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How Great a Matter a Little Fire Kindleth |
The power of the tongue is a big issue, and is discussed frequently in the Bible, and for good reason. What you speak (or write on the internet) can affect people in various ways. It is not "harmless discussion," if you are speaking down about someone personally, or gossiping. Over and over, the Bible condemns this.
The old saying sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can't hurt me is simply not true. Words can hurt more than sticks and stones. God will hold us accountable for the words we speak/write, to hurt others:
"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." -Matthew 12:36
If something you said/wrote was taken as mean or gossipy, but that is truly not how you meant it, then it is not imputed to you as sin.
Treat others the way you wish to be treated, and love them with Christian love:
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." -Matthew 7:12
"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." -Galatians 5:14
Before you speak or write, consider if what you are about to say follows the above two Scriptures.
Gossiping, being a busy body, etc. is condemned in the Bible:
"And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not." -1 Timothy 5:13
Our top priority is to love and follow the Lord, and then to take care of family and home. We are not to be idle, wandering from house to house (or website to website), tattling, being busybodies, or speaking things which we should not.
The Christian woman is to follow the Law of Kindness:
"She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness." -Proverbs 31:26
She is to be kind to others, not only in public, but also in her home:
"It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house." -Proverbs 25:24
"It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman." -Proverbs 21:19
"A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike." -Proverbs 27:15
Think about the above and below Scriptures before you open your mouth, or type something on the World-Wide-Web:
"Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!" -James 3:5
If someone has said something that angers you, please adhere to the following:
"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" -James 1:19
"Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men." -Romans 12:17
Don't be a murderer at heart:
"But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man." -Matthew 15:18-20
"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." -1 John 3:15
If you have not forgiven someone of something, please do so now, or your eternity is at stake:
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." -Matthew 6:14-15
"And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." -Mark 11:25-26
Sisters, not only should the Law of Kindness be on our tongues, but we should not be going to places where the tongue speaks (or the written word) poorly of others. This includes physically going places, or going to certain places online.
"The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" -Matthew 6:22-23
"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil" -Isaiah 1:16
"I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD." -Psalm 101
Sisters, if we have misused our tongues (including what we type online) may we ask the Lord to forgive us. If we have harbored ill will towards another, for having taken offense at something said or typed, may we forgive, and have no further malice in our hearts.
"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." -Isaiah 1:18
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." -1 John 1:7-10
"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." -1 Corinthians 6:11
"It’s like a person building a house by digging deep and laying the foundation on bedrock. When the flood came, the rising water smashed against that house, but the water couldn’t shake the house because it was well built. 49 But those who don’t put into practice what they hear are like a person who built a house without a foundation. The floodwater smashed against it and it collapsed instantly. It was completely destroyed." -Luke 6:48-49 CEB
"The Lord lives! Bless God, my rock! Let my God, the rock of my salvation, be lifted high!" -2 Samuel 22:47 CEB
"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." -John 8:32 CEB
"Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." -John 14:6 CEB |
The terms "Christian" and "personal relationship with Jesus Christ" have been thrown around so much, that for many people, they have lost their original savor. What is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Is it going to church? Is it being a "good person?" Is it via doing certain rituals, or following certain traditions? No, it is so much simpler than that.
Jesus says:
"Look! I’m standing at the door and knocking. If any hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to be with them, and will have dinner with them, and they will have dinner with me." -Revelation 3:20 CEB
Let Jesus into your heart and life. Put your faith and trust in Him, and in Him alone.
Why did Jesus Christ come to this earth? He came to pay for our sins. Have you ever broken any of the Ten Commandments? Did you know that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that just looking at someone with lust in your heart is the same thing as committing adultery in your heart?
Many people will say I'm a good person. Sure, I've stolen a few paper clips in my time, and I've told some lies, but I've never killed anyone, so I'm good enough for heaven. Don't be so sure. Have you ever felt hatred toward someone? If so, then you are guilty of committing murder in your heart:
"Everyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that murderers don’t have eternal life residing in them." -1 John 3:15 CEB
If you have stolen, lied, lusted after someone, hated someone, loved someone or something more than God, etc., then you have broken at least 5 of the Ten Commandments. Do you really think you'd make it to heaven? Not according to God's Word:
"Don’t you know that people who are unjust won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Those who are sexually immoral, those who worship false gods, adulterers, both participants in same-sex intercourse, thieves, the greedy, drunks, abusive people, and swindlers won’t inherit God’s kingdom." -1 Corinthians 6:9-10 CEB
But there is good news:
"That is what some of you used to be! But you were washed clean, you were made holy to God, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." -1 Corinthians 6:11 CEB
We are all sinners:
"All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory" -Romans 3:23 CEB
Even Mary, the woman chosen by God to be a vessel that would carry Jesus in her womb, was a sinner, and in need of a Savior:
"In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior." - Mary said this in Luke 1:47 (CEB). Only sinners need a Savior, and Mary also accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior.
We are all imperfect, fallible sinners:
"This is the message that we have heard from him and announce to you: “God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.” If we claim, “We have fellowship with him,” and live in the darkness, we are lying and do not act truthfully. But if we live in the light in the same way as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we claim, “We don’t have any sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." -1 John 1:5-8 CEB
The blood of Jesus Christ is what cleanses us from all sins. Jesus came to this earth to die to pay for our sins. You see, Leviticus tells us that 'the life is in the blood,' and that it takes spilt blood to atone for sin.
When we choose to truly believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and to live our lives for Christ, then Christ's spilt blood cleanses us from our sins:
"Come now, and let’s settle this, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow. If they are red as crimson, they will become like wool." -Isaiah 1:18 CEB
Jesus tells us this:
"God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him isn’t judged; whoever doesn’t believe in him is already judged, because they don’t believe in the name of God’s only Son." - Jesus said this, in John 3:16-18 (CEB)
Paul gives us a simple "step by step process" on how to be saved:
"Because if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and in your heart you have faith that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Trusting with the heart leads to righteousness, and confessing with the mouth leads to salvation. The scripture says, All who have faith in him won’t be put to shame." -Romans 10:9-11 CEB
Jesus is our one and only mediator:
"There is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the human Christ Jesus" -1 Timothy 2:5 CEB
Jesus is our High Priest:
"Also, let’s hold on to the confession since we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens, who is Jesus, God’s Son; because we don’t have a high priest who can’t sympathize with our weaknesses but instead one who was tempted in every way that we are, except without sin." -Hebrews 4:14-15 CEB
We are to follow the Lord and the Bible, not traditions of people:
"Jesus replied, “Why do you break the command of God by keeping the rules handed down to you?" -Matthew 15:3 CEB
Jesus is God:
"Without question, the mystery of godliness is great: he was revealed as a human, declared righteous by the Spirit, seen by angels, preached throughout the nations, believed in around the world, and taken up in glory." -1 Timothy 3:16 CEB
If Jesus isn't the Lord of your life, then I hope that you will let Him into your heart and life this very moment.
"But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8 CEB
Have you built your foundation on the Rock of Salvation?
Jesus is the way. If you would like to receive Jesus into your heart and life, then let Him know. Pray to the Lord, telling Him that you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and that you believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the death penalty for your sins. Tell this to God in your own words, from your heart.
"The wages that sin pays are death, but God’s gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 6:23 CEB
Believe, and Receive:
"You too heard the word of truth in Christ, which is the good news of your salvation. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit because you believed in Christ." -Ephesians 1:13 CEB
When you believe on Jesus Christ, you receive the Holy Spirit. You are sealed as a child of God.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart and life as your Lord and Savior, and you believe that Jesus died on the cross in your place, to pay the death penalty for your sins, and that Christ rose from the dead three days later, and you are ready to let Him lead your life, and you will live for Him, then you are saved, and born again.
