All honor and glory to God! I hope yall had a blessed holiday weekend. Unfortunately, I still have yet to locate our reading for this SOD series, but that will NOT hold us back. As you can see, I had one of my infamous naps. So, instead of you receiving the SOD on its rightful day, it is technically "tomorrow" in relation to its date, but you will receive one this evening as well. Continue to keep one another in prayer, thanking God for the victory, and refraining from claiming defeat from the enemy; ALWAYS pray for your desired result, NOT the unfavorable outcome. Do NOT lose sight of God in the midst of adversity, God Bless!
~~ Tylesha ~~
Passage James 3:5-8 (NLT):
"In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself. People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison."
Proverbs 10:19 (KJV) says, "In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise." There are many people who have issues with the various translations of the Bible, I used to be one of them until I began my online ministry, and looked to other translations for clarity. Each translation offers a breakdown that is essential to our various learning styles. I look at KJV as a Shakespearian type of style that advanced individuals would comprehend, then NIV and NLT would be a version for the average learner, whereas The Message is the Bible for dummies. Excuse me for that analogy, rather, The Message is the Bible in Layman's terms. The reason for that breakdown is, I've decided to utilize each of these translations, to better convey today's message, showing the gradual clarity depicted in each, while proving that the overall message has not been altered. NIV translates, "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." NLT states, "Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut." Lastly, The Message reads, "The more talk, the less truth; the wise measure their words." Basically, this passage advises us to consider our words carefully before speaking, otherwise, we are bound engage in gossip, embellishments, and deviating from the actual truth. We need to be able to control our urges to say things that we shouldn't; abstain from gossip, false teachings, bragging, lying, manipulating, complaining, and belittling others. Before the SOD, I used to conduct an online Bible study, but it became difficult for me to juggle a full time job, being a full time student, and being able to produce a full fledged Bible study lesson weekly. So, I condensed it to the Scripture of the Day. Anyway, that lesson posed these questions, taken from The Life Application Study Bible New International Version (1991): "Before you speak, ask, "Is what I want to say TRUE? Is it NECESSARY? Is it KIND?'" If we ask ourselves these questions BEFORE we utter a word, EVERY time we are about to speak, then we should be able to avoid sinning with our mouth. (Reference: The Life Application Study Bible New International Version. (1991). James Chapter 3 - Footnotes (p. 2249). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.)
Prayer of the Day:
Father God we thank you for taming our tongue so that the words of our mouth may always be pleasing in your sight, and will always produce positive and favorable outcomes in every circumstance. Lord we thank you that you are NOT like man; you love us despite our downfalls, despite past doubts and frustrations in your abilities, you love us and forgive us unconditionally, so we thank you and praise your glorious name Father. Lord we thank you for complete healing that has restored our spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical state of being. We thank you for joyful attitudes in the midst of adversity, cheerful moods in the face of the enemy, peace in our storms, and comfort through our trials. We thank you for your continued protection over each of us individually, our families, our friends, our homes, our modes of transportation, and those homes and families in our surrounding areas. We thank you for the ability to smile even though our mountain appears to be too big, but we thank you that it will all work out for the better, according to your perfect plan. We praise your name, thanking you that our burdens, debts, and obstacles are no longer holding us hostage. We thank you for releasing any form of bondage holding us back from a deeper relationship with you, and for giving us the freedom to raise our hands humbly in praise to you. We thank you for the victory over sin, satan, and his demons, in the matchless name of your Son Jesus Christ, we submit our affirmation of faith, Amen!
~~ Tylesha ~~
"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." (Psalm 118:8)
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