Topic: Be Slow to Speak [John MacArthur Ministry] Grace To You Daily Devotionals 4 June 2021
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Be Slow to Speak
A + A – RESET
“Let everyone be . . . slow to speak” (James 1:19).
Don’t rush into the role of a Bible teacher.
It is reported that when the Scottish Reformer John Knox was called to preach, he shed many tears and withdrew himself to the privacy of his room. He was grieved and greatly troubled at the prospect of such an awesome responsibility. Only the compelling grace of the Holy Spirit Himself enabled Knox to fulfill his calling.
John Knox understood the importance of being slow to speak. He knew that God holds teachers of the Word accountable for what they say, and will dispense a stricter judgment to them if they violate their ministry (James 3:1- 2).
In one sense, God holds everyone accountable for what they say. You are to “let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29). But being slow to speak doesn’t refer to vocabulary or opinions. It refers to teaching the Word. You are to pursue every opportunity to hear God’s Word, but exercise reluctance in assuming the role of a teacher. Why? Because the tongue reveals the subtle sins of one’s heart and easily offends others (James 2:2).
Does that mean you should never teach the Bible? No, because God commands every believer to “make disciples . . . teaching them to observe all” that Jesus taught (Matt. 28:19-20, emphasis added). And the Spirit gifts many believers to be preachers and teachers of the Word. Paul said, “I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16).
You must take every opportunity to share the gospel with others, and if God has called and gifted you to teach the Word, be faithful to do so. But remember, those are serious and sacred responsibilities. Be sure your motives are pure and your teaching accurate. If someone is offended, let it be by the convicting power of the Word, not by something you said at an unguarded moment.
Suggestions for Prayer
Ask the Lord to teach you to guard your tongue and to speak only what is edifying to others.
For Further Study
Read Proverbs 10:19, 13:3, 17:28, and 29:20, noting what each teaches about wise speech
Integrity Triumphs over Personal Loss
A + A – RESET
“Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach, and to Azariah Abed-nego” (Daniel 1:6-7).
You can’t always prevent personal loss, but you can respond to it in ways that glorify God.
It was a quiet January morning in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California until suddenly and without warning the earth shook with such a violent force that many department stores, apartment houses, homes, and freeway overpasses crumbled under the strain. Within minutes the 1994 Northridge earthquake left scars upon lives and land that in some cases may never heal. Such catastrophic events remind us of just how difficult dealing with personal loss can be.
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah understood personal loss. Perhaps in our day only those who have suffered as prisoners of war or as refugees from war’s ravages can fully appreciate the deep sense of loss those men must have felt after being cut off from family, friends, and homeland.
Their loss included even their own names. When taken captive, each of them had a Hebrew name that reflected his godly upbringing. But in an apparent effort to remove that influence and to exalt the pagan deities of Bel (or Baal) and Aku, Nebuchadnezzar’s commander changed their names from Daniel (which means “God is judge”) to Belteshazzar (“Bel provides” or “Bel’s prince”), from Hananiah (“the Lord is gracious”) to Shadrach (“under the command of Aku”), from Mishael (“Who is what the Lord is?”) to Meshach (“Who is what Aku is?”), and from Azariah (“the Lord is my helper”) to Abed-nego (“the servant of Nebo [the son of Baal]”).
Daniel and his friends couldn’t prevent their losses, but they could trust God and refuse to let those losses lead to despair or compromise. That’s an example you can follow when you face loss.
Suggestions for Prayer
- Ask the Lord for the wisdom to see your losses through His loving eyes, and for the grace to respond appropriately.
- Pray for those whom you know who have suffered loss recently.
For Further Study
Read Job 1:13-22.
- How did Job respond to his losses?
- What can you learn from his example?
Reading for Today:
- 1 Kings 17:1–18:46
- Psalm 69:29-36
- Proverbs 17:27-28
- John 13:21-38
Notes:
1 Kings 17:1 Elijah. His name means “the LORD is God.” The prophet Elijah’s ministry corresponded to his name: He was sent by God to confront Baalism and to declare to Israel that the Lord was God and there was no other. Tishbite. Elijah lived in a town called Tishbe, east of the Jordan River in the vicinity of the Jabbok River. not be dew nor rain. The autumn and spring rains and summer dew were necessities for the crops of Israel. The Lord had threatened to withhold these from the Land if His people turned from Him to serve other gods (Lev. 26:18, 19; Deut. 11:16, 17; 28:23, 24). Elijah had prayed for the drought (James 5:17) and God answered. It lasted 3 years and 6 months. The drought proved that Baal, the god of the rains and fertility, was impotent before the Lord.
1 Kings 18:3 Obadiah. His name means “servant of the LORD.” He was the manager of Ahab’s royal palace and a devout worshiper of the Lord, who had demonstrated his devotion to the Lord by protecting 100 of the Lord’s prophets from death by Jezebel (vv. 4, 13), which had put him on tenuous ground with Ahab.
1 Kings 18:12 the Spirit of the LORD will carry you. The servant had been asked to tell Ahab Elijah was present to speak with him (vv. 7, 18), but he was afraid because Ahab was seeking Elijah so intensely. Since Elijah had disappeared from sight earlier (17:5), Obadiah was afraid that the Holy Spirit would carry Elijah away again (2 Kin. 2:16) and the irrational Ahab would kill him for the false report of Elijah’s presence.
1 Kings 18:21 falter between two opinions. Literally, limp along on or between two twigs. Israel had not totally rejected the Lord, but was seeking to combine worship of Him with the worship of Baal. The issue posed by Elijah was that Israel had to choose who was God, the Lord or Baal, and then serve God wholeheartedly. Rather than decide by his message, Elijah sought a visible sign from heaven.
1 Kings 18:24 the God who answers by fire. Since Baal’s followers believed that he controlled the thunder, lightning, and storms, and the Lord’s followers declared the same (Ps. 18:14; 29:3–9; 104:3), this would prove to be a fair test to show who was God.
John 13:26 He gave it to Judas Iscariot. The host at a feast (whose role was filled by Jesus) would dip into a common bowl and pull out a particularly tasty bit and pass it to a guest as a special mark of honor or friendship. Because Jesus passed it so easily to Judas, it has been suggested that he was seated near the Lord in a place of honor. Jesus was demonstrating a final gesture of His love for Judas even though he would betray Him.
John 13:34 A new commandment…as I have loved you. The commandment to love was not new. Deuteronomy 6:5 commanded love for God and Leviticus 19:18 commanded loving one’s neighbor as oneself (Matt. 22:34–40; Rom. 13:8–10; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8). However, Jesus’ command regarding love presented a distinctly new standard for two reasons: 1) it was sacrificial love modeled after His love (as I loved you; 15:13), and 2) it is produced through the New Covenant by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit (Jer. 31:29–34; Ezek. 36:24–26; Gal. 5:22).
DAY 4: How do scholars conclude that the expression “whom Jesus loved” was John’s way of referring to himself?
Three obvious clues about John’s Gospel help identify the unnamed disciple who called himself the disciple “whom Jesus loved” (13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20).
Early church fathers invariably identify the apostle John as the author of this Gospel. John is frequently mentioned by the other Gospel writers as an active participant among the disciples of Jesus, yet John’s name is absent from the fourth Gospel.
If four people take a trip together and each carries a camera, the group-shots each person takes will naturally not include them. In fact, someone else could probably guess who took which pictures by which member of the group was absent. The Gospel of John functions this way—John’s absence by name shouts his presence.
As for his signature phrase, the words “whom Jesus loved” convey both a sense of the apostle’s humility and the depth of his relationship to Jesus. The phrase doesn’t mean that John thought of himself as the only disciple Jesus loved. It simply expresses with disarming honesty the wonder of this disciple over the fact that the Lord loved him!
Jesus on Wealth
A + A – RESET
“‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’” (Matthew 6:19–21).
The focus of Jesus’ teaching here is this: “Do not lay up treasures for yourself.” The Greek word for “lay up” connotes the idea of stockpiling or hoarding—it pictures wealth that isn’t being used, things kept mainly to show off one’s plenty.
Be sure of this, though: Jesus is not advocating poverty as a means of spirituality. Both the Old and New Testaments recognize the right to material possessions, including money, land, animals, houses, clothing, and anything else acquired honestly. In fact, the foundational truth underlying the commands not to steal or covet is the right of possessing personal property.
God expects and commands His people to be generous. But He also expects and commands that we not only be thankful for the blessings He gives but also derive pleasure from them—including the material blessings. The Lord “richly supplies us with all things to enjoy” (1 Tim. 6:17). This verse is specifically directed to “those who are rich in this present world,” yet it does not command them to divest themselves of their wealth. Rather, it warns them not to be conceited about it or to trust in it. It’s how we use our possessions for kingdom purposes that counts.
Ask Yourself
How would you define your general attitudes toward money? What is its purpose in the believer’s life? How are we supposed to handle it? What are some of the greatest abuses or misunderstandings of money that have plagued your life or distorted your freedom with it?
