THE BEGINNING OF ADVENT

“Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long. Remember, Lord, Your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.”  (Psalm 25:5-6 NIV) 

The Season of Advent gives the church the opportunity to begin again. Once more the full story of God’s grace is awaiting our discovery. Once more we shake off the failures and victories of the past, and we get a clean page on which to write the story of our companionship with God in Christ. Once more we get to listen and respond in faithfulness to the God who comes to us humbly, intimately, and personally in the birth of Jesus. Advent marks the beginning of the church year and lays before us the pathway of faith for the year ahead. Advent initiates once again remembering, retelling, and celebrating the whole drama of God’s self-revelation.

Four weeks is the limit to this season that declares the truth about a God whose love and resourcefulness have no limits. “Advent” has its roots in the Latin word adventus, or coming. This season proclaims the coming of Christ in the birth of Jesus, in the Word and Spirit, and in the final victory when God’s kingdom shall be complete. Our privilege as Christians is to receive the gracious gifts of God’s presence in Christ. Our task is to share those gifts with others and to prepare for His coming so that we will not miss life’s greatest gift. 

-- Adapted from the Introduction to “A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God” by Norman Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job

#5999

GIVING THANKS FOR GOD’S ENDURING LOVE

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."  (1 Chronicles 16:34 and Psalm 136:1)

This verse is a powerful reminder of the unchanging nature of God's love and goodness. As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week in the U.S., it's a perfect time to reflect on the many ways God has shown His love and goodness in our lives.

Thanksgiving is more than just a holiday; it's an opportunity to pause and recognize the countless blessings we often take for granted. From the warmth of family gatherings to the provision of our daily needs, God's goodness is evident in every aspect of our lives. His love is not fleeting or conditional; it endures forever, providing us with a constant source of comfort and strength.

As we gather around the table this Thanksgiving, let's take a moment to express our gratitude to God. Let's thank Him for His unwavering love, His abundant blessings, and His faithfulness in every season of our lives. Let our hearts be filled with thanksgiving, not just on this special day, but every day, as we remember that His love endures forever.

May this Thanksgiving be a time of deep reflection and heartfelt gratitude, as we celebrate the goodness and enduring love of our Lord. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry, compiled from a variety of sources

#5998

THE DISCIPLINE OF GRATITUDE

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)

Gratitude goes beyond the "mine" and the "thine" and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift celebrated with joy…

Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint. I can choose to be grateful when I am criticized, even when my heart still responds in bitterness. I can choose to speak about goodness and beauty, even when my inner eye still looks for someone to accuse or something to call ugly.

-- Henri J. Nouwen 

#5996

GIVING A BUM A HUG

I walked down Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. There was a filthy bum, covered with soot from head to toe. He had a huge beard. I'll never forget the beard. It was a gigantic beard with rotted food stuck in it. He held a cup of McDonald's coffee and mumbled as he walked along the street. He spotted me and said, "Hey, Mister. You want some of my coffee?"

I knew I should take some to be nice, and I did. I gave it back to him and said, "You're being pretty generous giving away your coffee this morning. What's gotten into you that you're giving away your coffee all of a sudden?" He said, "Well, the coffee was especially delicious this morning, and I figured if God gives you something good you ought to share it with people."

I figured, this is the perfect set up. I said, "Is there anything I can give you in return?" I'm sure he's going to hit me for five dollars. He said, "Yeah, you can give me a hug." I was hoping for the five dollars.

He put his arms around me. I put my arms around him. And I realized something. He wasn't going to let me go. He was holding onto me. Here I am an establishment guy, and this bum is hanging on to me. He's hugging me. He's not going to let me go. People are passing on the street. They're staring at me. I'm embarrassed. But little by little my embarrassment turned to awe.

I heard a voice echoing down the corridors of time saying, I was hungry. Did you feed Me? I was naked. Did you clothe Me? I was sick. Did you care for Me? I was the bum you met on Chestnut Street. Did you hug Me? For if you did it unto the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you did it to Me. And if you failed to do it unto the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you failed to do it unto Me. 

-- Tony Campolo (1935-2024) in "Year of Jubilee," Preaching Today

#5996

BACK TO BIBLICAL BASICS – Part 2 of 2

The great C. H. Spurgeon, a preacher who reached out and grabbed the guts of the people of his day, once said that the Christian bloodline ought to be a Bibline. [Spiritual leadership] entails mastery of this Bibline bloodline. Novelist Joyce Carol Oates writes of a character’s grandmother: “We are linked together by blood, and blood is memory without language.” Christians are linked together by the blood memory of the Bibline that circulates through the body of Christ.

There is nothing more exciting in life than to find your sense of direction. Why is it that when we open God’s Word we expect to be bored? It is theologically incorrect to talk of making the Word “come alive.” It already is. We’re the ones who have tried to kill it. We’ve sucked the blood right out of the Bibline. We’ve drained it dry with boredom, banality, and mediocrity.

“Breathe on Me, Breath of God” is a song the soul should sing every time one opens the Scriptures. To study and learn the Scriptures is to inhale the energies of the Spirit. We inhale the breath of God. We exhale the breath of life: biblical stories. Through modulating exhaled breath, humans fashion stories, stories to build lives upon. When the stories of Scripture become “our” stories, when biblical images and metaphors become “our” images and metaphors, when we structure “our” lives around the cornerstone Jesus story, a new architecture for our souls is constructed.

In his first letter, Peter wrote to the scattered church about this cornerstone: “As you come to Him, the living Stone -- rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him -- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.’ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.”  (1 Peter 2:4-7a NIV) 

-- Leonard Sweet in “Aqua Church: Essential Leadership Arts for Piloting Your Church in Today’s Fluid Culture”

#5995

BACK TO BIBLICAL BASICS – Part 1 of 2

Vince Lombardi, the legendary Green Bay Packers head coach, was a fanatic for fundamentals. After a game in which the Packers lost to an ill-deserving team, Lombardi called his team together and roared: “OK, we go back to the basics.” Then, holding the football high enough for all to see, he continued to yell: “Gentleman, this is a football.”

For the church, it’s now back to blocking and tackling basics. To a world that thinks it’s quoting Shakespeare when it quotes the Bible; to a world in which the Bible has become an unknown book; to a world that picks up the Bible when it goes to spoiling for a fight; to a church that gives restaurant menus and [social media] closer readings than it does Scripture: to this world and to this church it’s time to hold up the Bible and say: People, this is a Bible. People, this is a life compass. People, this is what helps you find the North Star. Off course? Lost your blessings? Drifting in a dark sea? People, this is how you find life’s bearings.

The compass, strict and sure, is what enables us to locate our lives in relation to the Star of Bethlehem. The compass is what shapes and fashions our lives into the likeness of Christ.

The Apostle Paul believed that when the Word of God becomes a part of who you are, “You are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:3) 

-- Leonard Sweet in “Aqua Church: Essential Leadership Arts for Piloting Your Church in Today’s Fluid Culture”

#5994

MORE REVOLUTIONARY THAN THE REVOLUTIONARIES

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45 NIV)

Though sympathizing with the revolutionaries' analysis of what was wrong with society and in fact being mistaken for a revolutionary Himself by the political authorities of His day, nevertheless Jesus did not advocate a new political regime to be established by force through revolutionary action.  He called for the love of our enemies, not their destruction; ... for readiness to suffer instead of using force; for forgiveness instead of hate and revenge.  One might even say that Jesus was more revolutionary than the revolutionaries, or revolutionary in a very different way.  The revolution He had in mind was a radical change of heart on the part of mankind, involving conversion away from selfishness and toward the willing service of God and of people in general. 

-- Clark H. Pinnock (1937-2010) in “Reason Enough” 

#5993

SPIRITUALLY RENEWED CHURCHES

“Christ is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.”  (Colossians 1:18-20 NKJV)

God has always desired to work through His people, but they have not always recognized His initiative in their lives or His activity around them. But for those churches who repent -- those who take time to hear the Spirit; to believe what He tells them; to adjust their plans, structures, and programs to Him, and then to follow the Lord regardless of how impossible it may seem -- these are the churches that will be spiritually renewed and that will experience God's mighty deeds through them to bring a lost world to Himself in a great spiritual awakening. 

-- Dr. Henry Blackaby in “What the Spirit Is Saying to the Churches”

#5992

GOD-SHAPED QUALITIES

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words… The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, ‘who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 2:13,15,16 NIV)

Humility, hospitality, and loving-kindness; simplicity and deliberation -- all are God-shaped qualities of life. To have all the mind that was in Christ, however, means that these qualities flow from Christ’s holiness and righteousness in us through loving actions toward others. 

-- Paul Wesley Chilcote in “A Life-Shaping Prayer: 52 Meditations in the Wesleyan Spirit”

#5991

THE VALUE OF SELF-CONTROL

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  (Galatians 5:22-23)

Question: What’s the most important word to know if you want to become the-best-version-of-yourself? Answer: Self-control.

Self-control determines whether you will have a life full of God. Without self-control, the-best-version-of-yourself will never be more than a dream.

There’s a reason self-control arrives at the end of the list of the nine fruit God wants to produce in you: Self-control provides the key to enjoying all of the other eight fruit of God’s Spirit. Self-control gives you the opportunity to choose to do those things that are healthy and helpful and to choose not to do those things that harmful and destructive. Self-control gives you the possibility to be open to God’s Spirit rather than resisting Him. Self-control gives you the strength to resist the temptations that lead you away from God and the-best-version-of-yourself. Self-control will be your best friend, and self-control comes from God. 

-- Allen R. Hunt in “Nine Words”

#5990

ALIGNING OUR LIVES WITH GOD

“If My people would only listen to Me, if Israel would only follow My ways, how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their foes!”  (Psalm 81:13-14 NIV)

God wants us to align our lives with Him so He will accomplish His divine purposes in and through us. God is not our servant to bless our plans and desires. He is our Lord, and we must adjust our lives to what He is doing and to the ways He chooses to accomplish His work. If we will not submit to God and His ways, He will allow us to follow our own devices. But be sure of this: we will miss God’s activity, and we will not experience what God wants to do through us to bless others. As Christians, it is not only important what we do but how we do it…

How you do something is as important as what you do. It is possible to do the right thing in the wrong way or at the wrong time. It is possible to perform a task God assigns but to do it in such an ungodly manner that it actually harms the cause of Christ rather than supporting it. Doing things God’s way is critical. 

-- Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby and Claude King in “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God”

#5989

OUR ENCOUNTER IN PRAYER

“For this is what the high and exalted One says -- He who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’”  (Isaiah 57:15)

As I see it, true prayer is neither mystical rapture nor ritual observance nor philosophical reflection: it is the outpouring of the soul before a living God, the crying to God “out of the depths.” Such prayer can only be uttered by one convicted of sin by the grace of God and moved to confessions by the Spirit of God. True prayer is an encounter with the Holy Spirit in which we realize not only our creatureliness and guilt but also the joy of knowing that our sins are forgiven through the atoning death of the divine Savior, Jesus Christ. In such an encounter, we are impelled not only to bow before God and seek His mercy, but also to offer thanksgiving for grace that goes out to undeserving sinners.

-- Donald G. Bloesch, excerpted from “The Struggle of Prayer” 

#5988

THE ROAD OF DISAPPOINTMENT – Part 2 of 2

Following the death of Jesus, at least two of His disciples left Jerusalem, the previous hub of hope for the Jews. Their hearts and hopes clearly were crushed regarding the return of the Jewish kingdom. Disillusionment had so clouded the truth that they considered Jesus to be the “village idiot.” In a move to unmask their tunnel vision, Jesus concealed His identity and played ignorant to the events surrounding His own death. (See Luke 24:13-35)

Disappointment and disillusionment occur when our deepest expectations aren’t met. Either what we hoped for doesn’t happen, or what we dread comes to pass. In either case, the emotional, tangible, or spiritual ground we’re standing on collapses. And we’re left alone with our own thoughts and conclusions. Sometimes it’s the failure of people we highly esteem that triggers our disillusionment. Other times, we may falter from being overly dependent on friends. Our disappointment might come from the sudden loss of financial resources that have always been available, or an unexpected turn of events that robs us of stability and reputation.

No matter what the source might be, we’re confronted with the questions of where our hope is anchored and what we actually need to survive and continue. Disappointment is meant to be a divine “checkpoint” on our journey to Christ-likeness. We must declare to ourselves and to God where we’re seeking our sufficiency from. And if we long to be conformed to the likeness of our Lord, only one answer will suffice. 

-- Fran Sciacca in “To Yield with All Your Soul”

#5987

THE ROAD OF DISAPPOINTMENT – Part 1 of 2

“Now that same day two of [the disciples] were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing Him. He asked them, ‘What are you discussing together as you walk along?’ They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, ‘Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’”  (Luke 24:13-18 NIV)

Sometimes, life can unravel like an old sweater – quickly and irreversibly. A lifetime of planning can evaporate in one unexpected phone call, letter, or knock at the door. Disappointment with life divulges the true source of our hope, and where we have anchored our confidence. Often, to our dismay, we discover that our security rests in people rather than in God Himself.

Within what would be a long weekend for us, the entire mission of the “supposed Messiah” seemed to crumble and fade before the eyes of those who had forsaken everything to follow Him. Jesus was arrested, falsely accused, and executed like a common criminal. From the intimate Passover feast on Thursday evening to the misty graveside scene on Sunday morning, those who best knew Jesus had their entire world suddenly shattered. But their disillusionment was more than just a personal misunderstanding. It was to become a vital and useful tool in the plan of God to make them more like the One they had hoped in and followed. And His methods are the same today. The radical dependence upon God that characterized the life of Jesus can only be sustained by the deep conviction that God alone is sufficient. And that conviction rarely takes root apart from disenchantment with oneself and others. Disappointment is a frequent bridge we must cross over on the highway of sanctification. 

-- Fran Sciacca in “To Yield with All Your Soul”

#5986

PERCOLATING PRAYERS

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.”  (Ephesians 6:18a NIV)

I have friends who spend hours each day interceding in prayer. Their children are grown and gone, and they can devote extended time to supplication. I’m not in the same place of life. Sure, I pray daily, and I have a prayer journal I write in consistently. But during these busy years when my three children consume most of my waking hours, I also find strength in little prayers. I like to call them “percolating prayers.”

All kinds of these short, power-packed prayers pop up throughout the Gospels: The disciples prayed, “Lord, save us!” The troubled mother prayed, “Lord, help me!” The soldier cried, “Lord, my servant is suffering.…” The teacher of the law said, “Teacher, I will follow You.…” The leper said, “Lord, You can make me clean….” The blind man called out, “Have mercy on us, Lord….”

Today, my little prayers went something like this: “Surround us with Your love.” “Teach me.” “Fill us with Your Spirit.” “Help me to be patient.” “Please give the kids wisdom.” “We need Your guidance.” “Thank You, Lord.” “Wow, God! You are awesome!”

Some prayers are requests for help. Others simply acknowledge the facts. The form or shape of the prayer really doesn’t matter. There are no restrictions on when or where these prayers can percolate.... What matters most is that we connect with God and link our soul with our Power Source. As the gentle touch of a light switch generates power to illuminate a room, so, too, our little prayers connect us with God and release His energy to empower us for the day. 

-- Pam Vredevelt in “Espresso for Your Spirit”

#5985

WHAT DEFINES YOU?

“One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, Jesus asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ ‘Sir,’ the invalid replied, ‘I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred.’” (John 5:5-7 NIV)

The fact that the invalid is called invalid is no insignificant detail. It’d be like me introducing myself as asthmatic. I realize it’s a grammatical mechanism used throughout Scripture with a wide variety of nameless people -- the prostitute with the alabaster jar, the man born blind, and the woman caught in adultery, to name a few. They are synonymous with their sin, with their sickness. But there is a lesson to be learned: don’t let what’s wrong with you define you. That’s not who you are. When my children lie to me, I don’t call them liars. I remind them that that’s not who they are. I certainly call it what it is -- a lie. But I don’t let what they’ve done wrong define their identity or destiny.

Our culture has a tendency to reduce people to labels. Not only is that unhealthy and unholy, it’s also dehumanizing. Don’t let anyone label you besides the One who made you. Take your cues from Scripture.

          You are more than a conqueror. (See Romans 8:37)
          You are the apple of God’s eye.  (See Zechariah 2:8)
          You are sought after.  (See Isaiah 62:12)
          You are a joint heir with Christ. (See Romans 8:17)
          You are a child of God. (See John 1:12) 

-- Mark Batterson in “The Grave Robber: How Jesus Can Make Your Impossible Possible”

#5984

KINGDOM PROMISES: STUFF THAT LASTS

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”  (Matthew 6:33 NIV)

If God were teaching us in a classroom setting, He might draw a line down the center of the chalkboard and put these headings at the top of each column -- "Stuff that doesn't last" and "Stuff that does last." And He says to not get too attached to earth-stuff because it "passes away." Our great love, our great passion, and our great pursuit should be for the "will of God" things that we cannot lose. The rest is "just stuff." It's all part of Jesus' command to "seek first the kingdom of God," even though we're surrounded by people who are totally consumed with getting possessions, getting promotions, getting prosperity, or getting prominence.

-- Ron Hutchcraft 

#5983

A PRAYER FOR THE U.S. ELECTION

“The government will rest on His shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  (Isaiah 9:6b NLT)

O God, we acknowledge You today as Lord, not only of individuals but of nations and governments as well. As the Scripture says, we know that the government rests on Your shoulder, yet we act as if it all depends on us. Grant us the grace and the courage to put our trust and hope in You. You are our Sovereign God, and there is no other. We acknowledge You are Lord of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

We confess that we are experiencing fear and anxiety today, yet we know You are greater than those things that come against us. We pray for the 2024 Presidential Election, for Your guidance, and for peace and safety for all.

We are grateful for the privilege of being able to organize ourselves politically. We are grateful for the freedom to vote and to express our political views. But help us remember that what matters most is Your will and reign in our lives.

We confess to you sometimes we are so loyal to our politics that we lose sight of our brothers and sisters. We ask for eyes that are free from blindness so that we might see each other not as enemies, but as brothers and sisters, created in Your image.

We confess that our actions, our words, our rhetoric have caused divisions. We pray for this deeply divided and evenly split nation. May we come together for the common good and do as you have called us to do in Micah 6:8 - to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You. Help us act out of grace, mercy, and justice rather than out of arrogance or fear.

Lord, guide us in Your way, Your truth, and Your life.

Help us to listen in love, work together in peace, and collaborate with one another as we seek to make our community, our nation, and the world the creation You intended from the beginning.

In the name of Jesus, our Savior and King, we pray. Amen.

– Adapted from First United Methodist Church in Ormond Beach, Florida 

#5982

KINGDOM PROMISES: DIVINE PURPOSE AND DIRECTION

“The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.”  (Psalm 103:19 NIV)

The Kingdom of God is unlike any earthly government we know. It doesn’t operate on democracy where we have rights and can cast votes. Instead, it’s a divine monarchy, where Jesus is King and Lord. In His Kingdom, we don’t have rights; we have responsibilities. As citizens of His Kingdom, we’re called to live in obedience to His righteous and gracious decrees.

This isn’t about losing our freedom but embracing a life filled with divine purpose and direction. Our King’s decrees are not burdensome; they are life-giving and rooted in love. When we submit to His rule, we align ourselves with His will, which is ultimately for our good and His glory.

In God's Kingdom, our responsibilities are privileges in disguise. We’re tasked with loving one another, serving the needy, and spreading the gospel. These responsibilities transform our lives and the lives of those around us, reflecting the love and grace of our King. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry, compiled from a variety of sources 

#5981

KINGDOM PROMISES: REFLECTING THE LIFE CHRIST CALLS US TO

How can we actually avoid speaking ill of others? Here’s what I do when I am at my best and exercising restraint. First, I remember the call of Christ to avoid judging and to avoid calling names (Matthew 5:21-22). My aim is to do Christ’s will. Speaking ill of others does not accomplish my aim. Second, I try to search my own heart to see what is behind my need to speak ill of the other person. Usually the motivation will be fear, jealousy, insecurity, or revenge. I remind myself of the words of Mark Twain, “Among human beings jealousy ranks distinctly as a weakness; a trademark of small minds.” Third, I make it a point to look for the good in the other and to focus on lifting that up rather than pointing out the person’s weaknesses. Fourth, I remember the biblical call to humility, and remind myself that I may not be seeing the other the way God sees him or her. I may not know all the facts. And I remember the many ways in which I fall short of God’s plans (Romans 3:23)…

In many ways the evidence of our faith is found in our ability to control our tongue (or our keyboard). When you find Christians who speak ill of others, who tell half-truths, who resort to name-calling, remember the words of Jesus and the apostles and ask if this person reflects the life Christ call us to. The most important time to ask that question is the next time you prepare to hit the “enter” key when you are saying of another “You fool!” or let loose with your own “unwholesome talk” (Ephesians 4:29)…

Looking for the good in those with whom we disagree, expressing humility to admit that you may be wrong, and seeking to remove the log from your own eye before removing the splinter from your neighbor’s eye (Matthew 7:5) -- these are the characteristics of Christ’s followers. And it is in remembering and practicing these Scriptures that Christians will stop being the wedge that divides our nation, and start acting instead as bridge-builders and peace-makers. 

-- Adam Hamilton in “Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White” 

#5980

KINGDOM PROMISES: TAMING THE TONGUE

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up.”  (Ephesians 4:29 NIV)

The Greek word for “unwholesome” is sapros. It means rotten, putrid, or worthless -- and in this context I believe Paul means to describe, in part, the words we use to destroy others, for in the rest of the verse he contrasts this first form of speech with that which is “helpful for building others up.”

James is perhaps best known for his words about how we speak about others. He writes, “The tongue… is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of [one’s] life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell… No one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 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 come praise and cursing. My brothers [and sisters], this should not be.” (James 3:6, 8-10 NIV)

I would ask, does the Lord give us an exemption from practicing the Scriptures when it comes to our political leaders, those who hold office, and others with whom we disagree? Are we allowed to lay aside the Golden Rule? Do James’ and Paul’s and Jesus’ words regarding our speech and our enemies no longer apply when discussing those whom we disagree with politically? As James says, “This should not be so!”

This does not mean that we are not to practice discernment. Nor does it mean that we should remain silent in the face of wrongdoing. Yet we can make known our disagreements with others while doing so in love and with respect for the other.   

-- Adam Hamilton in “Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White”

#5979