Our Tongue Reveals to Us Our Heart

“On a windswept hill in an English country churchyard stands a drab, gray slate tombstone.  The quaint stone bears an epitaph not easily seen unless you stoop over and look closely.  The faint etchings read:

“Beneath this stone, a lump of clay, / lies Arabella Young, / who on the twenty-fourth of May, / began to hold her tongue.” (Source Unknown)

It doesn’t take much for us to realize that our tongue can get us in trouble.  In fact, all we usually have to do is open our mouths and let the inconsistencies and harm ensue.  This isn’t to say that everything we say is harmful or hurtful, but according to James, the tongue doesn’t just have the potential to do great harm, it will do great harm.  Something so small corrupts the entire body and reveals to us our heart.

James tells us that no one can control their tongue.  So, what hope is there for us?  If our tongue is evil (James 3:8) and with it our own evil heart is revealed, how can we find any encouragement in this passage?  We will find it only a few verses later in James 4:6-10.

Join us on Sunday morning at First Baptist in Emery as we strive to find joy in God’s glory through the exploring of His Word, the conviction of our hearts, and the encouragement of His Truth.

Looking Forward in the Midst of the Present

“Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming.  One second he was peacefully perched in his cage.  The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.

“The problems began when Chippie’s owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner.  She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage.  The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up.  She’d barely said ‘hello’ when ‘ssssopp!’ Chippie got sucked in.

“The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag.  There was Chippie – still alive, but stunned.

“Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water.  Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do . . . she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.

“Poor Chippie never knew what hit him.

“A few days after the trauma, the reporter who’d initially written about the event contacted Chippie’s owner to see how the bird was recovering. ‘Well,’ she replied, ‘Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore – he just sits and stares.’

“It’s hard not to see why.  Sucked in, washed up, and blown over . . . That’s enough to steal the song from the stoutest heart.”  (Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991, p. 11)

After the past number of weeks of rain, hail, thunder, lightning, tornados, damaged homes and cars, and destroyed crops, it is understandable if we become overwhelmed.  We never saw it coming and in such a short time all the hard work and positive feelings for the future are pulled out from underneath.  But the beauty of being a child of God is that current circumstances, no matter how horrific, traumatic, and difficult, do not change the hope we have for the future.  Not the future of the next few years, but our eternal future.  Christ has not left us.  God has not abandoned us.  God’s people find their hope in Him and the salvation He provides.

This week may God speak to us through Romans 8:12-39, encouraging us, teaching us, and reminding us about our salvation found in Him.

Justified by Faith that Works

He was asked to do a horrific thing: take a life.  But not just any life.  The life of his own son.  Who would ask someone to do such an appalling act?  And even more, who would follow through on such a request and then be considered a great man for even considering such an act?

She was shocked as two men barged into her home one evening.  They were running from the authorities and needed a place to hide.  She didn’t hesitate once she found out their identity.  She willingly hid them, not only keeping them out of prison but saving their lives in the process.  Who would do such a thing for perfect strangers and then be considered a great woman for going against the authority of her home town?

These are two stories which are very familiar to those of us who have a church background.  We know the stories of Abraham and Rahab.  But James takes these two stories in a very different, and at times very uncomfortable, direction for us.  He claims that these two well-known Biblical figures were justified by their works.  But what about Paul’s words that Abraham was justified by faith alone?  Are these two great Biblical teachers contradicting one another?  What does this conversation have to do with me and my faith?

This week we will explore James 2:20-26 to discover that James and Paul to not disagree.  They are only saying the same thing in a different way.  In fact, these two great Biblical figures complement one another.  Join us this week as we study God’s Word and praise His great name together.

Faith That Works

“A young boy, on an errand for his mother, had just bought a dozen eggs. Walking out of the store, he tripped and dropped the sack. All the eggs broke, and the sidewalk was a mess. The boy tried not to cry. A few people gathered to see if he was OK and to tell him how sorry they were. In the midst of the works of pity, one man handed the boy a quarter. Then he turned to the group and said, ‘I care 25 cents worth. How much do the rest of you care?’” (Stanley C. Brown)

James 2:19 tells us that faith without works is dead.  This week we will be tackling a difficult foundational doctrine, faith and works.  Paul says that we are saved by faith alone, not by the law.  James says that we are saved by works and not faith alone.  Do these two Godly men of Scripture disagree?  Can my works really reveal my faith in Christ?  What is the difference between true faith and false faith? How are works involved in faith?

Like the man who paid 25 cents to the young boy, may we learn how our faith and our works act together to reveal our true faith in Christ.  For as James tells us, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”  May the truth of God’s Word speak to our hearts through His servant James and give us strength to strive to live out the call He has for His people.