Whose Fire Are you Releasing?

 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check…. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. James 3:2, 5-6 (New International Version, NIV)

Our tongue reflects a lot about our maturity in Christ. We can speak right words and demonstrate maturity or speak wrong words and show our immaturity. As James says, the tongue is small, but makes great boasts, in the same way that a small spark can set fire a whole forest. The tongue is described as a fire, and, when used wrong, it releases evil in our world and lives. It even affects the members of the body of Christ, or the church, as well as our physical members. The tongue can corrupt the whole person and set the course of your life on fire by the fires of hell it can release.

However, as we speak God’s Word, we release the fire of God. That fire burns up, or overcomes, the fires of hell so they do not destroy us. When our tongues speak God’s Word, we release life and healing to the members of the body of Christ and we release life and healing to our own physical bodies. As a result, our lives will stay on course and our whole person is preserved.

We can speak and release God’s fire, even Holy Ghost fire, by praying in tongues. Tongues releases the work of God to destroy the work of the devil. We can release the holy fire of God in our world to reach others and initiate positive change in them.

Let’s use our tongues to work for us rather than against us, to stop the devil’s fire that destroys, and to release God’s fire that brings change to all of us. As we give our tongues over to God, He will mature us and bless us. The words we speak will bring positive results rather than destruction and pain.

The more we release right words and use our tongues to glorify God, we will mature and keep our whole bodies in check. We will be vessels God can use and our boast will be in the Lord. The right use of our tongues allows us to bless others and finish our course.