The Tongue, a Forest Fire Waiting to Happen

James 3:5 “Likewise the tongue is small but it makes great boasts.  Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.”

Oh my Sweet Lord, the enemy is afoot!  We get in a situation in our lives that unless brought to a quick godly conclusion will cause a big rift.  Oh Lord, one word spoken before thought and prayer is like a spark in a very dry forest and so quickly can bring devastation that cannot ever be fully repaired.

            When we come across a situation with especially someone we love who has been deeply hurt by another, we are so quick to want justice done.  We want the perpetrator to be punished severely for what they have done.  In our flesh we start building up a camp around us of folks that will think like us.  We start “spreading the news” of what the person has done, or is doing, to our loved one.  I guess we do this in some bizarre hope that the more we let others know, the faster Your judgment will fall on them.

            Truth is, Lord, that if the person is an unbeliever they already fall under condemnation for all eternity and You do not need our “help” in passing judgment.  If the offender is one of Your children, You have given us strict guidelines in how to deal with it and it does not include “mass broadcasting”.

Lord, You helped me to understand that all of this nasty evil stems from us saying to ourselves, “I don’t (they don’t) deserve to be treated this way!”  You also showed me in Your Word that the judgment I wanted to fall on the “hurter” would fall on me!  Lord, You know that I have been guilty of this in the past and You know too, how in love, You had to break me it.  It hurt, Lord!  Your loving discipline was very painful at the time, but now how I thank You!

Help me always to remember before I speak:

Is it true?

Is it kind?

Is it necessary?

Our Tongues Need to be Checked

James 3:2  “We all stumble in many ways.  If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.”

 Lord, for someone who talks all day to make a living, I certainly understand this verse,  I have to be mindful of every word I say and also the ones I write in emails.  At home with my husband and family, I tend to become more careless.  Lord, help me!  I need to be as careful, or even more so, at home with the ones You have given me to love and nurture.

 I told the children growing up what lots of parents tell their children, “If you can’t cay something nice, don’t say anything at all.”  After I accepted Your grace gift of salvation something else was added.  “If what you are going to say is not true, kind, and necessary…do not speak at all.”  How often do I grieve You, Lord as under the guise of offering a prayer request I, gossip, malign, and in other ways sin with my tongue?  Maybe I have spewed my bitterness over the way I, or one of my loved ones, have been treated, or have said things about the way things are going at work.  Lord, forgive me!

 My husband would have no idea how things are going at work, or may not even know the people I work with unless I come home and tell him.  He would  have no idea how I was treated or what someone said at church or in the grocery store if I didn’t tell him when I came home.  Therefore; what he thinks of those folks depends on what I say.  I do not ever want him to have a tainted view or perspective.  Lord, put a guard over my mouth and tongue.  Put Praise and gratitude where once there was venom.

Teachers are Scrutinized

James 3:1 “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” NIV

Teacher equaled our word Master in Jewish culture.  The KJV says, “Be not many Masters,” and the NAS says, “Let not many of you become teachers.”

            Lord, all of us should aspire to become knowledgeable of Your Word to be able to teach, but not every Christian should presume to be a teacher.  Teaching is a gift of Your Holy Spirit.  What we teachers live has a great effect on those who follow us.  Their spiritual well being usually depends on what we live as much as, or sometimes more than, what we “teach” in words.  A teacher’s walk must be impeccable. Will we be perfect? NO, but we must be quick to confess and repent when we sin or our pupils will suffer.

            We are held to a greater standard and the KJV says, “will fall under greater condemnation.”  Since in Romans 8:1 You clearly tell us that ,"there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,"  I believe that the NIV uses better terminology here.  Our sins have been judged and forgiven only because of the blood of Christ on our behalf.  Our works will be judges at the Bema seat, and as teachers, we will be scrutinized more closely than others.

Figs, Olives, Grapes, and Words

James 3:12 “My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”

Lord, I am always intrigued when I see in the news paper insert or seed catalog trees that have been grafted so they will bear 5 different kinds of apples.  It is a wonder of horticulture.  But I have never seen one that had grapes and tomatoes on it along with the apples.  Trees and vines are different issues.  The fruits have to be “in kind” in order for the grafting to work.

            When we were in Hawaii visiting our son and his family, we went snorkeling for the first time.  It took some practice to learn to breathe through my mouth while under water (that is not a natural response).  More than once I came up spitting and sputtering because I had ingested salt water.  Once I got the hang of it, it was great fun…like swimming in an aquarium.  However; if I had continued to drink the salt water it would have taken my life.

            So it is with our words.  We all say careless things sometimes that offend or wound.  The unregenerate heart is like that sea of salt water.  But when we trust Christ as Savior and allow Him to be Lord, He changes the salt sea to a fresh water holy “heart spring” by His Spirit.  Hallelujah!  Now it is up to us to allow His Holy Spirit to rule in order for that fresh water to bubble up from our “heart spring”.

            Lord, keep me mindful not to poison my spring.  I would never think to poison the water I drink, why would I want to serve poisoned water to those around me?  May it never be!

Not By Faith Alone?

 I'm not sure why this showed up to post today...
James 24 “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not just by faith alone.”

My Dear Lord, am I right in equating what James is saying here with the folks in our day who pray the “sinner’s prayer” but never repent?  There is no change…no works.  The prayer does not save them if the heart is not part of the equation.

How many, Lord have done that in the emotion of the moment or because they want someone to stop “bugging” them about salvation, but never enter into that glorious relationship with You?  How very sad for them and YOU as You are, “not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance.”

Unlikely to Extraordinary

James 2:25 “ In the same way, was it not Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?”

Lord, I love how you take the most unlikely folks and have them do such extraordinary things:

·         A harlot in the line of King David and YOU!

·         A shepherd boy slays a giant and becomes the greatest king in Israel’s history.

·         You took a Hebrew baby, had him grow up as a “son” of Pharaoh and then had him lead Your people out from under that same Pharaoh’s rule.

·         You made a very timid and cowardly young Hebrew man and gave him victory over a mighty enemy using 300 men, pitchers, torches, and trumpets!

·         You took 12 very unlikely candidates (fishermen, tax collector, etc.) and made them into Apostles that turned the world upside down.

In each case it was their faith with their deeds that showed their faith.  Lord, my faith is so strong in You and I want my deeds to show too.  You took a girl with only a partial education and a sordid background, saved am and placed me in the largest Christian school in the world to be an advocate, guide, and lover of your young ones who You will send out into the world to turn it upside down.  THAT is amazing to me even now!  I am so unworthy of Your grace and mercy, but so very thankful for it!

Temptation is Not From God!

James 1:14 “…but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”

          Oh, Lord!  “In our flesh resides no good thing.”, “The human heart is sick and desperately wicked, who can know it?”, “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.”  There are so many verses in Your Word that tell us of our fallen condition.  We are certainly, by nature, wicked, selfish, lustful, greedy, and certainly depraved.  We almost do not even need to be tempted by Satan or his hordes!

          David, Solomon, and Samson of old immediately come to mind as well as prominent pastors and televangelists of our day.  They were drawn away by lust, greed, or both.

          Personally, my biggest fight has been with “self”.  In the past I have been manipulative in order to get my way about something…still struggle with it sometimes, but You help me recognize it right away now.  Thank You, Lord for that!  I think Christian women fight with this because of the nature of fall.  You tell us that we must submit to our husbands and to authority and we know that we should, but try to do it in a way that we get our own way ultimately.

          Another major desire we women fight with daily is the quest for youth and beauty in hopes of bringing more “worth” to ourselves.  We are bombarded each day by media and by other women telling us that this or that product can all but stop the aging process and make us more beautiful and sexy.  Fitness is important.  After all we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, but the world’s whole push is to make us more sexy, not so much more healthy.

          The world screams at us, men and women alike, to be discontent with what You have made us to look like, what You have given in goods and funds, and we listen, even as Christians!  Lord Help us!