TeaTime Devotional July 8th, 2025

Written By:  Shanece Jordan

Scripture: James 3:6 NLT

“And among all the parts of the body, 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.”

Testify:

Satan uses words and our speech to divide Gods people. An uncontrolled tongue can do terrible damage.  A few words spoken in anger can destroy relationships that took years to build. How dare we think we can apologize later after being so careless with our words? The damage is done, and those scars remain.  Sometimes our words are pleasing to God and out of the same mouth they are hurtful and destructive to his people.  This is why we must ask God to kill our flesh daily and allow the Holy Spirit to help us deal with our emotions and exercise self-control. The spirit heals our hurt and helps us not to lash out. We are not fighting this in our own strength; we will gain the increasing power to filter what we say to others. God holds us responsible for the results of our destructive words.  

Edify

James the half-brother of Jesus not James the apostle, wrote to Jewish Christians in letters that could be considered as a how-to guide for Christian living, confrontations, and challenges as a concerned leader. James was known as a peacemaker. So, he stressed the importance of peace. James taught Christian’s not to compromise with worldly attitudes but to accept Gods’ wisdom that will affect your speech, it will guide your words to portray true humility and lead to peace. By wisdom, James means the ability to make wise decisions in difficult times.  What we say and what we don’t say are both important. To control our speech not only must we say the right words but also produce the ability to close our mouth when we have the desire to say what we shouldn’t. James compared our tongue to a Raging fire. When a person loses their temper, the situation immediately turns into destruction. You cannot control or reverse the damage you do.  

Application

Stand on business or seek the holy filter? God changes us from the inside out.  When the Holy Spirit works on our hearts, he gives us self-control, so we are pleasing in his sight. Ask God to stop the salt water from pouring out your mouth. Use the holy spirit as a filter to transform your words into a refreshing cup of water that can be used to pour into ourselves and every person we encounter.