Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

February 16
Monday


TAMING THE
UNTAMABLE

READ:
James 3:1-12
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No man can tame the
tongue. __James 3:8
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From Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs to Siberian foxes, humans have learned to tame wild animals. People enjoy teaching monkeys to "act" in commercials or training deer to eat out of their hands. As the apostle James put it, "Every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind" 3:7).

But there is something we cannot tame. All of us have trouble getting a little thing called the tongue under control. "No man can tame the tongue," James tells us (v.8).

Why? Because while our words may be on the tip of our tongue, they originate from deep within us. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34). And thus the tongue can be used for both good and evil (James 3:9). Or, as scholar Peter Davids put it, "On the one hand, [the tongue] is very religious, but, on the other it can be most profane."

If we cannot tame this unruly tongue of ours, is it destined to be a daily problem for us, always prone to speak evil? (v.10). By God's grace, no. We are not left to our own devices. The Lord will "set a guard" over my mouth; He will "keep watch over the door of my lips" (Ps. 141:3). He can tame the untamable. __Dave Brannon

```````````````Lord, my mouth sometimes speaks words that`````````````````
``````````````don't honor You. Thank You that by Your Spirit`````````````````
`````````````my untamed tongue can be brought under divine````````````````
````````````````control. Please guard my mouth today.`````````````````````
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To rule your tongue, let Christ rule in your heart.

*********************Today's Bible Reading __ James 3:1-12*************************

1 My brethren, let not many
of you become teachers,
knowing that we shall receive
a stricter judgment. 2 For we
all stumble in many things. If
anyone does not stumble in
word, he is a perfect man,
able also to bridle the whole
body.

3 Indeed, we put bits in
horses' mouths that they may
obey us, and we turn their
whole body. 4 Look also at
ships: although they are so
large and are driven by fierce
winds, they are turned by a
very small rudder wherever
the pilot desires. 5 Even so
the tongue is a little member
and boasts great things. See
how great a forest a little fire
kindles! And the tongue is a
fire, a world of iniquity. The
tongue is so set among our
members that it defiles the
whole body, and sets on fire
the course of nature; and it is
set on fire by hell.

7 For every kind of beast
and bird, of reptile and
creature of the sea, is tamed
and has been tamed by
mankind. 8 But no man can
tame the tongue. It is an
unruly evil, full of deadly
poison.

9 With it we bless our God
and Father, and with it we
curse men, who have been
made in the similitude of
God. 10 Out of the same
mouth proceed blessing and
cursing. My brethren, these
things ought not to be so.

11 Does a spring send forth
fresh water and bitter from
the same opening? 12 Can a
fig tree, my brethren, bear
olives, or a grapevine bear
figs? Thus no spring yields
both salt water and fresh.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Jame's letter is filled with practical wisdom that deals with responding
to trials (ch 1), living out our faith (ch.2), taming the tongue (ch.3),
interpersonal conflict (ch.4), and waiting on the Lord (ch.5). James is
sometimes called "the Proverbs of the New Testament."