Our God is Just - He Can be Trusted!! (7.31.15)

I'm sure we all have been involved in gossip at one point in our lives
but repentance and asking GOD for forgiveness is important.  

     - Marilyn

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Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. -  Ephesians 4:29 (NASB)

After church, two women giggled at their rare chance of conversation in the midst of their busy lives. One of them paused for a moment and then thought, “Now, I can get this off my chest.”  Pushing down guilt, she shared about how one of her friends had treated her badly. The other woman gasped, sipping her coffee in delighted horror at the fascinating details of her friend’s recounting. The ladies bonded over that trial, validating each others concerns, and pretending, for a brief moment, that they themselves were never party to such things.

Deep down however, both women felt a tug of something else during that discussion.
Joy didn’t permeate their hearts they way it did when they were in right relationship with GOD.
The gossip that had tasted so good at the beginning, was hard to swallow.
The Holy Spirit inside of them, was reminding them that gossip,
masquerading itself as righteous recounting, doesn't settle well.
It ultimately leads to relationship death, not life.

Next time you are confronted with the urge to share some unsavory news about a friend or family member who has mistreated you, ask yourself if this information will be life-giving for the friend you are with, or even life-giving for you to repeat. If we feel we need to talk it out, even after GOD tells us to make sure our conversation is edifying; and to consider a more biblical and direct confrontation (see Matthew 18:15-16).

When we disobey Scripture, to vent and gossip,
we are basically telling GOD that we don’t Trust Him
with the outcome of our story.

We’re trying to find comfort in something that will never satisfy.
Remember GOD is just — He can be trusted!
So if you need to vent to someone, He is always available.

It’s never gossip when you’re talking to Him!
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Dear GOD, 
Thank You for reminding me that You have something
far better for me than gossip or slander. 

I trust that You know my situation, and that you will help me
not to be overshadowed by someone else’s malicious behaviors,
intended or not.

Father God, I know that You will not let anything 
get in the way of the dreams You have placed inside of my heart,
all of those things that You want for me. 

I receive that now. 

You have called me toward a purity of speech, 
and I want to honor You in that way today and every day. 

So please help me to take every thought and word captive, 
and release them to You. 

In Jesus Name,
Amen