Tag: words

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James Devotionals

What defiles us

…the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body… (James 3:6, LSB)

When I read those words, I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ words.

What comes out of a person is what defiles him.

For from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, self-indulgence, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.

All these evil things come from within and defile a person. (Mark 7:20-23)

I haven’t thought of words much as something that defiles me. That makes me unclean before my Lord.

But words express what is in my heart. And Jesus says that on the day of judgment I will have to account for every careless word I have spoken (Matthew 12:33-37)

Father, like Isaiah, I am a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5). How often have I defiled myself by the careless things I have said? Forgive me.

Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.

Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins;
do not let them rule me.

Then I will be blameless
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:12-14)

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Psalms Devotionals 2

Guarding our words

Psalms

James said that no one could tame the tongue (James 3:8).

I suppose the one area I really question myself the most about is my words. Are my words, not only in speech, but in social media always pleasing to God?

In Psalm 140, David talks about how evil people’s words are like a snake’s bite or viper’s venom. (Psalm 140:3)

In Psalm 141, though, he prays,

Lord, set up a guard for my mouth;
keep watch at the door of my lips. (Psalm 141:3)

And so that was my prayer today.

Lord, guard my tongue. Watch the door of my lips.

And search me and know my heart. If any of my words are offensive to you, make it clear to me.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart always be acceptable to you (Psalm 19:14).

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Proverbs Devotionals

A fountain of life

This chapter in Proverbs has a lot to say about the words that come from our mouth.

Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning. (Proverbs 10:13)

The tongue of the righteous is pure silver. (20)

The lips of the righteous feed many. (21)

The mouth of the righteous produces wisdom. (30)

The lips of the righteous know what is appropriate. (31)

But I suppose the words that sum all of this up is found in verse 11.

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.

Or as the NLT puts it,

The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain.

That is what our words should be: a life-giving fountain.

To our wives. To our husbands. To our children. To our friends. To our coworkers. To our neighbors. To those around us who don’t know Christ.

Do our words in speech overflow with life to those who hear? Do our words in social media?

And if they don’t, what does that say about our hearts? (Matthew 12:34; James 3:11-12)

O Lord, purify the spring in my heart that my mouth may become a life-giving fountain.

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Colossians Devotionals

Words of grace, seasoned with salt

Colossians

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt. (Colossians 4:6)

I don’t know about you, but those words are hard for me to live out.

“Always gracious.”

When I’m annoyed, are my words still gracious?

When I’m angry, are my words still gracious?

I can’t say they are.

“Seasoned with salt.”

Salt flavors food. Salt preserves food.

Do my words do the same for the people around me? Do they encourage people? Do they challenge them to grow? Do they help prevent the rot of sin from spreading in their lives?

Sometimes my words may be hard to hear. But can people see the grace that lies behind them?

Can my daughter see this in me? My wife? My church?

Because if I’m practicing these things at home and church, it helps me to do the same with the non-Christians I see during the week.

And that’s what Paul is primarily talking about here. When we are dealing with the people of this world, we should be speaking words full of grace, seasoned with salt, and making the most of every opportunity to touch them for Jesus.

Jesus said essentially the same thing.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. (Matthew 5:13)

Lord Jesus, let my words always be gracious, seasoned with salt.

Let me not lose my saltiness because of the words that come out of my mouth each day. 

Rather, through my words, encourage, admonish, touch, and heal the people around me.

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James

How true faith expresses itself (Part 5)

James

I suppose I could have just titled this blog, “The tongue,” or some other such title.

But I wanted to remind myself that this is really part of a longer argument that James is making. That faith expresses itself in love, in purity, and in our speech.

This passage is kind of a revisitation of chapter 1 verse 26 where James wrote,

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

We pointed out when we first looked at this that the reason for this is that our tongue shows the true state of our heart.

So many times people will say apologize for something they said by saying, “Sorry about that. It just kind of popped out.”

But the question is why? Why did it pop out? It popped out because it was there in your heart. It didn’t just pop out of nowhere. It resided in your heart, and when the time was ripe, it burst out.

And the thing is, because we all have sin in our hearts, there are any number of things there ready to pop out when we least expect it.

That’s why James tells us,

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. (James 3:2)

Words are much quicker to come out of our mouths then our body is to act on any thought we may have.

And so if our heart ever comes to the point of maturity and completion that nothing bad ever pops out, it would be safe to say that we most likely would never do anything wrong.

But of course, as long as we are on this earth, there will always be sin in our hearts. And that’s why James says,

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. (7)

And the thing is, what we say can shape our lives as well as the shape of others. Just as a bit can turn a horse completely around, and a rudder can do the same to a ship, so the tongue can completely turn the life of a person for good or bad.

Unfortunately, too often it turns a person’s life for the worse. James compares it to a spark that can bring down an entire forest.

What you say can destroy your whole life, or the life of another. And because of that, James says that such a tongue is set on fire by hell itself.

Jobs are lost because of our words. Marriages die because of our words. Children are crushed because of our words. Friendships are broken by our words.

And yet so often we speak them so carelessly. Is it no wonder that James calls them a deadly poison? (8)

James says,

With the tongue, we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.

Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. (9-10)

Put another way, how can we say we love God when we curse people who are made in his image?

He concludes,

Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. (11-12)

The truth is, while these things should not be, they do happen when it comes to our words because of what’s in our hearts. We have both fresh water and salt water there.

So if you wonder why you struggle so much with your tongue, consider the source of your words?

What is in your heart? What bitterness, anger, or other ugliness is there? Because until you let Jesus deal with what’s there, you will never be able to control your tongue.

So let us pray as David did.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

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James

How true faith expresses itself

True Faith

One of the things that James really is strong on is that true faith expresses itself in more than just saying, “I believe in God.”

Many people today say, “I believe in God.” But as we will see in later passages, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a saving faith.

A saving faith leads to a transformed life. We saw that one reason God allows trials into our lives is so that we might be transformed, that we might be made whole and complete as we learn to trust in him through those trials.

And as we look at the next few chapters, we see three ways we should see our lives changing if we are truly saved. One is in speech. The second is in love. The last is in purity.

(It strikes me that Paul also talks about all these things in 1 Timothy 4:12)

James says first,

If anyone considers himself religious, and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. (James 1:26)

James will get much more into this later, but I will say this. Many people today who struggle with their tongue often take it lightly. They swear, they lie, they slander, they verbally abuse. And it never occurs to them that their words show what is in their hearts.

If there is garbage in your heart, garbage is going to come out. If you think you’re a good Christian and garbage is spewing out of your mouth, James says you’re deceiving yourself and your Christianity is worthless.

It’s worthless because your “faith” has yet to transform your heart. There’s garbage there and you don’t even notice it’s there.

James then says,

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (1:27)

James will explain later what it means to keep from being polluted by the world. But at this point, he goes into great detail on the third way in which our lives should change if we have true faith: the love we have for others.

If we have true faith, we should have a heart that has mercy on those around us. On the widows and orphans. (1:27)

We should have a heart that does not discriminate showing more honor to those who are rich, while despising the poor.

A heart that judges not by appearance but through the eyes of God who has chosen many that the world despise to be his children and to inherit his kingdom. (2:1-2:7)

And James tells us,

If you are keeping the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.

But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. (2:8-9)

So many people say, “Yes, I’m a good Christian. I don’t murder, I don’t steal, I don’t commit adultery.”

And yet they fail to love those around them with the love of Christ. Instead they despise them. James says of such people, “You’re not as good as you think. In God’s eyes, you are a law-breaker because you don’t love the people around you.”

The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were much the same. They didn’t love. They kept a lot of other rules, some of which God didn’t even require.

But they discriminated, they judged, and they despised many of the people around them. And Jesus rebuked them for their hypocrisy.

How many people that call themselves Christians would Jesus rebuke today?

So James concludes,

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.

Mercy triumphs over judgment. (2:12-13)

When we live by the law of love and mercy, we set people free and show ourselves to be God’s children. When we judge and despise people, we show ours faith is not as strong as it should be.

What do your words and actions show about your faith?

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Ephesians

That we may be one (part 2)

Ephesians

Words are powerful. They can build up. And they can tear down.

For this reason, Paul said,

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)

That word, “unwholesome,” could also be translated, “putrid.” Don’t let any “putrid” words come out of your mouth.

What are putrid words? He tells us in verse 31. Words of bitterness. Words of rage. Words of slander. Words of malice.

These types of words grieve the Holy Spirit. Why? Because they tear apart the body of Christ.

Again, remember the whole key to this passage is keeping the unity of the body. And we cannot do that when we are biting and devouring each other with our words (Galatians 5:15).

So what kind of words should come out of our mouths? “Only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

Two key points here. First, we need to really be thoughtful about the words we speak. We need to look at the people around us and think about their needs.

Too often we speak without thinking, and as a result cut and tear into the people around us. But if we take the time to think about the other person and what they need, we’re much less likely to do that.

Second, our words need to be full of grace. When it says, “that it may benefit those who listen,” it literally means, “that we may give grace to those who listen.”

What kinds of words are coming out of our mouths? Words of judgment? Words of accusation? Or words of grace?

But not only should our words express grace, so should our actions. Paul tells us in verse 32,

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

That’s not always easy. Some people are not easy to be kind and compassionate to. Some people are not easy to forgive.

But here’s the thing: neither were we. We were “children of wrath,” and under God’s judgment. And yet God poured out his kindness and his compassion on us, forgiving us our sins.

So Paul tells us,

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

When we live as his children, sharing his love and kindness to those around us, we become a fragrant offering to God just as Christ was when he offered himself on the cross for us.

And when we love others, even those difficult to love, we show ourselves to truly be God’s children. As we do so, that’s when we truly become one in him.

How about you? Are you showing yourself to be a child of God each day, loving and building up those around you?

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Luke Luke 11

When actions speak louder than words

Luke

One of the things that the teachers of the law and the Pharisees did was pay lip service to the prophets.

They even built tombs to honor them, basically saying, “We really respect these guys. If it had been us, we would never have treated them as our forefathers did.”

But then came THE Prophet. Not only a prophet, but the Messiah that they had been waiting for all their lives. And they rejected him. More, they wanted to kill him and his followers.

These actions proved what was truly in their hearts. For if they truly had believed the prophets and honored them, they would have believed in and honored Jesus. But they didn’t. Instead, they began to “oppose him fiercely.”

In doing so, they took away the key to true knowledge. And though they thought they would be accepted into God’s kingdom, Jesus said they would be turned away.

Worse, their rejection of Christ would hinder people from coming to Him because so many people mistakenly thought they knew the way to God.

How about you? Do you claim to honor God? Do your actions back up your words?

Or by your actions do you prove that you don’t truly honor Christ? Do they prove that you in fact have rejected him.

It’s not enough to say the right things. You need to live it.

Where is your heart today?

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Matthew Matthew 12

What comes out of our mouths

Matthew

It always bothers me when people swear. It especially bothers me when Christians swear. Because what we say shows what’s in our hearts. Our words show the state of our hearts.

When Jesus heard the Pharisees saying he was demon possessed, he told them,

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.

You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:33-37)

In other words, for such blasphemy to come out of their mouths, their hearts had to be utterly corrupt.

That’s why he says we’ll be judged for every word we speak, even the “careless” ones. Our words show exactly what’s in our hearts.

If our heart is full of good fruit, such words can’t help but flow out of our mouths. But if our heart is full of rot, such words will certainly flow out of our mouths as well.

It’s impossible for us to say, “Oops. How did that come out?”

It came out because that’s what’s in our hearts. And if that’s what’s in our hearts, we need to repent.

If vitriol is in our hearts, it will show in our speech. If bitterness is in our hearts, that’s what will come out. If perversion is in our hearts, that’s what will flow out from our mouths.

Are these things in your heart? What’s coming out of your mouth?

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Proverbs

How to build relationships…and tear them down

In this passage, we see some important principles for building and maintaining our relationships.

One of the key issues is watching what we say.

Solomon writes,

A wise man’s heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction.

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.  (Proverbs 16:23-24)

Whenever we talk to people, we truly need to consider what we’re saying.

Are our hearts wise enough to know what to say, and when to say it?  Are our words sweet to the souls of others and bringing healing to them?

These things build a relationship.  On the other hand,

A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends (Proverbs 16:28)

There are people that are always tearing relationships apart instead of bringing healing to them.

In some cases, they stick their noses into the affairs of others, spreading gossip and rumors concerning them, and causing their relationships to fall apart.

In other cases, they themselves are involved personally.  Someone has hurt them, and instead of dealing with them face to face, they start complaining about them to others, and gossiping about what horrible people they are.

But as Solomon says,

He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.  (Proverbs 17:9)

This of course does not mean that we should just ignore sin or try to hide sins that are causing great harm to others.

However, every day people do sin against us whether intentionally or not.  Most of the time, they’re minor annoyances.  Sometimes they’re more major.

But small or great, we do not make things better by spreading gossip about others and complaining about them to the people around us.

Rather, if it’s really bothering us, then we should do as Jesus commanded us, and confront our brother or sister face to face.  (Matthew 18:15)

And when the issue is resolved, we then need to cover it over with forgiveness, and never bring it up again.  Don’t say, “I thought I told you not to do that!  How many times do I have to tell you?”

Rather, deal with the issue at hand, without referring to the past.

Sometimes, though, if the issue is really minor, you should just drop the issue, and let it go.  Solomon tells us,

Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.  (Proverbs 17:14)

And again,

He who loves a quarrel loves sin; he who builds a high gate invites destruction.  (17:19)

Sometimes my wife will get on my back for not doing things a certain way, and I’ll think, “It’s so minor!  Why is she so upset about such a minor thing?”

But then God will tell me, “Yeah, it’s minor.  So don’t waste your time arguing about it.  Just do it!  If you argue, all you’re doing is building a wall in your relationship.  And if over the years you build it high enough, you can destroy your marriage.”

I often have to swallow my pride, but I think it’s one thing that has helped our marriage thrive up to this point.

Frankly though, I think she has to put up with a lot more from me than I do with her, so I’m truly grateful for her patience.  Which brings up another point.

A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered.  (17:27)

Even when we argue with people, we should use restraint in our words, and be cautious about how we say things.  And we should be even-tempered.  It’s when we lose our temper that we often say things we regret.

How about you?  Are your words building up your relationships?  Or destroying them?