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“But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8).

At times, you will say something that you wish you hadn’t. There is a saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” This isn’t true. Physically, sticks and stones can hurt you if someone throws them at you, but you will probably recover from the injury. Emotionally, when someone says hurtful words, recovery isn’t as easy. You may be able to forgive—this is what God wants you to do—but forgetting is almost impossible. No matter how old you get, at times you will remember how you felt when someone hurt you with their words or by their actions.

We are taught in James 3 how our tongues can harm others. (We use our tongues to speak, so “tongues” here means “words.”) Sometimes you may intentionally want to say something against another person because you are angry and you want to get even. This is a time when you must decide to be a godly example and say nothing.

Today make sure that what you say does not harm someone. You are the only one who has control over your tongue.

My response:

» Do I ask God to help me control my tongue?

» How can I use my tongue to build others up instead up tearing them down?

» When someone says something hurtful to me, do I pray for the person and for myself so that I don’t say something hurtful in return?

“As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:14–16).

Are you a picky eater? You know what I mean. You have to inspect anything new or different just looking for something wrong. OH, NO! IS THAT A SPECK OF GREEN OR BLACK? And there had better not be any onions in this meal! That is a picky eater.

God is picky too. He can be because He is holy. That means that nothing in Him or about Him is wrong, dirty, out of place, or bad. He is the One Who sets the standard, or measurement, for holiness. When the Israelites sacrificed a lamb, it had to be as perfect as possible. No spots, no blemishes, no sicknesses of any kind. Only the best is good enough for a holy God.

First Peter 1:14–16 command Christians to be holy, as God is holy. How is that possible? It is not. We are sinners. Our sin disqualifies us from holiness. How then can we obey this impossible command? God is holy. If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit lives in you. The Holy Spirit is God. You have God living in you. He makes you holy.

Think of it this way. You are a child of God. God is the King of Kings. That makes you the child of a king. You had nothing to do with it. You were born into this royal family. You need to act like a king’s child. It starts with your thinking. Learn how God in His holiness thinks. Then think the same way. Your actions will follow your thinking.

God is holy.

My response:

» When I think about God, do I stop to consider how holy He is?

» Do my actions show that I care about pleasing my holy God?

“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples” (John 15:8).

Jody brushed the clods of dirt off her hands and tapped her trowel on the edge of the garden path. “That does it!” she thought. “I’ve done my part. Now it’s up to this garden to hold up its end of the bargain!” As she walked toward the house, Jody wondered at how she kept seeing rows and rows of weeds in her mind every time she closed her eyes. It felt as if she had been weeding and planting for a thousand days! But it would be worth it, she knew, when the squash and tomatoes were ripe and ready to eat. She could almost taste them now!

How do you think Jody would feel if she came to her garden at harvesttime, after all that work she put into it, only to see that none of her crops had grown in? What if none of her tomato plants decided to yield a single tomato? What if her squash vines decided to bear a pumpkin or a carrot, but no squash? What if the ears of corn never grew kernels?

That would be a strange harvest, and incredibly disappointing. Think of all the work Jody poured into her garden. How do you think it would feel to not get any fruit after all those hours of planting, watering, and weeding?

Discipleship is hard work too. The whole growing process for a Christian is a hard thing. But did you know that God is glorified when His people bear fruit? The Bible teaches about the kinds of things we should see growing in our hearts: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, kindness—all sorts of amazing characteristics. They should be a part of every believer’s life, and every believer should be growing in this kind of “fruit” every day.

Do you know why God is so glorified when we bear fruit? Because ultimately, He is the One Who deserves the credit for our growth. God expects us to become more and more like His Son, but He also works in our hearts to change us so that we can! He gives us the desire to grow. He enables, strengthens, and gives grace to help us. And His power is greater than any human power. Only God can bring spiritually dead people to life and grow them into spiritual fruit bearers.

God gets all the glory when His disciples bear spiritual fruit.

My response:

» What kind of “fruit” is my life bearing right now?

» Do I desire to glorify God?

» How can I glorify God more with my thoughts, words, and actions?

“The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3).

When God spoke these words, He intended them for the whole nation of Israel, not just Jeremiah. And when He gave the people of Israel this message, many of them were not pleasing Him. Some of them were even worshiping idols instead of God, yet He still loved them and promised to continue loving them forever.

Many people seem to think that we must earn God’s love by doing things that make Him happy. But that kind of thinking is wrong. Yes, God is pleased when we choose to obey His commands and follow the principles in His Word. But His love for us does not change based on what we do. He loves you now, will love you tomorrow and the next day, and forever, because of who He is, not because of the way you behave.

Chelsea had a hamster named Rascal. He was always trying to escape from his cage. He frequently bit Chelsea and others who tried to hold or pet him. Chelsea bought a special ball that would give Rascal freedom to roll all around the house. She thought Rascal would enjoy being in the ball and going all over the place, since he had tried to escape so often. But Rascal just sat still in the ball, refusing to budge.

Chelsea’s family watched all that she did for Rascal: cleaning out his cage, buying toys for him, spending time with him, holding and petting him (when he would let her), and often getting bitten or scratched for all her efforts. They told her that Rascal was not a good pet. In fact, Chelsea’s mother offered to take Rascal back to the pet store to see if they would give her a different hamster, one that would respond better to all that Chelsea tried to do for him. But Chelsea said no. You see, she loved Rascal, and her love did not depend on Rascal’s loving her back or even on his being very lovable.

If Chelsea, who is a sinner just like you and me, could love Rascal, who is, after all, just a hamster, with a love like that; how much more do you think our perfectly loving and compassionate Heavenly Father loves us? Chelsea’s love for Rascal is just a tiny little love when compared to God’s great love for us. But just as Chelsea’s love for Rascal did not depend on him being a “good pet,” so God’s love for you does not depend on you being a “good person.” Nothing you do will ever change God’s love for you. He loves you now and forever, no matter what.

God loves you because of who He is, not because of who you are.

My response:

» Do I try to earn God’s love, or do I believe that He loves me no matter what?

» Do I truly trust in God’s love, or do I worry and fret about how He feels about me?

» Do I show others the same kind of unconditional love (“love that does not depend on someone else’s actions or words”) that God shows to me?

“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:38–39).

How is a person saved? You have probably memorized a verse that gives the answer to that question. Ephesians 2:8 says that we are saved by grace, through faith. If you are a Christian today, you were saved only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But does that mean that we Christians don’t need faith anymore? No, we need faith for the rest of our lives! All of the Christian life is like a long journey toward Heaven, and the road that we’re traveling could be called “Faith.” God says that “the just,” or those who have been made righteous through Christ (Christians), will live by faith.

Faith, as Hebrews 11:1 explains, means being confident of something that we cannot see. If there is anything in your life right now that seems difficult, sad, or confusing, God is asking you to live by faith. You cannot see how the situation is going to turn out. You cannot see what direction your life will take in the future. Perhaps you are having trouble seeing anything good about the situation you are in. If that is the case, you are going through a trial that God is using to strengthen your faith. He wants to see whether—and how much—you will trust Him, even when you can’t see all of the answers, results, and reasons.

What do you know about the God you cannot see? You know that He is wise. You know that He loves you. You know that He wants you to grow into a stronger, more contented, and happier Christian. So exercise some faith! Believe that God is working for your good in ways that you cannot understand right now. Praise Him for the things He is doing and for the things He is going to do in the future. It takes faith to do this—but faith is what we live by!

God wants us to live by faith when things happen that we can’t understand.

My response:

» What do I need to have faith about?

» What seems sad, confusing, or difficult in my life today?

» Am I complaining and questioning God about it, or am I living by faith, trusting God even when I can’t see any good?