often times God would even change a person's name to match the new calling He would place on their lives.

Let's look at some scriptures, shall we?
First, in Mark 9:23, Jesus says that "anything is possible if a person believes." That is one powerful and bold statement to say! Just think, anything is possible - all you've gotta do is just believe that it is possible!
Next, in Mark 11:23-24, Jesus says "I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours." Do our words really have this much power? Jesus said that once there is no longer any doubt in your heart you can pray for anything and it will happen. Anything! Do you know what this means? This means that if you are struggling with sickness, addiction, or have any other sort of problem that you can be healed! All you need to do is believe that you're already received it and it will be yours! Christ already took care of all your sickness and pain by taking it to the cross. By His stripes you are healed! [See Isaiah 53:4, 1 Peter 2:24, and Matt 8:16-17] All you need to do is realize this and accept it. A lot of times in life it seems so hard to do but it is really that simple. The hardest part is removing all your doubt. But once you remove all doubt Jesus said it will come to pass. That isn't my promise, but a promise from God Himself!

You see, the fact may be that you are going through something right now. But God's word is the truth, and whatever He says about the situation will always remain. Facts can change, but the truth doesn't. It's up to you to change the facts in your life by believing the truth.

In John 16:24 Christ said "ask, using my name, and you receive." There is power in the name of Jesus. Have you ever noticed that when someone stubs their toe they don't shout the name of Buddha (or any other god or deity name for that matter)? They say the name of Jesus. And even though people are simply using Christ's name as an empty word, they are acknowledging the fact that (whether they know it or not) there is power in that name. That is why the name of God is often used in place of or with cuss words. It gives power to those words. Keep this in mind when we talk about cussing here shortly.

Proverbs 18:21 states that "The tongue can bring death or life." When you truly believe something you say it can come to pass. So as a believer it is wise to watch what you say, making sure that you are speaking life over situations rather than death.

Read this quote from James 3:9-12
"Sometimes it [our tongue] praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs?"
This scripture teaches us that as believers we cannot speak two different things at the same time - life and death do not both belong in a believer's mouth. Rather we should be speaking only life. Going with what was said earlier, what is truly on your heart is what will come out. We need to make sure that God's word is what is on our hearts so that we will only speak according to His word. God provided an example of this in nature - things only produce more of their own kind. They create more things like themselves. This goes with 2 Timothy 2:16-17 when it says to "avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior [because] this kind of talk spreads like cancer." Have you ever noticed that after you hang around someone for a long time that you begin to act and say things just like them? You don't intentionally do it, but you do it nevertheless. We are to be an example to the world by only speaking God's word's (which bring life) rather than speaking of hopelessness as the world does.

Ephesians chapter 4 teaches us a lot about what sort of things to say. Verse two tells us that we are to be humble and gentle. We should always be patient and kind to one another and always make an allowance for each other's faults because of our love for one another. To make an allowance means to allow or tolerate each other's faults. Hate the sin, but love the sinner. God does (and has called us to do the same).
Verses 15 and 16 state that we are to "speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church... As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love."
Just because someone may be of a different denomination or background doesn't mean that you can look down upon them in the Body of Christ. Everyone has a purpose and we should never consider ourselves higher or more important than someone else. Just because you may think you have more understanding than someone else on a subject does not mean that that is the case. You should always be open to learn something from one another - no matter who they are. God uses every part of His body.
Verse 29 tells us not to "use foul or abusive language [and to] let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." We are to encourage one another - not by simply saying something positive (the world already knows the importance of being positive) but with something greater - God's Word - and His love expressed through that word.

A few years ago I came to the point where I realized that I simply couldn't speak cuss words while at the same time glorifying God. Think about it this way. When you call someone the B-word you are in essence calling them a female dog (after all, that is what that word really means). This is an insult to a human who was made in the very image of God - thus an insult to God Himself. We are to build one another up, not tare them down - speak life, not death.
When you speak a cuss word with the name of God along side it (a good example you hear a lot these days is "Jesus F-ing Christ!") you are giving power to what it is you are saying, so as mentioned earlier, that can be dangerous. And no matter how you look at it, when you cuss about something you typically aren't being positive about whatever it is. In context words can be used (such as "jackass" if I'm revering to a donkey), but out of contexts we need to be careful what sort of things we are saying - especially if we really believe what we are saying.

Remember we need to be positive when we speak - only speaking things according to God's word rather than our own. And there is power in the words we say when we truly believe them, so be careful with what sort of things you are creating from your words. You can have a good life, or not, the choice is yours. It really is that simple.