Family

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Blessings All.... This is pretty long, but is a subject that we all can understand. May it speak to you as God intends it to. As Always.. I Remain, Tammy
Illusion, Delusion and Confusion ……….

You knew me before they introduced themselves to you. I thought you liked me, you prayed with me, laughed with me, even called me friend. Then you met illusion, illusion told you things about me, leaving the door open for delusion. Illusion and Delusion became your new friends. Confusion introduced itself to me, telling me that illusion and delusion would soon leave you. Confusion became my new friend, replacing what we once had.

Moral of the story; if you walk around constantly creating Illusion, Delusion and Confusion, in reality you will have no true friends.

Proverbs 16:28 A perverse man stirs up dissension, and gossip separates close friends.

Listen to people talking every where you go, the conversations go something like this;

Can you believe her parents let her dress like that ?

I can’t believe she would do anything like that.

Did you hear what Suzy is saying about Steve ?

I have also been guilty of this, mostly unintentionally. Yet, other times over willing to be involved in gossip, just to settle a score, or to inflict hurt the same as I had previously experienced. I could think of a hundred excuses to be involved in such hurtful, vindictive conversations about people I had loved, but how do I justify when they are people I had never met? Excuses can lead to unrepentance, for as many excuses I could find, God would also show me scripture after scripture showing just how judgmental I had become. You see what I failed to realize is this, in talking about others, we are in fact judging them.

Matthew 7:1-5 Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

What we should in fact do, if possible, in a positive way share with that person a life lesson we have learned. God uses our own trials and test to help others along the way, to see that we also remember where we once were and just how much He really helped us through. Exact circumstances in most cases will be different, but the way we choose to respond out of fear, desperation or exhaustion tend to follow the same pattern. Use the victories God has helped you through as a spiritual trophy. I can picture all the test and trials I have been through, some gracefully, some disgracefully. We all are in control of our actions, our willingness to participate. While we cannot always control our circumstances, we can ALWAYS control how we handle those circumstances.

Hebrews 12:14-15

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Father, how very thankful I am that You offer freely Grace and Mercy. You love me even at times when I am unlovable. When I cannot find the good, You alone shine the light, You give me hope when I don’t deserve it. I ask that You take control over gossip out of this mouth. Convict me when I fall short of Your glory. Let my words be used for helping not hurting, building up and not tearing down. How often I fall short, at times even judgmental, I ask for Your gracious forgiveness. I pray for those who have offended me, and I also pray for those which I have offended. I love You and want to glorify You. In the Perfect Precious Name of Jesus I pray…. AMEN”

What we as Christians need to do is set an example. When others around you begin to gossip, re-peat a story, what can happen if we are not careful is we can actually become part of the problem instead of the solution. Stand firm, stand up for God, for all His children. Let them know that you will pray for them, for the others involved, suggest that maybe you could pray together. The Bible is full of references to help us, stay within God’s guidelines, not the worlds.

Another reason that gossip is such a central part for most peoples lives is the need to feel better about ourselves. Yes, ourselves. If we tend to tear down another’s accomplishments, we believe that we are building our image up, and never actually think about who we hurt, or how much good, hard work that individual has done to achieve. When others around us seem to have all the good things going their way, we seem to compare our worth to what they have.

Proverbs 29:20

Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

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