March 19, 2017 ... Words Like Wildfire

Berry Patch Devotions in 2017 - Day 78 

Devotional Song:  … GO TO THIS LINK …  Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the BeeGees sining their hit song… Words … and you can imagine Jesus singing those lyrics to any/all who read or hear His words being spoken to them (us).

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Highlight Verse[s]: James 3:5 [NLT] … 
5 In the same way the tongue is a small thing which makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a forest on fire. 
… The tongue may be a small organ; but it can do great damage if not bridled.
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Highlight Passage [context]: James 3:1-12 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
... Jesus’ brother, James, teaches on how powerful is the tongue to do damage in our lives. 
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Reference Passage #1 [NKJV] : … Proverbs 16:24, 27 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Solomon tells how words can be sweet like honey or destructive like a fire. We choose which.

Reference Passage #2 [NKJV] : … Ephesians 4:29 [NLT] …  
29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. 
… If one can’t say something which brings God’s grace and love to someone else, it’s best not said at all.

My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Bill Crowder, used an historical reference to illustrate the power of the tongue. The ODB author wrote: It was a Sunday night in September and most people were sleeping when a small fire broke out in Thomas Farriner’s bakery on Pudding Lane. Soon the flames spread from house to house and London was engulfed in the Great Fire of 1666. Over 70,000 people were left homeless by the blaze that leveled four-fifths of the city. So much destruction from such a small fire! 

Most biblically astute Christians are familiar with Jesus’ brother, James, preaching [in James 3] on the inordinate power of the very small organ - the tongue - when it is used either for good or for evil. And if used for the latter, it can create a wildfire out of a small spark which can burn down marriages, churches, or whole nations … just like that fire in London, which started from a small house fire, and almost burned down the entire city (see photo).

God, thru the Apostle Paul, taught us how to use our words, telling us (in Eph. 4:29 that we must avoid using emotionally inflammatory words, … using them only to build up others or give them God’s grace.

I pray today that we’ll only use our tongues for God’s glory and not to start a fire in someone else’s life.

My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, …Help me to use my words for Your glory. … Amen

Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.