“A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.”
James 3:5, 6 (The Message)
“(the tongue) can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!”
We can bless—fertilize growth and gradually nourish a soul
by propagating life and Jesus
by propagating life and Jesus
. . . or . . .
We can curse—feed poison and gradually kill a soul
by propagating death and Hell!
by propagating death and Hell!
Once a fire has swept through, the damage is done. It’s irreversible. Unchangeable. We cannot put back what was before. We can only rebuild, replant, and repair. The choice does not always lie in the moment, but in the choices made in preceding moments. The choice in our treasure.
"The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Matthew 12:35-37
Our mouth speaks our heart. (Matthew 12:34)
Our heart houses our treasure. (Matthew 6:21)
Our treasure is good or evil. (Matthew 12:35)
“Do good and bad water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree make olives, or can a grapevine make figs? No! And a well full of salty water cannot give good water.” James 3:11, 12 (NCV)
We all want to offer sweet words. But there is work on our hearts needing to be done for the sweet to flow!
Bitter resentment taints our water.
I urge you, my friends—(and trust me when I say this is for me more than for any of you today!!!) —let’s bridle those tongues (v. 2, 3) by freeing our hearts from any evil treasure it’s storing!
By dying to self,
repenting of sin,
facing our anger,
and forgiving offenses.
Can you imagine the health to the entire body if we all really did this?
Not only our own restoration, but the Body of Christ as well!
Are there idols stopping your sweet water flow?
Are your words like healing honey to the bones? (Proverbs 16:24)
Are good treasures stored in your heart for the moment your mouth speaks?
We WILL speak!
So bridle that tongue! J
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