Unashamed Reading Plan – W5D4
Check out all the previous Unashamed readings here.
Unashamed Reading Plan | Week 5 | Day 4
Prayer
Take a moment to be silent and still. In order to be fully present in body and mind, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Do this three times. Ask God to give you His wisdom today.
Bible Reading: James 3:9-12
Read these verses three times slowly.
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Reflection & Questions
We’re looking this week at the fact that being saved by faith isn’t a license to just keep on sinning. Today’s verses in James spell out very directly the contradiction of being saved and cozying up with sin. He specifically looks at our words and how we use the same mouth to praise God and slander His creation. “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing,” he says, “My brothers and sisters, this should not be.”
James uses the example of a spring and a tree to illustrate this. A spring can’t be fresh and salty. It will be just salty. In other words, as God receives our praise, it will be tainted by our sinful words against His creation. A tree can’t produce both types of fruit. In other words, our sinful words unchecked will end up being the fruit of our lives.
As Scripture is designed to, these words are a powerful check engine light in our lives. How are we using our words? It makes no sense to praise God in church and then curse our co-worker. It makes no sense to pray for forgiveness and then withhold it from another. We will fall short in this no doubt, and Christ forgives us with evermore grace, but growing up in Christ means that we will be moving away from a contradictory tongue.
- Reflect on words you have used over the last week. What words reflect your love for God and what words are in contradiction to that? Talk to God about that.
Prayer
Talk to God in response to today’s reading.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Bible Reading: James 3:4-12
Read these verses three times slowly.
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth comes praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Reflection & Questions
This week we are looking at the fact that just because we are saved by faith doesn’t mean we can sin whenever we want. In today’s verses from James, he helps us understand that being saved doesn’t work with living a life of sinning on purpose. He specifically looks at our words and how we use the same mouth to praise God and also to curse other humans, people who were made in God’s image – His creation. That’s not right.
James uses two different pictures to help us understand. A spring that brings water out of the ground cannot be both a freshwater spring and a salt water spring. If there is any salt in it at all, it will just be a salt water spring – all fresh water has become salty. And a tree of a specific type cannot grow two different types of fruit. Could you imagine if an almond tree also grew apples?! In other words, when God receives our words of praise, those words can be contaminated by the bad words that we have said against other people.
This Scripture is one of those that makes you stop and examine ourselves and our words. How are we using our words? It makes no sense to praise God in church and then talk bad about or to our classmates. It makes no sense to pray for forgiveness and then not forgive others. We all fall short of doing this, but by growing up in Christ, we are moving in the direction of using our words for good.
- Think of the words you have used this past week. What words have you used to praise God and what words have you said that have hurt someone?
Pray
Ask God to help you use your words for good and to keep you from hurting others with the words you say.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
