Good morning, Father! Thank You for our time together. May I make the most of it. Continue to mold me into Your image. Amen
James 3:2 (<<click here)
Lord, before stepping into this section on controlling the tongue the first sentence in verse 2 catches my eye…”Indeed, we all make many mistakes.” Other versions use the word “stumble”.
I suppose its part of the human equation. Mistakes and stumbling make up a significant portion of our lives. Sometimes we are merely embarrassed. Sometimes we hurt ourselves or others. The thing about mistakes and stumbles is that they are not premeditated – it is not something we have planned to do. But the next step is crucial. As the old adage goes, we must “learn from our mistakes.”
Mistakes and stumblings are not sin. But we have to be careful that they don’t lead us to sin. They begin innocently enough but where we get into trouble is when we begin doing them deliberately or when we don’t get ourselves out of the circumstances in which we find ourselves as quickly as possible.
A good example for me is videos posted by friends on Facebook. Quite often I tap one on my phone – they can be funny, or informative or entertaining or inspirational. A majority of the time it’s all well and good – but a problem can arise if I scroll down to the next “related” video. Often they are equally wholesome but sometimes they are not – I stumble onto an off-color or perverse clip. I can’t linger. I must back out as quickly as possible. A mistake or a stumble is one thing – taking it in is another thing, all together.
Lord, help me to be careful. May I keep a watchful eye on where I’m going. Enable me to respond in a way that would be pleasing to You. Amen
Sept 7th, Wed, 5:59 am
