When we were little, my Sister Rachel and I were told to read James 3 by our Grandma Virginia. I guess we had called each other names or something, so she wanted to share with us how much influence the tongue has. James shared that even though a bit is small, it controls a horse. Same thing with a rudder…it too is small, but it can steer a ship. The tongue is a small member, but it can do enormous damage.

My prayer is that the words of my mouth will be pleasing to God! When I speak, it should bring glory to God and bring peace. I guess you can say that just as much influence can be given by the tongue if we speak good as it can when speaking evil. It makes one think!

James 2 spoke about not showing favoritism to the wealthy, and neglecting the poor.  While reading this chapter, it reminded me of what Pastor Chuck Smith was going through in the early days of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. He told about what he and his wife, Kay, had to make a decision about.

That decision involved whether to let dirty hippies into the sanctuary or not.  Chuck was at first against their sitting on the floor, because they would get the carpet dirty. I believe they decided to take up the carpet in order for the hippies to be able to hear the Word of God. God blessed the ministry of Calvary Chapel because the poor in spirit were being fed!

James was sharing how if you did not obey one of God’s commands, you were guilty of disobeying all of them.  Pretty convicting, isn’t it!? It is all in how you are living your life…are you living it to benefit yourself, or are you honoring God and your fellow man!?

Today I felt led to talk about James 1, because that is the book Pastor Kevin launched into yesterday. James started everything by mentioning we should count it all joy when we go through trials/testings. If we remain strong in Him, that is when our patience will mature and we will receive a crown/ reward. Bottom line, Christ is the one to give us life. We need to have faith so our perseverance can bear fruit.

We all need to remember that God honors our faith in Him. When we are focused on what He wants and start acting on those beliefs, that is when we will see fruit. If we don’t function in His power, we will be unstable in our ways. We will be tossed to and fro with how we are feeling or what we hear. God wants us to walk in peace!

It was kind of interesting, yesterday. Alan and I watched a message Pastor Paul had recorded. He was mentioning the fact that peace in our life comes in trusting Christ…faith. We can have faith in God because of Christ’s character. I think that is so beautiful, how Christ never changes! He will not go back on promises, and they are always AMEN!