Wisdomfied part 15-Control of the Tongue
Prepare Your Heart: Read James 3:2-14. Reflect through prayer or journaling the
control of your tongue or any situations where it has put you in harm’s
way. What examples of this passage have
you seen in your life?
Happy New Year!
Everyone is making resolutions.
In the background behind me I can hear the beach body trainer on P90X
because my husband has made a resolution to exercise more. In my first grade class we even joined the
fun and created goals as a writing project.
Many people become mindful of the dangers in what they eat, how they
spend their time, and unhealthy habits like smoking, etc. I’ve been known in the past to not make resolutions
because I don’t want to break them !
Yet, it is great to look at your life and find areas that need
tweaking. How about in your spiritual
life? To see my thoughts on how I’m
doing straight out of my journal from last year, reference my last post:
Gleanings 2011. God has built this habit
of reflection into our prayer life when he taught us to pray. In Matthew 6:12 when Jesus teaches the “Lord’s
Prayer,” He tells them to ask for their debts to be forgiven. To know what to confess, one must
reflect. We are also to reflect when we
take communion (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).
Reflection is a habit of spiritual growth.
So for those of you who resolve to make resolutions, which
among you chose to watch your mouth?
Proverbs 18:20-21 says, From
the fruit of his mouth a man’s stomach is filled; with the harvest from his
lips he is satisfied. The tongue has the
power of life and death and those who love it will eat its fruit (NIV). It has the power of life and death! Pretty important to consider, don’t you
think. Now don’t be too annoyed with
flipping pages today. You might want to grab a bandage along with your journal
and Bible in case you get a paper cut. I
considered cutting this into two portions but then I thought what the
heck! Might as well get the big pictures
on all the things God has to say about our speech. Plus a lot of you made a renewed commitment to
study your Bible more so go for it!!!
This week there are 10 categories. To challenge yourself and interact in a
higher level with the text, after you take notes try to make a summary
statement about what you learn about each topic. I’d love it if you shared your best one in
the comment section of the post!
Wise and foolish talk
·
14:3
·
15:2,7
·
16:23
·
18:6,7
·
19:1
·
23:15,16
Righteous and wicked talk
·
10:20,21,31,32
·
11:11
·
12:13,14
·
13:1
·
`15:28
·
17:4
Appropriate speech
·
15:23
·
16:21,24
·
25:11
·
27:14
Maintaining silence
·
10:19
·
12:23
·
13:3
·
17:28
·
18:13
·
21:23
Controlled speech
·
15:1
·
17:27
·
25:15
Flattery
·
26:28
·
28:23
·
29:15
Slander and gossip
·
10:18
·
11:13
·
16:28
·
17:9
·
18:8
·
20:19
·
26:20
Hurtful talk
·
11:12
·
12:18
·
15:4
·
16:27
·
25:23
·
26:2
Quarreling
·
17:14, 19
·
20:3
·
22:10
·
26:21
Lying
·
12:19,22
·
17:20
·
19:5,22
·
21:6
So ladies where did you see conviction this week? For me is maintaining silence. I always have a lot to say about everything
so usually the verbal part of my brain engages before the silent part. I end up apologizing and clearing things up a
lot as I tend to be a verbal processor. This
happens most with my best friends, husbands, and kids. Why do the ones we love most tend to get the
worst parts of us? Perhaps because we
feel confident in their love and let it all fly sometimes. I also need to confess that I swear a little
bit on the soccer field. Luckily our
goalie is a Christian and keeps me accountable if I slip up. I really do want to show that I’m different
on the inside by what comes out of me.
Jesus talked about our speech in this way in Matthew 7:18 when He said there is nothing outside the man which can
defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are
what defile the man.
Hope this study brings to light the things inside that God
wants to transform in you this year!
Love ya!
-Rayna
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