Gossip about You

If you are a Christian, people are going to say all kinds of bad things about you.  Just make sure that they aren’t true.  I Peter 3:14,16,17 “But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled … that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.”

A Little Sin?

To tolerate a little sin is a big sin.  The problem is that there are no little sins or big sins with God.  All sin is a big deal to a holy God.  Although some sins have greater consequences than others, even little sins break our fellowship with the Lord.  Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me”.  It doesn’t mean that God “can’t” hear us, it means that God “won’t” hear our request.  We have sin blocking our fellowship with the Lord.  Our sins are like dirt blocking the air filter in the air conditioner in the house.  We must clean the filter in order to restore good air flow.  We must confess and forsake our sin in order to restore sweet fellowship with God.  God is holy, and we, his people, should be holy too.  Habakkuk 1:13 “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity …”

Who are you carrying a stone for?

The legend goes that Jesus asked his disciples to pick up a stone and carry it for Him.  John picked up a large stone and Peter, of course, picked up a small stone.  When they got up to the top of a mountain, Jesus turned the stones into loaves of bread.  John had plenty to share with Peter, who had only a small loaf of bread.  Later, Jesus again asked the disciples to carry a stone for Him.  This time, Peter got a large stone and began following Jesus.  They came to a river and Jesus told His disciples to throw their stones into the water.  Peter’s large stone made a big splash.  Then the disciples looked to Jesus expecting something, but Jesus did nothing.  Then Jesus asked them, “Were you carrying the stones for me or for yourselves?”  Hey, are we trying to make “a big splash” for ourselves, or are we working for Jesus?  Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”