Archive | July 2025

Ouch, That Stings!

Jul17

For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;
James 3:7-9 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.3.7-9.NASB1995

“With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men”; mankind created in the image of God.
(Genesis 1:27 NASB1995)

If that doesn’t sting . . . OUCH!

🌹from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.
James 3:10 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.3.10.NASB1995

🙏Lord God, forgive me for speaking without thinking first. I ask forgiveness for words that have hurt instead of encouraged, torn down instead of building up, cursed instead of blessed. I pray my words would always bring honor and glory to Your name, in Whom I pray. Amen.

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

Fiery Tongue Defiles

Jul16

See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!
And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.
James 3:5b-6 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.3.5-6.NASB1995

But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.
Matthew 12:36 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.12.36.NASB1995

🌹For lack of wood the fire goes out, And where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down.¹
Proverbs 26:20 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/pro.26.20.NASB1995

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

¹Recommended reading: Proverbs 26:21-28

The Tongue Speaks the Heart

Jul15

For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in (word) what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.
James 3:2 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.3.2.NASB1995

The tongue. An amazing organ of the body. It has several purposes but is most used for speaking. What rolls off the tongue can be painful, joyful, rude, nice, degrading, encouraging, etc. We have all been at both ends of words spoken, the speaker and the receiver. We are all guilty and all have been affected by words.

Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.
Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.
So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.
James 3:3-5a NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.3.2-5.NASB1995

The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
Matthew 12:34b NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.12.34.NASB1995

What are you filling your heart with?

🌹For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 12:37 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.12.37.NASB1995

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

Confident Teaching

Jul14

Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.
James 3:1 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.3.1.NASB1995

Those who teach should first teach themselves.
Do we try to teach others and yet do not adhere to the the Bible by following the ways of our Lord?
A teachers goal in instruction is to love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
Beware that we do not turn aside to fruitless discussion and speak of things we do not understand.
Romans 2:17-23/1 Timothy 1:5-8 NASB1995

God takes teaching others very seriously. Adherence to God’s Word, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is of utmost importance for teachers, for they will incur a greater condemnation.

🌹Rejoice that God has chosen you to be a teacher. Just be aware it comes with high expectations. Rely upon the Master.

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

Boasting in The Lord

Jul11

Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;

but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jer.9.23-24.NASB1995

🙏Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. Psalms 36:5, 7 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/psa.36.5-7.NASB1995

. . . may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:14 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/gal.6.14.NASB1995

Amen.

🌹But he who boasts is to boast in the Lord.
2 Corinthians 10:17 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/2co.10.17.NASB1995

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon https://indasharonjesus.org

Faith, Works, Justified Part 2

Jul10

Jericho is conquered. (Joshua 6:1-21)
Joshua upheld the word of his spies.

Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the harlot’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her.” So the young men who were spies went in and brought out Rahab, her family and her other relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel.
Rahab with her father’s household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
Joshua 6:22-25 NASB1995

By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.
Hebrews 11:31 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/heb.11.31.NASB1995

Rahab, who was a harlot in Jericho, is part of the lineage of Jesus. (Matthew 1:5)

🌹It’s not about where you came from, your past, or your abilities or inabilities. It’s about what God can and will do with a surrendered heart of faith willing to work in obedient faith for His purpose and glory.

Jesus is the One who justifies.

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

Faith, Works, Justified Part 1

Jul9

You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
James 2:24-26 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.2.24-26.NASB1995

In Joshua, chapter one, God’s people were about to cross into the Promised Land given by God. ¹Joshua sent two men, spies, to view the land, especially Jericho. The king of Jericho got wind of this and sent word to Rahab to bring the men out who had entered her house.
But . . . the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. It came about when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.” But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan to the fords; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.
Joshua 2:4-7 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jos.2.4-7.NASB1995

¹Rahab asked of the men she hid to have mercy upon her and her family confessing that, “the Lord your God, He is God in heaven and on earth beneath.” The men agreed to deal kindly and faithfully.

¹Rahab helped the men escape and their parting words were . . .
. . . “We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household.
Joshua 2:17-18 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jos.2.17-18.NASB1995

She said, “According to your words, so be it.” So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
Joshua 2:21 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jos.2.21.NASB1995

Continually Seeking Him,

🌹Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

¹Reference: Joshua 2:1-21

Faith: Soul Preserver

Jul8

But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result (by the deeds) of the works, faith was perfected (completed); and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.
James 2:20-23 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.2.20-23.NASB1995

The work of God is that we believe in Jesus. The gift of God is grace through faith.
John 6:29/Ephesians 2:8 NASB1995

Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
James 2:17 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.2.17.NASB1995

🌹But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
Hebrews 10:38-39 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/heb.10.38-39.NASB1995

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

Belief or Faith?

Jul7

But someone (will) may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
James 2:18 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.2.18.NASB1995

Are you content being a believer? You said the prayer. You got baptized. Then . . . No fruit. No obedience. No spiritual growth.

Jesus said, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
Luke 6:46 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/luk.6.46.NASB1995

Faith is more than believing. Faith is living. Living for Jesus . . .

In obedience to His word.

What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.
Matthew 10:27 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.10.27.NASB1995

Growing, nourishing your spirit.

but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 3:18a NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/2pe.3.18.NASB1995

Bearing fruit.

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
John 15:8 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jhn.15.8.NASB1995

Faith is being all in, sold out to the Lord.

“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 10:32, 38-39 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.10.32-39.NASB1995

No act of worthiness means anything, but only faith through the Spirit in us working through love.
Galatians 5:5-6 NASB1995

Belief is not enough.

🌹You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
James 2:19 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/jas.2.19.NASB1995

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

Blessed Be The Lord!

Jul4

Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and joy are in His place.

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him; Worship the Lord in holy array.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting.

Then all the people said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord.
1 Chronicles 16:27-29, 36 NASB1995
https://bible.com/bible/100/1ch.16.27-36.NASB1995

Continually Seeking Him,

Sharon
https://indasharonjesus.org

P.S. Happy Independence Day!
Birthday of the United States of America!
❤️🤍💙🇺🇸