Chapter 3

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=james%203&version=ESV

STUDY

• What is the first advice given in verse 1? Why?

• What is the example of the horse?

• What is the example of the ship?

• What is the author's point using these two examples?

• Paraphrase the example of the fire and the forest.

• What is verse 8?

• What do we do with our tongue?

• What are the examples given by the author in saying that the tongue shouldn't bless and curse.

• What does this text say about the one who has jealousy and selfish ambition in their hearts?

• What is godly wisdom?

APPLICATION

• What teacher of the gospel can you stop and pray for right now? Since teachers will be judged more strictly, they should be someone you should regularly pray for- that their teaching comes from God and is solid truth.  Teachers are still human and make mistakes.  I believe since you are under their teaching, you should pray that they wouldn't make mistakes, and if they do, that they realize it and confess to the people they are teaching to.

• What words come out of your mouth?  Do blessing and cursing?  What things do you need to repent of, from this last week, concerning your words?

• Do you see evidence in your life of the wisdom that is from above? (pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, sincere) In the first chapter of James, we learned that you can ask for wisdom and that God will give it to you without reproach. (James 1:5-6)

PRUNING ME

    Taming the tongue.  This has been something that I have had to work on, and am still working on.  It seems to be the "thorn in my side".  Although I have seen vast improvement, taming the tongue is just something we can't do on our own.  I wrote about this before and it came from a sermon my husband listened to, but it's all about the "filter".  We can work on our filters all we want.  Yeah- you might create your filter for taming the tongue quite well- but if it's only a filter, then eventually you will see (usually in a damaging way) that it was just a filter, and the problem was just supressed.  The real problem being your heart.  We all have filters- we filter what we say around certain people, we filter what we wear around certain people, we filter our habits, attitude, work ethic, etc.  But the way to rid yourself of these things isn't to build a better filter, but to get a better heart.  I'm not talking about the thing that pumps blood and keeps your body alive, but the thing that connects you to Jesus, and keeps your soul alive.   I have really noticed- more so in the last few months, that I don't slip up with swearing or being negative, or having a bad attitude nearly as much as before.  I then reflected on the past few months- and oh, what did I find?  My relationship with Jesus has also been better the past few months!  It is true- my whole life a testimony- that the closer to Jesus you are, the closer to perfection you become.  We will never see perfection in our earthly bodies, but the Holy Spirit continues to weed out the ungodly things in our life, until our death.  Instead of creating filters for your ungodly traits, Jesus removes them. Instead of installing a filter, invite Jesus! Jesus will remove bad habits, ungodly attitudes, bad language all for His glory!  Just as He is getting the glory for changing me, He will get the glory for changing you.   Instead of trying to change the problem on your own- by which we just supress it or hide it, ask Jesus to remove it!  It is possible!  Our filters will eventually get old and need replacing.  Jesus will never need replacing.  He will do the job better than anything or anyone else. 

 Do you have an ungodly habit that you just can't seem to shake?  Does it keep popping up when you thought you had it under control?  Have you been installing filters instead of inviting Jesus?  

• Leanne