Grace Next Door

There’s a moment in the book of Isaiah that is so dramatic and so powerful. Isaiah has this vision of the Lord in His glory, and he cries out, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). And then…this is the part that changes everything…“one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for’” (Isaiah 6:6–7).

That hot coal was a cleansing fire. It was God saying, “I don’t just want your heart; I want your mouth. I want every word that comes out of you to be holy.”

James paints another vivid picture: “If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well… so also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things” (James 3:3,5). He goes on to say the tongue is “a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8). Think about that—our whole life can be set on course by the words we speak. Our tongue can bring blessing or destruction.

And that’s why, when God chose to show the world what it looks like to be filled with the Spirit, He went after the tongue first. On the day of Pentecost, they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave utterance (Acts 2:4). The tongue—the very thing that is hardest for us to control—became the sign that God had taken over.

And here’s where it gets real: God wants us to put away all filthy language from our mouths. Not just the expletives, but all profanity, foul language, and even the ones that sound vulgar, or obscene. As children of God, it should grieve the Holy Spirit when we hear or speak those words. They shouldn’t be normal, casual, or shrugged off. They should feel out of place in the mouth of someone filled with the Spirit. Holy Ghost-filled believers should not be “cussing the wallpaper off the walls.”

Paul says it straight: “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth” (Colossians 3:8). And Jesus reminds us, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak” (Matthew 12:36).

But here’s the hope: the same lips that once cursed can now bless. The same mouth that once tore down can now build up. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21).

So today, I want to speak this over you: let the coal from God’s altar touch your lips. Let His fire purify your tongue. Let the Holy Spirit bridle your mouth and turn it into an instrument of blessing.

Speak words that build up, not tear down. Speak words that encourage, not discourage. Speak words that bring life, not death. Speak words that glorify Jesus, not yourself.

Here’s a prayer for us:

“Lord, touch my lips with Your fire. Take control of my tongue. Let no corrupt talk come out of my mouth, but only words full of grace, truth, and life. Use my mouth as Your instrument to heal, to encourage, to lift up, and to glorify You.”

I want to speak a word of life over you today: may your lips burn with heaven’s fire, and may every word you speak carry the weight of God’s blessings.