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“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 One thing I’ve noticed in talking to people who aren’t saved is that many see Christians as part of an exclusive club that only a few people can enter. And in general, people don’t like things that are exclusive because there is a feeling of being ostracized when something is exclusive and you are left out. But whether we like it or not, exclusivity is a way of life. As a Caucasian male, I’ll never be a Hispanic woman! That’s an exclusive group that I can never join. In the same way, I’ll probably never be in the book of Guinness World Records. That’s an exclusive group that only a select few with extraordinary abilities can join. So while we like to have a dream that we’re all the same and we can just hold hands and sing Kumbaya, the reality is that we’re not all the same. So when Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” he was making a very exclusive statement. Whether we like it or not, Jesus is the only person who can restore our fellowship with God and bring us into his Kingdom. And while that’s an exclusive statement, he invites everyone to receive him and receive his gift of salvation.   JESUS CLAIMED TO BE THE ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER, BUT HE INVITES EVERYONE TO RECEIVE HIM. SO EXTEND THAT INVITATION TO OTHERS BY LOVING THEM AND SHARING THE GOSPEL WITH THEM. Truth in the Tongue Friday, May 17, 2019 by Dr. Paul Chappell “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Matthew 12:34–36 On January 15, 1919, an unprecedented disaster struck Boston, Massachusetts. The massive storage tank at the Purity Distilling Company, which held more than 2 million gallons of molasses, collapsed. The surging wave of molasses rushed out, destroying buildings and sweeping people away. When the rubble was cleared, 21 people had been killed, and another 150 injured. It was one of the worst industrial disasters in American history. The molasses that flowed from the destroyed tank was what had been contained within it. In much the same way, what we say reveals what is within our hearts. Many times people say something unkind or demeaning, or perhaps something that is cruel or critical. Those words do not arise in a vacuum. They are the overflow of what is in the heart. While we may be able to hold our tongues for a time, eventually what is on the inside is revealed by what comes out of our mouths. The key to controlling the tongue is not found in the mouth, but in the heart. And this is a task which depends on our control of our thought lives. The focus of our thinking flows out in our speech. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8). Today's Growth Principle:  The key to speaking the right words is having the right heart attitude toward God and those around us.