Good morning! James chapter three leads us through two main parts; controlled speech and controlled thoughts. James knew those parts rested on each other. The guidance in today’s verse was for believers to mature spiritually in each part. Join me as we spend a week walking through James chapter three.
Bible Verse – James 3:1-5NLT
“Dear brothers and sisters,[a] not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.”
Reflection
James warned teachers to understand their responsibilities because they will be judged more harshly for teaching the Word of God and not doing what it says. More so in that time, there were new Jewish Christians who aspired to grow in rank. They were unofficial teachers, but according to my study of these verses those teachers were given opportunities to speak in the synagogues as well as strangers. It was suggested that Apostle Paul used similar opportunities to teach communities about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
James was not above his own directives to believers. He said, “we all make many mistakes.” In other words, we all stumble, but maturing is spiritual growth and a tamed tongue should be our aim.
James was emphasizing the power of the tongue. It is one small part of the body, but it can create a lot of damage if it is unbridled.
Sisters and brothers, let us make our aim today and for a lifetime after to grow in this area of spiritual maturity.
Prayer
Father God, we thank you for the guidance that we have received from Your Word today. Thank you for the examples of how our tongues are small parts of the body, but powerful. Lord, there is an art of eloquent speech and an expression of obedience to Your Word is a tamed tongue; help us to control our speech. Lord, we don’t want a spark/flame from our mouths to consume an entire forest or our households. Lord, guide our thoughts and let them be filtered by Your Word before they come off our tongues. Lord, forgive us for the times we unleashed our thoughts and let them spew carelessly from our tongues. Lord, keep maturing us in this area every single day. Lord, help us to pause and process before we respond. Help us to properly measure when to walk away and/or when to hold our tongues. Help us not to pervert your word or pollute the church or our homes with words of faith, but no action. Lord, we don’t want to be empty vessels that boast of your word, but don’t apply it to ourselves – lead us and help us to bring glory to your name.
Lord, we lift up every readers prayer request and ask that you answer. Lord, we continue our prayers for the mother who has been in the hospital for 29 days. Lord, awake her from her coma and restore her body. In Jesus name we pray all these things, amen.
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