{"id":6849,"date":"2019-12-24T20:00:19","date_gmt":"2019-12-25T03:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=6849"},"modified":"2019-12-22T16:20:09","modified_gmt":"2019-12-22T23:20:09","slug":"james3_1-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/james3_1-12\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Your Tongue"},"content":{"rendered":"

James 3:1-12\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is James 3:1-12.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

James 3:1 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 1:\u00a0\u00a0Some love the limelight that comes with being a teacher of God\u2019s Word, but with the power of the podium comes great responsibility.\u00a0\u00a0Teachers of God\u2019s Word are often looked to as examples of how Christians should act and live.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s why if you want to teach God\u2019s Word with effectiveness and longevity, your character in private needs to exceed your charisma on stage.<\/p>\n

James 3:2 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0We 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 2:\u00a0\u00a0This verse teaches us two important truths.\u00a0\u00a0First, none of us is perfect \u2013 \u201cwe all stumble in many ways\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Second, when you are careful with your words, you keep yourself from getting into unnecessary trouble (or, in James\u2019 words, you keep your body in check).\u00a0\u00a0As Proverbs 13:3 says, \u201cHe who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.\u201d<\/p>\n

James 3:3-4 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 3-4:\u00a0\u00a0James uses these analogies to tell us that, like my phone, your destiny is voice-activated.\u00a0\u00a0Speak positive, faith-filled words, and you will tend toward a happy, successful life.\u00a0\u00a0Speak negative, complaining, fearful words, and you will tend toward a depressing, unproductive life.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s the power of the tongue.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s such a small part of the body, and yet it determines the course of our lives.\u00a0\u00a0Our lives tend to go where our words go.\u00a0\u00a0We create our worlds with our words.
\n
\nJames 3:5-6 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 5-6:\u00a0\u00a0Here James describes the destruction that a careless, evil tongue can cause.\u00a0\u00a0Just as your tongue can set you on a good course, your tongue can also set you on a destructive path if you do not control it.\u00a0\u00a0As Proverbs\u00a018:21\u00a0(ESV) says, \u201cDeath and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits\u201d.<\/p>\n

James 3:7-8 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 7-8:\u00a0\u00a0If \u201cno man can tame the tongue\u201d, who can?\u00a0\u00a0God can.\u00a0\u00a0The more you allow God\u2019s Word to be stored up in your heart and the more you allow the Holy Spirit to reign over your life, the more you give God control over your tongue.\u00a0\u00a0More and more over time, the Holy Spirit can put to rest the evil on your tongue and drain the deadly poison out of your words if you let Him.<\/p>\n

James 3:9-12 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 9-12:\u00a0\u00a0In verse 9 James is saying that when we curse people, who are made in God\u2019s likeness, we are ultimately cursing God.\u00a0\u00a0How can we use the same mouth to praise God and to curse Him too (v10)?\u00a0\u00a0James is calling us to a life of integrity, where no matter where we are or whom we are with, our words are like fresh water to weary souls (v11), where, like a fig tree that bears figs as expected, our words are consistent with what a follower of Jesus should sound like (v12).<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You for showing us the power of our words. Holy Spirit come and take over my tongue, that no matter where I am or whom I am with, the words I speak would honour You, encourage others, and bless me.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is James 3:1-12.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

James 3:1 (NIV)\u00a0
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.<\/p>\n

On verse 1:\u00a0\u00a0Some love the limelight that comes with being a teacher of God\u2019s Word, but with the power of the podium comes great responsibility.\u00a0\u00a0Teachers of God\u2019s Word are often looked to as examples of how Christians should act and live.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s why if you want to teach God\u2019s Word with effectiveness and longevity, your character in private needs to exceed your charisma on stage.<\/p>\n

James 3:2 (NIV)\u00a0
\n2\u00a0\u00a0We 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.<\/p>\n

On verse 2:\u00a0\u00a0This verse teaches us two important truths.\u00a0\u00a0First, none of us is perfect \u2013 \u201cwe all stumble in many ways\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Second, when you are careful with your words, you keep yourself from getting into unnecessary trouble (or, in James\u2019 words, you keep your body in check).\u00a0\u00a0As Proverbs 13:3 says, \u201cHe who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6849"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6852,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6849\/revisions\/6852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}