A Raging Wildfire!

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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.  ​  – James 3:6 ​NLT

James 3:2-6 NLT

We all know the old saying: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Or as I learned it in my childhood “words don’t bother me”.
Either way, it is wrong. With our tongues, we can speak words of life or words of death. The death might be a relationship or a lost opportunity. We can speak words of peace or words that stir up anger. We should always consider our thoughts carefully because those thoughts turn into words that can buildup, tear down or completely destroy. We can think of our thoughts as a text message we are about to send, once we hit the send button, there is no way to recall the message regardless of how much we regret the words. Our words can truly fan a small spark into a raging wildfire causing damages that may not be repaired. Regardless of how we feel about any  situation, it is our duty to speak words of peace and restoration.

 
9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

​ – Matt. 5:9 NLT​


“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 06-02-2017

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Fire Starters Needed!

even-smaller-bug-light134 Joshua then read to them all the blessings and curses Moses had written in the Book of Instruction.35 Every word of every command that Moses had ever given was read to the entire assembly of Israel, including the women and children and the foreigners who lived among them. — Joshua 8:34, 35 NLT

After God had given Jericho and Ai into Joshua’s hands, Joshua built an altar of uncut stones on Mount Ebal.   There, they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar just as Moses had commanded them to do.  Then Joshua read every word of every command that Moses had ever given to them.  This was done in the presence of the entire assembly of Israel including all of the foreigners.  Moses had written five books that contained approximately 124​,910 words (depending on the version you use).  At an average of 200 words per minute, this was almost an eleven hour reading.  The building of the altar, the offering of the sacrifices and the reading of the scrolls was quite a lengthy service.  This kind of devotion to God is what prepared the people for the southern military campaign.  Perhaps, it is time for our country to take a break and worship God in this manner.

To be successful in the battles of this world, both natural and spiritual, we need the strength that only comes from the Lord.  ​If each of us committed to spending a day in prayer, worship and thanking God for our country, then perhaps God would take those sparks and start a wildfire of praise that would envelop the whole country.
 

16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. ​ — James 5:16 NIV

 

Post 03-20-2016

Sticks and Stones

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

1​ Dear brothers and sisters,​ ​not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. 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.​ 3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.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.–James 3:1-6 (NLT)
​We​ all know the old saying: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Or as I learned it in my childhood “words don’t bother me”.
Either way, it is wrong. With our tongues, we can speak words of life or words of death. The death might be a relationship or a lost opportunity. We can speak words of peace or words that stir up anger. We should always consider our thoughts carefully because those thoughts turn into words that can buildup, tear down or completely destroy. We can think of our thoughts as a text message we are about to send, once we hit the send button, there is no way to recall the message regardless of how much we regret the words. Our words can truly fan a small spark into a raging wildfire causing damages that may not be repaired. Take the example in Ferguson, MO right now, regardless of how we feel about the situation, it is our duty to speak words of peace and restoration.
9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.–Matt 5:9 (NLT)
Post 08-24-14