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November 3 - James 3 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here and it's the start of a new
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  week. It's Monday, it's the 3rd of
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  November, and it's good to have your company as we continue on
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  this journey through the book of James.
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  This week we are going to finish off James.
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  It's only another three chapters.
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  It's a tiny little epistle. And then we're going to move on
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  to Paul's letter to the the Thessalonians.
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  Oh, so much goodness to come this week and in the weeks
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  coming up as we read through a number of epistles and then dive
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  into Daniel and then start reading through the Gospel of
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  Luke just in time for Christmas. Oh, I can't wait.
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  But I don't need to wait because the goodness has already started
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  in the book of James. And you will remember that this
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  is James, the leader of the early church, writing to
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  encourage and instruct the the Christians that were spread all
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  around the place then, and many of them suffering persecution at
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  the hands of those amongst whom they lived.
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  So without further ado, let us continue reading through James
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  Chapter 3. Dear brothers and sisters, not
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  many of you should become teachers in the Church, for we
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  who teach will be judged more strictly.
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  Indeed, we all make mistakes. For if we could control our
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  tongues, we would be perfect, and could also control ourselves
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  in every other way. We can make a large horse go
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  wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth, and a
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  small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses
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  to go, even though the winds are strong.
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  In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand
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  speeches, but a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.
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  And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of
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  fire. It is a whole world of
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  wickedness, corrupting your entire body.
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  It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by
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  hell itself. People can tame all kinds of
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  animals, birds, reptiles and fish, but no one can tame the
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  tongue. It is restless and evil, full of
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  deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord
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  and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made
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  in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come
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  pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters,
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  this is not right. Does a spring of water bubble
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  out both freshwater and bitter water?
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  Does a fig tree produce olives or a Grapevine produce figs?
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  No, and you can't draw freshwater from a salty spring.
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  If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living
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  an honourable life, doing good works with the humility that
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  comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous
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  and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don't cover up the
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  truth with boasting and lying, for jealousy and selfishness are
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  not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly,
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  unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy
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  and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of
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  every kind. But the wisdom from above is
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  first of all pure. It is also peace, loving, gentle
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  at all times and willing to yield to others.
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  It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds.
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  It shows no favouritism and is always sincere.
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  And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and
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  reap a harvest of righteousness. Jesus, you know full well the
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  danger of the way that we speak, the danger of the tongue, as
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  James writes in this letter. Yes, Lord, our sinful ways, they
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  tempt us and drag us into speaking words that are unkind
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  or cruel or hurtful or thoughtless or anything in
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  between. But we want to be your Kingdom,
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  people who spread your love and your mercy and your compassion
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  so that people experience that sense of joy and inclusion and
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  love. So as James ends off this
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  chapter, I pray that you would do this work in us so that we
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  would be peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield
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  to others full of mercy. Lord, let that be our legacy.
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  Let that be your legacy through us so that we can bring our
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  world ever closer to the way that you want it to be.
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  And thank you that even when we mess this up, you love us more
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  than we can understand. So we bask in that love that you
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  show us and we thank you for it. We love you and we praise you,
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  and we pray all of this in your precious name, Jesus, Amen.