Revelation 21:1 NIV
[1] Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
Tag Archives: The tongue
FOUNDATION STONES – 3
WATCH YOUR TONGUE
Proverbs 18:21 NIV
[21] “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
The next stone to build into our foundation for a healthy life is the “stone” of what we say. Jesus told us that the mouth is the opening from which what is in our hearts flows.
Luke 6:45 NLT
[45] “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”
This shows us how closely our hearts and mouths are connected.
There are serious consequences for good or evil that come from what we say. Proverbs 18 highlights the end result of our words…life or death! How often a cruel or thoughtless word can damage a child’s life to the end of his days. Words like, “You can do better,” “You’ll never amount to anything,” or “Why are you so stupid?” can kill a child’s heart and drag him down to self-destruction.
James warns God’s people about the problem of a polluted heart.
James 1:26 NLT
[26] “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.”
He has harsh words for those who claim to be believers but can’t or don’t control their tongues.
James 3:2, 4-12 NLT
[2] “Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way…
[4] And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. [5] In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. [6] And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. [7] People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, [8] but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. [9] Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. [10] And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! [11] Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? [12] Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.”
Our tongues, then, are the fountainhead of what is in our hearts. If good and evil flow from the same mouth, be sure that the heart is evil and the good that comes from it is polluted.
David gives us sound advice.
Psalms 34:12-13 NLT
[12] “Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? [13] Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!”
First, then, as I have already written, is the importance of filling our hearts with the truth of God’s pure Word. We also know that we have the potential to speak evil things because we still have our old nature inside us which demands attention and influences us to speak what it thinks without considering the consequences.
To guard our lips, then, is to think first and then speak, disciplining our hearts to release the truth that is in us rather than the first thing that comes into our heads.
Isaiah 12 has a wonderful prescription for releasing the water from a pure fountain.
Isaiah 12:3-6 NLT
[3] “With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! [4] In that wonderful day you will sing: “THANK the Lord! PRAISE his name! TELL the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is! [5] SING to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. [6] Let all the people of Jerusalem SHOUT his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”
Here’s the cure for a polluted heart. Drink deeply from the wells of salvation. Then thank, praise, tell, sing, and shout what the Lord has done.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT
[18] “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
HARM OR HEAL, WHAT ARE WE SAYING?
Here is something to consider that will help us to know which kingdom we really live in! Jesus gave us a test to show which kingdom rules over us.
We reveal the kingdom in which we live, for example, by what comes out of our mouths…
There is awesome power in the spoken word. God created…
Psalms 33:6 NLT
[6] “The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.”
And upholds His creation…
Hebrews 1:3 NLT
[3″The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command.”…
By His word.
Proverbs 18:21 NIV
[21] “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
The tongue represents the words we speak that proceed from what we believe in our hearts. Hence, what we say will produce the fruit of life or death. This is a principle that illustrates the nature of the kingdom in which we live.
James explains that our mouths are the fountain out of which flows whatever is inside. Unfortunately, what we say exposes the truth that we are constantly at war inside.
James 3:2, 9-12 NLT
[2] “Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way….
[9] Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. [10] And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! [11] Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? [12] Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.”
How can a spring of water produce fresh and salty water at the same time? This does not happen in nature but it does happen in the spiritual realm. You see, the old polluted spring is still inside us. We show by our words which fountain is flowing, the fountain of polluted or living water!
Drinking dirty water is unhealthy. Impure water carries mud and germs which harm those who drink it. In the same way, “dirty” words pollute those who hear them.
Since we are responsible for the way we influence people around us, how important it is for us to keep the fountain inside pure to ensure that what comes out is also pure.
And Jesus declared that what we say will be the measure of our judgment. Our tongues give away the nature of the kingdom that rules over us.
Matthew 12:35-37 NLT
[35] “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. [36] And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. [37] The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”
According to the Bible, there will be judgment for all who are in God’s kingdom now. This judgment has nothing to do with our salvation. Scripture declares that…
Romans 8:1 NLT
[1] “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”
The Holy Spirit assures us of our salvation by His presence in us, and by His witness that we are God’s children.
Ephesians 1:13-14 NLT
[13] “And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. [14] The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”
Romans 8:15-16 NLT
[15]”So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” [16] For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.”
But… there is still judgment coming for the way we live in God’s kingdom. Are we submitting to His authority or still living for ourselves?
So, the question is, “What will God judge when we stand before Him?”
Strangely enough, God will judge our words. Why not our actions?
According to Scripture, our words reveal what us in our hearts.
Matthew 12:35-37 NLT
[35] “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. [36] And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. [37] The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”
What we say is really a revelation of what is in our hearts, what we believe that guides our words and eventually our actions. You see, God wants His people to be real, genuine, pure, not mixed with ungodly thoughts, and ways, guided by the truth of what God says.
The only way we can be pure inside is to replace wrong thinking and beliefs by the truth of what God says. When we fill our minds with God’s Word, we replace lies with truth so that, when we open our mouths, truth will come out.
This leads me to another thought. Not only will we be judged by what we say but we also set up the standard of our own judgment.
God is so just in His dealings with us that He makes us our own judge. We cannot accuse Him of injustice because our own standard will condemn us.
Matthew 7:1-2 NLT
[1] “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. [2] For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.”
Whatever words we use to show our contempt or condemnation of another will boomerang back on us.
www.gotquestions.org has an excellent answer to the question, “What are idle words (Matthew 12:36)?”
“In Matthew 12:37, the significance of words is that they will be used to gauge a person’s spiritual condition in the judgment: “For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Jesus was speaking to a group of Pharisees who had just accused Jesus of being demon-possessed (verse 24). Jesus calls them a “brood of vipers” and asks them, “How can you who are evil say anything good?” (verse 34). Just as vipers have a mouthful of poison, so the Pharisees had evil words concerning the Savior.
Then Jesus warns the Pharisees of the coming judgment, at which they will be held accountable for their words (Matthew 12:37). There is no better judge of a person’s heart than the words he allows to come forth from his mouth. Just like good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce bad fruit, so does the mouth reveal the heart’s condition (verse 33).”
So, recognising how harmful his words could be, David prayed…
Psalms 141:3-4 NLT
[3]”Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips. [4] Don’t let me drift toward evil or take part in acts of wickedness. Don’t let me share in the delicacies of those who do wrong.”
And so should we if we truly believe what Jesus said.
Isaiah gives us a beautiful alternative to the often mindless chatter that comes from our mouths.
Isaiah 12:3-6 NLT
[3] With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! [4] In that wonderful day you will sing: “Thank the Lord! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let them know how mighty he is! [5] Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. [6] Let all the people of Jerusalem shout his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”
THE SCRATCH PATCH
THE SCRATCH PATCH
I love the scratch patch! Millions of tumbled semi-precious stones waiting to be looked for, pounced on, turned over, held up, squinted at, admired and stowed in a tin for purchase and for use at some later stage when the desire to create overwhelms me. Look at this one! It’s colours are subtle, muted, blended to perfection by a skilful Creator. Ooh! Look at this one! Each one is more fascinating, inviting, sending the imagination into a frenzy of “What can I do with this one? How can I use that one?”
The scratch patch is relaxing, therapeutic, soothing. I can sit among the gems and forget my troubles. Every stone begs for attention. “Look at me. No, look at me.” Such an array of shapes, contours and edges, patterns and colours stirs the imagination with excitement and anticipation. Hours of pure pleasure pass unnoticed. Ideas fizz and pop inside my brain as my collection grows. At last, my tin is full of stones, just the right shape and colour for everything I might want to do with them.
The scratch patch reminds me of words, an array to choose from, firing the imagination with mental pictures as vivid as the shapes and colours of the scratch patch stones. I communicate with words. I build or break down bridges between myself and others with words. I search for words as I search for stones. My mind becomes the ‘scratch patch’, picking up a word here, turning it over, fingering its shape, admiring its nuances, questioning its meaning, “Does it fit here? Does it express my thought to perfection?”
A sentence is like a precious gem. Nouns, verbs, adjectives — each word giving shape and colour to a thought. Hang the thoughts on a string and an idea forms, a blend of beauty and symmetry like a necklace of sparkling jewels, a gift to someone who needs help.
Words can do far more than their individual meaning. They have power to hurt or heal, power to build or destroy, power to lead into truth and hope or into error and despair.
Therefore, I must continually ask the question, “What shall I do with my words?” As I choose my stones to create a necklace to adorn the neck of someone I love, let me also choose from my ‘scratch patch’ of words those which will adorn my tongue with beauty, peace, and life as a choice gift to my neighbour.
From the fruit of their mouth
a person’s stomach is filled;
with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.
21 The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:20-21