October 23–The tongue

Its Wednesday. 

On Monday, I was on the interstate and all of a sudden the traffic was at a standstill. There was no way to move, to get off or turn around—we were all stuck. And we were stuck for about an hour or so. Right before we started moving, I read why. There had been a terrible accident where a work truck (made from a converted school bus) had ran off the road and hit a commercial propane tank. The truck exploded and the tank caught on fire. Scary for all of those involved with it. The driver was life flighted with severe burns. 


I guarantee Monday when that guy jumped in his work truck to start his day, he had no earthly idea of the magnitude of mess his day would quickly become. Sometimes the most innocent of days become the worst nightmares. 


Fire is a scary thing. The fire on Monday backed up a few thousand folks and had ramifications of all sorts (I was an hour late to my doctors appointment). It’s very much like James described the words that come from our mouth. Once they are out, they can cause flames and fires we can’t begin to stop without affecting many others. 


“And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.”

‭‭James‬ ‭3:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬


It can set your whole life on fire! The wrong things spoken can burn down relationships between family, friends, and can prevent any relationship from beginning with new acquaintances. This is exactly the reason that Paul spends so much of his time talking about speech and spoken words to Timothy. 


“Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.” 2 Timothy‬ ‭2:23-25‬ ‭NLT‬‬


Arguments simply don’t win people over. (How often are you convinced with someone telling you you’re wrong?) Instead, we can pray and ask God to move in individual hearts. Our job is to know God’s Word and to teach it accurately and to know God’s Word, we need to be in God’s Word. 


Dear Jesus, Create in me a greater passion to be in Your Word. Help me to make time to be with You each day - not out of obligation, but out of joy and love for You. Help me to gain the self-disciple I need to be faithful to your Word. As I read it, help me to understand Your truth and apply it to my life. Show me where I am in relation to where I need to be and guide me as I strive to move closer to that. What a wonder you are! We love you, adore you and now before you. Hallelujah! Amen and amen. 


Love you dear one, 

Pam

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