“But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”

— James 3:8–10

Do you remember the last time you said something you wished you could take back? Do you remember the consequences? We all have said things we later regret. You’d think we’d learn, but we continue to fall into that trap. Someone once said, “The trouble with talking too fast is that we say things we have not thought of yet.” Why do we persist in doing something we know will hurt us in the end? Because we have no control over our tongues.

The Bible says the tongue is a great evil. James compares it to a bridle, a fire, an untamed creature, and a double fountain, among other things. The tongue is like a bridle because even though the bit is very small, it controls the horse’s movement. In the same way, a little word can change the whole direction of our lives. The tongue is also like a fire. Just as one little spark can start a raging forest fire of destruction, one little word can destroy a relationship, a hope, a life. The tongue is like a caged but untamed animal that paces restlessly back and forth, looking for any opportunity to escape. Though humans have tamed all kinds of wild beasts, they cannot tame their own tongues. When we least expect it, a harmful word escapes. As well, the tongue is like a double fountain that brings forth both fresh water and bitter water. Just as saltwater poured into fresh water makes all water salty, so bitter words absorb the sweet. If you bless God but also curse your brother or sister, your good words lose their effectiveness.

Our tongues can get us into all sorts of trouble. First, there are the sins of blasphemy, cursing, and profanity. The Third Commandment forbids these. The Ninth Commandment forbids deceit and lying. God said it is better not to make a vow than to make one and break it. We should keep our vows, even if we have to make sacrifices to do so. Backbiting is another sin of the tongue. The backbiter speaks maliciously of others, then talks behind their backs. Gossip is close kin to backbiting.

Do any of these habits hit a little close to home? If so, confess them. Ask God to show you how to better control your tongue. And today make it a goal to bless others with your words.

“Many a life has been ruined by a thoughtless word.”

“And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

— Philippians 4:19

Do you often find yourself at month’s end with more bills than you have money to pay? Do you have any needs that are going unmet? Well, Jesus Christ is our all in all; He meets all our needs, whatever they may be.

Too often, though, we miss out on His blessings because we foolishly cling to the tattered rags of our own ability; we constantly look to ourselves for our provision. But we don’t have to. Scriptures make it clear that God will take care of all our needs (and even some of our wants). Take, for example, the specific promise Paul recounts: “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Russ Johnston observes that this verse doesn’t say, “And my God shall supply all your needs according to your ability to make money;” rather, it says, “according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

I believe the “Jehovah texts” in the Old Testament can help us remember that Jesus will meet all our needs. The first of these, Jehovah-Shalom, means, “I am thy peace.” We can find our peace in God. When we need soothing, He will lead us beside still waters. A second such text, Jehovah-Rohi, means, “I am thy shepherd.” God will give us guidance throughout our lives. We don’t need to strike out on our own apart from Him; He will lead us wherever we need to go. Yet another, Jehovah-Jireh, means, “I am the One who provides.” Whatever our needs, Jehovah Himself will provide. And Jehovah-Shammah means, “I am the One who is there.” Wherever we are, whatever we need, God is there.

Don’t you feel comforted, knowing that through all the changes of life, through all the ups and downs of the economy—inflation, hyper-inflation, recession, or depression—God’s ability to provide never changes? What a sense of security we have when we rest in that fact. Today, lay your needs at Jesus’ feet. Ask Him to provide, then trust that He will fulfill His promise to “supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

“You can’t stand on promises [from the Bible]
if you don’t know what they are.”
Christian Song

… Unlike those high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices—first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for He did this once for all when He offered up Himself.

— Hebrews 7:27

There were priests in the Old Testament, but now Christ, our great High Priest has come. He completed the work that they could only begin.

With a priest and an altar you have something else: you have a sacrifice. For hundreds of years, at God’s instruction, the ancient Hebrew priests offered sacrifices with many specific guidelines. There were daily sacrifices and specific annual offerings. They may have “forgiven” sins temporarily, but never permanently.

All of these sacrifices foreshadowed the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross. What He did is the basis for all forgiveness. His blood was much more precious than that of bulls and goats.

Read Hebrews 9-11 and you will notice that one word appears over and over and over again. It is a word that I recommend you underline. It is “once” or “one.” By one sacrifice Christ has forever reconciled us to God. There was only one sacrifice, and it took place upon the Cross 2,000 years ago. On that finished sacrifice all of our hopes are founded.

Question to ponder:
What does it mean that our High Priest offered Himself up “once for all”?

… weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

— Psalm 30:5

Sorrow, sadness, and weeping are all part of this life. None of us are untouched by the troubles of the world. But these are temporary—whereas joy, for the Christian, is everlasting. 

One time at a speaking engagement in Indianapolis, a man came up to me and said, “I was down in Ft. Lauderdale on vacation, and I met a lady in your church who shared with me those good tidings of great joy.” She had told him of the Gospel and he had accepted Christ. He continued: “You certainly cannot know, you cannot imagine the indescribable joy I have known for the last year since I came to know Christ. I never would have believed it.”

It is never recorded once that Jesus ever laughed, and yet the night before He went to the agony of the Cross, He said, “I have spoken these to you, that My joy may remain in you” (John 15:11). He came from the source of all joy—from Heaven—and He came to bring that joy to us. He took all of our sorrows and our griefs upon Himself, and thus, though He never laughed that we know of, He did weep. And He wept, so that we might be glad.

Question to ponder:
What difference does it make that sadness is temporary?

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

— Matthew 5:3

To be poor in spirit is to recognize that you are spiritually needy. It is to see that in ourselves we are poor and in need of a savior.

Christ came—not with pomp and circumstance, not with royal splendor, not with power, not with armies, but into a family with a great lineage: however, one that had fallen into poverty. He grew up in the home of a carpenter. He grew up in a city that was a byword: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46 NKJV).

He grew up with no education, and yet He was the wisest person who ever lived. He grew up, astonishingly, with no background. He exited that town, which was nothing, walked up on a hill, and there delivered the greatest discourse on human ethics the world has ever heard—the Sermon on the Mount. It has never been equaled and certainly never excelled.

The humble carpenter spread His blessings all over the world and taught us that humility is a virtue.

Question to ponder:
What is the relationship between having spiritual riches and being poor in spirit?

They feared greatly and said to one another, “What kind of Man is He, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

— Mark 4:41

We see something of the Deity of Christ and His uniqueness in the fact that He never bothered to trouble Himself to explain His frequently ambiguous conduct. For example, Jesus was asleep in the back of a boat in the midst of a great storm. Waves were breaking over the sides of the boat and the disciples were paralyzed with fear. They cried, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38).

“Well, I’m sorry fellows. If you had only awakened me earlier, I would have tried to help, but you see, it’s been such a long day and I was so tired. I just had to get some rest.”

No. He didn’t say anything like that. He simply said, “Peace, be still.” The waves ceased and the wind stopped. That is not the way any other man lives his life.

Jesus can calm the storms of our lives. The wind and the waves still obey His voice. He still calms storms.

Question to ponder:
What storm are you possibly experiencing in your life that you need to take to Jesus to calm?

There is no salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

— Acts 4:12

There are many today who would say that there are innumerable doors that lead to spiritual safety. My friend, there is but one. There was but one door into the ark of Noah; there is but one door into the ark of Christ, and that is the door of faith—the faith of the Cross. The door of the ark of Christ is cruciform: it is shaped like a Cross. He is the one and only place of safety in this world, our only sanctuary from the stormy blast that God has said will come upon the world. Other religions have teachers. Only Christianity has a Savior.

Because He is the only savior, His name is so precious to His saints. The name is whispered over a cradle and to the dying. The name of Jesus is praised by millions in worship. His name gives comfort and peace. It stills the storms around us and conquers our fears within. It is the most beautiful name in the world.

Question to ponder:
Why do you love the name of Jesus?

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

— John 14:1

Will my life count for something? This question has perplexed the minds of thinking men and women from time immemorial: What will be the outcome of my life? Men have wondered whether their lives would end in triumph or tragedy.

Life is a probation; it is also an education and a school. The tragedy is that the vast majority of people in America, as well as in other lands, don’t even know the one central lesson God is trying to teach them in the school they are attending—the school of life.

The lesson is this: God says “Trust Me.” Throughout the Scriptures, from one end to another, God is teaching people the great lesson of faith—to trust Him amidst all of the vicissitudes of life.

Every class is the same in every subject we go through—Trust 101. Some of us do not go any further, and others have learned to trust Him in virtually all things.

Question to ponder:
A life of triumph is a life of trust. How can you better trust Him today?

Yet we speak wisdom among those who are mature, although not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

— 1 Corinthians 2:6

We need to hear from the mature saints—those who have searched the strength of their spiritual lives. We need to hear how they escaped the snare of the fowler, by what subtleties they have been beguiled, how they have taken the hill, what footwear they have found best for the enterprise, and how they have comforted their hearts after they dug the grave by the side of the way.

What about those who have grown old in Christ? What delicacies does the Lord have for the aged pilgrims along the way? Have they seen any particular and wonderful star in the evening sky? Have they seen the glimmering of that city made of gold? Is it already drawing their hearts? Do they yearn to be with those whom they have loved, those who have gone before? How much could we learn from those who have suffered many things and endured the battle for many years for Christ?

Question to ponder:
Is there a mature saint you can seek out for counsel? If not, why not pray for one?

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we should walk in them.

— Ephesians 2:10

All of our philosophies have degenerated into irra­tionalism as man has discovered that apart from revelation he cannot find meaning or significance in life.

If you want to find significance and purpose and meaning in life, whether you are a man or a woman, there is only one place to find it. I don’t care what siren songs are sung and what lies are told, the only place you will find significance and meaning in life is right in the center of God’s will for you. Outside of that, no matter how appealing the lie may appear, you will finally find that it will turn to ashes in your mouth.

Aldous Huxley, the renowned agnostic evolutionist of the twentieth century, said he believed in the meaninglessness of the world. Huxley said he and his contemporaries objected to the idea that the universe has meaning—that there is a God—because this idea interfered with their sexual freedom.

If life has no purpose, it has no meaning and consequently, it has no significance. No wonder that today suicide is the second major cause of death among young people. Suicide becomes a tempting option when life has no meaning.

But life does have purpose—we were created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

Question to ponder:
Since we are His workmanship, what good works do you think He may want you to do today?