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Hope Springs Forth
Throughout the year, we have continued to celebrate the 90th anniversary of The Upper Room daily Read More
Stephen Handy | Read James 3:1-6
Teachers can be incredible and inspiring leaders who shape and transform each generation of students. But a teacher can only do so much. Students must listen intentionally to grasp the information. Here’s the challenge: No one is ever directly taught to listen. We are only taught and graded on speaking....
God of mercy, forgive us when we intentionally hurt one another with our words. Help us to listen more than we speak, and to use our words to build up others rather than to tear them down. Thank you for extending grace to us when we don’t represent you by our words. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
These readings offer a common theme: God offers wisdom to the Israelites in order that they may be a people of obedience. As the Israelites continuously deny God, God’s wisdom pursues them in a quiet but gentle way to keep them on the path of righteousness. God shows them signposts so that there is always graceful guidance to keep them focused on the pathway ahead. James reminds his readers that the tongue is both a giver and destroyer of life. When using words, use them wisely, so that God may be honored and people may be healed.
Read Proverbs 1:20-33. When have you neglected God’s wisdom? What caused your neglect? What will it take to wait and reconnect to God’s wisdom?
Read Psalm 19:1-14. What gets in the way of hearing God even in the silence of your day? In the midst of competing noises, how can you learn to appreciate the silence so that God can speak?
Read James 3:1-12. How do you deprogram your mind, heart, and soul to listen and not talk so much? How do you create a practice of living out of the anatomy of two ears and one mouth versus talking twice as much as you listen?
Read Mark 8:27-38. Who is Jesus for you? Do your words for Jesus align with your actions in the world? If Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One, what behaviors in your life need to change to align with what comes from your mouth?
Respond by posting a prayer.
