What do your words say about you? James
tells us that our words have incredible power and our tongues are untamable
apart from God. Are you using your words
to praise God and edify others? Let’s
get into the Word and submit our tongues to God.
As you read today's passage,
look for these words or phrases: tongue, tame, bless, and curse.
Passage for the
day: James 3:7-12 (NASB)
7 For every species of beasts and birds, of
reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human
race.
8 But no man can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been
made in the likeness of God;
10 From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not
to be this way.
11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?
12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a
vine produce figs? Nor can salt
water produce fresh.
Questions for thought: Take a few
moments to answer these questions before you go on to the next section.
James says that no man can tame the tongue. How does this relate to Psalm 141:3 and
Proverbs 21:23?
According to James, is the root of the problem of evil
speech in the mouth or tongue? What does
Matthew 15:11, Mark 7:20-23, and Luke 6:45 say about the tongue?
Why
ought not both blessing (praising) and cursing to come from the same
mouth? Explain.
Do you
bless God with your words and then use your words to curse and destroy others? How you will guard yourself from sinning
with your tongue this week? What is your
plan?
MEDITATE ON THIS:
Your tongue – the words
you speak have incredible power! Here
James emphasizes what we learned in the previous verses. Even though man has been able to tame wild
beasts, no man can tame the tongue. The tongue
is not like the domesticated animal, technology, or even wild beasts. There is
nothing that a man can do in his own strength to control this great power
within him – the power of speech. The tongue, the power of speech, is a
restless evil and deadly poison. WOW!
Now that is some harsh language.
However, it is the real picture of what our tongues are capable of
doing. We are capable of using our words
to destroy and poison others. But where
does this poison and evil come from?
According to Christ’s words in Matthew
15:11, Mark 7:20-23, and Luke 6:45, it all stems from the heart. So where is the hope of ever being able to
control our speech and change our heart?
As you
read earlier in Psalm 141:3 and Proverbs 21:23, the answer is that we must look
to God for control. We also read in
Galatians 5:16 about walking in the Spirit so that we won’t fulfill the desires
of our flesh. God has given us the power
to change and the hope we need to keep going!
Without Him, we are hopeless.
With Him, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil.
4:13)!
James also confronts us on how the tongue can praise
God one moment and curse others in the next.
This blessing is the act of speaking in adoration of your God in both
private prayer and in the public assembly of the believers. To use the gift of speech to praise the Lord is
the proper use of the tongue. But at
nearly the same moment the same tongue turns against others who have been “made
in God’s likeness” and curses them, while professing faith in God. You’ve
seen this happen. You’re in church on
Sunday praising God with your fellow Christians, and then on Monday you are
using the same tongue that praised God to destroy others. Just as fresh water and bitter water cannot
flow from the same source, blessing and cursing should not flow out of our
mouths.
Why is this such a BIG deal? We are taking the tongue that God gave us to
praise Him and using it for our own ends.
We are all made in the image of God and when we use our words to tear
down each other, we are really dishonoring God Himself! Let’s seek to build and encourage each other
and use our words to bring honor to God today.
Praying for that you would Love Christ
PASSIONATELY, Know Christ DEEPLY, and Enjoy Christ FULLY!!!
Pastor Stephen
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