Is hell in my mouth?
James 3:6 ...the tongue
is a fire,
a world of iniquity:
...it defileth the whole body,
and setteth on fire the course of nature;
...it is set on fire of hell
...it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
James 3:9 Therewith BLESS WE GOD, even the Father; and therewith CURSE WE
MEN, which are made after the similitude of God.
Dear Christian Friend:
I was just reading some testimonies and I got so mad that I had to come
and write. There is a cause behind my anger--the tongue. The poison of
asps is there and we let it flap too freely. Jesus said that every idle
word that men shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of
judgment. Do we really believe this? Do we think about our words before
we say them?
I am currently reading a book entitled, "Unshackled" which contains 15
testimonies of people who got saved through the ministry of the Pacific
Garden Mission in Chicago. One man, named John Deming, had hands and feet
that were not in normal proportion to his body--they were exceeding large.
From childhood through adulthood he was treated terribly. To get away
from his small town, he moved to Detroit, unsaved. Now look at this
excerpt from the book,
****
"A job in Detroit, a few friends, and John even joined the Masons. But he
was still John Deming with the extra big hands and feet. And he was
lonesome. Maybe a church--love of God, Christian people--maybe he'd find
friends there.
"After services at church, people spoke. Two elderly women, a small boy,
a deacon nodded and smiled and said, "Good sermon." They were the only
ones. John kept going back. One Sunday, he heard two church women.
"'There's that poor Deming fellow,' one said.
"'Where? Mercy, did you ever see such hands?' the other asked."
"'I know. But it's our duty to make him feel at home. Go on, you invite
him.'
"A rashlike blush colored John's face when the ladies invited him to young
people's meeting. He didn't go; nor did he go back to church."
***
I will tell no lies, this sort of thing incenses me and I've seen it too
many times. That man was not saved and thought he'd find love in the
church. I boil down to the core. That man needed to be saved and all
those women could see was his physical appearance. Why do so many people
go to Satanism and new age mumbo-jumbo? 'Cause they don't see nothing in
us!!! We have nothing they would want--just a list of don'ts. Christian
friend, "What do you have in life that would make others want to be
saved?" You may know all the right Bible verses but what does your life
say? I will digress for a moment...
I watched a video where an American man related what attracted him to Sai
Baba (one of the "godmen" of the east). I wrote down the jist of his
comments--
1. The man had a deep spiritual void.
2. Christian churches seemed empty, irrelevant, and vacuous.
3. Many preachers didn't seem to believe what they preached.
4. Eastern mysticism was an enthralling, colorful alternative.
Empty, irrelevant, vacuous? This is my own experience with churches-- and
I'm saved! Plenty of church dinners and game nights but "Where's the
meat?" The scriptures don't give me the liberty of not attending church
and so I go gleaning information from where I can.
I'm going to give some more examples of hell in the tongue...
***
A family of four began to come to the church regularly. I [tracy] was
told that the five year old little boy liked me (though he was rather shy
when I was around). It was nice to see them in church. I'd always ask
after the little boy. Eventually the family stopped coming. Why? It got
back to the mother that one of our "prominent" church ladies said that the
only reason the family came to the church was to sell cheesecakes. Boil
time. The family was coming to church long before the lady offered
cheesecakes to raise money for her child's school. In fact, it was the
pastor's wife who took the form around to different people. When I was
presented with the order form, I looked at it, but there was nothing that
I wanted so I didn't order. There was nothing to say but "Yes, I'll take
one," or "No, I won't take one."
I went to visit with that lady but the last I saw the family did not come
back--I don't know if they were saved--only the little boy ever told me he
was.
***
That's not all. Let's make it personal. We're going to talk about Tracy.
I am a 33 year old housewife and I have no child. The Lord openeth and
closeth the womb and He has not seen fit to bless me and my husband with
children at this time. No problem, right? Wrong!
A lady that attended the church I was at asked if she could stay a few
days with me while her husband went on a church camping trip. No problem,
our house belongs to the Lord and it is always open. Near the end of her
stay, she said offhandedly "Some people might wonder what you do all day
in this big house with no kids, but I'm sure you have floorboards to do..."
That made me mad--not at her as I don't believe she came up with that on
her own. She did not say it in a nasty way. It made me mad because
instead of people trying to get a foot in my house, they need to mind
their own. I produce a tv show, minister on the internet, serve the
saints, research, take care of my husband, etc. how could anyone question
what I do in this "big house" all day long?
That hurt me deeply, but I said nothing and held it inside. There are
Christians that will despise you because God has blessed you. There are
Christians that will despise you for loving them. I understand when Paul
says,
2 Corinthians 12:15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you;
though THE MORE ABUNDANTLY I LOVE YOU, THE LESS I BE LOVED.
***
This is shameful, but true. I get over it (and grow), because I know who
I serve. I don't serve man, because if I did, I would have dropped out of
the race years ago. I serve the ONLY wise God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
My concern is for the unsaved or the new Christian that runs across a
marauding lion that won't keep his/her mouth closed. Women particularly
have a problem with the tongue, that's why I have no friend. People will
tell me that I am their best friend--and I have been a friend to them. If
you tell me something, I won't share it unless you say it is alright. If
you just want some fellowship, my doors are always open. I'm sorry to
say, but after 8 years of being a Christian, I don't have a friend in
church. But don't get me wrong, I am not friendless. I have a Friend,
yes sir, and He will NEVER leave me, nor forsake me. I could shout
"Hallelujah!" at the top of my lungs right now. I am full. I am
satisfied, oh so satisfied with Jesus.
[Note: There are a number of you in cyberland that I respect and trust
and I appreciate you very much. (Incidentally, Pastor Stan, if you are
reading this, please e-mail me and let me know if I answered your e-mail
or not.)]
***
I could go on with other examples, but I won't. Jesus said, By this shall
all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another. Is it love
to talk about people? Is it love to let hell come out of your mouth? If
you have something to say to somebody, do as the Bible says--tell THAT
person--you and him alone. If you are too scared to tell them, keep your
mouth shut. I am talking about myself too. Maybe that is why I am alone
most of the time--so that I won't flap my lips too much...the Lord knows
my every propensity.
If somebody comes in your church, welcome them. If you are white and a
black visitor walks in, greet him with a smile and say "Welcome friend, it
is good to have you with us today. Praise the Lord." If you are Native
American, welcome the Asian man. We all come from the same parents--Adam
and Eve. No one is better than anybody else. If you're feeling really
bold ask the newcomer, "Have you been born again?" If a physically
handicapped person comes in your church doors, welcome him. If a wino
stumbles in, welcome him too. If a mentally handicapped person comes in,
take their hand, smile kindly and welcome them. Jesus loves EVERYBODY.
Lord, help us to love everybody--even those who are not so beautiful.
If a visitor has come for a couple of weeks in a row, invite them to
dinner at your home. It doesn't have to be fancy--put a meatloaf in the
oven, snap a few greenbeans and make some mashed potatoes. For drink,
make a gallon of homemade iced tea (8 tea bags and two cups of sugar) and
wha-la! you've got Sunday dinner. Put a Mrs. Smith's apple pie in the
oven and have apple pie a la mode for desert--or make your own. If that
is too much, make some sandwiches--whatsoever you have, that serve.
And when you get your honored guest(s) in your home--EXALT the name of the
ONLY wise God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Keep your mind, your conversation
on Him. Find out if the person is saved, ask for their testimony. Let
them ask you questions. Have plenty of Bibles around. What a lovely
Sunday afternoon you will have. Be given to hospitality. Love hard.
Read the word, walk in the Spirit, cast off the works of darkness. Let us
lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let
us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Run, Christian, run on!
...lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make
straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the
way; but let it rather be healed. FOLLOW PEACE with ALL men, and
holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Hebrews 12:12-14
And finally, I leave you with,
James 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in
word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
God speed as you pursue, and serve, the ONLY wise God and Saviour Jesus
Christ.
for Jesus' sake,
tracy
--
http://www.jesus-is-lord.com
...I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them,
Thus saith the Lord GOD. And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them,
neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee,
and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be
dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
Ezekiel 2:4, 6
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