Devotions

Verse of the Day

The Verse of the Day is a daily devotion that our pastor writes sporadically between Monday and Friday. You can either check out the website periodically or you can be added to the daily email list and have these devotions in your inbox as they are written.

To be added to the distribution list, send the pastor an email by clicking: Pastor Al or call the church at - 719-836-2921. Feel free to forward these emails to any and all who might have interest in receiving encouragement from God's Word. 

Monday

James 3:1 - Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.

When I was a young man of about 22-23, my pastor called me into his office. He asked me to teach the Young Married class during the adult Sunday School hour. I was a bit terrified at the prospect for I had never formally taught anyone before, but because my pastor asked me I said I'm sure I could manage to fill in next week. He then said, "You don't understand, I want to take over the class and teach every week." The weight of that responsibility began to sink in. The only thing I could say was, "Are you sure you want me?"

I stumbled through those first few years, and I mean stumbled, but I have been teaching and preaching ever since. And while I am still not convinced I am that great at it, and while I also fall short on occasion of living out what I teach or preach, I understand the enormity of responsibility that God places upon teachers in the church. It is such an enormous responsibility that James has a warning for us: Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren.

Now before you use this verse as an excuse to never teach, let me say a few things. First and foremost we are all teachers in one way or another and we are all responsible to teach others the truths from Scripture that God has taught us. The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 tells us we are all responsible to teach others: "Go therefore and make disciples…teaching them to observe all that I commanded you." So teaching from this perspective is not an option.

Secondly, the warning James gives is primarily because of the motives behind why people wish to teach in the church. Most want to teach because of the respect and prestige given to teachers (more so in Bible times than today I’m afraid) not because they felt a burning desire to teach the principles of God’s Word.

Those who teach with wrong motives or teach without properly preparing and knowing the text in which they are speaking on fall into the danger of being judged by God - knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. God is an extremely patient God but His patience quickly runs thin with those who improperly teach His Word or teach His Word for their own goals and purposes. We who are called to teach in the public setting of the church will be scrutinized much more closely than other Christians in the words we say. Teachers have a certain measure of influence in the lives of people and as that influence grows you could easily lead people astray or gain a following of your own. Every cult in the past and in the present begins with an influential teacher 

Paul speaks of unqualified teachers in Romans 2:21-23 – You therefore who teach another, do you teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?

If the warning James gives is not enough for you to carefully consider your motives for teaching God’s Word in a public setting, allow the weight of Paul’s words to sink in. Teachers and preachers in the church must be ever so careful to live what they teach; no hypocrites allowed, so to speak. Even if you are guilty of the “do as I say and not as I do” mantra with your children, there is no place for this behavior from teachers in the church. Your example in living should speak even louder than your words when it comes to the Scripture.

Tuesday

James 3:2 - For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.

The late Art Linkletter used to have a television program in the 1960’s called, "Kids Say the Darndest Things." The premise of the show was to film kids in different situations and ask them some leading questions. Kids being kids would say just about anything that came to their minds. They didn't try to be sensitive or politically correct and they had no qualms about embarrassing their parents with the words they spoke. They seemed to have absolutely no control over what spilled out of their mouths.

Adults, at times, don't seem to have much control over their words either. A problem that James devotes quite a bit of time to; as will we over the next several devotions.

James opens his discussion on controlling our tongues with a statement that may seem shocking at first: For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. This statement is truly amazing when you think it through. James is telling us that even though we all make mistakes in life and we all sin, those who control their tongues can avoid other mistake as well. We have been given a tremendous key to living a holy life in this amazing statement. Spend ample time working on controlling the sins of your speech and the other sins in your life will be much easier to control.

But are these sins really in our speech or is our speech just the manifestation of something larger? When we are able to control our tongues we are also controlling our thoughts, or our heart. Jesus said, "…the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart" (Matthew 15:18). He also said, "For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart" (Matthew 12:34). Both of these verses tell us that the sinful words that come out of our mouth are the result of sin already in our lives. The spoken words just let everyone else know about that sin that has already been in your heart for some time now.

A well-known evangelist relates the story of observing a person working in his ministry bump his head and then spewing out a curse word before noticing the evangelist was there. He then apologized to which the evangelist responded, “The Bible says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks; I guess I now know what your heart has an abundance of based on the curse word you chose.” They both laughed but the point was made.

James is not saying we have the ability to be perfect or that such a man exists, he is actually relating the fact that none of us are perfect because none of us can control every word we speak. And we cannot control every word we speak because our hearts are more deceitful than all else and desperately sick according to Jeremiah 17:9. The wickedness and the sinfulness of our hearts will eventually come to the surface now and again.

So I guess the point is we must always be at work on our hearts and minds. We must allow God’s Word to transform our minds on a daily basis as we abstain from the things of the world and instead choose to fill our minds with the things of God (Romans 12:2).

We'll begin to look at the illustrations James has for us next time. For today let us all examine our hearts and the thoughts we have toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. If you have sinful, evil thoughts toward someone, ask God to forgive you and rid your heart of those thoughts. Then do something about it. If forgiveness is needed go to that person and ask for that forgiveness. If no one else is aware of these sinful thoughts and you have asked God to forgive, take some action on your repentance and do something nice for the person you were thinking badly of. Don't put it off! If you continue to wait, the sin that lies within will eventually work its way out in your words for all to see.

Wednesday

James 3:3-5a - Now if we put bits into the horse’s mouth so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.

Years ago when VCR's were fairly new in the marketplace and cost hundreds of dollars, we had one that stopped working. It wasn't that old and we couldn’t afford a new one so I took it to a repair shop. The problem was a penny. Not that it cost a penny to fix, but a penny was inside the VCR. Apparently our son had slid some pennies into the place where the VHS tape goes and one of those pennies had worked its way into the wrong place and a circuit board got fried. A little penny caused the damage.

Small things can indeed cause great damage. James delivers to us a few illustrations of the power of something small in hopes of teaching us to control that small thing in our mouths called the tongue. Last time we saw that sins of speech are really just sins that have already been dwelling in our hearts and minds. When they finally make their way to the surface and escape the gateway of our lips, we are simply making the sin within us known to others. Today, we will see how these sins can now cause major damage in our life and the lives of those we touch.

First a couple of illustrations: Now if we put bits into the horse’s mouth so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. The small things illustrated in this passage exhibit great control over very powerful objects; a small piece of metal in a horses mouth can control the power of that horse, a small rudder on the back end of a large ship controls the direction of that ship on the mighty seas.

The power of that horse is in essence transferred to the rider because of the small bit. The power of an enormous ship is transferred to the pilot because of the small rudder. These small items can be very useful and beneficial to many people. In Bible times (and still today in many parts of the world) horses were used to plow fields and other important functions in the fields, providing food for the families on the land and to be sold to others. Horses were also one of the primary forms of travel. Ships carry cargo from one land to another, transporting food, clothing, building materials and many other necessities of life.

These small things can also be very dangerous when the power and control is transferred to someone who is unskilled or unprepared to wield that power. Put the reigns of a horse in my hands or the rudder of a ship in my control and someone is going to get hurt. I do not possess the training or the skill to properly use these small things. The problem I have with knowing how to use a horse's bit or a ship's rudder is the same problem most of us have with using their tongues: So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. Most typically have not taken the time to learn how to properly use our tongues, and that can be even more dangerous than being ignorant of bits and rudders.

In our next visit together, James is going to slap us with the reality of just how dangerous our little tongues can be if we do not take the time to learn the skill of properly using them. For today, the lesson is for each of us to ponder the reality of just how much power we control through our words. Power is neutral. How we choose to use that power is the crux of the matter.

Thursday

James 3:5b-6 - See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the courses of our life, and is set on fire by hell.

“Handle with Care!” This label we see on packages and other containers is pretty much ignored by the vast majority of us – even by those who are paid to deliver such packages based on the way they arrive at my house sometimes. The television and movie depictions we see of bomb squads handling dangerous and unstable explosives is more the sense I am looking for as an opening illustration today. They move slowly and steadily; they measure each step and carefully consider every possible action and the consequences of those actions.

The sense of what James is communicating to us is that our tongues need to be handled with this same level of care - See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the courses of our life, and is set on fire by hell.

Living in the extremely dry air of the mountains, as I do, I am constantly reminded of the danger and devastation of forest fires. Signs are generously posted throughout our region telling us just how dangerous the current conditions are at any given time, due to the lack of rain and/or the lack of humidity and/or the intensity of the winds. The largest forest fire in Colorado history (the Hayman Fire) was started by a forest worker (of all people) burning a letter she received. Over 138,000 acres of forest were consumed; that’s 216 square miles! It is an awesome and humbling sight to drive through the burn area even today, eight years later.

This is a glimpse of the potential damage our tongues can cause. Our tongues are the small fire that, if not properly controlled, can set the entire forest ablaze.

The very world of iniquity, as James calls it, can potentially be unleashed by any one of us at any given time. Just imagine if all of the thoughts that run through your mind were released by your tongue. How many relationships would be torched? How many people would get burned? How many lives would be singed?

James tells us that the damaging words that escape our lips defile our entire bodies, meaning we cannot completely hide what is in our heart; some of the sparks and smoke will be evident just like the smell of cigarette smoke lingers on those who haven’t kicked that habit. And this raging fire within us sets and controls the course of our lives as we allow the sinful thoughts and attitudes to smolder within.

One of the terms found in Scripture to depict hell is Gehenna. This was the name used for the ancient garbage dumps, or landfills of the day. When enough garbage is accumulated and piled up, gases like methane are produced which causes a smoldering fire deep within the heap. This fire is almost impossible to extinguish because it is constantly fueled by the unending supply of garbage and because it is buried so deeply inside.

So when James speaks of how the very world of iniquity within us is set on fire by hell, the picture is two-fold. First and foremost, when our hearts and minds are saturated by the things and philosophies of this world, we are literally being filled by Satan’s lies and standards and morals. Secondly, as this garbage accumulates in our hearts and minds it will smolder deep within and at times find an outlet in the words we speak.

Let me once again remind you of the words of Jesus: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

So how do we handle our tongues with care? By guarding our hearts and minds. By making sure you spend ample time each day engaged in the Word of God. By carefully limiting the amount of and types of programs and movies you watch. By controlling what types of music and programming you listen to. By carefully monitoring what you read, etc. If you fill your mind and heart with garbage, it will accumulate and it will smolder deep within and it will eventually manifest itself by the small fire of your tongue; and it will destroy…

Friday

James 3:7-8 - For every species of beast and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.

Uncontrollable, untamable, undisciplined, irresponsible, irrepressible…these are just a few words that correctly describe our tongues. We could say that we are able to hold our tongues captive on occasion, but sooner or later the cage door is opened and the savage beast escapes for a while; especially when we feel offended or see what we consider to be injustice.

How often do we say or think things like, “I dare them to say something to me, because when they do I’ll be giving them a piece of my mind!” It’s like a caged animal banging up against the door, and with each crash the latch becomes looser. If nothing is put in place to reinforce the door, the beast will break free to cause all manner of carnage.

James uses the illustration of wild animals being tamed by man in contrast with no man being able to tame the tongue - For every species of beast and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.

The sense of being able to tame all animals and creatures is more so the fact that man has been able to capture and/or kill every species of creature, not so much that we have been able to turn a rhinoceros into a family pet. But even having that kind of power over the animal kingdom, James says no one can tame the tongue; meaning no human can accomplish this impossible task of keeping the tongue in check every moment of every day.

King David prayed, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3). He also prayed, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). The Apostle Paul adds, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not” (Romans 7:18). And Paul also says, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (Galatians 5:17).

The point is clear that we, in the power of our own flesh, have absolutely no ability to tame our tongues. This does not mean we are in a hopeless situation, it just means that we need, and must rely on, divine help. It means we must recognize that every time we are gossiping, lashing out, saying unkind words or disparaging others, we are operating under our own power and the cage door has been opened. Once we grow sensitive to recognizing this problem we must immediately call upon the Lord to set a guard over our mouths, to capture the beast, and to securely lock that cage.

If we choose to rely on our own self-control, the restless (literally meaning unstable, with the sense again of a caged animal fighting fiercely to escape) evil in our tongues will be free to inject its deadly poison into those around us.

Beloved, James is devoting a lot of space to this topic of controlling the words we speak (and he’s not done yet); I think it would be wise for us to pay attention and take heed. Understand what James an Paul are teaching us, and consider memorizing and praying (every day) what King David has left us with.