There once was a very holy pastor in the 4th century A.D. (After Christ) who, like many men, was named after St. John the evangelist. He was the most famous preacher in his day in the ancient city of Constantinople, now Antioch in Turkey. So extraordinary was he in sharing God’s Word that he was given the name “Golden-Mouthed…in Greek, “Chrysostom.”
Imagine having your whole life summed up by that phrase! It meant that when he opened his mouth, every word was pure gold; that’s how much people valued what he had to say.
Today’s chapter from Proverbs has a verse that you’ll want to meditate on, for the idea of the verse is very much like the nickname given to 4th century John. In order for our words to be like gold, they need to sit in the silver basket of silence for awhile, so that when we talk, we only say what the Holy Spirit prompts us to say from the silence…and not just because our mouth is pushed like a button on a machine!
These Firestarters are from a new edition of The Bible Through the Seasons being developed for families with children. For the Firestarters in the original edition, I recommend the ebook. You will have the entire program of well over a thousand of these introductions with you on your phone or table!. Click here to visit the website for more information.
