There are times when we are outmatched. We face problems we cannot solve, burdens we cannot carry, and situations we cannot control. We simply do not know what to do.

Consider how King Jehoshaphat put his eyes on the Lord in such a moment. 

One thing is clear from 2 Chronicles 20: it is much more than a vague belief in God. It is not merely a feeling of trust. Jehoshaphat's confidence in God is worked out in action. He seeks the Lord. He gathers God's people. He fasts. He prays. He listens to God's Word. He worships. He sings. In other words, he puts his eyes on the Lord by drawing near to the Lord through the means God has given.

When Jehoshaphat hears that a great army is marching against Judah, he is afraid. Yet notice where his fear leads him.

"Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD" (v. 3).

Fear leads him to set his face toward God. He does not first call his military commanders. He does not begin by planning a strategy. He seeks the Lord.Then he calls for a fast throughout Judah. The people gather from every city "to seek the LORD" (vv. 3–4). Fasting was a way of expressing dependence upon God. The people were acknowledging that their greatest need was not food, strength, or wisdom. Their greatest need was the Lord Himself.

Jehoshaphat then leads the people in prayer. He recounts God's power. He remembers God's promises. He tells God exactly what is happening. He does not hide the danger or pretend to be strong. Instead, he confesses, "We are powerless," and "We do not know what to do."

The Lord answers through Jahaziel, assuring the people that the battle belongs to Him. In response, Jehoshaphat and all Judah bow down and worship (vv. 14–18). They receive God's Word and humble themselves before Him.

Then comes the remarkable scene. As Judah marches toward the battlefield, Jehoshaphat appoints singers to go before the army. Before the battle is won, before the victory is seen, they sing:

"Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever" (v. 21).

Notice their confidence is not in their army.
Their confidence is in their God.

As I read this chapter, I cannot help but think about what we do every Sunday.

When we gather for worship, we are following Christ as the people followed Jehoshaphat.

We are putting our eyes on the Lord. We gather to seek Him. We pray because we need His help. We hear His Word because we need His wisdom. We sing because we need to remember His greatness, His promises, and His steadfast love.

This is important because "keeping our eyes on the Lord" is often spoken of as though it were something vague or mystical. But in Scripture, it is practical. We put our eyes on the Lord by drawing near to Him in the ways He has appointed. We seek Him in prayer. We hear Him speak through His Word. We worship Him with His people. We sing His praise.

The world constantly pulls our attention elsewhere. Our eyes drift toward our fears, our frustrations, our finances, our health, our politics, and our plans. Yet every Lord's Day, God gathers His people and reorients our hearts. He reminds us where our help comes from.

Many Sundays we arrive carrying burdens we cannot fix. We may not know what to do about our family, our work, our future, or some painful trial. Gathering every Sunday is a way we say, "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."

That is one way we keep our eyes on the Lord. And that is one reason why gathering with God's people each Sunday is such a precious gift.

Churches are sustained by God through prayer. If we do not pray, our church will die. But God loves to uphold churches by His power when they depend on Him through prayer. Today I opened the history of a church that began as a Bible study in 1867. It remains an active and healthy church 168 years later. At one point, the author asks the reader, “What would have happened without prayer?” From the beginning, the church was a praying church. “For four years, they continued to pray, until by 1871 their group had grown large enough to open a Sunday school.” Their first pastor was called eight years later, in January 1879. He challenged them, “I shall expect from you an earnest cooperation and unceasing prayer for direction and aid in our work.”

It is easy to feel guilty about prayer. As a pastor, it is easy to make others feel guilty about prayer. How could we ever pray “enough”? You might have felt a twinge of guilt just seeing the word prayer in the title.

Let’s enjoy prayer.

When prayers go long on Sunday morning—whether it’s the prayer of confession, the pastoral prayer, or even the prayer before the sermon—just ask yourself, “What else do I have to do today?! I get to pray with my church!” When we gather, we take time to pray. We don’t pray as a buffer between service items. We pray on purpose. Our prayer time is planned time to bring everything to God.

Say and mean “amen!” While someone is praying during the service, feel free to say “amen” whenever you agree and are helped. It lets the one praying and the congregation know you’re praying and that something was helpful. This requires active listening and cooperative prayer.

The word “amen” comes from Hebrew. The root means “firm, reliable, true, or faithful.” To say amen is to say, “Ain’t that the truth!?” Vocalizing a hearty “amen” at the end of our prayer together encourages the one praying and the whole church—and it is a form of worship to God. It is only noise if it functions like a religious chant, but it is worship when it expresses heartfelt agreement. When our prayer is through and for the glory of Christ, our “amen!” is a chorus harmonizing with heaven:

13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5:13–14)

Prayer is corporate worship. Prayer is worship because, at its essence, it is a plea to God: “We need help!” We want to pray long enough that we feel that transfer in our hearts. God has never been impressed by the length of prayers. In fact, Jesus would rather see short, honest prayers than dragging, proud, public prayers (Matt. 6:5). That said, we want to pray long enough that our prayers are part of our worship—not just a transition between parts of the service. We gather to worship, and prayer is worship.

When was the last time you looked forward to gathering because you knew that when we got there we would get to pray together? Don’t let prayer be an accident that happens each week alongside other purposes. Intend to gather to pray. It’s only Thursday, and I’m already looking forward to gathering for prayer this Sunday.

What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer!

For His Glory,
Pastor Nathan 

If you’re getting mail from AARP, I’m talking to you.
If your kids are out of the house (or they should be), I’m talking to you.  
If you have been offered a senior discount without asking....yeah, talking to you. 
If you are old enough to have grandchildren. Yep.

We need you to be our grandparents — spiritually speaking.

My maternal grandparents were some of the most admirable people I’ve known. One reason is simple: they spent time with us grandkids.  One of my clearest memories is fishing with my grandfather — cane pole fishing for stocked catfish. We just sat there unitl it was dark. We'd talk some, but mostly we just sat there. His presence was steady and safe.  Here was a man who fought wars and built farms.   There were hayfields, cattle feedings, and long days outside. My grandmother was genuinely interested in my life and my walk with the Lord. She would sit at the kitchen table, ask about my girlfriend, school, sports — and she often wove a verse from her morning reading into the conversation. Christ was more attractive, trustworthy, and valuable to me because of them. 

A lot of people have never had anything like that.  
Many don’t even have it in the church.

Church, do not believe for one flippin’ minute that young people mainly need other young people.  
That matters — but what they really need is you.

You are not outdated.  
Scripture says you are finally primed for your peak influence.  
You are more valuable to the church now than ever before.

Your Wisdom  

Job 12:12 — "Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days."

Young people often don’t know enough to seek out wisdom. They don’t realize how much life, love, and
gospel wisdom sits right in front of them.  

Sure, they can google, Grok, or ChatGPT any question.  
But information is not wisdom.  
Wisdom is embodied. It’s often caught in relationship.  
Your years of walking with Christ are a treasure they can’t find anywhere else.

Your Training  

Titus 2:3-5 — "So train the young women..."

Older train the younger. That’s not a suggestion. It's an order.  
Sanctification and maturity are partly a generational hand-off.  
As you grow older, you aren’t just worshipping beside the younger — you are called to train them.

This means inviting younger believers to your table.  
Let them see your marriage.  
Talk about your struggles and your faith through the lens of Scripture.  
Don’t wait for them to figure it out.  
Don’t wait for them to ask.  
Train.

Your Perseverance  

Young people don’t understand the power of time. They haven’t lived long enough to.  
They need to see a life of faith stretched over decades — not just moments.

As Paul neared death in his mid-60s, he wrote:  "You have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness..." (2 Timothy 3:10-11)

Faithfulness is learned by watching.  Paul picked up Timothy when Paul was in his 40s. Over 20 years, Timothy watched Paul suffer, endure, and finish the race.  You can do the same: share your stories.  Start sentences saying, "Let me tell you about a time..." and finish with God’s faithfulness.

Your Testimony   

Psalm 145:4 — "One generation shall commend your works to another."

Go find a younger person. Ask about their life — their struggles, sorrows, and worries.  
Then tell them about God’s works.  
Tell them the gospel.  
Tell them why it’s going to be okay.  
Tie your encouragement back to Scripture — and to your own experience of God's faithfulness.

No one retires from discipleship.  
The more experience you have, the more valuable you are.  
It is your responsibility to pass down the mighty works of God.

An Old Man's Testimony | Polycarp (c. AD 69–155)  

Polycarp lived during a crucial time — the early church moving from the apostles to the next generation.  He served Christ faithfully for decades — through persecution, heresies, and hardships.

When he was arrested, Roman officials gave him every chance to save his life by swearing loyalty to Caesar.  
Instead, Polycarp replied:

"Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" (Martyrdom of Polycarp, chapter 9)

He was burned at the stake. When the flames wouldn’t consume him quickly, they killed him by the sword.  His death became a rallying cry for generations of Christians.

Notice "six" just doesn't have the same ring as "eighty and six".  There’s a certain weight, a beautiful sturdiness, when someone who has trusted Christ for a lifetime says, "He has done me no wrong."

Young people need to learn how to sing our songs:

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,  
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er,  
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus,  
O for grace to trust Him more.

Right now, they mostly sing that in theory.  
We need you to teach them how to sing it from experience.

Getting In There

Talk To Them When You Gather
Look for young people — members and visitors. Don’t assume they need someone their own age. Walk up, introduce yourself. Ask, "What brought you here? Where are you from?" Sit near them. Follow up after the service. Feed them. 

Sit with Them at Church  
Don’t just sit with the old people. Find younger folks. Sit near them. Tell them, "I’m glad we get to worship together."   Your presence and words communicate we are here togeher.  Young single guy shows up at church....thats your target! Young woman sitting alone? Emergency! Get in there!

Pray for Them and Let Them Know
Pray for them in your personal prayer time and text them that day. "Hey, I was praying for you today!"

Get Some Pictures
Pictures symbolize and create memories. You share a meal say, "Hey, lets take a picture". Then share it with them. It means you want to remember.  

Feed Them and Eat With Them 
Invite a younger Christian over. Doesn’t have to be fancy. Sandwiches are fine. They don't care.  Ask about their life. Share some of yours. Pray with them before they leave. Have a whole young group LifeGroup over and share yours story. 

Read the Bible With Them  
Pick a book like Philippians or Mark. Meet once a week or every other week.  Read a chapter. Talk about it. Share how God’s word has shaped your life.

You do your thing. Grandparent them in the faith. Love on them. Invite them. Pursue them. Encouage them. Tell them your are proud of their efforts in faith. Remind them of God. 

You have something we cannot google, stream, or download — a life of faith.  
We need it. We need you.

For His Glory,
Pastor Nathan 

_____________________________

Waiting on traffic exhausts our patience.
A wife exhauise her devotion waiting on a POW to come home and remarry.  
Maybe finding a medical diagnosis becomes life-draining.  
Waiting to board a plane that has been delayed four times already will exhaust your concerns about your physical appearance.  

Waiting for the clock to hit 5:00 p.m. so you can go home can drain your motivation.  

Waiting is exhausting.  
Unless you are waiting on the Lord.  

Waiting on the Lord connects God's character, power, and wisdom.  
Is He coming for me? Yes — I can trust His word.  
Is He coming soon enough? Yes — I can trust His wisdod.
Can He do it when he arrives? He is more than able.  

In that way, waiting on the Lord does not deplete our strength. It replenishes us.

Isaiah 40 comes at a turning point in the book — a shift from warnings of judgment to words of hope. God’s people would soon walk through exile, carrying heavy hearts and weary souls. But even in their weakness, God speaks comfort: He has not changed, and He has not forgotten them. Isaiah invites them to look beyond their troubles to the everlasting God, whose strength never runs dry.

We, like Israel, are "in exile." We are not home. So let us not be frustrated by our lack of strength, this world's troubles, or the pace of our journey — but instead, let us lift our eyes to the God who renews the weary and anchors our hope beyond this present age.

Isaiah 40:28-31
"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint."

Sometimes, without even realizing it, we find ourselves running on empty — going through motions, feeling dry, lacking the strength or motivation we once had. It can be easy to think that if we were stronger or better, we wouldn't feel this way. But God is the strength of His people.

Isaiah reminds us that even the strongest among us will eventually grow tired. But God — the everlasting, never-tiring Creator — loves to meet His people in their weakness. He doesn’t shame us for being weary. Instead, He invites us to come to Him, to wait on Him, and in doing so, to find our strength renewed time and again.

What has cost you your strength?  
Where do you think you will find strength again?

Often when we feel weak or worn out, we long for our circumstances to change — a new season, a new situation, a new inward strength of our own. But Isaiah doesn’t point weary souls to a different set of circumstances. A tired soul needs a strong Savior. He points us to a different focus: the unchanging God Himself.

I don't know about you, but at the end of the day I love the moment I take my socks off. It’s a small act that signals I’m done — I’m finished striving, finished running, finished working. It's sign of my humanity. God never takes his socks off. He never hits that moment in the day where, "he's done.   "He does not faint or grow weary"

He never grows weary, never loses focus, never stops sustaining, never stops strengthening.

When we go to him in prayer and engge his word -- corporately and in our secret places -- his trustworthiness actually replenishes our strength. 

Wait on him and you will find your strength renewed.

Pastor Nathan

Exodus 34:12–16 | Leaving Egypt 
¹² Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. ¹³ You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim ¹⁴ (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), ¹⁵ lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, ¹⁶ and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

There is a significant difference between God and a petty, insecure boyfriend. God does not need the worship of his bride in order to know His worth and contain Himself.  God's jealousy is not due to something he needs from his bride, but something that he bestows on his bride. His jealousy is who He is -- the passionate, singularly focused covenant keeping husband. 

Judges 2:16–19 // In the Land 
¹⁶ Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. ¹⁷ Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. ¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. ¹⁹ But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

In Exodus God made his vows of jealousy. In Judges His bride breaks them. "Whoredom" is how Judges describes the entire time period of the Judges. How can we understand the nature of the depth of betrayal in idolatry? It is a pain and a sin we are all to familiar with as mankind -- adultury. It is the most intimate and painful of betrayals. So Judges describes Israel's worship as "whoredome". Not only is idolatry and accidental love affair which the bride regrets, it can only be described as ongoing whoredome.

What will God do? What kind of husband is God? 

Isaiah 54:1–10 | Pre Exile

Isaiah is years before Isreal will actually be removed from the land becasue of their idolatry. But Isaiah prophesies the nature of God in their future. We begin to see what kind of husband God will be to an adulterous bride. 

³  For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, 
and your offspring will possess the nations 
and will people the desolate cities. 
⁴  “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; 
be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; 
for you will forget the shame of your youth, 
and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. 
⁵  For your Maker is your husband, 
the Lord of hosts is his name; 
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, 
the God of the whole earth he is called. 
⁶  For the Lord has called you 
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, 
like a wife of youth when she is cast off, 
says your God. 
⁷  For a brief moment I deserted you, 
but with great compassion I will gather you. 
⁸  In overflowing anger for a moment 
I hid my face from you, 
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” 
says the Lord, your Redeemer. 
⁹  “This is like the days of Noah to me: 
as I swore that the waters of Noah 
should no more go over the earth, 
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, 
and will not rebuke you. 
¹⁰  For the mountains may depart 
and the hills be removed, 
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, 
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” 
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Ezekiel 16:30–43 | In Exile 

No we come to see the severy and holiness of God. Israel has given herself to full-blown betrayal of God again and again. See how Ezekiel speaks of the years between the Judges and the exile into Babylon. It is terribly gross. Usually, prositutes get paid for their service. But not Israel, they paid their customers! 

30 “How sick is your heart, declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute, 31 building your vaulted chamber at the head of every street, and making your lofty place in every square. Yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment. 32 Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband! 33 Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you gave your gifts to all your lovers, bribing them to come to you from every side with your whorings. 34 So you were different from other women in your whorings. No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment, while no payment was given to you; therefore you were different. 

35 “Therefore, O prostitute, hear the word of the Lord: 36 Thus says the Lord God, Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your whorings with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children that you gave to them, 37 therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated. I will gather them against you from every side and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. 38 And I will judge you as women who commit adultery and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the blood of wrath and jealousy. 39 And I will give you into their hands, and they shall throw down your vaulted chamber and break down your lofty places. They shall strip you of your clothes and take your beautiful jewels and leave you naked and bare. 40 They shall bring up a crowd against you, and they shall stone you and cut you to pieces with their swords. 41 And they shall burn your houses and execute judgments upon you in the sight of many women. I will make you stop playing the whore, and you shall also give payment no more. 42 So will I satisfy my wrath on you, and my jealousy shall depart from you. I will be calm and will no more be angry. 43 Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord God. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?

Hosea 2:1–23 // 753-687 BC

Now look how Hosea portrays Israel. She is not only in a lurid affair, she is happy, rich, and has entirely forgotten God! She doesn't even miss Him. She is found wearing the jewely, spending the money, and enjoying the company of her lovers (vs 11-13). This is how God finds her. See God's heart and intentions....what will He do?

2  Say to your brothers, “You are my people,” and to your sisters, “You have received mercy.” 
²  “Plead with your mother, plead— 
for she is not my wife, 
and I am not her husband— 
that she put away her whoring from her face, 
and her adultery from between her breasts; 
³  lest I strip her naked 
and make her as in the day she was born, 
and make her like a wilderness, 
and make her like a parched land, 
and kill her with thirst. 
⁴  Upon her children also I will have no mercy, 
because they are children of whoredom. 
⁵  For their mother has played the whore; 
she who conceived them has acted shamefully. 
For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, 
who give me my bread and my water, 
my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’ 
⁶  Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns, 
and I will build a wall against her, 
so that she cannot find her paths. 
⁷  She shall pursue her lovers 
but not overtake them, 
and she shall seek them 
but shall not find them. 
Then she shall say, 
‘I will go and return to my first husband, 
for it was better for me then than now.’ 
⁸  And she did not know 
that it was I who gave her 
the grain, the wine, and the oil, 
and who lavished on her silver and gold, 
which they used for Baal. 
⁹  Therefore I will take back 
my grain in its time, 
and my wine in its season, 
and I will take away my wool and my flax, 
which were to cover her nakedness. 
¹⁰  Now I will uncover her lewdness 
in the sight of her lovers, 
and no one shall rescue her out of my hand. 
¹¹  And I will put an end to all her mirth, 
her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, 
and all her appointed feasts. 
¹²  And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, 
of which she said, 
‘These are my wages, 
which my lovers have given me.’ 
I will make them a forest, 
and the beasts of the field shall devour them. 
¹³  And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals 
when she burned offerings to them 
and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, 
and went after her lovers 
and forgot me, declares the Lord. 
¹⁴  “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, 
and bring her into the wilderness, 
and speak tenderly to her. 
¹⁵  And there I will give her her vineyards 
and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. 
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, 
as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. 
¹⁶ “And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ ¹⁷ For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. ¹⁸ And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. ¹⁹ And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. ²⁰ I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord. 

God is going to betroth His whoring wife in righteousness. How can that be? God goes to find his lover in the arms of another and brings her back to himself by "alluring her". Then HE himself provides her righteousness. It He himself will bring her back to himself forever by his own steadfast love and mercy. The jealous God becomes the justifying God. The heart of justification is God's passionatea and jealous love for his people. 

Now, we see Spurgeon apply that to those who are in Christ. He begins with Jeremiah 3:14 where Isreal is called to repend because God is husband to them. Consider God's jealous love for those who in Christ. 

"The Relationship of Marriage"
By C.H. Spurgeon, At The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington

Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you.
—Jeremiah 3:14.  

These be dainty (delicious) words—a grateful anodyne (pain-killer) for a troubled conscience. Such singular comfort is fitted to cheer up the soul, and put the brightest hue on all her prospects. The person to whom it is addressed hath an eminently happy position. Satan will be very busy with you, believer in Christ, to-night. He will say, “What right have you to believe that God is married to you?” He will remind you of your imperfections, and of the coldness of your love, and perhaps of the backsliding state of your heart. He will say, “What, with all this about you, can you be presumptuous enough to claim union with the Son of God? Can you venture to hope that there will be any marriage between you and the holy One.” 

He will tell you as though he were an advocate for holiness, that it is not possible that such a one as you feel yourself to be, can really be a partaker of so choice and special a privilege as being married unto the Lord. Let this suffice for an answer to all such suggestions: the text is found addressed, not to Christians in a flourishing state of heart, not to believers upon Mount Tabor, transfigured with Christ, not to a spouse all chaste and fair, and sitting under the banner of love, feasting with her lord; but it is addressed to those who are called “backsliding children.” 

God speaks to his church in her lowest and most abject estate, and though he does not fail to rebuke her sin, to lament it, and to make her lament it too, yet still in such an estate he says to her, “I am married unto you.” Oh! it is grace that he should be married to any of us, but it is grace at its highest pitch, it is the ocean of grace at its flood-tide, that he should speak thus of “backsliding children.” 

That he should speak in notes of love of any of the fallen race of Adam is “passing strange—‘tis wonderful;” but that he should select those who have behaved treacherously to him, who have turned their backs to him and not their faces, who have played him false, although, nevertheless, his own, and say unto them, “I am married unto YOU; this is lovingkindness beyond aught we could wot or ween. Hear, O heaven, and admire, O earth, let every understanding heart break forth into singing, yea, let every humble mind bless and praise the condescension of the Most High! Cheer up poor drooping hearts. Here is sweet encouragement for some of you who are depressed, and disconsolate, and sit alone, to draw living waters out of this well. Do not let the noise of the archers keep you back from the place of the drawing of water. Be not afraid lest you should be cursed whilst you are anticipating the blessing. If you do but trust in Jesus, if you have but a vital interest in the once humbled, now exalted Lord, come with holy boldness to the text, and whatever comfort there be here, receive it and rejoice therein. 

Knowing yourself isn’t always easy, especially when you are confidant that you are right (Psalm 139). And sometimes we just have a hard time getting a passage to connect with our hearts and minds. 

But the goal of discipleship is not just to make a passing approval of some sentences in order to feel better about ourselves. We’re to be shaped and forged into maturity — that is into being like Christ (Eph 4). 

Here are some questions to help reveal and shape our hearts and lives (Eph 4). As you use these in your small group you’ll find you really get to know one another on a deeper level. You'll be more able to support one another, pray for one another, and encourage one another in the faith. Use them in your devotion and you'll find another level of self-inspection that helps apply the word to personally.  

You can’t ask and answer each of these in every devotional or small group. But but asking these kinds of questions you’ll begin to grow in applying the Bible to your heart and that of others.  

First pray, remembering God knows your heart. Ask God to use His word to reveal and shape your heart and life into Christ's likeness. 

^{Jeremiah 17:9
9}  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?  ¹⁰  “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

HEART

1. What does passage teach me to want? Do I want that? 
2. What does this passage lead me to love? Do I love that?
3. Who does this teach me to worship and adore? Who do I worship or adore?
4. Do feel angry in response to this passage? Why?  
5. Would obeying this passage make me sad to lose anything?
6. What is the best and worst case scenario in obeying this passage? Are there examples in the text?  
7. How do I feel about believing and obeying this passage? If I am resistant, why? 
8. When I think about this passage, is there anything I am afraid of? And what does this passage encourage me to trust in order overcome that fear?
9. What exactly am I being asked to think? Am I resistant in any way? 
10. What exactly am I being asked to do? Am I resistant in any way?  
11. What in this passage will make me truly happy? Do I believe it?
12. Do I trust that believing and obeying this passage is best for me and others? 
13. According to this passage, what is successful? Prosperity? Is that my idea of success? 
14. What emotions come up first when I hear this passage? 
15. Would I gladly boast about the truth and goodness of this passage? Why not?  
16. How would I feel about an unbeliever seeing this passage? What does that reveal about me or my understanding of the passage? How could I use this passage to speak of the glories of Christ to an unbeliever? 
17. What personal experiences have I had which confirms this truth of this passage? 
18. Am I able to discern ways this passage encourages me to continue in faithfulness? 
19. In what ways does this passage convicts me, leading me to repent from sin and grow in sanctification? 
20. In what way does this passage challenge me personally? 
21. How does this passage foster worship and adoration toward God in my heart and mind? 
22. Is a there particular phrase (truth or command) which particularly pricked your heart? Why so? 
23. What do I see is my personal responsibility in response to this passage? How do I honestly feel about it? What truth, hope, or promise in this passage can help me have strength and courage to do it?
24. Does this passage reveal in relational conflict between me and someone else? What does it reveal? What is my part in a way forward? 
25. How does my cultural upbringing or surroundings affect the way I am responding to this passage (whether positively or negatively)? What about the way I apply this passage?
26. What do I love most about this passage? 
27. What is hardest for me to love at first in this passage? What does that reveal about my heart? What in the passage can help change my heart?
28. How does this passage reveal I feel about the whole Bible? How does this passage shape my framework for reading the whole Bible?  
29. What would Satan want done to oppose God in this passage? Does that at all sound good to me? 

LIFE

1. How does this apply to interactions with others? In the church? Non-believers? 
2. How does this passage affect what I plan on my calendar this week? 
3. How would I apply this passage to being a faithful church member? 
4. What words would come out of my mouth by applying this passage? What questions in conversation with others? 
5. What is a scenario I may find myself in this week where this passage directly applies?
6. What have I been doing instead of obeying this passage (something I’ve done or not done)? 
7. How did Jesus exemplify the truths and commands of this passage in his life? 
8. What does this passage lead me to put on my calendar next week? 
9. What person in particular should I pray for?
10. Who should I pray for in the expectation I can apply this passage to my interaction with them this week? 
11. How does this relate to my home rhythms? 
12. Does this change how I think about any of my habits? 
13. What are three things I can praise God for in prayer based on this passage?
14. What are three things I can ask God for help with from this passage? 
15. Who is a helpful example in living out this passage that I can write and thank? 

For His Glory,

Nathan 

Is God just for pouring out his wrath on sinners who reject Him and rebel against Him? Yes, because he has made himself known since the creation of the world.

Romans 1:18-20 puts it like this: 

¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 

Since the Creation of the World

Paul puts a time stamp on the moment our accountability began. “Since the creation of the world”. There is no time on this side of creation when man can say to God, “but you have not made yourself known”. There has never been a time in which man was unaccountable to God. It does not matter if you have the Bible or not, if you have heard of Moses or Jesus or not, or what else you have not seen or heard. Man has been accountable to God since the moment creation began because God has revealed himself in creation. 

In the Things That Have Been Made

All God made in those six days, including man, reveal his eternal power and divine nature. God’s invisible attributes are detected in the visible aspects of the world. God is known without the law, the Bible, or the prophets. In fact, the text says carefully, “God has shown it to them”. Creation is God showing all mankind what He is like. Why is the world the way it is? God is the way He is. Everything in existence has a theological conclusion — God’s nature and power. Everything that has been made identifies and points out the creator. 

So They Are Without Excuse

We are all without excuse. Through creation, “what can be known about God is plant to them, because God has shown it to them”. There is not saying, “But I didn’t know God” or “I couldn’t know God.” This is the point Paul is making. Even if the Gentiles say, “We have not heard the law, we have not heard of Christ, etc”, Scripture says they have been outside. They have seen the sun and the mountains and humming birds. All creation reveals God’s nature and His invisible attributes. So we are all without excuse. 

Look Out the Window Evangelism 

Our best tract for evenaglism may be right outside the window. Get people to look out the window and make sense of the world. Appeal to our deep sense that the world gives us something beyond what we can reason (though not unreasonable). Murder is wrong. How do we know? We just ... know. Something about our reality tells us that we are unique and important. We have meaning. Therefore, there is a significant difference between stepping on a cricket and murdering a human being. Stephen Wellum writes:

“We insist that humans are merely animals, but we desperately desire significance, justice, and love. Thus no matter whom we talk to, given that all people in God’s created order, including our own human constitution, we have a point of contact to speak the truth of the gospel to them. For evangelism and missions, this is important to remember: the glorious triune God we proclaim is known by all people, and their suppression of the truth is never consistent.” 

In other words, keep talking about love, justice, and significance. At some point we all have to admit that our understanding of our significance is rather innate. Rather, it is revealed in creation itself. And if we talk about the world long enough we get to a place where we realize this world is too impossible, too grand, and too organized to be accident. Our values eventually betray us if we suggest otherwise. So keep talking about creation and what it means. Eventually you’ll come to a place where God has created man, man has sinned against God, and man is in need of a savior. You’ll be able to share truth we can’t interpret from the clouds and the trees: the gospel.  

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul addresses the rejection of the gospel. When unbelievers reject the gospel, there is a temptation to lose heart (2 Cor 4:1). There are two options when this happens: 1) change the message to try to get people to respond favorably, or 2) keep preaching the open statement of the gospel of Jesus crucified and resurrected. Paul, obviously, suggests we take the latter route.

More importantly, he gives theological reasons. Why not change the message of the gospel? Why not dress it up? Why not hold some offensive parts back? One of the reasons has to do with their ability to see the glory of God in Christ. Explaining why we should not tamper with the message of the gospel, Paul says (and look for Genesis 1):

2 Cor 4:3-6 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The difference between those who are responding in faith and those who do not is the difference between darkness and light in creation. God said, “let there be light.”

The problem in the unbeliever is the gospel is “veiled”, the hearers are “blinded,” and “kept from seeing the light of the gospel.” They are in the dark. They cannot see. What is it unbelievers cannot see? “The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (v 4). They cannot see the glory of Christ! Sure, they hear about Him as a man in history. They hear the message with their ears. They contemplate the facts in their minds. But they cannot see, not spiritually. They are, in that way, entirely in the dark. They cannot see God’s glory.

But the believer is different. The difference is in the phrase “let there be light.” Paul compares the unbeliever with the believer this way, “For God, who said, “let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts (Paul, fellows ministers, and believers) to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Believers can see the glory of God in Christ. Unbelievers cannot. The difference is God, “has shone in our hearts.” Notice Paul's comparison. The act of creating light. Paul compares believers, their faith, and conversion, to the moment God said, “Let there be light.” It is not merely to identify God. Paul is referring to the action of God: creation of light. 

All unbelievers are in a state of veiled darkness, blinded by the god of the world -- like the world before there was light. Conversion happens when God says, “let there be light” in the heart -- just as light came into the world. Here it is not the darkness of the world which is dispelled, but the darkness of each heart.

This is not merely identifying God in creation and conversion, but God’s action in creation and conversion.

One more fact that may be worth noting is the means to “knowing” in your mind that Christ is the image of God. Paul has a clean conscience (his mind), because unbeliever’s minds are vieled, but knowledge of the glory of Christ comes from the light of Christ first shone in the heart. In this passage, the means to the mind/knowledge is light in the heart.

So…

Do not change the gospel message!
And do not lose heart! 

This doctrine of conversion is not meant for scholars and academics to argue over. It is meant to encourage every Christian who has ever shared the gospel and been rejected. Simply preach the open statement of the gospel of Christ! Those who do not believe are those who are perishing, blinded, and veiled. Believers are those to whom God has said, “let light shine in their hearts.”

What an incredible thought! To be a believer in Christ, to see the glory of God in Christ, is to enjoy the act of creation in our hearts. Just as God said in the beginning, “let there be light” so seeing the glory of Christ is for God to have said, “Let there be light” in our hearts.

by Pastor Nathan

The New Year is a time often charged with positive energy. Something about the break from one year to the next tells us things will be and should be better. But our positivity could be a form of idolatry. Idolatry is loving, trusting, and obeying something other than God. It could be yourself or your country or your spouse. The New Year can take on a form of idolatry when we trust its promises and “energy”. What promises? Happiness. Health. More good. Less bad. You know how resolutions go. 

Listening to resolutions of TV personalities seems harmless enough. I did stay up to meet the New Year! The TV spots were beyond cliche. “What is your resolution this year?”, one host asks. “To spend more time with my family” another responds. Someone else adds, “Be more charitable to people in need”. Sounds great I suppose. Except, you might have begun to feel that the New Year is just another season of added pressure to be better at something….or everything. Meanwhile, you’re still beat down from all the previous failed resolutions. 

Much more, you may be disappointed that all last year’s positivity died faster than a Tesla on West Texas highway in July. Maybe you are in a “give up” mood this year. You’ve grown entirely opposed to resolutions. You hate the empty New Year promises and energy. You aren’t going to be tricked by silly resolutions again. You aren’t going to be fooled by that baseless positivity nonsense again! So you are left struggling with bitterness toward those who do seem to have a positive and prosperous life. Sometimes that “realism” is just hopelessness. You know you are experiencing hopelessness in your heart when you have given up making plans — like a POW who finally stopped plotting your escape. No New Year resolutions for you! But hoplessness reveals idolatry just like hope for material prosperity. 

The answer to idolatry is always to see God as he truly is and then trust, worship, and obey. There is something better than New Year positivity and resolutions. What a relief!? There is something better than New Year pressure to be better organized, be healthier, do more charity, etc. There is something better than moralism lost in confetti and disguised as ambition.

Consider the kind warning in James. 

James 4:13–17 ¹³ Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— ¹⁴ yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

This is a New Year kind of boast. Gain is good. More wealth. More health. More productivity and profit. Who would boast about future decline and tragedy? This is a form of idolatry which particularly unique to western culture post industrial revolution and now immersed in the technology and information age. We just do what we want when we want and if we can’t there must be an app for it. 

But the idolatry is to replace God’s sovereign will and plans with your will and plans. New Year promises and plans are no less idolatrous than any others. I will (fill in the blank). 

Instead we ought to throw ourselves at the will of God. Let me encourage you this year to make all the resolutions you feel you ought. Some of us would seriously honor the Lord with healthier diets or better financial plans. It honors the Lord to start Bible reading plans! Make plans about fatherhood and motherhood. We are not fatalists. Make plans! But our hearts and our wills should bow in submission to the King of the universe. Our wills should be “if the Lord wills we will do this or that”. Instead of taking New Year’s energy and trying to forge it into personal resolve, trust God’s will for your life and seek to obey His express commands. 

Recognize you have no earthly idea what is going to happen next year!  You could be on the verge of more loss and suffering than you can imagine. Instead of trusting your own will fueled by New Year energy, trust the sovereign God of all creation who does know exactly what 2024 holds. Let our resolution be “If it is the Lord’s resolution, we will live and do this or that”. 

Supposing the Lord does not return the sun will rise every morning. We will each live until we don’t. We are not promised another breathe of air. Make this your great ambition: trust and obey God. Trade the ambiguous and fleeting New Year’s positive energy for the unbreakable promises of God. God is not promising us a great year (in material terms), but he is promising us New Creation forever (2 Peter 3). Christ the Lord has promised us that he will return and take us to be with Him (John 14). His resurrection is the promise that if we confess our sins we will be forgiven (1 Cor 15, 1 John 1). God is not promising that we won’t die this year, or get sick, or meet an untold number of tragedies.  But he has promised that those who trust him, though we die, yet shall we live (John 11). We are promised that unlike money, he will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Everything but God will keep changing in 2024.  

Maybe instead of coming up with New Year’s resolutions you might consider a command of the Lord to focus on this year. As you mediate on Scripture ask the Lord to show you a command which might be best for you to focus on this year. Read, meditate, and pray until the Lord shows you something about yourself in his Word. Make the year about knowing and trust God by growing in obedience to his command. Leave willing the universe to Him. 

2 Peter 3:11–14 (ESV)

¹¹ Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ¹² waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! ¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

What Isn’t Gossip

It’s not gossip just because you are not included. 
Its not gossip just because you speak about someone.
Its not gossip just there is a disagreement.  
It’s not gossip to explain a situation or relationship. 

Imagine the Matthew 18 process of discipline. Can you imagine going from one to two and three and then the church without talking about someone? Its virtually impossible. The same goes for the teaching about bearing one another’s burdens (Gal 6). Paul talks about other people in his letters — both praising them and judgin them. He has no problem publicly naming false teachers to Timothy either. 

Paul receives a report from Chloe about the division in the church in Corinth. Its not gossip to report a concern to an authority. Its not gossip, for example, to contact CPS when you are afraid a child is in danger or for a spouse to report abuse. Its also not gossip to report a concern to the right parties in the church for the sake of help. A trusted counselor, pastor, or small group leader may be able to give biblical direction or feedback as Paul did. And notice Paul did not shy away from the fact that he was dealing with something he heard. How did he know about the division in Corinth? Paul said, “It has been reported”. So gossip is not simply “talking about other people” in a technical sense.

What is gossip? Here are six principles of gossip and tools for encountering gossip. 

Gossip is Sweet and Secret

Proverbs 26:22  The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body. 

What does “whisper” mean? It is less about the actual volume of your voice and more about minimizing the scope of your audience. It is conversational secrecy and hiding, purposefully making sure no one else knows what you've said. You don’t want to invite any other voices to give any different narrative of events or view point (Prov 18:17). Gossipers tend to couch everything with, “Let’s just keep this between you and me.”  Not all privacy is gossip. But it can be a sign you want this to be enjoyed together as gossip. You don’t want to be held accountable for your view or your words if others should find out so you “whisper”. Keeping something secret is a way you get to enjoy not being held accountable while spreading news.

Also, gossip is hearing or spreading something just to enjoy passing it on, “like a sweet morsel” and doing nothing else about it. Hearing or spreading news is the experience itself. The sheer pleasure of being judge and reporter, that is itself the pleasure and the goal. Being on the inside is gratifying. A gossiper doesn’t have the desire or plan to pray, give counsel, serve, mourn, or help. The best part about gossip is just hearing and passing on news. 

Busybodies 

2 Thessalonians 3:11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.

Gossipers will share something privately with many people. Gossips and busybodies tend to go around “saying what they should not” (1 Tim 5:13). In Timothy Paul is specifically talking about widows who are busybodies which gives us another layer of understanding gossip. It tends to run alongside idleness. Gossip is the pleasure of gossip therefore it fits well with aimlessness and purposelessness. 

Busybodies want to be about everyone’s business but they don’t want to be busy with the business of the Lord. They don’t want to serve, ask questions, protect unity, or really enjoy the fellowship of the church. They are very busy meddling. They are busy (curious) learning what’s going on and then sharing it. Busybodies and gossips often come accross as impassioned about issues and various crisis, but have no motivation to help or serve. 

Gossip is Slanderous 

Slander is purposefully speaking of someone to damage or demean their reputation. Slander is gossip when its private. It can be public, like in a political advertisement. When slander is private its gossip. Passing on information, interpretations, or experiences about someone in order to both enjoy how stupid or terrible the other person is slander.

“Can you believe they did something so stupid?”

“Did you hear what they did? Its awful!”

Slander is gossip that tears down someone's reputation. 

Proverbs 20:19 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler. 

A simpler babbler is someone who just “runs their mouth” as we might say. They open the gates of gossip and they just stay open from person to person. Slanderers take the worst thing they can know and pass it on. 

Gossip is News that Was Never Investigated

How embarrassing when a trusted news agency has to issue a retraction because their anchor actually reported gossip instead of truth? 

Gossipers love to report by that don’t bother with investigation. They don’t want to know why, how, when or even if things are actually true. They don’t want to know the narrative or motives because those are important. In gossip you need not investigate because if you have a spacious, deliciously sweet morsel of gossip…why ruin it with the salt of truth? 

Proverbs 18:2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Proverbs 18:7 The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him. 

Gossipers don’t really want to know what’s going on. Partial news is plenty news. They are happy assuming motives and narratives, “They probably did that because….”. They tell a false story or half story because they do not know the truth — and they don’t want to learn the truth. 

We can often do this in the process of trying to understand something. We don’t know so we start to assume, “This situation is probably so because…”. Well maybe. But do you know? Once you pass on your “probably” scenario it grows and grows and often becomes slander. 

Gossip Can Separate Close Friends

Prov 16:28 28  A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.

Gossip will change the dynamic of a friendship. It could come from different angles. A common example is someone hears their friend passed on information which was shared in confidence. Trust is broken. Now you can’t share with that friend anymore. A friendship is lost. Or another example is you start to hear gossip about one of your friends, gossip that is not true. But it starts to affect the way you think about your friend. Gossip injects unwarranted suspicion between otherwise trusted friends. “Well did you hear about your friend…they….”. One of suspicions best friends is bitterness. 

Sometimes we have a duty to break confidence for the sake of friendship. For example, breaking confidence when someone is suicidal or breaking a law is a matter of love and justice. But that is not the purpose of gossip. Gossip simply loves the pleasure of passing information and it often includes breaking trust “I thought that was shared between us”. This is how powerful gossip can be. Its not just acquaintances that are affected. It can separate “close friends”. 

Gossip Fuels Quarrels

Proverbs 26:20  For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.

We know how campfires work. If you want the fire to die out, quit adding wood!  Gossipers keep putting wood on the fire. Quarrels, disputes, or divisions can be maintained by gossip. You share with someone at lunch. You bring it up with someone else in a text chat. You circle back to it in a conversation. You conversations are filled with just how bad or sad that situation is. Someone tells someone who tells someone who tells someone. Every sentence is another log on the fire. One sign that gossip is spreading is when you try to put a quarrel out by seeking peace or coming to a resolution it keeps growing and spreading. 

Now, what do we do about gossip? A few biblical instructions. 

Get a Godly View of Gossip

Look at where gossip shows up in the New Testament. Its not pretty. 

Romans 1:28–32 ²⁸ And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³² Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Gossip is attributed to those who “did not acknowledge God” were given up to “debased mind”. Gossipers are right in line with those who hate God and those who have murder in their hearts (Matt 5). Its evil.

You find gossipers in a similar list in 2 Corinthians 12:20. And in 1 Timothy 5:13 its so serious that Paul connects the young widowed busybodies with those who would be “drawn away from Christ”. 

Care More

Sin needs to be elevated to the gospel and the commands of Jesus. Jesus died and rose from the grave for sin. If you love spreading the news of sin without the hope and grace of the gospel, its as if you were ok with them standing condemned and going to hell. If what you are spreading or hearing is not sin, someone’s motives should afford your most charitable disposition. If the content of the gossip is sin it ought to be even more worthy of speaking the truth in love (Eph 4). It ought to be even more worthy of going to your brother or sister who has sinned against you and telling them their fault (Matt 18). Gossipers tend to feel they really care about a matter because they are so offended, shocked, or grossed that they tell someone. But that is contrary to the gospel. Gossip takes the gospel out of the scenario. Underneath gossip may be a lack of love for God’s name and a lack of love for those who bear God’s name. Don’t be fooled into thinking you care so much because you gossip. Real love applies the gospel and discipline. One of the opposites of gossip is love. 

Discern Gossip 

Disagreements are normal. People change views on doctrines, plans, politics, and all sorts of things. Discerning what is gossip and what is not can be difficult. Sometimes the gossiper might even be unaware of they’ve slipped from love into gossip. Perhaps we ourselves have! How can we tell? Ask a few questions.

What’s your reason for sharing?

Why does this matter to your, our family, church, etc? 

Can I share this? Why or why not?

Have you talked to the person/people involved? 

Do you mind if I talk to the person who said that/did that?

How do you know that? 

What are you going to do? 

What is the biblical direction for responding to this?

What do you expect me to do with this information?

Is this going to strengthen a friendship?

Consider Your Next Steps
So, now what do I do with that information? 

• Consider Forgiveness & Reconciliation. Does someone need to forgive someone in order for this news or dispute to stop? Send the gossiper back to the person who first sinned against them. Send the gossiper back to the person in need. If not, continuing to talk about it will add wood to the fire. Elevate actual sin to its needed solution. The gospel is that Jesus died for that sin. Would you rather enjoy spreading what Jesus actually died for — someone else’s sin? We are forgive as we have been forgiven (Col 3). 
• Consider Correction and Discipline. If your brother sins against you go to them and follow the steps in Matthew 18:15-21. If you don’t know what to do call a pastor. Direct gossipers to do the same. You are telling me about this but you have not talked to the party involved? 
• Consider Helping. If there is a situation that needs help…help. Maybe that would be counsel, praying with someone, or directing someone to a pastor. But consider what you can actually do about such information and if you can or should actually help. An example would be running down the children's minstry or greeting, any ministry in the church, while refusing to vounteer and help. If you are sharing about someone’s short falling but refuse to talk with them and encourage them, thats gossip when help is needed. 
• Pray. Actually pray for people in secret and in your conversations. Call anyone’s bluff and in a conversation say, “Lets pray for that right now!” Then when you say “amen” change the subject unless you need to make plans to help. 
• Stop the Gossip Chain. For one, don’t share what you sense is purposeless, false, or unloving to repeat. Don’t repeat it. Also, ask others not to share it. If you hear something that sounds like gossip ask the person, “So what are we going to do with this?” Say out loud, “I don’t think this should be repeated without going to speak to the individual or someone else for help.” 

God, help speak the truth in love. Help us build up and not tear down. Help all our words be gracious and true. 

Proverbs 10:12 
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. 

For His Glory,
Nathan