The Word To LIve BY; 5-14-26
Phil Waggoner
For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. James 3:1
The Word To Live By: Before you get hung up on the word, “perfect,” let’s define it. The Common English Translation says it this way, which is easier to understand, “We all make mistakes often, but those who don’t make mistakes with their words have reached full maturity. Like a bridled horse, they can control themselves entirely.” The Amplified Translation says, “He has a fully developed character and is able to control his whole body and to curb his entire nature.” So, this verse is talking about becoming a mature Christian. Think about it. The way you correspond verbally indicates your maturity in the matter that you are facing. One of the precepts of the Bible is the importance of your confession or the words that come out of your heart. Proverbs 18:20-21, “With the fruit of a person’s mouth his stomach will be satisfied; He will be satisfied with the product of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Your words produce fruit in your life. The words that produce in your life are the words that come out of your heart, your nature, as it were. They get into your heart by what you listen to and meditate on. James goes on to talk about how with a bit in a horse’s mouth, an animal that is bigger and stronger than any man ever born, can control where that horse goes despite where it wants to go. You can steer a huge boat with a rudder that’s 1% as big as the whole boat. Now I find this interesting. If you want to go right in a boat, you turn the rudder to the left. And if you want to go left, you turn the rudder to the right. Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to the world but transformed by the renewing of our mind so that we can walk in the will of God (which is always better than our will) for our lives. The first step in that transformation is to learn not to behave and talk like the world. James 3:6, “The tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.” If the words I speak are going to set on fire the course of my life, then I want that fire to be a controlled burn that destroys all the weeds and things I don’t want in order to make room for the seeds that are going to produce good fruit. Learn to speak the language of faith, words that say what God says about you and for you. Start your day with Psalm 19:14, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Listen for the Holy Spirit to give you directions. In the beginning, you will hear, “Stop talking; you’re about to start a fire you can’t put out.”
Read through the Bible in a year: Acts 21:37-22:29; Judges 17-18; Psalms 43;
Read through the New Testament and Proverbs: Proverbs 14, Luke 23:1-28, 1 Peter 1
The sum of Thy Word is Truth Psalm 119:160