Sunday Mornin' Hope : Blessings

James 3:1-12 1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, F14 for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. 4 Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, F15 and is itself set on fire by hell. F16 7 For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, 8 but no one can tame the tongue - a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, F17 this ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, F18 yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

How many times have we caught ourselves saying something we know we're going to regret later? Sticks and stones break bones and words hurt. In the book of James, he talks about the power of the tongue. The tongue is a fire that spreads easy. lets hope we bless more people than we curse.

I hate grocery shopping and would rather have a root canal than go to Sam's on a Friday. But each Friday a friend Rod and I go and get church supplies and food for the homeless. We tend to have more fun than we should and talk to several shoppers and workers about Jesus Christ. One of the supervisors Jeri helps us out a lot to find things. And we like to pray for her whenever possible. Thursday we went and Jeri made a bee line to us. She saw us coming and went down a few aisles so we could talk to her (and she could help us find rubber bands). Sam's doesn't carry rubber bands. Anyway we got the opportunity to pray for her and her son. She always gives us giant hugs. Then we saw three elderly ladies and I asked them if I could pray for them. They were all excited and told us ALL about their aches and problems. That took longer than we expected, but it was good. You know how you run into the same people aisle after aisle? About the third time we passed this lady, I said "Mam, I think I'm supposed to pray for you." She was so ready for this and told us her situation. After a short prayer she saw our cart loaded down with food and inquired. I told her about one of the church's ministries of feeding the homeless. She quickly reached into her purse and said "Put this towards it." She gave me a wadded up bill. I thanked her and went on our way. When we got back to the church, I gave the receipts and that dollar to the treasurer. When I opened it up it was $100. I know God has blessed her and will bless her for her generosity.

On an earlier trip to Sam's, we had to check out at the click-n-pull counter. When the lady finished I asked her if I could pray for her. She replied "You're the one. I heard about you and how you pray for people." So she let us pray for her and it was a God moment. You can find glory in Sam's while doing something like shopping. Now Sam's is one of the highlights of my week!

Make the best of each opportunity and task. Find a way to enjoy it. Bless others by listening to them and praying for them. Have a great week! I hope you get some good riding in or planting flowers. I love you more, mom. Remember I'm praying for you.

Thanks Dino.