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<\/a>Let\u2019s face it, our tongues have a way of getting us into trouble. If it were not so, I suspect James would not have written nearly a whole chapter devoted to the taming of the tongue (James 3:1-12).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
James doesn\u2019t mince words when he points out that we praise God this tongue of ours and yet we also say harsh things to those around us (James 3:9). Oh how this tongue of ours can get us into trouble.<\/p>\n
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And yet, Jesus, James\u2019 half-brother was able to live a life that exemplified gracious words. His lips never uttered an untruth. Take a look at these passages of Scripture.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAll spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. \u2018Isn\u2019t this Joseph\u2019s son?\u2019 they asked.\u201d<\/em> (Luke 4:22 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.\u201d<\/em> (Luke 4:32 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace and truth radiated from Jesus. Those who heard His message could see it and believe it. However, those whose hearts were hardened to Jesus\u2019 truth were unable to understand His message.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n John 1:14 (NIV) tells us, \u201cThe Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.\u201d<\/em> Jesus came to us filled with grace and truth. It is the very essence of who He is and what He came to earth to accomplish.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A few verses later, John stated \u201cFor the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/em> (John 1:17 \u2013 NIV) God sent Jesus to offer grace and truth to those who would believe. As we come to believe Jesus and His truth and accept His grace, we find freedom. Jesus\u2019 truth will set us free (John 8:32).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If Jesus is grace and truth, then He is the standard by which we are to live.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Each day as we venture into this world (or sometimes before we even leave the house) our words need to be covered by Jesus\u2019 grace and truth. Our words should be tempered by Jesus\u2019 grace and truth. How blessed we are to have God\u2019s Spirit within us to help us along the way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now we know there are folks who tell the truth in an unkind fashion. The Apostle Paul mentioned in Ephesians 4:15 that we are to \u201cspeak the truth in love.\u201d<\/em> Love and kindness should always accompany God\u2019s truth. When you encounter a person who is unable to be gracious in their speech, we must remember to stick to Jesus\u2019 standard. Speak as Jesus spoke. They may never get it, but you can and should.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Truth must always prevail, but grace must be truths\u2019 companion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Today, let\u2019s make an extra effort to speak kind and gracious words. Let\u2019s make an effort to allow only truth to flow from our lips. Today, let\u2019s make an effort to be more like Jesus when it comes to our speech.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019ll close with one more verse. Psalm 19:14 (NIV). \u201cMay the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace and peace (and truth) be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Donna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you\u2019re like me, you\u2019ve put your foot in your mouth at some point in your life. Sometimes untruths have spewed from my lips. At other times my words have hurt another or been plain ugly. Let\u2019s face it, our tongues have a way of getting us into trouble. If it were not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17,18],"tags":[3081,3005,3075,870,1368,3078,3079,3076,3077,2380,3080],"class_list":["post-3644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-following-god","category-obeying-god","category-pleasing-god","tag-but-grace-must-be-truths-companion","tag-ephesians-415","tag-grace-and-truth","tag-james-31-12","tag-john-114","tag-john-117","tag-john-832","tag-luke-422","tag-luke-432","tag-psalm-1914","tag-truth-must-always-prevail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3644"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3645,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3644\/revisions\/3645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}