Good words

Thursday, September 4th, 2025

by Ken Pullen

ACP

I don’t know about now, but there was a time when, by the age of 5, most children already knew there were good words and some bad words. I’ve lived long enough to observe the utter destruction, deconstruction, and corruption of language to where there are fewer good words spoken or written among the myriad bad words.

I remember a day I walked into a convenience store where I used to live, and the woman behind the counter was crying. We were the only two people in the store. I asked her, “What is wrong, what happened?”

Between tears, in great distress, she managed to say, “I’m so tired of these awful kids, they’re just terrible.”

The store was located in a strip of older shops right next to an old elementary school.

“What happened?” I asked again.

“Every day these kids come in and they demand I sell them cigarettes, beer, and porn magazines, and I tell them every day I can’t do that, as they are in elementary school and are only seven, eight, or nine years old. Then they begin to curse at me, F you this, and F you that, and calling me vulgar names.”

That day is as clear in my memory as if it occurred earlier this week. It happened about 20 years ago.

Children are the future, I’ve heard so many say. I always say, finish the sentence, because oh my, what a future that will be if people would only finish the sentence being objective, honest, and real.

Older people, parents, almost all take the view that the little darlings are so much better, brighter, wonderful, special than any previous generation.

Right…

The world and its people are getting better, right? That’s why the Bible tells us plainly, clearly how it is going, will go, and will end — because people are inherently “good” and each generation of children is so much better than the previous ones?

Right…

But this isn’t a commentary on the decline and demise of parenting, the traditional family, or the public education system in America. It’s about good words.

Good words, from a good heart, a good spirit, a good mind, which is only achieved, only possible, truly with a life submitted to the LORD Jesus Christ, being born anew.

Oh, there are many people, not born again, not disciples of Jesus, who can speak, write many good words, and they do regularly. But to truly get REAL good words, with understanding, depth, heart, soul, spirit, and mind it requires a heart, a life submitted to the LORD Jesus Christ. Because from that comes an awareness unavailable to the life not born anew. Others might come off sounding very good, very nice, but without being changed from within by the Supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to see, to hear, to discern, to know beyond the ability of a person without such experience just doesn’t make the mark.

I recently received an email from a brother in Christ, also a friend, who wrote some good words to me. After he had read:

Six Years in Prison For Quoting The Bible? A Warning From Finland – A CROOKED PATH

I asked him if he would permit me to publish publicly what he wrote to me, and in his graciousness, he wrote, “Yes, whatever is useful in the Lord’s work.”

Here are the good words he initially wrote to me after he read the above article on ACP:

I have been a supporter of ADF for years, so I have been aware of the fight for the Bible truth and freedom in Finland. We just recently visited Finland and worshiped in the church in which our relatives worshiped years ago. Finland’s government was/is integrated with Lutheranism. State church – no separation of church and state. A steady decline in participation as the generations have not passed the torch of the Gospel.  The state collects taxes to support the church…. Decline in Christianity there has reached a new low, threatening free speech with its integration of worldly values overriding the Bible in authority. 

We have a “christian” element here in the USA with views that the Gospel and its principles need to be politically forced on people rather than by Spirit-led heart changes. – remnants of the crusades, shudder shudder. Jesus, Paul & Luther preached about the false prophets in their days, which are still invading our churches today. 

We are seeing the same encroachment on freedom of belief in Scripture as the basis of Truth. Truth that is interpreted by the world as unacceptable hate speech. Wonder if we, in the time left in our lives, will see true Christianity pushed into the catacombs, or the hill country and secrecy that our brothers in China and Muslim countries have. Or pushed into the prison as an occupant, where I visit as a sharer of the Gospel today. Technically, in my volunteer access training, I signed restrictions regarding certain inclusive issues, such that I cannot share certain truths that counter today’s worldly views on certain topics. We read and study what the Bible says, but there is always the possibility of challenge, by someone “offended” by the Word.

So we need to be reminded to continue to pray for continuing access to share God’s Word in places restricted by our own government, as well as where missionaries face overt restrictions by other governments as well.

Praise to the Lord who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Some very good words.

Very sad that so many of us refuse to gravitate to, make the focus, center of our lives, our hearts the good words of God’s word, to keep our hearts, minds, spirits, eyes, ears, on the things of God — which also require a keen awareness, knowing of what is happening in the world, speaking out, taking a stand, not being blind, numb, otherwise occupied, complacent, inactive, alseep as Satan goes about destroying.

Some folks, in what would appear to be free, democratic nations, are now facing jail time for letting the Light, the Truth, and the Way of the Word of God shine into the darkness.

Good words, the Good Word can and always will prevail, cut through the darkness, sear evil, and one day put all the speakers, writers of all their bad words — against God, against Jesus, against the Holy Spirit, and against the Holy Scriptures in the right place, which is the wrong place to spend eternity.

Ponder that for a while if not sure…

I prefer saying, writing we, or us, but in this instance it has to be you…because I’m, well, you’ve come this far, what’s one more paragraph? Please read on a bit more…

I’d put in a good word for you if you’re unsure of where you’ll spend eternity, but you see, it doesn’t work that way. Each person must humble themselves, confess their sin, repent — turn back, turn around, turn away from their sin — and faithfully, obediently ask the LORD Jesus Christ to forgive them, to heal them, to renew them, make them whole and finally, truly alive, to have Him as Lord of their life — eternally — born again!