Peace... prayed over us all...

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Thessalonians 5:23

Peace is already granted unto us. And then Paul shares the greatest thought one could ever share with another believer. He prays that God would wash us clean, because He is the God of peace. And it is peace that will cleanse us and keep us pure.

Peace, as we said earlier, is one of those things we all yearn for. Some are militant in their chase for it, believing that once all opposition is ended, peace will naturally occur. But this is not true, as seen by many centuries of one king rising and taking the war away, only for another uprising to come later because of the growth of corruption within the once-fair kingdom that supported peace. Why does this happen? Simple: people are involved.

Others are passive in their approach, believing that if they are at peace, they will bring peace. True, to some extent, but the problem still exists that people are invloved in the equation, and we are (ALL OF US) wretched and fickle things, with no constancy about anything in our natural design. We simply are not built to be that good.

But the best way to achieve this, in my humble opinion, is to turn it over to God, as Paul did. Speak the words with purpose, and share them openly. And recognize that the only way to peace is from two directions that are not natural... from within and from above. God brings peace, not man. Having God and Christ makes the impossible things into possible goals. This is the only way it works.

Take a moment today to pray peace over someone. Meditate on this verse, and then designate a person to pray over with these amazing words. Think about how completely peace cleanses, as the verse explains, and look for that cleanliness in that person when you see them next. It'll bless ya!

God bless you all!!!

Peace...

"Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful."

John 14:27

Peace. Peace is defined as the freedom from disturbance, or a state of quiet and tranquility. And if earth defines it as such a calming thing, just imagine how powerful it truly is when Jesus gives us His peace! And it is peace that resides in our hearts, and gives us freedom.

Jesus Christ, the Son, the Savior, one with the Father who created all things, gave us His peace. And if He is tranquil over all things, why would we concern ourselves with anything except the eternal salvation of ourselves and those we love? He left us His peace so that we would be peaceful. Perhaps we should try to use that... hmm...

And He points out that He does not give "as the world gives." Imagine all that you have gained from the world, and how fleeting it was. Like happiness and contentment, which are only replaced by sadness and longing for something better. But the PEACE that we have allows our JOY to radiate through all of that, and we can realize that we have no need of anything... no need of anything... NO NEED OF ANYTHING AT ALL!!! Because we have Him, and His peace, firmly implanted in our hearts.

Take a moment today and think about ways in which you can better show His peace to those around you. Is it a little more smiling? A little more laughter? Perhaps a little less grumbling or complaining about things which we cannot control? Whatever the case may be, focus and show that peace today to all you encounter. It will be a blessing and a powerful witness!

God bless you all!!!

Joy as a companion...

"Weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning."

Psalms 30:5b

One thing that has always helped me in times of distress or concern has been to personify that which keeps me grounded. In light of this, I would encourage you to think primarily of joy as your companion.

In a larger work of mine, I describe wisdom as a lady that can be courted (reference Proverbs 8). Wisdom, obviously, is not a person. Neither is joy. But this friend, joy, is a permanent thing for us as Christians.

And, as I close my thoughts on joy, I remind you again that it is not, never has been, and never will be a situational thing. Joy is forever. Joy is for always. Joy is for you and me, and it is PERMANENT! So bring joy to your home, and realize that your sorrow may last for a night, but there will be joy again in the morning. And, oddly enough, joy is there even in the sorrow... even if it's sometimes hard to see.

Take time tonight to realize and recognize the joy in all things. Spend the time needed in any situation from now on to see the joy before examining the negative. Focus on the positives first, always, and your joy will be more and more apparent in all things. Add it to the love you more readily see and show, and honor the Lord in all things through this.

God bless you all!!!

Friday's Proverb...

"The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing."

Proverbs 10:28

QBQ - What do I expect out of life? And if I am seeking it, am I more readily apt to find it?

It has been said many times by many people that if you look for the negative, you will surely find it. But the same is true in the reverse! As we study joy, we should endeavor to seek out the joy in ourselves, and then show it to others. Who knows? They may find it appealing and decide to follow suit.

Honor the Lord today by seeking your own joy with fervent expectancy, and let it shine to all you encounter!

May He bless you!!!

Joy in trials...

"Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."

James 1:2-3

To extrapolate on the truth that joy is not situational (told you I'd bring that up a lot), we must look first into the hard stuff. And there is nothing harder, in my mind, than to keep your joy radiant when you are in the middle of difficult situations in life. Nothing takes more focus; nothing takes more energy; and nothing in life can bear greater witness!

Paul is a great example of this teaching from James, as he was whipped and chained and sang hymns the entire time. He praised God for the blessing to be counted to suffer like Christ, for Christ. And we should do the same.

It's no secret that what I am typing about is not easy. But if we put ourselves into the shoes of those who see us, and then imagine a few things, it may be helpful in this task. First, realize that those around you should know you are a Christian. Second, acknowledge that anyone can tell when someone else is having a bad day. Third, imagine what would happen if you had been witnessing successfully to someone for weeks, and then you had a bad day and lost your temper and your joy (outwardly, at least), and that person you were trying to help saw how easily you faltered. Please remember, also, that even though there could be many, many reasons for the failing in attitude that day, no one else may be privy to them. They still see a change in attitude from a seemingly controllable incident... even though it was the last incident of many, in reality. So what they percieve is an easy departure from the Way.

Be certain, today, that you are not letting external circumstances ruin your internal joy. For those of us that are married, pay extra attention to the joy that you show in front of your spouse, as it will... IT WILL... be an encouragement for them to follow suit. And for those who are not married, the same is true for your friends or your significant other.

Sometimes the only Jesus some people ever see is in us, as Christians and witnesses. Make certain you honor the Lord by showing that we can be joyous in all things!

God bless you all!!!

Joy...

"Be joyful, always"

1 Thessalonians 5:16

The first thing, as mentioned before, is to realize that joy is not specific to your individual situation. Rather, as I said before, it is permanent.

Paul exhorts to the the church at Thessolonica just as I exclaim to you, thousands of years later, that we NEED to remember that our joy cannot be removed by a simple bad day or negative turn of events. There is nothing on this earth, and nothing else in the entire universe that can get in between us and our joy. Nothing. Ever. Period.

So when you walk around this week, or even just for the next day or two, remember that some people you see do not have this joy. (And if you are surrounded only by Christians, then I suggest you get outside your comfort zone and show the love of Christ to those who may not know it.) Some people have it, but don't know how to show it. They need an example.

Keep your head high, no matter what. Joy is not situational, and how you handle the circumstance is FAR more important than the issue that brings the circumstance forth. Make no mistake; that joy inside you cannot go away. Access it, and honor the Lord in doing so!

God bless you all!!!

Joy... for starters...

As we move through the fruit of the Spirit, some of them will lend naturally to more Scriptural references... this is one of them. However, before we get into the Bible and what it has to teach us about joy, I need to make one point exceedingly clear.

Joy is not situational. It is not temporary. It is not fleeting, like happiness. It is not fickle, like contentment. True Biblical joy is, for lack of a better word, PERMANENT.

We'll get to a ton of examples on this, but I need to warn you that I will make the statement, over and over again, that joy has nothing to do with one specific moment. It is not related to right now only... it relates to all time! And it does so because it can never be taken away, once it is gained.

Tomorrow I'll get deeper into the first session on this, but for now, please ponder on what it means to have true, Biblical joy in your life. Focus on the truth that it CAN NOT be taken away or diminished by any single circumstance or a group of related or unrelated happenings. It is consistent; it is complete; it is from God!

God bless you all!!!

Love... conclusion...

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!"

Romans 8:38-39

Although the topic of God's love, or even the topic of love itself, as a fruit of the Spirit cannot ever really be concluded, we are moving into the next portion of this study, and this seemed a logical verse to use in closing. And there will not be a lot of expansion on it...

But just let me say, in simple terms, that NOTHING can ever stop the love God has for you; nothing can outmatch its power, nothing can outreach its grasp, nothing can outshine its radiance. It is a perfect, deep and abiding love that never, ever changes... EVER.

To possess this love is a given, because all who are Christians have it coming to them. The question is, do all who receive it give it back? Are you sharing that kind of love, as God and Christ share it with you? Are you willing to look past all things, and recognize what could be?

Take a moment, right now, to stop and think of the one person in your life who needs that love to be shown to them today. And then pull an old fashioned "WWJD" moment, and call them up! If imitation is the highest form of flattery, and the highest Being in the universe instructs that we imitate Him, let's do it! No thinking, no reasoning, no procrastinating... DO IT! And honor God with the love you show.

God bless you all!!!

Covering love...

"Above all, keep your love for one another at full strength, since love covers a multitude of sins."

1 Peter 4:8

Perhaps the most important thing I can say about love as a fruit of the Spirit, aside from explaining how God loves us, is that we should always endeavor to keep it going. Nothing should ever stand in the way of it. Nothing should ever be able to surmount it. Nothing should ever have any chance to stand against it.

And as my iPod shuffles over to the David Crowder Band and their song "How He Loves," I am reminded of how important it is that we attempt, in our best fashion, to model God's love. Can we actually imitate God in this completely? No. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try with ever fiber of our being!

Also, we need to keep focus on the truth that love does cover a multitude of sins and offenses. How many times has someone said, "I know (that person) is that way... but I love (him/her) anyway," to you? People say it all the time. We overlook all the things our children and friends do that would be offensive to others, because of love. We overlook things that our parnters in Bible study may say or do that would offend others, because of love. We certainly are adept at overlooking the things that we, individually, say and do that could be absolutely offensive to others, and that is due to the extreme love of self that we all use to justify our fleshly moments. So why can we not overlook those things that we find offensive?

Showing God's love, as stated many times before, is difficult. But perhaps as we come near to the end of this portion of the study, our first place should be to remove the feelings from our sleeves and begin to actively seek opportunities to overlook offenses and show true loving character to all we encounter. We all know who out there bothers each of us, and we all know what sets us off into a mood of negativity. So let's try it out and see if we can be more Christ-like and just see past it, as Peter says.

God bless you all!!!

Sunday's thought...

"There is certainly no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins."

Ecclesiastes 7:20

Solomon's wisdom was so accurate in his day. It still is. No one on this earth lives a life free of sin. Not me... not you... no one.

But as we have been studying love as a fruit of the Spirit, it is necessary to point out that it is our own love that allows us to look past all this. I'll expand on that later with a verse from 1 Peter, and that you won't want to miss.

We must have love to see people not for who they are, but for who they can become. It is that extraordinary vision that Jesus used when He climbed Calvary for all of mankind. He saw us... all of us, even to this day and beyond... for what we can become. And He showed true love for us!

We must also realize that people are looking at us, too. It's neat to think about this from the standpont of how I can be a better person, but it starts to get uncomfortable when it is placed on me that other people are looking at me the same way I look at them. (Believe it or not, the uncomfortable part is a great thing! It means we're outside the comfort zone, in the world, where we can grow and minister.) And if I want them to look on me with love, how could I dare to show only contempt and judgment?

Take a moment today to ponder whether or not you are looking for the best in people. It is a truism that if you seek the negative, you'll find it. The reverse is true, as well, you know. Seek the best today, and honor the Lord in doing so.

God bless you all!!!

Growing love...

"And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment."

Philippians 1:9

Continuing with our exposition of love as a fruit of the Spirit, we need to look into what happens when love grows. And we need to examine what can happen in the reverse, when there is an atrophy of love.

Paul tells the church at Philippi that he wants their love to grow... and he says that to us today, as well. If our purpose were simply to develop something and then sit stagnant and never increase, we would be no better than the simple and non-sentient animals some folks have as pets. But we are not pets. We have the ability to adapt and overcome and improve on all things... especially ourselves!

To grow in every kind of knowledge, though, means that you would have to also grow in the knowledge of what happens when there is a vacuum left by an absence of love. The obvious answer is that an absence of love is where apathy and hatred come from. This is true, but since love is of God, its absence is painful, too. And that pain is real, and it is noticeable to all who endure it.

The good news is that the absence, in order for it to become hatred and full-blown uncaring, would have to be cultivated into such a thing. And if we, as Christians, take the initiative to show love as God instructs us to do, we should be able to cultivate and maintain something else entirely: caring, empathetic, loving brothers and sisters in Christ!

Today, think about how you are growing your love. Are you stretching your limits, like you would if you were working a muscle? Are you pushing farther and farther outside your comfort zone, so that all people will know you as a disciple of Christ? We all should be! So take a moment now to read 1 Peter 4:8 (where our next post will come from) and see how you measure up. It humbles me, as I know I am not there yet... but with God on our side, we have all of Heaven to support us in any task!

God bless you all!!!

Today's thought...

"Now concerning that day and hour no one knows - neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son - except the Father only."

Matthew 24:36

QBQ - If Jesus doesn't know about it, how would I have any chance to know about it?

We need to realize that while we were born to ask the questions, we were not born to have all the answers. Finite beings cannot ever gain the ability to grasp infinite concepts, and that is precisely why any discussion of exact dates for the end of the world or for the Rapture or for anything else, really, is irrelevant.

Placing dates on things and telling people when something divine will happen is the same as putting God on your timetable... when we are firmly and completely on His, and nothing will ever change that.

Thank God for the day He blesses you with, and praise Him throughout each day you are allowed to have. Honor Him and His wisdom, which is far greater than can be imagined, and live each day as though He were coming back immediately, ready with a clean heart. Show love for the purpose of showing love, pray earnestly and remain focused.

God bless you all!!!

Friday's Proverb...

"He mocks those who mock, but gives grace to the humble."

Proverbs 3:34

QBQ - Do I show respect and love to all I encounter, as Christ would?

In the current study of the fruit of the Spirit, we are looking currently into love. An absence of love brings forth disrespect and mockery. There is an endless list of Proverbs and other Bible verses to describe the maladies that befall those who are called mockers, so make certain today, friends, that you are not one who mocks. Instead, speak only words of encouragement today, and honor the Lord in doing so!

May He bless you!!!

Showing love...

"I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

John 13:34-35

People talk a lot about loving your spouse (I am one of them) and about loving your kids and about loving your earthly family and friends... but Jesus wasn't concerned with those bonds in this statement. This command was given with respect to how we should treat other believers, other Christians. It says we are to love them... all of them... as Jesus did the disciples.

We've been through how God loves us, and we know that it is deep and abiding and downright hard for us to do the same. And since we know and accept that Jesus and God are one and the same Being, along with the Spirit, then we can logically infer that when Jesus says "just as I have loved you," it is the same love that God shows us. And we are COMMANDED to show this to every other believer.

There are those who save this love only for their close group of friends, and some who will venture out a little further than this in their emotional walk, and then others still who do show true Christian love to all they encounter. I know I fall short in this, and I give in to fleshly thoughts and comments and gossip, even when I should not. But it is the realization and awareness of that tendency that allows me to grow past it.

Take time tonight, beloved friends, to think of one person you can reach out to and share an extra dose of Christian love with. And then do it! Call, text, facebook, whatever it takes. Find your comfort level and reach out as a brother or sister who loves like Jesus loves. And don't forget, you must offer it freely and completely, with no reservations or expectations for anything in return... to do otherwise is for your gains, not for the Kingdom.

God bless you all!!!

Spouse's love...

"Husbands, love your wives, just as also Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, to make her holy, cleansing her in the washing of water by the word."

Ephesians 5:26-27

To continue a study of the first part of the fruit of the Spirit, love, I must dive straight into one of the chief reasons this blog was born, and that lies specifically in the love that one shows to their spouse. I can only speak to this from a male perspective, and discuss how husbands should love.

The referenced passage is a common one, and almost all couples classes know it. But the key here, if we are only examining love, is to see what was done BECAUSE of the love. From the actions taken, we can derive the depth and breadth of the love that existed. And that love is the model for us, gentlemen.


Christ is the Bridegroom, and He gave His life to cleanse and save the church (His bride). To put it another way, He accepted blame for all things past, present and future, took it all upon Himself and died to save those who were present, the prophets and faithful remnant before and all of us and our descendants who call upon Him as Savior. He stood in front of the gun for us. He jumped onto the train tracks for us. He ran into the fire, drug us all out, and then went back in. He died for us... for you... for me.


This is the type of love that we, as husbands, are COMMANDED to show our wives. We are to follow His example, the ultimate example possible, and be ready and willing to accept all responsibility and consequence. This love we are to show is unconditional, requiring nothing at all. Let me repeat that last part, it requires nothing at all. It is an unfailing love that only grows over time, and never, ever diminishes. To put it another way, from a far more famous set of hands than mine:

"Marriage is a solemn agreement before God; hence those who divorce their wives are guilty not merely of covenant breaking but of blasphemy."
~ C.M. Laymon

Please notice that Laymon doesn't hold the wives responsible for the divorce... neither will God. It is shown clearly in the garden, as God walks through and is not looking Eve who took the first bite, but for Adam who did not protect her from the temptation of the serpent. He is looking for Adam who abdicated his role and failed to guard his wife. He will look for the husband who divorces his wife, gentlemen... not the other way around.


Take a moment today to examine where you can improve in this regard. Let go of whatever it is you are holding onto, and be as unconditional as Jesus is to you.


God bless you all!!!

God's love... last thoughts...

"...for the Lord disciplines the He loves, and punishes every son whom He receives."

Hebrews 12:6

To finish out the focus on the love coming from God, specifically, I have two final points that must be delved into. The first was eluded to in the initial post on this topic, and it comes from Hebrews 12:6, referenced above. It is a hard truth, but one that must be further examined.

He punishes us... yes, our God of love punishes us. And He does so out of pure love for us. Because He is immutable, and His character is therefore immutable, His love is unchanging. Therefore, since we know from the Bible that He hates sin and cannot look upon it, it stands to reason that He must issue loving correction when it is needed for each of us. And I can tell you from a plethora of personal experiences that I have received said correction every single time I have needed it. And while there was a time in my life that I, too, was guilty of asking why God would do such a thing, I understand now that it was and sometimes still is an absolute necessity for me.

And if it is not a necessity for you, then please call me today, right now, and tell me how you figured out how to not need correction. (Reference Proverbs 12:1)

Secondly...

"Love is patient; love is kind. Love does not envy; is not boastful; is not conceited; does not act improperly; is not selfish; is not provoked; does not keep a record of wrongs; finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."

"Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, 13

To understand the way God loves us, the best example comes from these words of Paul to the church in Corinth. I mentioned in an earlier post that His love is easily described as being equal to His grace, in that it covers all things. But when I read the passage above, I realize that there are very few relationships I have which can be categorized by all of the tenets laid forth.

To truly show the faithful love to one another that God shows to us is difficult, because it means we HAVE TO look past all the hurt and all the wrongs and all the "I can't believe" statements about what has already happened. It is over, whatever it was, and that wrong exists no more unless it is allowed to exist in the mind. God sees all things in one frame, and He forgave us and loves us anyway, even though He knows all the wrong we have ever done and all that we still will do. To show this fruit of the Spirit, we must endeavor to do the same. And it begins with the CHOICE to look past what has hurt us.

The beginning of this has already been powerful, and it will only grow from here. We will move on to how we should love each other, and examine more words from Paul and from Jesus to look at how we are commanded to love. But for now, take time to think about how you can more readily express to others the kind of love that God shows to you, starting with your spouse and them moving outward from him/her. I promise... it will bless you!

God bless you all!!!

God's love... continued...

To use the same versefrom yesterday, I would like to add one final illustrative point. When we think of God's love, we have to think of it from God's view, which means we need to understand and appreciate it as an immutable thing. This means that it cannot... CAN NOT... change. It is complete, all of the time, for everyone, forever.

Some use God's grace as a way to define and explain His love for us, in that grace is unmerited favor. And to use that term is perfectly fine, as long as one understands that grace covers all things... ALL THINGS... and cannot be adjusted to fit lifestyles or comfort zones. If it changes, it is no longer grace. It then becomes favoritism.


So do me a favor... think of that one unforgivable person in your life right now. The one that has done either one thing that is so very wrong, or has done many wrong things that culminate to unforgivable status. Do you have the person in mind? I do... it's me. And if yours is any different, then you have missed the point.


The only person I can ever control or worry over is me, and I am responsible for my actions. And it is my walk with Christ that I can improve or let slip, and no one else's. But, as the song says, "He loves me anyway."


Take a moment today to humble yourself before the Lord, and ask that He show you tangible love today. Get back to the basics of it all and admit to yourself, out loud, that you are still a sinner; a saved sinner, but a sinner nonetheless. And while asking for forgiveness is no longer necessary, a healthier perspective will bring forth positive motion toward ridding yourself of another level of your fleshly desires, whether they are in greed or lust or envy or any such thing. And thank God for the privilege to return to the Throne and praise Him... because He loves us, no matter what!

God bless you all!!!

God's love...

"For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16

As I begin this personal journey and study into the fruits of the Spirit, I am forced to start as one should... at the beginning. All of love begins with God, as does all of everything. So we must first look to how He loves, and attempt to grasp the truth of that.

The issue, however, is that we cannot understand His love. His love does not pamper us, it perfects us (Heb 12:6). His love is one of redemptive power. His love is perfect and eternal. His love is infinite. We, as finite beings, cannot possibly grasp the infinite truths that exist within the Kingdom of Heaven...at least, not yet. But let me put it this way: no matter what you ever do wrong, even when all of those wrong things are added together, God still loves you more and more and more without ceasing or stopping... MORE AND MORE!!!

As humans, we flippantly throw "love" at ridiculous things like TVs and celebrities and cakes and flavors and cooking utensils, etc. We say it like it is just another small part of our existence. But answer me this question: if we are to attempt to live like Christ, and Christ is God, and God is love, and His love is all the things described above (all true, by the way), then why would we throw it around so casually?

To understand and truly see anything, I must first take it apart and see the inner workings of it. I don't know anyone who would love me enough to give their child as a sacrifice on my behalf. That is love. And if you use that term for your next frosted pastry or television program, perhaps you should consider what it means from God's perspective.

Take time today to think about how you say you love things... we all need to, myself especially. It's the same thing as putting yourself in the right frame of mind before you pray. Think about it before you throw the word around like a tennis ball. And if we all begin to use it properly, I am willing to bet that we all will know greater and greater, true and deep, abiding love!

God bless you all!!!

Sunday's thought...

Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right.

Proverbs 20:11

This is a truism of our world, in that we all look to children and decide who they are based upon their actions. Make no mistake - people do the same for you and me. Our actions tell people who and what we are... and Whose we are.

When people see you with your spouse, do they see the love of Christ radiating off of your relationship? Can they tell immediately that there is something "right" about the two of you?

Pray this morning to honor God by showing love to your spouse today. If you show these actions, then people will know you, and they may come to know Him!

God bless you all!!!

Today's thought...

I gave them this reply. "The God of Heaven is the One who will grant us success."

Nehemiah 2:20a

Nehemiah speaks these words to a defiant group who are attempting to stop him from beginning to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. He refused to be dissuaded is his pursuit of a Heavenly goal, and no amount of negative speech or threats or anything else... not even the current culture norms or status quo... could stop him.

We all have issues in our lives. The question we must answer is whether or not we approach them with a God-focused mentality, or if we are simply willing to take the quick and easy path that has little to no resistance. Nehemiah didn't give in... neither did Jesus.

If you are in the process of rebuilding your walls, whether around yourself, your marriage, your kids, etc., do not be discouraged by anything that anyone says. If in your heart you feel that God wishes for you to complete this task, take courage and move forward... He will grant you the success that will advance His will and kingdom, and you will be blessed in the effort!

God bless you all!!!

Today's thought...

My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.

~ Prov 1:7

How often has it happened that someone has walked into the wrong part of a conversation and jumped right onboard the gossip train? It happens frequently for me, and that is one area in which I still struggle. But the most important thing to see here is that it does not tell us we are above the influence, but that we should not give in to the influence of gossip (which is alluring, as we all know).

Take time today to think about the words you use and the ones you choose. It makes far more sense to "just say no," as it were, than to partake in any talk tat could harm someone else. Because, if I remember correctly, when you point one finger there's at least four more pointing back, right?

Speak words of encouragement to one another, always, and honor the Lord through your open and obvious love and care for how powerful your words are.

May He bless you!!!