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3:1-4:12
So much harm can be done by a hurtful word. so much good can be done by a word of witness. An evil ‘fire’ can be turned into a godly fire: ‘It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up in its glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love, once you’ve experienced it. You spread His love to everyone. You want to pass it on (3:5; Mission Praise, 348). Use your words with wisdom - ‘the wisdom that comes from heaven’(17-18). Don’t fight to get your own way. Ask God to show you His way (4:2). Be careful how you speak: ‘Do not slander one another...Who are you to judge your neighbour?’ (4:11-12). May God deliver us from hypocrisy - ‘out of the same mouth come praise and cursing’(3:10). May He give us ‘more grace’- to be ‘humble’ and not ‘proud’, submitting to God and resisting the devil (4:6-7).

4:13-5:20
Don’t worry about ‘what will happen tomorrow’. It’s in the Lord’s hands (4:14-15). We must not lose sight of ‘the purpose of the Lord’. We must remember that ‘the Lord is full of compassion and mercy’(11). We look forward to ‘the Lord’s Coming’as the great Day of our salvation (7-8). We must not, however, forget God’s words of warning: ‘The Judge is standing at the door’. God speaks to us concerning ‘the misery that is coming upon you’. What is He saying to us here? - He is warning us: Be careful how you live - Don’t trust in riches. ‘Don’t grumble against each other’(1-3,9). The warning and the promise belong together. Those who are facing judgment can be brought to the Saviour. May God help us to speak His Word - the warning as well as the promise - , always praying that sinners will be saved (16,19-20).