Scripture –
James 3:1-12 NIV –
Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or 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. Likewise, 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. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Proverbs 23:7a NASB –
For as he thinks within himself, so he is.
Bob’s thoughts:
We left extra early for church in case the roads were bad and got there right before the service started. Even so, a lot of people greeted us. We were directed to the restrooms and greeted at the sanctuary.
The church has some of the most vibrant, modern stained glass, not the least of which is the main panel with a large cross. There are two screens off to the side toward the front and two more farther back; simple projection and good contrast made them easy to read.
I particularly enjoyed the harmony of the praise team.
In his message, the pastor remembered when he was young, finding pastors coming to his dad for comfort. I was remembering how many pastors over the years have come to me for solace and what a joy it is still to offer a shoulder and lift them in prayer as an elder. Even days like today, when I stumble through prayer, I know God still hears and blesses that time.
The pastor touched on being in a different store that was not laid out as he was used to and bringing that frustration to a shopper wearing the same color shirt as the employees. For me it was forgetting I was in a different Walmart complaining about why did they rearrange the store. When I’m getting building material, I frequently need to advise or assist customers, which are great opportunities to witness.
We do have to be careful with our untamed tongue that we don’t presume to know what others need. People have always been happy to tell me their need even when they weren’t sure what it was that they lacked. Focus on Christ and their well-being.
Jan’s thoughts:
Having driven past this church several times in the last six months, we decided it must be time to visit again. Due to the snow, we left extra early and after an interesting drive, arrived with just enough time to hang up our coats, find the restrooms, and find seats. Several people greeted us as we accomplished this, which was surprising as this church offers one worship opportunity Saturday night and two Sunday morning. As we’ve noted in the past, when a church has more than one service, people often hesitate to greet someone they do not recognize.
The sanctuary is gorgeous, with an exceptional stained-glass window and additional stained glass down both sides. The high ceiling and woodwork all around was truly beautiful.
We were too far back to see the musicians, but I enjoyed their sound. And the two sets of screens on each side allowed us to follow easily.
The generosity of the congregation was clear by the quantity of the food bank donations collected at the front of the sanctuary. During the announcements, the pastor spoke of the church’s financial situation and his appreciation for the members’ readiness to make up a recent shortfall.
The current sermon series is called Simple Wisdom: Ancient Life Hacks That Work and today’s entry was Why Do You Say What You Say? The pastor identified the difficulty of taming the tongue as based on the motive of presumption that a person is right, that they have the right to speak, that they know more or know better, and so they presume to speak. He declared that the secret to taming the tongue is: do not presume.
He stated that the antidote to our urge to presume is examining our motives behind what we say. He gave a personal example of a time when he spoke presumptuously after which he immediately apologized.
He presented a self-explanatory acronym for this solution: STOP, which stands for Simple Time Of Prayer. He referred to Pastor Chuck Swindoll’s statement about “the victory of not saying it.” He advised to focus on the Risen Christ and the well-being of the other person. He suggested allowing the Holy Spirit to examine our motives in order to allow God to speak through us.
Indeed, speaking based on the presumption that we have the right or we know better is an easy trap to fall into. We have all done it, and a Simple Time Of Prayer in which we seek God’s guidance has the potential to save a relationship.
No matter how well we know someone, we never know everything. As important as it is to speak, it’s equally valuable to know when not so speak, or at least to honestly examine our motives through prayer before we do.
Our prayer for this church:
Lord, may Your church be blessed to not presume and simply welcome those You send with tamed tongue. Amen.
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