Timrufus
My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. -James 5:19-20
The bible says, God does not tempt anyone and because God himself cannot be tempted and so he want to tempt no one also. A person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own desire. (verses13-14) God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone. Our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour and who is it that want to tempt us the most but the devil! One of the character of God is such that God is faithful and He does not tempt anyone. The Father of the heavenly lights pour down every good and perfect gift from above and He does not change like shifting shadows. (Read Romans 11:29) Unlike the sons of men, God cannot be tempted and neither does He tempt anyone. But one may want to ask, why didn’t the good God intervened when the first murder took place in the history of mankind? We cannot hold God accountable for the every sin that men commit. Yet sometimes God does allow certain thing to happen and to happen right under His nose! But whatever temptation is true has overtaken us, God has not permit except what is common to mankind for “God is faithful and he will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. But when we are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that we can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Now, what are some of the reasons that can cause a person to be tempted since God does not tempt anyone? In a character’s role play, no one likes to play the devil most certainly and here in the book of James, the Lord’s brother began by telling believers to look within oneself first in a second person level of immediacy. (verse 21) He first began by exhorting believer to be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry. Why slow to speak and slow to become angry? As we look through James 3: 5-7 in brand new dimension, we see that the tongue despite small, is the most powerful part of the body.
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body that when one boast with evil intentions, he can become a stumbling block to others, setting them up with fire of desires. So instead of exhorting and lifting our brother up gently, we set him up on fire of desires with the word of our mouths. In other word, we build siege of temptation around others, causing them to be ensnared by what we say and sometimes hoping by what we do also, we run others down indirectly playing along with the devil at one point of time. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark – we cannot understand how difficult it is for the person next to us to burst forth in anger when one consider his speech and is slow in it.
Secondly, we can become a stumbling block to others when we corrupt them with word of our mouth. The speaker on a pulpit cannot be amiss when he comes on the stage because high chance is that he may fall off the pulpit! As A.W Tozer puts it, “Prayer long before The Lord - This is the Biblical norm from which we depart to our own undoing and to the everlasting injury of the souls of men.” A shepherd cannot be mindlessly sheering wool out of his sheep constantly, one great possibility is that he may cut the sheep while sheering it. That is why words are powerful and word can be one powerful stumbling block we put in front of other especially when we are a leader.
Thirdly, we can become a stumbling block to others when we left our tongue untamed. James says, “Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” Since it is impossible for one to be perfect and never at fault, that is why it is so important for one to keep his tongue in check. I remembered how the last time I pull my nephew’s ear in public hurt his child’s ego. Having learnt the lesson well, I never hit him again in public but continue to exhort and encourage him even when he misbehave himself. I see him now as one of the best child I’ve ever known! Strictly speaking, there is nothing wrong with one imparting knowledge and wisdom of the sages, but a self-constituted censor and reprover of others will he himself be judged by a higher standard and with greater severity because he first judge; thus he assume the greater accountability and the more condemnation. (James 2:12-13)
Not just wives, the bible exhorts all Christians ought to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21) To consider how one may spur another man on towards love and good deeds is meaning to arouse, to excite, to call into action and in some version to provoke unto love; to brotherly love. Its original message is not meaning to irritate, to insinuate, or even to exasperate. Christians are called not to exasperate their children but instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. We can all stumble in many ways but James exhorts us to be careful not to cause any stumbling block before our little brother. Let us pray that we would not be the instrument that the devil want to hold by which he use in assassinating others (verse 15) and in attempts to devour by succumbing others to the worst in them.(verse 14) - This stumbling block, the devil wants to exploit.
Greet one another with a holy kiss today.
Dear Lord, we cannot deny that we are somehow responsible for the hundredth sheep that is out in the open today. So set a guard over our mouths today and keep watch over the door of our lips. Enable us O God, to partake of Your Word though raw and a repulse to our own palate, we will know you more. Wounds from a friend can be trusted and better is open rebuke than hidden love. But Lord, we do not want to be the one stumbling block by which the devil wants to exploit. In Jesus most holy Name. Amen!
Verses for meditation: Matthew 18:1-12
The bible says, God does not tempt anyone and because God himself cannot be tempted and so he want to tempt no one also. A person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own desire. (verses13-14) God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone. Our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour and who is it that want to tempt us the most but the devil! One of the character of God is such that God is faithful and He does not tempt anyone. The Father of the heavenly lights pour down every good and perfect gift from above and He does not change like shifting shadows. (Read Romans 11:29) Unlike the sons of men, God cannot be tempted and neither does He tempt anyone. But one may want to ask, why didn’t the good God intervened when the first murder took place in the history of mankind? We cannot hold God accountable for the every sin that men commit. Yet sometimes God does allow certain thing to happen and to happen right under His nose! But whatever temptation is true has overtaken us, God has not permit except what is common to mankind for “God is faithful and he will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. But when we are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that we can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Now, what are some of the reasons that can cause a person to be tempted since God does not tempt anyone? In a character’s role play, no one likes to play the devil most certainly and here in the book of James, the Lord’s brother began by telling believers to look within oneself first in a second person level of immediacy. (verse 21) He first began by exhorting believer to be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry. Why slow to speak and slow to become angry? As we look through James 3: 5-7 in brand new dimension, we see that the tongue despite small, is the most powerful part of the body.
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body that when one boast with evil intentions, he can become a stumbling block to others, setting them up with fire of desires. So instead of exhorting and lifting our brother up gently, we set him up on fire of desires with the word of our mouths. In other word, we build siege of temptation around others, causing them to be ensnared by what we say and sometimes hoping by what we do also, we run others down indirectly playing along with the devil at one point of time. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark – we cannot understand how difficult it is for the person next to us to burst forth in anger when one consider his speech and is slow in it.
Secondly, we can become a stumbling block to others when we corrupt them with word of our mouth. The speaker on a pulpit cannot be amiss when he comes on the stage because high chance is that he may fall off the pulpit! As A.W Tozer puts it, “Prayer long before The Lord - This is the Biblical norm from which we depart to our own undoing and to the everlasting injury of the souls of men.” A shepherd cannot be mindlessly sheering wool out of his sheep constantly, one great possibility is that he may cut the sheep while sheering it. That is why words are powerful and word can be one powerful stumbling block we put in front of other especially when we are a leader.
Thirdly, we can become a stumbling block to others when we left our tongue untamed. James says, “Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” Since it is impossible for one to be perfect and never at fault, that is why it is so important for one to keep his tongue in check. I remembered how the last time I pull my nephew’s ear in public hurt his child’s ego. Having learnt the lesson well, I never hit him again in public but continue to exhort and encourage him even when he misbehave himself. I see him now as one of the best child I’ve ever known! Strictly speaking, there is nothing wrong with one imparting knowledge and wisdom of the sages, but a self-constituted censor and reprover of others will he himself be judged by a higher standard and with greater severity because he first judge; thus he assume the greater accountability and the more condemnation. (James 2:12-13)
Not just wives, the bible exhorts all Christians ought to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21) To consider how one may spur another man on towards love and good deeds is meaning to arouse, to excite, to call into action and in some version to provoke unto love; to brotherly love. Its original message is not meaning to irritate, to insinuate, or even to exasperate. Christians are called not to exasperate their children but instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. We can all stumble in many ways but James exhorts us to be careful not to cause any stumbling block before our little brother. Let us pray that we would not be the instrument that the devil want to hold by which he use in assassinating others (verse 15) and in attempts to devour by succumbing others to the worst in them.(verse 14) - This stumbling block, the devil wants to exploit.
Greet one another with a holy kiss today.
Dear Lord, we cannot deny that we are somehow responsible for the hundredth sheep that is out in the open today. So set a guard over our mouths today and keep watch over the door of our lips. Enable us O God, to partake of Your Word though raw and a repulse to our own palate, we will know you more. Wounds from a friend can be trusted and better is open rebuke than hidden love. But Lord, we do not want to be the one stumbling block by which the devil wants to exploit. In Jesus most holy Name. Amen!
Verses for meditation: Matthew 18:1-12
