The Tongue

"Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts great things." v5   

                                                                                                 James 3:1-12    NKJV 

Just a look at v8 of James 3 gives us a concerning assessment of this member of our body: 

'No man can tame the tongue'. This is quite astounding comment from James and one, that we should study closely. Tony Evans comments:

'The only successful tongue-tamer is God. Some spouses have hurled insults that their mates have never forgotten. Some individuals started gossip fires years ago and the flames are still burning.'              Tony Evans Bible Commentary

This fire can destroy a person's self-esteem and confidence and can also rip a relationship apart. It can also ruin a person's whole future.

Matthew 12:34-35 tells us that whatever is inside the heart will come out one way or another. This may be good fruit or bad. Therefore, we need to be filled with scripture and the Holy Spirit. How? As I've said many times, by spending time with the only one who can keep us on the straight and narrow each day, Jesus. Think about it, we can bless and praise God and the next moment we can curse someone with judgemental and detrimental comments. This should not be. When we curse someone, we are talking about someone who has been made in the image of God. They may not measure up to our standards but they may to God's. Be careful here. Heaven notices what we say. The Holy Spirit knows all about us and witnesses our behaviour whether it is good or bad. People may not hear what we say about other people when we are in the safety of our home, but he does. He hears every word and I do mean every word. Unless we repent of this, we will have to give an account to Jesus when we stand before Him. We should not take this lightly.

The tongue is small but it can do a lot of damage. Rather like a spark can set off a major forest fire, the tongue can bring total devastation to someone's life. Therefore it is essential that we get things right. Only God can tame the tongue, we can't do this on our own. It takes a full blown commitment to Jesus who will then help us to clean up our hearts and have control over every word that comes out of our mouths. It is well worth surrendering.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Let God get a word in

"So then my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God."  

                                                                                               James 1:19-20    NKJV

This is a very well-known piece of scripture but, perhaps one in which the eye runs over for a moment and the mind thinks about it and then, the busy-ness of life drags us on through our day. Let us pick it apart for a moment or two and find out a deeper meaning:

Swift to hear This would be better placed if we added to this text, 'Listen to God's thoughts on a matter'. Be honest, many is the time when we ask God about something and then answer it ourselves. Why is this? It is probably because our patience is not good and we are so busy that we just don't have the time to hang about. So we go it alone and then wonder why we make big mistakes. We should always be swift to hear what someone is saying to us, especially when it is God. Many days, God doesn't even get the chance to get a word in because we want the answer and we want it now and we are the one that does all the talking. We need to be a thoughtful listener, one who has good attending skills by showing that we are actually listening. 

Slow to speak Mark Twain used to say, 'if we were supposed to talk more than listen, we would have been given two mouths and one ear.' There is a lot of truth to this. Stop giving your own point of view and start listening to what others have to say instead. When you do speak, ensure that your words are well-seasoned, carefully chosen words, not angry, frustrated and defensive ones. 

Slow to wrath If you are the type of person who has a short fuse then, you need to work on this because getting angry in conversations divides listener and speaker and creates an unwholesome atmosphere. There may be times when you don't like what God has to say. He is not a people-pleaser and will not say things just to make you feel good. His yes means yes and His no means no. He cannot be persuaded, manipulated or bribed. What God says He means, so you might as well accept this.

God's Word will confront us so, getting angry with Him will not achieve His righteous plan for your life V20. Don't be self-centred, be others-centred. 

Whether it is God directly speaking to you or another believer, we need to have the grace to listen and strongly consider that this may be God's Word for you. God does speak through other people so, it is wise to listen and mull it over, checking it out with scripture, instead of just discarding the word as, 'not from God'. Having this attitude may mean that you miss out on an important piece of information.

Ensure that God is able to speak when you have a prayer time with Him; remember not to do all the talking (we all do it), and enjoy your special time with Him.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Brotherly love

"Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels."                               Hebrews 13:1-2    NKJV 

This piece of scripture is not encouraging us to go out and bring home people who we have never seen before. In this day and age, this could be quite unwise. What it is saying, is that from time to time we will meet people who are in need and they may be strangers to us. Rather like the Good Samaritan who went to the aid of someone who had been badly beaten and helped him, we will have the opportunity to do similar. It will be our choice to help or walk on by.

This is demonstrating brotherly love and must be said that, brotherly love is always others-focused, it is never selfish. It is interesting to know that God sends angels to us occasionally. We may have been praying for something and not received the answer yet. God can send us an angel to speak with us about this or He can use someone we know or, it could be a stranger. 

The Greek word translated angels can also mean messengers; they may be divine or human messengers. Therefore, we should always be prepared to show hospitality and respect to someone, we never know who they are. When I was in school, the popular phrase at that time was, 'Be courteous on your way up because you never know who you may meet on your way down'. There is a truth here. If we are in a high position and we become pompous to an individual, one day that individual, may be in charge of us - what goes round comes around. So we should always display hospitality because it opens doors and when we do, we may be helping a messenger of God without realising it. Just think for a moment, you may have entertained an angel at some time and you never knew it. Reading this scripture, it is more possible than you realise. One day we will find out. 

We should never focus too much on our own problems neglecting those who are worse off. Let's face it, most of our problems are nothing in comparison to other people's, especially those in deprived areas and countries. One way we can help out families in these areas, is to find a Christian organisation that offers support to those in need. For a very small donation or a regular tithe or some type of voluntary work, it can change a person's life and if we can do that, we are making a difference in the world and also showing brotherly love.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Now faith is...

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.'     

                                                                                                         Hebrews 11:1    NKJV 

To understand faith a little deeper, let us look a little closer at this verse. It mentions two words, Substance and Evidence:

Substance is the reality of the situation, this contains the material or matter that occupies the space, of it all.

Evidence is the proof or fulfilment of the situation. There must be substance and evidence for faith to work. Faith is made up of a plan, rather like a builder and architect would create to build a house. Therefore, faith contains building blocks and this contains the substance and requires the evidence to give it clarity and credibility. So if God tells us to carry out a faith-filled task, it needs to have a substance in our minds eye that we hope for and then, there needs to be the reality of it all - the evidence and fulfilment.

To have faith in something is to have confidence about it and the expectation without visible proof, that it will happen (2 Corinthians 4:18). God is trustworthy, so faith is acting like God is telling us the truth. It includes growing in your understanding of God. The heroic saints mentioned here in Hebrews 11, trusted Him by faith and won God's approval. They acted on what they believed and, this is the key. Do you act on what you believe? Are you able to trust God enough to know that, what He is leading you into He will fulfil and supply?

2 Corinthians 4:18 says, 'while we do not look at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.' 

 Tony Evans comments further, 'Paul can call his affliction momentary and light because he does not focus on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.   Tony Evan Bible Commentary

So things are not rigid, they are subject to change, therefore look at the obstacles and tribulations in this way. Declare that they are temporary in Jesus' name. We should focus on what is unseen not on what is present. You may feel this is a tough order but, if you are a believer you have been doing this anyway because you believe one day you will be in heaven. You haven't seen it but you know it is there. So really, there is no difference when you walk by faith not by sight, is there?

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How is your level of faith?

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."    

                                                                                                         Hebrews 11:6    NKJV

The writer of Hebrews didn't say that without faith it is difficult to please God, he said that it is impossible. There is a major difference here. Think about it, if it is impossible to please God without faith then, it is impossible to walk with Him. Walking with Him means that we are in a relationship with Him. How can we be in a relationship with Him if it is impossible to please Him and walk with Him? Therefore, we need to trust Him; trust Him with what He says, where He leads and what he asks us to do. If there is no trust, nothing will really happen.

The writer again refers to 'coming' to God. It refers to the privilege of drawing near to God - approaching Him. Faith is a mandatory requirement for those who approach Him, without it, we just cannot please God. I didn't say this, God did and it's written above. However, when we do begin to trust Him with all we have, then he begins to reward us. Let us remember that God is our Father and fathers love to bless their children. He longs to reward us.

If you read the beginning of chapter 11, you will notice a list of saints who pleased God with their faithfulness. God wants us to do the same, to mirror their actions, showing the same type of diligence that they carried out. As we imitate their type of faithfulness through faith and patience, we will begin to inherit the promise of God too.

To fulfil our calling in this manner, it helps to set realistic goals and be patient and willing to take risks when we have to. This type of risk taking is rather like, coming out of your shell. You need to stick your head out so that you can see what is happening and the road ahead. Of course you can remain in your shell and, many do, but God will honour the risk-taker. We also need to be persistent. If you truly believe that God has given you a clearly defined task, don't doubt or you will become discouraged and this will defeat you. Keep believing, keep trusting and refuse to give up. If you want God to honour you, then honour Him by acting on your faith.

Tony Evans writes:

'You must operate by faith even if you must do so alone and go against the accepted norms of the day. You must believe with expectation that God responds - regarding His will for your life - when you seek to please Him'.                            Tony Evans Bible Commentary

So, there we have it, God responds to our faith; He expects it from us. To do anymore than this, shows that we do not fully trust Him; and this leaves me with the question, how is your level of faith?

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Keep your eyes on the winning post

"let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."   

                                                                                                    Hebrews 12:1-2   NKJV 

We all carry weights and they come in the guise of, worry, sin, fear, stress and burden, just to mention a few. They can trip us up and hold us in captivity preventing us from meeting our target. They can become such a problem for some that they want to throw the towel in. Some fall away because the going is too difficult. Jesus never said the Christian road was easy, it wasn't for Him and it won't be for us either. However, now is not the time to quit. You've come this far, don't throw it all away now. Let me tell you, Jesus has sat down at the right hand side of the Father. He is not worrying about your baggage, so why are you? He wrote the book and you're in it. He knew the beginning and He knows the end. He knows the answer; authors do!

Sprinters strip their outer clothing off before a race, they lay them aside. If they don't, they will become a hindrance. Do you get the picture? Rituals then take place, this helps the athlete to focus on their goal - the winning post. They shut everything else out, they're hindrances. We need to strip off unbelief and those negative comments from well-meaning people. They cause us problems if we're not careful and they interfere with our focus, which is the finishing line. 

We need to keep our eyes on Jesus. We started the race with Him, it would be rather foolish to go it alone now; we would never make it. When we run a race, after a while it can become very difficult. Everything within our body screams at us to stop. If we agree, we lose. Jesus is the one who runs with us, encouraging us every inch of the way and if we listen, we receive that 'second wind', that gives us that extra energy to complete. 

Verse 2 states, 'who for the joy set before Him'. What was this joy? It was the knowledge that He had to go through that Friday to fulfil His goal - redeeming us but, His eyes were set on Sunday!

Keep your eyes on the winning post.

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Our High Priest (Final part)

"Let us therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need "                                                  Hebrews 4:16    NKJV

To boldly do something we need to have confidence. What is your confidence like? How bold are you? What is your courage like? God said to Joshua: 'Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go' Joshua 1:9. Here in the book of Joshua, God is also telling you the same, to be strong, courageous, not afraid or dismayed. This can be a tall order to fulfil, especially when we have been mistreated by people, some of them fellow Christians. 

Some people are very shy and tend to hide away in a corner when other people are around. When confrontation comes their way, they may sneak away avoiding the flak that may be coming. Other people lack the confidence to push themselves forward. They want to forge ahead but don't feel they are good enough or even capable to be able to carry out what they know God is calling them to do. This may be you!

What is God asking you to do? Is He leading you in a particular area but as soon as you think about it, you hide away thinking that you could never do that? Moses was like that, 'O my Lord, I am not eloquent' Exodus 4:10. In other words, Moses was saying, 'I can't do that Lord, send someone else'. But God doesn't want anyone else to carry out this task; He has chosen you, so therefore, He must feel that you are very capable.

You just need to focus on Him and accept that you are very able because God says you are. You are bold and courageous when you approach that throne of grace. Your High Priest, Jesus Christ is telling you not to be afraid and not to be dismayed either. To be dismayed means that you have no enthusiasm, but you have, it's just lying dormant at the moment. Whenever you begin to pray, you are approaching the throne of grace and as you do, Jesus will equip you and bless you, love you and reassure you; why? Because He thinks you are amazing..

Copyright 2021 Grahame Howard.                                 

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