The Power of our Words
James 3:7-12 (NIV) 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Years ago I was a Vice President at an insurance company. In my bookshelves I had my Bible and next to it were books from an insurance course offered by the Life Office Management Association. The first course was “Principles of Life Insurance.” So, I always told people that while I successfully completed all of the courses and received the designation of FLMI, a Fellow of the Life Management Institute, to me my most important designation was being a disciple of Jesus Christ and following the principles of life found in the Bible.
When I think of discipleship and the qualities one needs as a disciple, I always think of James who breaks down so succinctly the behavior required of a Christ follower. My question today is how can we justify praising God in one breath and tearing down our fellow man in the next. I think part of the problem is that we do not recognize the power of our words.
As a child I was impacted by not just the words found in the Bible or those learned in Sunday School, but I loved poetry. My aunt bought us a volume of “Great American Poetry” and I poured over it for hours at a time. I am sharing with you today one of the poems that went straight to my heart.
Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash, and it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,
Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea.
And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be.
Drop a pebble in the water: in a minute you forget,
But there’s little waves a-flowing, and there’s ripples circling yet,
And those little waves a-flowing to a great big wave have grown;
You’ve disturbed a mighty river just by dropping in a stone.
Drop an unkind word, or careless: in a minute it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on.
They keep spreading, spreading, spreading from the center as they go,
And there is no way to stop them, once you’ve started them to flow.
Drop an unkind word, or careless: in a minute you forget;
But there’s little waves a-flowing, and there’s ripples circling yet,
And perhaps in some sad heart a mighty wave of tears you’ve stirred,
And disturbed a life was happy ere you dropped that unkind word.
Drop a word of cheer and kindness: just a flash and it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,
Bearing hope and joy and comfort on each splashing, dashing wave
Till you wouldn’t believe the volume of the one kind word you gave.
Drop a word of cheer and kindness: in a minute you forget;
But there’s gladness still a-swelling, and there’s joy acircling yet,
And you’ve rolled a wave of comfort whose sweet music can be heard
Over miles and miles of water just by dropping one kind word.
– written by James W. Foley
May we think before we speak, and may we bless others and be a blessing to others.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Heir of salvation, Purchase of God
Hebrews 1:4 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
2 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV) 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Lately I have been singing the old hymns of my childhood. William Newells’ “At Calvary” is an ever-present melody, with its lyrics proclaiming mercy, grace and liberty. And “Blessed Assurance,” where Fanny Crosby reminds us we are “heirs of salvation, purchase of God.” Because God paid the extraordinary price of His own Son, we have the legal right to salvation.
As the writer of Hebrews said “we have so great a salvation,” yet some squander this great gift. I heard someone say recently she had been saved from her sins, but she had not been delivered from this world. What did she mean? She had accepted salvation but she had not yet turned her back on the allure of this world.
Paul said we must work out our salvation. The terms for our salvation were completed at Calvary, but I believe, in a way, we are saved daily as we give over our will to God and utilize the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the building up of the Kingdom. Every day.
May we begin each day by seeking His guidance, and end each day thanking him for His faithfulness.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
God Knows Us
Psalms 139:1-14 (NIV) Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
Oh, what a wonderful hymn of praise! Wouldn’t you love to hear the music David wrote to accompany these words?
In these verses David recognizes the complete sovereignty of God. There is nothing hidden from our God. I have had people confess to me they were angry with God and asked if that was wrong. My reply has always been “He knows your anger before you express it, so you may as well tell Him you are angry and why. Trust me, He is big enough to handle it.”
Isn’t there a comfort in this world where we sometimes feel so isolated and unseen that God knows our going out and our lying down? Isn’t there peace in knowing that even the darkest place, in God there is light?
May we have the confidence of David in our God and in His love and watch care over us. And may we share God’s love with all.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Count it All Joy
James 1:2-8 (NIV) 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
Let’s be honest—no one is happy to be in the midst of trials. But happiness and joy are two separate things. Happiness is circumstantial—it’s a bright, sunshiny day with temperatures in the 70’s and I am playing my best round of golf ever and that makes me happy. But joy is that deep, abiding feeling that is birthed when the Holy Spirit inhabits our being. And we can experience joy even in our trials.
But how can we claim joy when we are so burdened down with troubles, illness, and loss that we can scarcely breathe? Joy is ours, brothers and sisters, not because of anything we have accomplished, but because of what Jesus finished on Calvary. When I say “the joy of the lord is my strength” I am not just quoting scripture from Nehemiah, I am declaring that today, at this very moment, I have joy and because Jesus is the source of my joy I do not have to worry about lack.
Our bodies wear down, relationships may come and go, but the joy we have in Jesus is like a well that never runs dry. The best feeling in the world is when I begin to talk about Jesus and this wellspring of joy comes bubbling up to the surface.
May we celebrate with undeniable joy the love God has lavished on us as we go through each day, praising Him for who He is.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Fruit of the Spirit
Galatians 5:22-26 (NRSV) 22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
Who doesn’t like fruit? Well, Marie Romano from the popular “Everybody Loves Raymond” sitcom from the ‘80’s. Ray decided a nice gift would be a year’s worth of fruit of the month.
After Marie received the first delivery she tried to be gracious but became increasingly agitated as she realized she would get a different fruit each month. “What are you doing to me? No one can eat this much fruit! It’s too much pressure!”
I may not have the dialogue exactly right, but you get the idea. As Christians we should be eager to allow this fruit to grow and develop in our daily lives. Yet, I fear many Christians are not even aware of these attributes of discipleship. Or if they are, their response is, “It’s too much pressure!”
As we grow in our faith, we should necessarily grow in our likeness of Christ. I think the more we choose love over hate, joy over sadness, kindness over bitterness, the more we will be molded into the likeness of our Savior. It is not an overnight process. Fruit trees take years to bear fruit, and as Christ followers we, too, can take years to reflect the image of Jesus. But as the Scripture says, “If we live by the Spirit let us also be guided by the Spirit.”
May we each take inventory of ourselves and if we are lacking these fruits of the Spirit, ask God to grow them in us so that we will be more like Him.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 