EVERY DAY LIGHT

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

June 24

Giving with a warm hand

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 22:1-9

"A generous man will himself be blessed '" (v.9)

    Does being a generous person mean you will always have plenty to give away? Not necessarily. This would be a naive interpretation of the principle we are discussing. Certain other texts of Scripture have to be laid against these verses in Proverbs if we are to get a more complete picture of the truth under discussion. Some Christians cannot be trusted with a lot of money or earthly goods; they just would not know how to manage them. That said, it needs to be noted that you do not have to be rich to be generous. A pauper can give like a prince, providing he or she has the right spirit. An old Jewish saying puts it like this: "The man who gives with a smile gives more than the man who gives with a frown." It is the spirit of generosity that the Bible focuses on first of all - the spirit that gives, not because it wants to get but because it simply delights to give. Someone has defined generosity as "giving with a warm hand." I like that. Who likes to receive anything from a cold hand? As you know, the opposite of generosity is selfishness, and just as generosity is a facet of wisdom, so selfishness is a facet of foolishness. A teacher said to a class: "Unselfishness means voluntarily going without something you need. Can anyone give me an example?" A little boy raised his hand and said: "Yes, sometimes I go without a bath even though I need one." We smile, but how many of us do the same thing and turn a truth on its head to take the pressure off ourselves?

Prayer:

    O God, help me to be a person who gives "with a warm hand." Melt any coldness and iciness there may be in my spirit and make me a magnanimous and generous person. Fire me with a passion to give. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

For further study:

    Luke 6:32-38; Isaiah 58:10; 2 Corinthians 9:6
    1. What did Jesus teach about giving?
    2. What is the principle of sowing and reaping?

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

June 25

The generous eye

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 28:18-28

"He who gives to the poor will lack nothing '" (v.27)

    We continue meditating on the subject of generosity. Not only Proverbs, but the Bible as a whole has a good deal to say on this subject, and one of the most powerful statements is made by Jesus in Matthew 6:22. Here is how Moffatt translates this fascinating and intriguing text: "' if your Eye is generous, the whole of your body will be illumined." "If your Eye" - that means your whole outlook on life, your whole way of looking at things - is generous, then your whole personality is filled with light. Jesus was generous toward all - the poor, the meek, the sinful, the unlovely - and His whole personality was full of light. When we are in touch with Jesus, the fount of all wisdom, then He generates that same generosity within us. We begin to see everyone and everything with the same generous eye. It is generosity that is at the heart of all good relationships. I have visited Sweden and Norway on many occasions and I often used to wonder why it is that the Swedes and the Norwegians have such brotherliness toward each other. They seem to have an unbreakable bond that ties them as one people. Then I discovered that many years ago, when Norway wanted to break free from Swedish control, the Swedish people responded to this - responded according to the Christian ethos that was behind the then ruling family. This generosity in giving freedom without war or bitterness created a basic soundness that now flavors all their contacts with one another. The generous eye fills the whole body of relationships with light. Generosity, like love, never fails.

Prayer:

    Lord Jesus, Your generous eye saw in me things I could never see in myself. Help me this day to lay generosity as the basis of all my dealings with everyone. May your generosity generate generosity in me. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

For further study:

    Matthew 19:16-24; Leviticus 25:35; Deuteronomy 15:7
    1. What did Jesus say to the young man?
    2. How did he respond?

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

June 26

Suppose ' just suppose '

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 3:19-35

"Do not say to your neighbor, 'Come back later; Ill give it tomorrow' - when you now have it with you." (v.28 )

    The Bible fairly bulges with the truth that the generous generate generosity in others. When Ananias, a potential victim of Saul's spite and rage, put his hands on the stricken zealot and generously said, "Brother Saul," that generosity, I believe, touched something deep within the newly converted disciple. It helped to start the greatest Christian of the centuries on his way. Suppose, just suppose, the little boy who gave his loaves and fishes to Jesus had said to himself: "This meal is mine and I will share it with no one," he would not have witnessed one of the greatest miracles of all time. Suppose the disciples, instead of serving out the multiplied bread and fishes to the crowd, decided to pile it in one corner and make a charge for it. What do you think would have happened? I doubt whether we would ever have heard of them again. They would have sunk into obscurity. And again, suppose the man who owned the colt on which Jesus rode into Jerusalem had said, "This colt is mine and I will let it go to no one," what would have happened? For the balance of his days he would have had an inner debate over whether or not he was justified in keeping it for himself. You and I will come across opportunities to be generous. If we fail to respond to these opportunities, who knows what great ministries will never come to birth, what mighty things will not get done? God has opened His doors of generosity to us; let us not fail to open up the doors of our generosity to others.

Prayer:

    O Father, help me be the channel and not the stopping place of all Your generosity to me. When I see how generosity has opened up such power in the lives of others, I fear that I may fail. Help me, dear Father. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:

    Ruth 2:1-23; Luke 10:25-37
    1. How did Boaz show generosity?
    2. What instruction did Jesus give to the lawyer?

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

June 27

Framework for generosity

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 11:1-10

"The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight." (v.1)

    How do we go about establishing a framework for generosity? First - decide that nothing you possess is your own but that everything you have belongs to God. This puts God in His place and you in yours. You are now ready to manage His possessions, not as you like but as He likes. This is real freedom. It gives you a sense of accountability to another - God. You get your life orders not from a whim, a notion, self-impulse or whatever takes your fancy, but from the One who saved you and redeemed you. Second - go over your life and see what belongs to your needs and what merely belongs to your wants. Your needs are important - God has promised to supply them - but your wants? Ah, that is another thing. You need as much as will make you fit - spiritually, physically and mentally - for the purposes of God while you are here on the earth. Beyond that, what you have belongs to the needs of others. How do you decide what belongs to your needs? No one can decide it for you - though they can make suggestions - for you are accountable to God. Go over your life item by item and ask Him for directions. Your family should figure prominently in your concerns, but you must check everything with the Lord. Third - fix it as an axiom in your mind that you will be generous to people, not for the good feelings that generosity brings, but because you are determined to bless them in some way. You must never be generous in order to get a blessing - you must be generous to be a blessing.

Prayer:

    Father, I am thankful that the basis of my life is fixed in You and from that I am able to build a framework for generosity. From now on help me to give with all the stops out. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

For further study:

    Acts 2:41-47; 2 Corinthians 8:12; Acts 11:29
    1. What was the principle in the early Church?
    2. What words of Jesus did Paul recall?

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

June 29

Disturbing complacency

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 13:1-10

"The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied." (v.4)

    Today we come to the fourth of the seven pillars of wisdom - diligence. The wise are those who persevere, who persist in following that which is right, who stick with it and never give up. One of the great needs of our day is for diligence to be put back into life - especially among the young. A Christian educator writes: "Diligence in the young is something that is built into them not by precept but by example. In today's world there are not enough examples of diligence to inspire or guide." Diligence does not seem to be esteemed in the way it once was. Prior to my conversion, I lacked greatly in diligence simply because I chose not to apply myself to anything. Then in my teens Christ came into my life and by His coming disturbed my complacency and challenged me to apply myself to the things that were before me. The result? I covered more ground in the first year following my conversion than I did in the previous two or three years. A year or so after my conversion, an uncle of mine said to my father, "I wondered whether he had been really converted but by his diligence I can see he has found God." Forgive the continued personal emphasis, but if it had not been for the diligence I learned at the feet of Christ, I would not have been able to continue writing Every Day with Jesus. I learned diligence from the One whose life and character were the very epitome of this quality - Jesus. He is diligence personified.

Prayer:

    Gracious and loving Father, I also long for this facet of wisdom, the quality of diligence. Prune from me all laziness and indolence, all lethargy and dodging of responsibility, all complacency and pride. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

For further study:

    2 Timothy 2:1-15; James 4:17
    1. What were Paul's words to Timothy?
    2. What does James say is sin?

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

June 30

A second wind

For reading & meditation: Proverbs 10:1-8

"Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth." (v.4)

    One day the disciples said to Jesus: " '' a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?' Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours of daylight?' " (John 11:8-9). Jesus was saying that it is not a question of what they will or will not do. There are twelve hours in the day - enough time for what must be done - and He must get on and complete His task. What a sense of inward drive is found in these words. The purpose for which He had come into the world was inwardly pressing Him forward, despite the obstacles that came His way, and He would pursue the task right to the end. It is possible, of course, to be a person of diligence without knowing Christ, but those who know Him have an added power at work within them that drives them forward to the completion of a task. I said yesterday that when Christ came into my life He disturbed my complacency. Someone else put it like this: "When Jesus came into my life He became the conscience of my conscience." A middle-aged lady said, "Christ gave me a second wind in the race of life." I wonder, as you read these notes, are you on the point of giving up a task in which you know you are rightly engaged? Have laziness, inertia and indolence crept in and threatened to take over your soul? Reach up and put your hand in the hand of Jesus. Confess your failure to draw from Him the strength you need. Then in His name go out and throw yourself again into the task.

Prayer:

    Gracious and loving Father, I am thankful for all the benefits of "common grace" but I am thankful even more for the special grace that is mine through Christ Jesus the Lord. Help me to use that special grace to Your praise and glory. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:

    Hebrews 6:1-12; Ecclesiastes 10:18; 2 Thessalonians 3:11
    1. What had Paul heard?
    2. What was the desire of the writer to the Hebrews?

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

July 1

So wise - yet so foolish!

For reading & meditation - Proverbs 2:1-11

"' applying your heart to understanding ' then you will ' find the knowledge of God." (vv.2, 5)

    Permit me to continue to explore a little more of Victor Frankl's thinking. Although now a well-known and highly respected psychiatrist, Frankl seems unable to accept the divine perspective. Listen to this: "The reason so many people are unhappy is because they fail to understand what human existence is all about. Until we recognize that life is not just something to be enjoyed but rather a task that each of us is assigned, we will never find meaning in our lives and we will never be truly happy." So near yet so far! So wise yet so foolish! He understands that without meaning life is drab and difficult, but he fails to go on to the next step and say that true meaning can only be found in Christ. He is both a delight and a disappointment, a delight because he says, "Life is a task," but a disappointment because he fails to bring in Christ to help perform that task. Yes, life is a task, a tough one that is sometimes well nigh unbearable. That's why we need to have the Lord at the center of our lives - we then pursue the divine task with the help of divine grace. Both the writer of the Proverbs and Victor Frankl say that life works better when we give ourselves to it with diligence, but there is much more to it than this. Why do you think God inspired the writer of Proverbs to personify wisdom? Because (as we saw) it prepares us to face the fact that true wisdom is not merely found in principles, but in a Person. And that Person is Christ.

Prayer:

    O Father, how sad when the wise of this world show themselves to be so foolish. They get so close - yet pull back at the vital moment. Thank You, Father, that through Jesus I dwell in wisdom and am indwelt by it. Help me exhibit it more and more. Amen.

    For Further Study

    Col. 2:1-5; John 2:24; 16:30
    1. What did the disciples testify of Jesus?
    2. What did Paul declare to the Colossians?

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

July 2

What's the point?

For reading & meditation - Proverbs 21:1-15

"The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty." (v.5)

    Today we ask ourselves: What is the point of diligence? Why keep persevering in a task? I'll tell you why. It is because it is in the arena of perseverance that true character is forged out, shaped, tempered and polished. It is in the daily grind that the character of Jesus is given the maximum opportunity to be reproduced in us, replacing what Charles Swindoll calls that "thin, fragile internal theology with a tough reliable set of convictions that enable us to handle life rather than escape from it." Listen to how the apostle Paul puts it in Romans 5:3-4: "We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Because life is a task, we need strength to face it, not speed to escape from it. When the foundations shake beneath our feet, when Christian friends, even leaders, fall into immorality, when the anchor points of civilization disappear, when the bottom drops out and brutal blows push us up against the ropes and pound the very life out of us, we need what diligence and perseverance offer us - willingness to face whatever comes, determination to stand firm, knowing that Christ is not just with us but in us, insight to see the Lord's hand in everything and character enough to continue. Without diligence, we will stumble and fall. With it, we will survive and conquer. The astute of this world are wise enough to recognize that no advances can be made in life without diligence. How much more ought we, who name the Name of Christ and have Him living within us, to recognize this also?

Prayer:

    O God, help me see that I am at grips with the raw materials of human living. Out of them I must fashion the important quality of diligence. Help me never to forget that the rewards are much more than the cost. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

    For Further Study

    2 Cor. 11:16-33; Job 17:9 Gal. 6:9; James 1:12
    1. What were some of the obstacles Paul had to face?
    2. What is the reward of those who persevere?

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

July 3

The Four Spiritual Flaws

For reading & meditation - Proverbs 20:1-13

"A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing." (v.4)

    We saw yesterday that diligently tackling life's tasks and problems produces in the end something exceedingly precious - character. Ever heard of the Four Spiritual Laws? They are used greatly by those involved in evangelism, but today we look at the Four Spiritual Flaws. These are four common misconceptions which many have about the tough issue of the Christian life, and unless refuted diligence will have no meaning. Flaw No 1: Once you become a Christian, you will never have any more problems. It's not true. In fact, problems may increase. What is true, however, is that Christ will be there to share our problems and get us through - victoriously. Flaw No 2: If you are having problems, then your spirituality is deficient. Some problems can arise from lack of spirituality, but certainly not all. Some of the most spiritual people I know have wrestled with gigantic problems. Consider God's servant, Job. Flaw No 3: Never admit to anything being a problem; if you do, negativism will take over your life. Nonsense. If you don?t face a thing squarely, then you will live in denial, which is the opposite of integrity. Flaw No 4: All problems can be resolved by the application of the right scripture. Again, not so. I have unanswered questions concerning God's dealings with me, and I know I might have to wait until I arrive in eternity to see things clearly. Here on earth we are big enough to ask questions but not big enough to understand the answers. Diligence must keep us going.

Prayer:

    Father, I would be rid of all flawed thinking. Show me that I am not called to understand, but to stand. Give me grace to keep going even in the face of every one of life's unanswered questions. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

    For Further Study

    2 Cor. 4:1-18; Job. 23:10; Psa. 66:10; Isa. 48:10
    1. What was Paul's testimony?
    2. What was Job's conviction?

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

July 4

Diligence does pay off

For reading & meditation - Proverbs 24:23-34

"Thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds '" (v.31)

    We spend one more day on the subject of diligence. What are diligence and perseverance all about? They are sticking to a task you know God wants you to do until it is completed, irrespective of the difficulties and frustrations. Diligence does pay off. Two frogs who fell into a bucket of cream tried very hard to get out, but each time they slipped back again. One said, "We'll never get out of here," gave up and drowned. The other frog persevered with kicking. Suddenly, he felt something hard beneath his feet and discovered that his kicking had turned the cream into butter. He hopped on top of it and was able to leap out to safety. Someone has described diligence as "an archaic word." It may not play a big part in today's world, but it plays a big part in the Bible. Those who have done great exploits for God have been men and women of persistence and perseverance. One of the greatest examples of diligence in the Bible is the apostle Paul. The verse that best brings this out is this: "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Cor. 4:8-9). He kept going when others would have given up. I love the story of Sir Winston Churchill who, during his last years, and though failing and feeble, stood up to address a group of university students and said: "I have just one thing to say to you: Never give up. Never, never give up. Never, never, never give up." He sat down to a standing ovation.

Prayer:

    Father, I see that life can be made or broken at the place of continuance. Give me this aspect of wisdom so that, like a postage stamp, I will stick to one thing until I get there. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

    For Further Study

    John 17:20-26; 19:30
    1. What will Jesus not give up doing?
    2. What did Jesus declare on the Cross?

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

July 5

Words that scar

For reading & meditation - Proverbs 12:11-28

"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." (v.18 )

    "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." It's not true. Names do hurt and produce emotional scars that stay within the soul for life. A woman could not escape the bondage of a name her father gave her when she was a child: "The devil's daughter." She was freed from it eventually, but not without hours of counseling and struggle. Unkind words are like deadly missiles that penetrate all the soul's defenses and blast a hole in the personality that may take years to repair. On the other hand, words that are encouraging can lift and cheer the soul in a way that is quite amazing. C. E. Macartney tells how he saw sitting on a bench a minister whom he had known. The man was well advanced in years and broken in health. As a result of his condition, he had given up his church and was unable to participate in any kind of pulpit ministry. Macartney says, "I turned to speak to him, expecting to hear from him some word of melancholy, reminiscence or present gloom, but I received a pleasant surprise. He told me that a woman going by had just spoken to him and told him that a message he had given many years ago had been the means of bringing her to Christ. The glow on his face was something I shall never forget." How wonderful it will be if today you and I can say a cheerful and encouraging word to someone that will lift their burden, lighten their darkness and minister the life of God into their soul. At least let's try!

Prayer:

    O Father, help me not to be like the person who looked into a mirror and then went away forgetting what he looked like. I have looked into the mirror of Your Word and see what I should be. Now help me be. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

    For Further Study

    James 3:1-18; Eccl. 9:17; Isa. 50:4
    1. What does James say about the tongue?
    2. What had the Lord given Isaiah?
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[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

July 6

Driven personalities

For reading & meditation - Proverbs 18:1-24

"The tongue has the power of life and death '" (v.21)

    Don't think that your words will be overlooked and easily erased. I can remember the words of a teacher who made me stand up in a crowded classroom and said something that pierced my heart, leaving a deep scar. The hurt has gone now and forgiveness had dealt with the residual effects, but the memory burned within me for years. Any counselor will tell you how unkind and cruel words spoken to a child in its early years have shaped and molded his life for good or for bad. A minister tells of talking to a forty-two-year-old man who was frantically working himself into exhaustion - "a volatile human being whose temper exploded at the slightest hint of disagreement or criticism." He found that during childhood this man's father repeatedly told him: "You are not going to amount to anything." Every time his father lost his temper, he would repeat this statement to the boy. Thirty years later the man still bore the pain of his father's verbal malpractice and was driven to prove his father wrong. This is what psychologists are talking about when they refer to people who are driven. They are driven by the lash of cruel words to them years earlier. Take, on the other hand, this example of another man. He told me that his father used to hug him every day and say: "You are so special to me. There is no one in the world who could take your place." That man grew up with aliveness and optimism in his personality. Proverbs is right: death words destroy, life words build up and give increasing strength.

Prayer:

    Father, I would be a builder, not a destroyer of human personalities. Forgive me for the many foolish and unwise words I have spoken. From this day forward help me keep a check on my speech and use words as You would use them. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

    For Further Study

    Gen. 50:1-21; Job 4:4; Jer. 52:32
    1. How did Joseph speak to his brothers?
    2. What did Eliphaz say of Job?

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

July 7

Healing words

For reading & meditation - Proverbs 15:1-15

"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life '" (v.4)

    Today we focus on the healing power of kind and encouraging words. When Sigmund Freud found out that symptoms of emotional distress could be relieved simply by talking in certain ways to his patients, he was deeply interested and intrigued. His training in what is known as "the medical model" had conditioned him to think of people as merely biological and chemical entities whose problems arose from physical malfunctioning. If Freud had spent some time reading the book of Proverbs, he might have been less surprised to discover that words have such a powerful impact. Most psychotherapy has to do with letting people talk. When people put their feelings into words, it seems as if the pent up emotion flows out through the words. In the USA there is a special phone line you can ring where, after you've given your credit card number, a person will spend three minutes giving you some encouraging and heartening words. The service, I understand, has become a growth industry. As I was preparing this page, I thought of the most influential and healing words anyone had ever spoken to me. I thought hard and remembered a friend coming up to me at my wife's funeral and saying: "You will be in my thoughts every hour of the day." How different from the sincere and well-meaning person who said to me at the same event: "Be brave." We can't change the things we said yesterday, but think of the possibilities ahead of us today and tomorrow. Don't wait another day - start now. Thank God that not only death, but life also, lies in the power of the tongue.

Prayer:

    Father, help me minister life through my tongue this very day. Give me opportunities to put into action what I have heard and help me recognize those opportunities. I long to be all You want me to be. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

    For Further Study

    Psa. 37:25-31; James 1:26
    1. What does the law of God in our hearts produce?
    2. If we want to speak wise and just words, what sort of people must we be?

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

July 8

The most powerful word

For reading & meditation - Proverbs 25:11-28

"As a north wind brings rain, so a sly tongue brings angry looks." (v.23)

    It's astonishing, the effect words can have upon you. This is why the writer of Proverbs refers so often to words and the way they ought to be used.

    Here's a teaser I want to drop in that highlights the way words can be used. Professor Ernest Brennick of Columbia University is credited with inventing this sentence which can be made to have eight different meanings by placing the word "only" in all possible positions in it: "I hit him in the eye yesterday." Don't write to me for all the permutations; work them out for yourself. Someone has compiled a list of the most powerful words in the English language. "The bitterest word - alone. The most revered word - mother. The most feared word - death. The coldest word - no. The warmest word - friend." What, I wonder is the most powerful word you have ever come across? I will tell you mine - Jesus. Charles Colson, one of President Nixon's right-hand men who, after the Watergate affair, was wonderfully converted to Christ, tells of visiting a man on death row. The man had been in a fetal position for months and would speak to no one. Charles told him the gospel and asked him to say the name Jesus. A week later he returned to find the man sitting in his chair, shaven, and the cell swept clean. When he asked what had happened, the man said, "Jesus lives here now." He went to the electric chair but his last words to the executioner were these: "I'm going to be with the Lord."

    Prayer:

    O Father, when I utter the name Jesus something profound goes on in my being. It is like an oratorio in two syllables, a library compressed into a single word. May I learn and appropriate in my life all the power that lies behind that name. Amen.

    For Further Study

    2 Pet. 2:1-18; Mal. 3:13; 1 Thess. 2:5; 3 John 10
    1. What sorts of words are referred to in the above verses?
    2. What biblical phrase draws you most powerfully into the presence of God?

[nChrist]

EVERY DAY LIGHT

July 9

A disciplined tongue

For reading & meditation - Proverbs 10:18-32

"' he who holds his tongue is wise." (v.19)

    I'm glad God included in the book of Proverbs the words that are before us today. It's important to talk, but talking too much is as bad as not talking at all. Proverbs extols rationing our words. Once, when Thomas Edison the inventor was at a reception, the toastmaster stood up and complimented him on his many inventions, especially the talking machine. After the toastmaster sat down, the aged inventor rose to his feet and said, "Thank you for those remarks, but I must correct one thing. It was God who invented the talking machine. I only invented the first one that can be shut off." A doctor told me that once, while writing out a prescription, he asked a woman to put out her tongue. When he had finished, she said to him, "But doctor, you never even looked at my tongue." The doctor replied, "It wasn't necessary, I just wanted you to keep quiet while I wrote the prescription." Amidst the humor of today's notes, don't miss the point - words are important but don't overdo them. I like the advice of an anonymous poet who wrote: If your lips would keep from slips Five things observe with care: Of whom you speak, to whom you speak, And how and when and where. A wise person has a disciplined tongue. Many need to learn this, for, like the tongue in old shoes, our tongue is often the last thing to be worn out. If a disciplined tongue is your need, ask God to help you, for an undisciplined tongue is an unloving tongue.

Prayer:

    Father, I realize that oftentimes my tongue is the most difficult thing to bring under control. Yet I have the promise of Your help even in this. I give you my tongue to be bridled - take over the reins. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

    For Further Study

    Matt. 12:30-37; Titus 1:1-10; Job 11:3
    1. What did Jesus say we will have to account for?
    2. What did Paul mean by "mere talkers" (Titus 1:10)?