JAMES 3:4 ‘Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!’
DAILY READING – Matthew 23:13-39; Numbers 23:27-24:25; Song of Solomon 5:2-6:3
In 2018, the Royal Caribbean cruise line debuted the world’s largest cruise ship, named ‘Symphony of the Seas;.
The 228,081-ton cruise ship is 1,188 feet long and over 215 feet wide. The ‘Symphony of the Seas’ has a wide variety of food and entertainment options, including 22 restaurants, 42 bars and lounges, theaters and an ice rink. A cruise ship is indeed like a floating city, it can be over 3 football field long, and can carry thousands of passengers and crew in a single trip. Cruise ships are some of the largest ships in the world by gross ton age and are bigger than many cargo ships. Yet as big as it is, it is controlled by a small wheel less than 12 inches in diameter, even smaller than a car’s steering wheel. It’s amazing to see how small things can control or direct huge things. How tiny electronic chips can control cars and planes. Even the body as big as it is controlled by a brain which is only three-pound in weight.
In James 3:3–12, it tells how a small rudder steers a ship, a bit in a horse’s mouth directs it, and a spark sets a forest on fire. He writes how our tongues can praise God or curse people. The tongue can express great good or cause great harm. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
However the problem is not with the tongue but with the source, which is the heart, it is out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. What is in your heart is what will overflow and out flow through the mouth. So if you can control what is in your heart you can also be able to control what comes out of your mouth. When the Word of God dominates your heart, The Word also will dominate your mouth and your tongue.
James 3:9-12 says ‘therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. my brethren, these things ought not so to be.’
Our tongues are ordained by God as an instrument of blessing. However, we have to be careful how we use our words. Words of blessings or curses will always produce fruits.
Proverbs 18:21 teaches us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
Words are seeds, once spoken, it is only a matter of time before they bear fruits. And whatsoever a man sows that shall he reap. So be careful the words you speak over your life or those around you. Be careful to sow right seeds that will bear right fruits tomorrow. Parents should adopt the Jewish tradition of blessing their children rather than berating them at every opportunity. When we do that, the world will indeed have a better generation of youths, doing exploits in the world.
No matter, the temptation do not give in to negative speaking. And if perhaps you have made negative utterances in the past be quick to repent today and pray for the abortion of their negative harvests. Let your tongue steer your destiny along the line of God’s will. Speak only that which is in agreement with the word of God. To speak right words, you have to load your heart with the Word of His grace, when you do, your words will in turn release grace to your hearers. The words we speak either make us or mar us. We determine the things that happen to us by the words of our mouth. Let us therefore purpose to always speak only right words, so that our lives will turn out right.
PRAYER: Lord, please help me to speak right ,to bless with my mouth and allow my words to be a blessing to those around me. And let the continual flow of your praise be in my mouth at all times in Jesus’ Name.
Quote
Your heart needs to be filled with The Word of God to the point of overflow. – WORDBITE 222