Life's Daily Challenge Devotional

Mirror of the heart

“With it [our tongue] we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh," James 3:9-12.

To the one seeking purity,

The words that we speak, especially when we are under pressure, are a good gauge of the present condition of our heart. A good stream cannot send forth bad water. Therefore the moment we catch ourselves saying things that are not good, lovely, edifying, worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8) it's time to take a heart inspection. A divided tongue is symptomatic of a divided heart. Heart division comes from one of two things, bitter envy or self seeking (James 3:14-16). These two things can only occur in the heart that is not focused on Jesus. They reveal a lack of faith in God's love and abundant provision. Rather than finding wholeness in Him alone, we often become self protective, competitive, and divisive. A unified heart comes from relationship with God. No one can be in His presence without knowing from the heart that He is able and willing to do all that He says He will do. To know Him is to believe in Him, to rest in Him, to wait for Him. When our mouths begin to speak wrong things it's a sure indication that we need to draw near to God and to submit to Him once again (James 4:7-8).