What the devil did in the garden with Eve was to turn her against God. He hated God and could not defeat Him, so He went after Eve by turning her against God.
This is often what mankind does not realizing they are being influenced by the devil to hate what God loves.
People gossip to be able to turn others against the person they hate, the devil's tactic!
The devil hated God's goodness, His power and His love for mankind. So he did everything he could to ruin the relationship between God and man.
He does the same thing today when he uses those who hate God to come against those who love God. Sadly, those who say they love God often come against authentic believers for believing God when He speaks from His Word.
Matthew 7:15-17 "15Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit."
What is the fruit of the Spirit of God?
Galatians 5:22-23 "22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Gossip is Very Dangerous
On another thread, there was a discussion about those who gossip and the people who believe the gossip.
Most people are followers and will believe the person they like and who tells the story first.
This makes those who believe the gossip the puppets and non-thinkers.
I was raised all my life to believe an uncle, who lived next near by, was the cause of all the fights with someone in my family.
As I grew in wisdom, I realized it was not my uncle who started the fights over nothing important, silly disagreements about which car was the better car but the gossiper who was the problem.
Over the years, I recalled the intense anger this family member displayed in his home. He was so enraged over the silliest things that I began to realize that if he were this way with his family in private, he would also be this way with a brother whom he grew up with resenting. The gossip called my uncle the favorite one, while the gossip was beaten all the time. I realized later it was possible that my uncle was the compliant, obedient one and the gossip was the rebellious one.
Then, as I heard him talk to me when I was a child and into my adulthood, I saw that he was jealous of the uncle for things I don't need to get into here. Sadly, other members of the family believed him without questioning, and into their adult years, they spoke negatively of the uncle.
Another question I had that lingered constantly was; "why would the gossip want to turn others against the uncle when he had done nothing bad to them?"
All I know is that I was indoctrinated to believe something about a relative that was probably untrue. Then, over the years, I prayed about it, and God showed me the person who caused the problems between the uncle and the gossip was the gossip.
When we are not able to see the truth, we will carry a lie through our entire life, and worst we will pass it on to others.
Until we see for ourselves what people are doing, it is better to resist believing the gossip. There has been other gossip I have heard that I dismiss and do not repeat to anyone because I might be repeating a lie or, at the very least, something that happened so long ago it doesn't even matter anymore.
Family gossip is the worst, people tend to believe the first thing they hear from someone they respect, but don't even really know. They have perceived ideas about the life of the gossip that has no evidence that they are what they appear.
Another reason not to believe the gossip is realizing that the one who shares things about others is attempting to gain followers for themselves. They hate someone and want others to hate them too. They are bitter and angry because they had no control over their target of hate, so they work at ruining their relationships with others.
I have seen gossips become angry when you don't believe them and begin a gossip campaign against us for our insubordination.
Gossips don't need very much information about us to hurt us, all they need is a little bit that they embellish according to their own thinking.
There is something else that is very important: what others are doing is none of our business. If we have to rebuke someone for sin against us, that is private, and no one else needs to know. If they are believers and they will not repent, then we take it to the church for discipline, not to the streets for gossip.
It might be good to ask a gossip this question to shame their efforts at hurting someone else: "Why are you telling me this?"
It is one thing to share with a trusted friend what we encountered with someone personally for prayer and counsel, but sharing it with just anyone to feel a sense of achievement for having won someone to our side is sin.
Proverbs 17:9 "9 Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends."
Proverbs 10:12 "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions."
Ephesians 4:32 "Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you."
Proverbs 6:19 "a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers."
Gossip always includes false information; no one passes on the flaws of others without including their own guesses and interpretations of the information.
In our day people are making claims about all kinds of things based on what they have read and not what they have seen for themselves.
IF we remain focused on Christ, praying for discernment and desiring to be truthful, we will have little interest in the news articles and reports from just anyone. The sins of those we have no contact with and who are not our friends will be of no interest to us.
Trust in Christ and mind your own business!
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 "11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
Most people are followers and will believe the person they like and who tells the story first.
This makes those who believe the gossip the puppets and non-thinkers.
I was raised all my life to believe an uncle, who lived next near by, was the cause of all the fights with someone in my family.
As I grew in wisdom, I realized it was not my uncle who started the fights over nothing important, silly disagreements about which car was the better car but the gossiper who was the problem.
Over the years, I recalled the intense anger this family member displayed in his home. He was so enraged over the silliest things that I began to realize that if he were this way with his family in private, he would also be this way with a brother whom he grew up with resenting. The gossip called my uncle the favorite one, while the gossip was beaten all the time. I realized later it was possible that my uncle was the compliant, obedient one and the gossip was the rebellious one.
Then, as I heard him talk to me when I was a child and into my adulthood, I saw that he was jealous of the uncle for things I don't need to get into here. Sadly, other members of the family believed him without questioning, and into their adult years, they spoke negatively of the uncle.
Another question I had that lingered constantly was; "why would the gossip want to turn others against the uncle when he had done nothing bad to them?"
All I know is that I was indoctrinated to believe something about a relative that was probably untrue. Then, over the years, I prayed about it, and God showed me the person who caused the problems between the uncle and the gossip was the gossip.
When we are not able to see the truth, we will carry a lie through our entire life, and worst we will pass it on to others.
Until we see for ourselves what people are doing, it is better to resist believing the gossip. There has been other gossip I have heard that I dismiss and do not repeat to anyone because I might be repeating a lie or, at the very least, something that happened so long ago it doesn't even matter anymore.
Family gossip is the worst, people tend to believe the first thing they hear from someone they respect, but don't even really know. They have perceived ideas about the life of the gossip that has no evidence that they are what they appear.
Another reason not to believe the gossip is realizing that the one who shares things about others is attempting to gain followers for themselves. They hate someone and want others to hate them too. They are bitter and angry because they had no control over their target of hate, so they work at ruining their relationships with others.
I have seen gossips become angry when you don't believe them and begin a gossip campaign against us for our insubordination.
Gossips don't need very much information about us to hurt us, all they need is a little bit that they embellish according to their own thinking.
There is something else that is very important: what others are doing is none of our business. If we have to rebuke someone for sin against us, that is private, and no one else needs to know. If they are believers and they will not repent, then we take it to the church for discipline, not to the streets for gossip.
It might be good to ask a gossip this question to shame their efforts at hurting someone else: "Why are you telling me this?"
It is one thing to share with a trusted friend what we encountered with someone personally for prayer and counsel, but sharing it with just anyone to feel a sense of achievement for having won someone to our side is sin.
Proverbs 17:9 "9 Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends."
Proverbs 10:12 "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions."
Ephesians 4:32 "Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you."
Proverbs 6:19 "a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers."
Gossip always includes false information; no one passes on the flaws of others without including their own guesses and interpretations of the information.
In our day people are making claims about all kinds of things based on what they have read and not what they have seen for themselves.
IF we remain focused on Christ, praying for discernment and desiring to be truthful, we will have little interest in the news articles and reports from just anyone. The sins of those we have no contact with and who are not our friends will be of no interest to us.
Trust in Christ and mind your own business!
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 "11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
False Indoctrination Dominates the Culture
People tend to stay with whatever they heard all their lives from childhood. When it is challenged, they feel insecure, especially when the entire rest of their family culture around them mocks them if they don't believe what everyone else believes. They feel safer going with the crowd than knowing the truth.
This is the reason the churches as a whole are teaching bad doctrine; they are teaching what they know the culture wants to hear while mixing it with God's Word to make it believable.
2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."
The culture drives the resolve; the culture pressures people to be like it to validate itself.
Only those who have trusted in Christ can believe the truth because they are not worried about being liked by the culture.
1 Timothy 4:1 "Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,"
Matthew 24:11 "and many false prophets will arise and deceive many."
Those who think rationally, seeking truth, will be rejected by the culture, while the culture ignorantly PRIDES itself as superior.
Satan always brings pride; he is the very essence of arrogant pride. Everything he does is to elevate himself and ruin anyone who does not elevate him.
1 Timothy 6:3-4 "If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and disputes about words, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions."
It is best to seek Christ always in everything, listening only to those who do the same. If someone resists the Word of God, we must resist them.
Isaiah 30:10 "They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions."
We are living in the last days of deep deception, people enjoy lies and gossip and do not embrace and enjoy the Word of God.
Jeremiah 23:16 "This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD."
Keep looking up, Christ is coming soon for His church!
This is the reason the churches as a whole are teaching bad doctrine; they are teaching what they know the culture wants to hear while mixing it with God's Word to make it believable.
2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."
The culture drives the resolve; the culture pressures people to be like it to validate itself.
Only those who have trusted in Christ can believe the truth because they are not worried about being liked by the culture.
1 Timothy 4:1 "Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,"
Matthew 24:11 "and many false prophets will arise and deceive many."
Those who think rationally, seeking truth, will be rejected by the culture, while the culture ignorantly PRIDES itself as superior.
Satan always brings pride; he is the very essence of arrogant pride. Everything he does is to elevate himself and ruin anyone who does not elevate him.
1 Timothy 6:3-4 "If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and disputes about words, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions."
It is best to seek Christ always in everything, listening only to those who do the same. If someone resists the Word of God, we must resist them.
Isaiah 30:10 "They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions."
We are living in the last days of deep deception, people enjoy lies and gossip and do not embrace and enjoy the Word of God.
Jeremiah 23:16 "This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD."
Keep looking up, Christ is coming soon for His church!
Sunday, June 28, 2026
Do you believe God or the culture in which you live?
When two people are made one by God when they marry, exchange their vows, God melds them into one spiritually. They are no longer two but one in purpose and bonded in their spirits. This can only be done by God and cannot be undone by a piece of paper by the laws of a government.
When these people divorce, they are still one; when they remarry, they remain one with the first spouse and are in adultery with the second. The government may accept that form of adultery, but God does not.
It is interesting to me that most people have no problem accepting divorce from the first spouse, but have a problem with divorcing from the second spouse. The second spouse is not a divorce in God's eyes, it is the stopping of the sin of adultery. God says, "If you divorce, you must remain single or be reconciled to the first spouse."
Our government does not decide God's principles and His truth. The Bible is our instruction book we read it to seek Christ for His perfect will.
When these people divorce, they are still one; when they remarry, they remain one with the first spouse and are in adultery with the second. The government may accept that form of adultery, but God does not.
It is interesting to me that most people have no problem accepting divorce from the first spouse, but have a problem with divorcing from the second spouse. The second spouse is not a divorce in God's eyes, it is the stopping of the sin of adultery. God says, "If you divorce, you must remain single or be reconciled to the first spouse."
Our government does not decide God's principles and His truth. The Bible is our instruction book we read it to seek Christ for His perfect will.
When Mockers Come Rejoice
Have you noticed those laughing emojis that show up when we write about something serious and important? I have gone to the pages of those who mock us; they are clearly unsaved people the devil is using to intimidate us into silence.
What those mockers do not know is that their ridicule only strengthens us. We see it as an opportunity to become more loyal and committed to Christ than ever.
Don't be afraid of the mockers; they merely reveal their character and show us we are on the right path.
Foolilsh people lack good sense in noticing that mocking others does not change our character or stop us from doing what God has given us to do.
Proverbs 29:9-10 "…8 Mockers inflame a city, but the wise turn away anger. 9 If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution. 10 Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life."
Ecclesiastes 10:13 "The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness."
Ecclesiastes 7:6 "For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile."
Matthew 7:6 "Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."
Count it all joy when others revile and mock you; it strengthens our resolve.
What those mockers do not know is that their ridicule only strengthens us. We see it as an opportunity to become more loyal and committed to Christ than ever.
Don't be afraid of the mockers; they merely reveal their character and show us we are on the right path.
Foolilsh people lack good sense in noticing that mocking others does not change our character or stop us from doing what God has given us to do.
Proverbs 29:9-10 "…8 Mockers inflame a city, but the wise turn away anger. 9 If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution. 10 Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life."
Ecclesiastes 10:13 "The beginning of his talk is folly, and the end of his speech is evil madness."
Ecclesiastes 7:6 "For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile."
Matthew 7:6 "Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces."
Count it all joy when others revile and mock you; it strengthens our resolve.
The Tribulation the World Brings to Followers of Christ.
I have experienced several times in my life narcissists who ghost me, hoping I will chase. When I do not chase, they come back again to have another shot at me with rude comments and disrespectful tones.
This phenomenon is growing as we near the end of the church age.
Wicked people cannot stand that we are not hurting; they hate our joy and peace and must do something to disrupt it. Just as they hated Christ when all He ever did was good for mankind, sacrificing Himself to save them, their response to Him was to murder Him. They meant it for evil, but God meant it for our good.
Just as Joseph's brothers threw him into a well and sold him into slavery, families will wish they could do the same thing to those who live authentically and with great joy.
In the case of Joseph, God used it for good and eventually elevated Joseph to second in command of all of Egypt.
When Joseph's brothers were in desperation and came to Egypt for help, they didn't know Joseph was so high-ranking. They were repentant, and Joseph's response to them was, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good."
We may never see on this earth any repentance from those who harmed us, but in heaven we will be blessed beyond any evil anyone did to us on earth.
God is shaping us into people who are strong enough to ignore the insults without anger or bitterness. We bless those who curse us when in their company, but avoid them if possible.
Everything that happens to us in this world has a purpose if we are followers of Christ. We can be content in our tribulation, bringing glory to God in all our responses or non-responses.
Romans 5:3-5 "3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
Hallelujah!
This phenomenon is growing as we near the end of the church age.
Wicked people cannot stand that we are not hurting; they hate our joy and peace and must do something to disrupt it. Just as they hated Christ when all He ever did was good for mankind, sacrificing Himself to save them, their response to Him was to murder Him. They meant it for evil, but God meant it for our good.
Just as Joseph's brothers threw him into a well and sold him into slavery, families will wish they could do the same thing to those who live authentically and with great joy.
In the case of Joseph, God used it for good and eventually elevated Joseph to second in command of all of Egypt.
When Joseph's brothers were in desperation and came to Egypt for help, they didn't know Joseph was so high-ranking. They were repentant, and Joseph's response to them was, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good."
We may never see on this earth any repentance from those who harmed us, but in heaven we will be blessed beyond any evil anyone did to us on earth.
God is shaping us into people who are strong enough to ignore the insults without anger or bitterness. We bless those who curse us when in their company, but avoid them if possible.
Everything that happens to us in this world has a purpose if we are followers of Christ. We can be content in our tribulation, bringing glory to God in all our responses or non-responses.
Romans 5:3-5 "3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
Hallelujah!
Trusting in Christ Through the Trials
It is rare in our day that we can trust people with our innermost feelings and thoughts. Everyone is interpreting what we say according to their own attitudes without desiring to learn why you think and feel the way you do.
If we don't think like others they tend to take it as a personal attack, not because you did anything that was unkind but because they didn't like your attempts at connecting with them in a deeper way.
The good news is that we can always share our deepest thoughts and feelings with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is nothing we can say or feel that He has not already felt.
Proverbs 3:5-6 "5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."
We need not worry that God is going to condemn us for the things we tell Him because He already knows our hearts better than we know ourselves, before we ever express ourselves to Him.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. / He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit."
All the heartbreak, all the sadness, and every other experience of our hearts, the Lord Jesus Christ has already known and understands them.
Hebrews 4:14-16 "14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
If you are experiencing weakness and discouragement right now, God sees it and understands.
Isaiah 53:4 "Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted."
Psalm 103:13-14 "As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust."
To fear speaking in our hearts to God all that we think and feel is to forget that He already knows and He always has the answer, all we have to do it speak to Him seeking Him for the solution. Even if the solution is just trusting in Him more as He strengthens us.
We are not all cured of our troubles, but we can have the strength of the Holy Spirit to get through them.
Never worry about finding someone to trust with your feelings; trust in Christ Who knows us perfectly and already knows what is to be done, not by us, but by Him.
Satan will try to derail your faith just as He did with Eve in the garden and Christ in the wilderness. Eve failed because she trusted in herself, but Christ did not fail because He is God.
Matthew 4:1-11 "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. / The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
The One Who did not fail, Jesus Christ, lives in those who have trusted in Him. We have within us His power to overcome. Nothing of ourselves but all of Him.
If we don't think like others they tend to take it as a personal attack, not because you did anything that was unkind but because they didn't like your attempts at connecting with them in a deeper way.
The good news is that we can always share our deepest thoughts and feelings with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is nothing we can say or feel that He has not already felt.
Proverbs 3:5-6 "5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."
We need not worry that God is going to condemn us for the things we tell Him because He already knows our hearts better than we know ourselves, before we ever express ourselves to Him.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. / He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit."
All the heartbreak, all the sadness, and every other experience of our hearts, the Lord Jesus Christ has already known and understands them.
Hebrews 4:14-16 "14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
If you are experiencing weakness and discouragement right now, God sees it and understands.
Isaiah 53:4 "Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted."
Psalm 103:13-14 "As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust."
To fear speaking in our hearts to God all that we think and feel is to forget that He already knows and He always has the answer, all we have to do it speak to Him seeking Him for the solution. Even if the solution is just trusting in Him more as He strengthens us.
We are not all cured of our troubles, but we can have the strength of the Holy Spirit to get through them.
Never worry about finding someone to trust with your feelings; trust in Christ Who knows us perfectly and already knows what is to be done, not by us, but by Him.
Satan will try to derail your faith just as He did with Eve in the garden and Christ in the wilderness. Eve failed because she trusted in herself, but Christ did not fail because He is God.
Matthew 4:1-11 "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. / The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
The One Who did not fail, Jesus Christ, lives in those who have trusted in Him. We have within us His power to overcome. Nothing of ourselves but all of Him.
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