Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images lyrics from the group Point of Grace singing … Heal the Wound … Poignantly singing of the damage done in our past which is healed by God’s grace.
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Highlight Verse[s]: James 3:6 [NLT] … 6 And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.
… So much better to withhold our words than to let them burn someone.
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Highlight Passage [context]: James 3:1-12 [NLT] …USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru James, warns of the damage that can be done in relationships by the words we convey to one another.
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Reference Passage : … Proverbs 13:3, 15:4, 21:23 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Solomon, warns of the damage which can be done by a “loose tongue”
Reference Passage : … Ephesian 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.
… So much better to avoid damaging, burning words by speaking only those word which build up or give grace to the hearers.
Reference Passage : … Colossians 4:6 [NLT] … 6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.
… We should let what we say be gracious to avoid the damage which our tongue can do when we let our words burn others.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Bill Crowder, uses a historical analogy to teach on the damage which can be done to relationships by a loose, burning tongue. … The ODB author wrote: It wasn’t as simple as just crossing another river. By law, no Roman general could lead armed troops into Rome. So when Julius Caesar led his Thirteenth Legion across the Rubicon River and into Italy in 49 bc, it was an act of treason. The impact of Caesar’s decision was irreversible, generating years of civil war before Rome’s great general became absolute ruler. Still today, the phrase “crossing the Rubicon” is a metaphor for “passing the point of no return.” Sometimes we can cross a relational Rubicon with the words we say to others. Once spoken, words can’t be taken back. They can either offer help and comfort or do damage that feels just as irreversible as Caesar’s march on Rome.
I think we’ve all said things or sent out words that hurt others or damaged relationships, … words that couldn’t be retrieved once they were said, … words that burned others with their incendiary content [see photo]. Best advice: … hold onto the tongue and speak only those words which build others up or give grace to the hearers. That’s really the exhortation and advice of all of the scriptures referenced above, isn’t it?
And yes, I think we’d all agree with this wisdom; but today when we engage with others, … maybe face-to-face … or in a text or email, … or in social media, … will we follow God’s advice; or will we wound others and require the healing which only God can bring after we’ve burned someone with our loosely spoken words (see linked song)?
Perhaps, let’s pray, as I do below, that all the words we use today will do what God’s word advises in Ephesians 4:29; because if we do, we can avoid a lot of hurt and grief.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for being there to heal the wounds of my past ill-spoken damage.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … May my words do nothing but give grace to those I encounter today. … 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.
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