Do you Gossip?

Spend some time with the Lord today.  Pretend like Jesus is actually sitting with you as you talk with Him and share with Him.  Ask Him to teach you something through His Word as you study it.
1.  Read and review James 4:1-10.  Write down 3 main things the Lord taught you.
2. Read James 4:11.  Read it a few times.  What do you think this means?  It is talking to Christians because it uses the word “brethren”.  It plainly says for Christians not to speak evil of one another.  The Lord knew that we would struggle with gossip toward our brothers and sisters in Christ so He put this verse in the Bible to remind us.  Why do you think we speak bad things about other people?  The reason I do is because it makes me feel better about myself.  If someone else’s fault is spoken of then it gets my eyes off of all my own faults and sins.  I see the spot in their life and not the plank in my own eye.  Yes, I just admitted a fault.  I have gossiped before, who hasn’t?  But I don’t want to.  It is sin.  It can ruin friends, families and churches.  It can destroy like fire.  (Earlier in the book of James we talked about the tongue being related to a fire-read James 3:6).  Ask the Lord to show you your motive in gossip and then confess your sin and repent and go and sin no more.
The second part of verse 11 goes on to say that the person that speaks evil of a believer is speaking evil of the law and judging the law.  The Bible says if you judge the law you are not doing the law.  You cannot be the Judge of the law and the doer of the law.  Imagine yourself as a Judge sitting down and watching other people to see when they mess up.  You would not be able to sit and judge at the same time you were up and serving.  The Lord is the Judge and we should be so busy serving Him that we don’t have time to gossip or worry about what others are doing.
3. Read James 4:12.  Who is the one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy? 
     It is King Jesus.  The Bible says in verse 12, paraphrase, ‘Who do you think you are to judge someone else?’  We are like little ants, we are dirt, nothing in comparison to the Glory of God- so why do we act high and mighty to judge another?  This is a good reminder.  The Bible puts it pretty clear.  Read Matthew 10:28.  We should fear the Lord.  He is our Judge and will judge every word and motive.  Ouch. 
Let’s work together to quit speaking evil of others.  If you see me do it, tell me to stop.  If I see you do it I don’t want to participate.  If you hear others do it, stop them.  Let’s be pleasing to the Lord sisters!      

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Unseen Abuse

 I tried not to talk about it. And before you get any ideas, I’m not talking about my husband. A counselor told me that emotional abuse is harder than physical abuse for several reasons. It’s unseen. The lies, manipulation and brainwashing can make you think things are okay, but they aren’t okay. The gaslighting and gift giving can cause utter confusion. Maybe they’re nice after all? But why do I feel so drained?  Emotional abusers are like emotional vampires who suck the life right out of you to get their fix, at your expense.  All they care about is how they look to others. They may be physically there but emotionally absent. If you set a boundary and don’t let them near you, they find someone else to torment. I use strong language because it is intense. They cause deep pain to those they hurt but they don’t see it. They lie and cause turmoil and try to break apart healthy relationships. It’s truly sad.  If you find yourself struggling with anxiety or depression and you can’t find th
Read more

Pinterest Perfect House

Image
Sometimes I have compared the many different homes I’ve lived in to other people’s homes.  I have scratches on my used dining room table, mismatched furniture, and used furniture in my home. In year 16 of our marriage we finally have some matching furniture. We chose not to go into debt to purchase things like that. And it gave our home a unique style.  A lot of the places we lived we rented so we could never paint the walls. I have lived in rental houses with brown paneling on the walls...But I loved it because it was in a beautiful vineyard and cow pasture with an old barn behind it and it had a beautiful view. I could sit at my vanity in the bedroom and look out and see the vineyard. That was the home that we had our first and only garden. That was the home that I learned how to can tomatoes in.  When we lived in the single wide trailer we began a worldwide ministry. We didn’t have a big house to take care of or a big yard to take care of so we started a ministry! God taught me many
Read more

Not how I planned it...

Image
  Everything about my life right now is not how I planned it. That doesn’t mean I don’t like it. It’s just funny how when you surrender your life to God, He takes you to places you never thought you would go.   I never thought I would leave Oconee County in Georgia. I loved living there. But we have lived in Kentucky and West Virginia and Cleveland, Georgia throughout the years.  I said I would never marry a guy from Oconee but I did. I thought I would go to the University of Georgia and try out for the cheerleading squad there. Instead I felt led to go to a Bible College in North Georgia where I met my husband (who was from Oconee County). I went to school from Kindergarten through 12th grade with his little brother who was my age, but I had never met John until Bible College. Only God knew.  I didn’t see myself as a kid person and didn’t want to have kids right away…but God changed our minds. At 22 years old I was pregnant with our firstborn and then we had lots more. Four boys
Read more