Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 September 2026 James 3:8.
James 3:8. But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Aye mih people, it’s Wednesday, our second wind day, hope we catch that second wind to keep us keeping on in Jesus’ name. Unfortunately though, it’s also the cloudy last day of September, meaning that the cold weather draws closer with each passing day. And although most of us don’t like the chilly times, we all know that we can handle it because we are sure conquerors through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. As Bruh Paul so wisely writes in Romans when talking about nothing can separate us from God’s LOVE: ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom. 8:37)
And that’s the gospel truth my faithful brethren! Nobody or nothing can separate us from Christ, nor conquer us, unless we allow them to. And it’s interesting to note, that if we’re such great conquerors, why can’t we conquer our little bodily part called the tongue? Yesterday we saw how our words can cause all sorts of problems according to the way in which we use them, and the main culprit is our tongue, because that’s what enables us to speak. That brings us to this very important treatise of James on the power of the tongue, where he writes.
‘My brethren, be not many masters (let not many of you be teachers), knowing that we shall receive greater condemnation (stricter judgement). For in many things we offend all (all stumble). If any man offend (stumble) not in word, the same is the perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet they are turned about with a very small helm (rudder) whithersoever the governor listeth (pilot wants).
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter (forest) a little fire kindleth (sets on fire). And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature (existence); and it is set on fire of hell.’ (James 3:1-6)
Oh my brethren, small things can indeed make big changes, and one of the worse of those small things is our tongue. As the scholars explain about that last verse: ‘The tongue is a system (world) of iniquity that sets on fire the whole course of life, and is even set on fire by Satan (cf. 3:15).’ And we see that every day in our very talkative society. It’s the tongue that causes war and oppression, and prevents peace and LOVE.
And James continues: ‘For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed by mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith we bless God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude (likeness) of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.’ (James 3:7-12)
That’s more gospel truth my people! So why do our tongues both curse and bless eh? We bless God, but then turn back and with the same tongue, curse our fellow human beings who are made in God’s image. Doesn’t something seem wrong with that picture? It surely does! But for some unknown reason we can’t seem to control our tongues, one moment we allow it to be peaceful and LOVING, while the next, we allow it to go berserk with hate and violent recriminations. It’s like the psalmist says of evil, war-like men. ‘They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ (asps) poison is under their lips. Selah.’ (Ps. 145:3)
And sadly, that’s the way too many of us behave; no wonder we have so much strife, war, hatred, oppression and anger in our world. Too may tongues are preaching evil instead of good. So how are we to turn this around eh? By Christ’s church standing up and being counted. But that seems impossible when that church is so divided and disunited. However, as Dr. Robert H. Schuller, one of the great Possibility Thinkers liked to say: ‘Impossible is such an irresponsible word.’ And it certainly is for children of the Living God Jehovah, to whom nothing is impossible. But it certainly won’t be easy.
Oh friends, as I keep saying, until Christ’s church unites and acts as one, our world isn’t going to change very much in the direction of godliness, for right now the separated and divided parts of the church are working against each other. And as Jesus so rightly said, a house, church or any organization divided against itself, won’t stand. No, it won’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell! So why do we keep staying divided, making it so easy for the enemy to continue doing his evil deeds without much resistance? We talk a good talk, but when it comes down to critical action to make a stand for Jesus and godliness in our world, too many of us go missing.
But let’s remember that we’ll all be judged on that fateful day, for our own works, not the works of others. So let’s do our best, be like Bruh Paul declares when talking about God’s righteous judgement: ‘To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortal life.’ (Rom. 2:7) Please let that be our motto. Now let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus!
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And for those who endure to the very end with Christ, a more glorious future than we can imagine with our finite minds is promised. So let’s be wise and endure to the very end, so that we can enjoy that more than glorious future together! Much LOVE!
…the tongue…it’s small…but oh so hard to control…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
The Importance of Christians Knowing, Understanding and Believing God’s Promises in Times of Crisis!
09 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a life-saving raft, a state of upheaval, a time of peace, a time of war, a time to be born, a time to break down, a time to build up, a time to cast away, a time to cast away stones, a time to dance, a time to die, a time to embrace, a time to every purpose under heaven, a time to gather stones together, a time to get, a time to hate, a time to heal, a time to keep, a time to keep silence, a time to kill, a time to laugh, a time to lose, a time to love, a time to mourn, a time to plant, a time to pluck up that which is planted, a time to refrain from embracing, a time to rend, a time to sew, a time to speak, a time to weep, Ai (Artificial Intelligence, AI qualifications, all over the world, all things work together for good to them that love God, atrocious greed, becoming more inequitable, benefittiing from their selfish schemes, big money, boggles my imagination, buffeted and bombarded by the enemy's evil schemes, called according to God's purpose, Christian need to get serious about their faith, complaining about the toughness of life, continual oppression brings revolution, continual slide into fewer opportunities, disastrous times, divine aid, divine inspiration, embrace the promises of the Bible, evil and ungodly things being done, faith, fight the good fight for Jesus, fill us with steadfast faith, firing low scale people, for the betterment of all, further feathering their already feathered nest, furthering your glorious kingdom, get worse before it gets better, God has a sovereign design behind everything, have not learned from our mistakes, herald further deprivation, hogwash, hold on to for dear life, holy spirit, humble servants, in our favour, into the enemy's ranks, Jesus Christ, jobs, keep us keeping on, keeping lives and families together, killed the middle class, lead and guide all your servants, look for another job, LOVE, make worthwhile inroads, meet the enemy in battle, mercy, no benefits, oppression, our Father who art in heaven, our world is falling apart, our world is in an uproar, over the weekend, power enamoured leaders, power hunger, praise and thank you, refrain from intimacy, rejuvenation of spirit, repression, rising up in protest, sad commentary on our leaders, sally forth with confidence, salvation, serve a useful purpose, society is at its highest level ever, sure conquerors, the all-embracing love of Jesus, the bastion of society, the bottom ninety percent, the devil's advocate, the eventual outcome, the horns of deprivation and uncertainty, the lower strata of society, the only certainty in this world, the only option is to revolt, the only solid foundation, the only true answer, the renewed vitality and enthusiasm, the same old dead-end job, the throne of grace, the top echelons, the top ten percent, the wisdom of Solomon, the wreckage being caused to so many young lives, the young generation, tired of empty promises, to begin a new week of work, to every thing there is a season, truth, uneasily balance, unprincipled technocrats, we know we're invincible, we're not afraid, wearing your powerful protective spiritual armour, weary souls, wisdom, write indelibly in our hearts, your incredible aura of love
Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 November 2026 Ecclesiastes 3:1.
Ecclesiastes 3:1. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
‘Ahoy there mih bredrin, it’s a cloudy and cold Monday! What’s new with you eh?’ And all I get in response is a sour sneer: ‘What you think eh? It’s Monday, and I’m back in the same old dead-end job, working for pennies, with no benefits, listening to a set of people continually complaining about how life tough, like I didn’t know that.’ And playing the devil’s advocate, I ask: ‘So why don’t you look for another job?’ The look got even uglier: ‘Look for another job?’ came the astonished reply. ‘In this economy? Hn! When last have you looked for another job with just the basic qualifications eh?’
‘Not for a while,’ I answered. ‘Well then, you better had don’t start looking …unless you have AI qualifications, because that’s all they’re hiring nowadays, for big money too!’ I sagely nodded and replied, ‘I see.’ ‘Yes, AI is all the rage now, and they’re firing low scale people like me, and bringing in AI to do my lowly job. It’s a wonder I still have a job!’
Ah mih people, life is indeed getting rougher and tougher for many of us, but especially for those in the lower strata of society. And it doesn’t seem as though things will get any better in the near future. As they say, it might just have to get worse before it gets better. Can you imagine it? At a time when society is at its highest level ever, with the most wealth, education and technological advancement, our world is falling apart, it’s becoming even more inequitable than it previously was.
The atrocious greed and power hunger at the top is terrifying. They’ve conveniently killed the middle class that was once the bastion of the society. Now you’re either in the top ten percent or in the bottom ninety, for there’s nothing in between anymore. Unfortunately, our world is now being run by a handful of unprincipled technocrats and power enamoured leaders, who are only interested in further feathering their already highly feathered nest, while those below them uneasily balance on the horns of deprivation and uncertainty.
It boggles my imagination to behold the evil and ungodly things they are doing yet pretending that it’s for the betterment of all. As the man said, ‘Hogwash!’ Only the top echelons are benefitting from their selfish schemes. And the people, especially the young generation, are tired with all the empty promises and the continual slide into fewer opportunities with even less benefits that only herald further deprivation. No wonder they are rising up in protest all over the world.
It’s a sad commentary on our leaders, who either don’t care, and/or don’t see the wreckage they are causing to so many young lives. What’s wrong with mankind eh? Have we not learned from our many mistakes down through the years, that continual oppression and repression eventually brings revolution? Apparently not. At some stage the people will get so fed up that they believe their only option is to revolt. And no one truly wins when that happens, but in the light of the then existing circumstances, that always seems to be the only answer.
However, the only true answer seems to be found in the wisdom of Cousin Sol, speaking as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, where he puts forward the reasoning that Almighty God has a sovereign design behind all events of the universe He created. Listen, as he expounds his theory. ‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get (gain), and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend (tear apart), and a time to sew (sew together); a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to LOVE, and a time to hate (refrain from intimacy); a time of war, and a time of peace.’ (Eccl. 3:1-8)
Yes friends, that’s the only way to rationalize what’s going on in our very troubled world, that’s facing more unfortunate upheaval every day. And for the individuals, particularly Christians, we need to truly get serious about our faith and embrace the promises of the Bible like we’ve never done before, because that’s the only solid foundation there is in these disastrous times. And it’s promises like this one found in Romans, that we desperately need to hold on to. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28)
Now that’s something we need to write indelibly in our hearts and hold on to for dear life, like it’s a life-saving raft, because it is indeed one, as it assures us that regardless of what happens, in the long run, the Lord our God will work it all out for our good. So, although our world is in an uproar, and we don’t know what’s going to happen next, we can rest assured that the eventual outcome will be in our favour if we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and endure with Him to the very end. Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, for some much-needed divine aid to keep us keeping on.
Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise and thank You this Monday morning for our jobs; jobs we sometimes don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose; keeping lives and families together. We also thank You Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm You’ve wrought in our weary souls over the weekend. It’s that rejuvenation of spirit which now allows us to sally forth with confidence into the evil and ungodly world, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s evil schemes.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing Your powerful, protective spiritual armour! We surrender our all to You, and humbly ask that You allow Your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit to lead and guide all Your servants, as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, thereby furthering Your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And with that divine inspiration, let’s get out there and fight the good fight for Jesus! Much LOVE!
…the only certainty in this world…is the all-embracing LOVE of Jesus…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien