JAMES 3:2-5 NIV
2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.
4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.
5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
Your tongue steers your life. Words spoken by your tongue determine the direction of your life, just like the rudder of a ship determines the direction a ship will go. Words may not cause you to arrive at the destination immediately, but they head you in that direction, and eventually, if you continue in that direction, you will arrive there.
MARK 11:23 NKJ
23 "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
Jesus said you will have what you say, if you believe it. But He never said you will immediately have what you say. He is telling us that the words we say set the course of our life.
What you say determines what you get in life. It did for the people of Israel. And the Bible says the things which happened to them are lessons for us (1 Corinthians 10:11).
ROMANS 10:10 NASB
10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Salvation (meaning deliverance) results from what our heart believes and our mouth says.
The more strongly you believe and express your words, the more power is behind them propelling you to that destination more quickly.
But even words you don't fully believe, but only express in jest, may still steer your life in that direction. Because the devil is like a crooked lawyer watching your words, looking for any legal loophole giving him the right to bring stealing, killing, and destruction into your life.
Words spoken by your tongue express your beliefs and release authority in your life. This works for everyone, whether they realize it or not. The words you speak steer the course of your life.
Now that you know this truth, act on it. Ask the Lord to help you always speak the right words to steer your life to victory.
PSALM 103:11 NIV
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
If you understood how much God loves you -- your life would be different.
Fear and worry would have no power over you any longer. Fear has no torment for someone basking in the sunlight of Almighty God's love.
This passage in Psalm 103 attempts to picture the size or extent of God's love. It is not portrayed as simply big as the highest mountain. No, no -- far more. As high as the sky is above the earth. That is the picture God wants you to see when you think of how great His love is for YOU.
How do I know this? Just from what the Bible says. And from what God did in and through Jesus Christ to redeem you. He paid a mighty price for you -- because His love for you is so great.
But, you may ask, "Why is my life going so poorly if God really does love me so much?" That is a valid question, but not the same one as whether God loves you. The quick answer is that God has made provision for us -- but most of us are not taking advantage of the help He offers.
Put another way, we are not acting on God's instructions -- whether out of ignorance or for some other reason. When you don't follow a proven recipe you cannot expect a good outcome.
God has no desire to condemn us for our failure, but instead desires to invite us into His fellowship and His way of doing things. It is through His Word that this will happen in our lives. So, read the Bible to see how much God loves you, but also remember that it is because of His great love for you that He gave you the instructions found in the Bible. They are for your benefit -- not God's benefit.
DEUTERONOMY 30:19 NKJ
19 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
Most people don't realize that God has given them the power to choose whether they will be blessed.
We choose whether to go God's way and be blessed, or ignore God and go our own way and reap the unfortunate consequences.
God has given humans an amazing freedom to make choices. God does not force blessing on us -- we must choose blessing by choosing God and His ways.
God did not create us to be puppets, robots, or slaves. God desires a family He can fellowship with. There would be no joy in being loved by a robot who had no choice, so God created us with the freedom and the right to make choices.
With our right to make choices also came the responsibility to make them. So we must make choices. God does not make our choices for us.
How do we choose life and blessing? By what we choose to think. Our thoughts guide our actions. That is why feeding or meditating on the Word of God is so vital. The thoughts we allow to dominate our consciousness will determine the focus and direction of our life.
We choose whom we will serve. We choose who and what will influence and thus govern our thoughts and actions.
JOSHUA 24:15 NKJ
15 "... choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve .... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
When you make a choice, you need to express it by your words. You need to speak and let the universe know where you stand.
SAY THIS: I choose God. I choose blessing. I choose life. I choose health. I choose prosperity. I choose Jesus Christ as my Lord.
The Lord Jesus Christ said the full price for the salvation of your soul. He 'gave himself for our sins,' (Gal. 1:4a). Jesus, the Son of God, 'loved me, and gave himself for me,' (Gal 2:20b). Now because 'by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.' there remains no price for us to pay! (Heb. 9:12b). We are 'justified freely by his grace.' (Rom. 3:24a).
"It is finished:" (John 19:30b).
Doing good works cannot save you.
Salvation is "Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Eph. 2:9). God "hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began." (II Tim. 1:9b).
The Bible, God's Word, says, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" (Rom. 3:10). "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:23). Sin is the problem, and even belonging to a church will not take it away. Jesus Christ Himself said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (john 3:3b).
As the Bible says, "Therefore we conclude that man is a justified by faith without the deeds of the law." (Rom. 3:28). "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourself: it is the gift of God:" (Eph. 2:8).
The Bible says, "And as it is appointed unto men to die, but after this the judgement:" (Heb. 9:27). You really don't know for sure how much time is left of your life. "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morro. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away." (James 4:14). Stay Bless
YOU CANNOT SAVE YOURSELF
The Bible says, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law," (Gal. 2:16a). It also says, "we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;" (Gra. 64:6a).
SALVATION IS FREE TO ALL.
The Bible say, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Rom. 10:13). The Bible says, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinner," (I Tim. 1:15b). For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God," (I Peter 3:18a).
The Bible says, "And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night," (Rev. 14:11a). "For the wages of sin is death;" (Rom. 6:23a). This death is more than just physical death. It is an "eternal burning!"
The Bible says, "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Rev. 21:8)
