Tag: Bible Study

NOT-REALLY-JOKING JOKES

Have you ever taken some part of truth and turned it into a joke about someone that makes other question their character? It also serves as a passive way to spread more gossip. Example: Maybe he/she will actually get off the couch today long enough to blahblah. haha.

When the joking is harmful to another, it’s mockery. How can you know a mocker? It’s in the Bible. Proverbs 21:24 says, “Mockers are proud and haughty; they act with boundless arrogance.” And verse 9:8 says, “A mocker resents correction; he will not consult the wise.”

In addition, Proverbs 22:10 says, “Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife; quarrels and insults are ended.”

And Psalm 1:1 starts out: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.”

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BACKBITING

It’s a flavor of gossip that involves speaking spiteful or slanderous words about another who is not present and can do nothing in defense. It’s secretive, and the Bible actually mentions it by name in Proverbs 25:23: “The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.”

Also: “Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; No one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure” (Psalm 101:5).

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RUMORS

You hear something, and it’s not good, and it’s also not confirmed as true. But you tell someone or ask someone else about it to get more info. The rumor mill turns and turns and the gossip spreads.

Proverbs 13:3 says, “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.”

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DISHING

“Dishin’ the dirt” basically means sharing the “juicy info” you learned about someone. Maybe the intent isn’t to directly cause damage, but by keeping the gossip alive, it continues to spread and taint the image of the person it’s about.

Proverbs 20:19 tells us that a gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.

James 5:9 says, “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!”

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SLANDER

It’s defined as spreading rumors or lies about a person to cause damage purposely. The written form of it is libel.

The Bible mentions slander countless times in lists like this one: “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips” (Colossians 3:8).

James 4:11 tells it straight: “Brothers, do not slander one another.”

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TYPES OF GOSSIP AND WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS

How do we know what’s gossip and what’s not gossip? We can find a number of Bible verses about gossip, especially in Proverbs, and we can also ask God to reveal it to us. James 1:5 tells us: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

Have any of the types of gossip below been too tempting for you to resist lately? (Come back here when you’re done if you can use help to stop gossiping.)

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8 Types of Gossip, 26 Bible Verses

Gossip is like a secret craving. We say we don’t like it, but when it’s within reach, we almost can’t resist it. We get a sudden appetite to know what we don’t know… about somebody else.

Why is it so hard to stop? Proverbs 18:8 says, “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts.”

No, you might think. Not me. I’m not into sharing the dirty details about a person’s life just for fun. But gossip comes in many flavors, and it involves listening as well. Proverbs 17:4 notes: “Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip; liars pay close attention to slander.” Yikes!

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Day 6: Lord, Help Me Enjoy Resting

Meditate on this Bible verse:

Psalm 23:1-2: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”

And pray:

  • That the Lord would help you sense His presence with you, so that you really feel Him and His sweet companionship and watchcare.
  • That the Lord would help you hear what He is saying to you in this season.
  • That He would provide all your needs abundantly as you rest in this season.
  • That He would help you to lie down and embrace peaceful places.
  • Confess to the Lord that you struggle with resting (if you do struggle). Ask Him to convict you of your need to rest.
  • Ask Him to remove your anointing to work, if He needs to or desires to, in order to help you rest awhile.
  • Ask Him to give you the desire to rest–both for its own sake, and for the sake of obeying Him.
  • Ask Him to help you enjoy resting.
  • Ask Him to help you eliminate the distractions that surround you (turning off your phone, the TV, etc.).
  • Ask Him to help you embrace stillness.
  • Ask Him to increase your appetite and attention span for prayer and studying the Word.

As a reminder, always pray in every way the Lord leads you. Holy Spirit is your intercessor (Romans 8), and He will help you pray just exactly the way HE wants you to.

So use your own words; ask Holy Spirit to help you; and simply receive from Him as He prays through you the heart of the Father!

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Day 5: Prayer to Hunger for More of Jesus

Meditate on this Bible verse:

John 7:37-38: “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

And pray this:

  • Ask Father to make you hungrier and thirstier for Jesus than you’ve ever been.
  • Tell Jesus that you’re coming to Him to drink. Then, stop for awhile and receive; let Him touch you.
  • Ask Father to strengthen your faith; to help you believe in Jesus more than you have ever believed in Jesus.
  • Ask Father God to make you hungrier for the rhema Word of God, since faith comes by hearing by the Word of God.
  • Ask Father God and Jesus to baptize you anew and afresh with His Holy Spirit and fire.
  • Pray that Holy Spirit would flow out of your belly in rivers of living water.

As a reminder, always pray in every way the Lord leads you. Holy Spirit is your intercessor (Romans 8), and He will help you pray just exactly the way HE wants you to.

So use your own words; ask Holy Spirit to help you; and simply receive from Him as He prays through you the heart of the Father!

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Day 2: Tangible Grace

Here’s Day 2 of Hope and Healing:

Meditate on this Bible verse:

2 Corinthians 12:9: “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

And pray this for tangible grace:

As a reminder, always pray in every way the Lord leads you. Holy Spirit is your intercessor (Romans 8), and He will help you pray just exactly the way HE wants you to.

So use your own words; ask Holy Spirit to help you; and simply receive from Him as He prays through you the heart of the Father!

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