No Gossiping in the Halls

"Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends."  - Proverbs 17:9

How many friends have been lost because of a disagreement on an act of unrighteousness?  I have heard so many times - "Loose lips sink ships", or "Snitches get stitches", and what that person gains in their actions.  This verse is "He who covers a transgression seeks love, ...." (KJV), and this makes it even more meaningful.  When your neighbor sins, are you the first to tell your other neighbor or a friend?  Why?  What are you to gain by disclosing the sinful action of one person to another?

Romans 3:23 tells us, "For all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God."  All means all.  You, me, my co-worker, my children, my parents, and even my Pastor.  We have all sinned in life, despite all of our attempts not to.  This separates us from God; it should not also separate us from each other.  Certainly, there are those "offenses" that bring harm to others, and must be brought to the attention of the authorities, but as Jesus told the Pharisees and Sadducees, "You, without sin, cast the first stone..." when looking upon the woman caught in the act of adultery. 

We are asked by our Lord and Savior to follow His command - "Love God with all of your heart, soul, and your spirit, and love others as yourself."  This is good advice.  Love them, forgive them, let God work out the judgment part in His due time.  In 1 Peter 4:8, we read, "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins."  Become a strong friend to theother by not gossiping, disclosing, sharing, or celebrating their sins.  Stand with your friend and show them love.  We should want all to enter into heaven one day, which means you want to be there to support your friend when their faith is struggling.  You can't do that if you are talking about them behind their back.  

I am not asking you to condone their sin.  Not at all.  We want to be there to help walk them through it, to support them, and help them be accountable.  Help them to see through scripture and prayer the sin of their actions without judging them.  You are not the judge, nor am I, but there is One who will judge in His due time.  Help them to lean into God's grace and forgiveness, with repentance, in love, not in gossiping about it.  You will need their help one day, too.

Judge - yes Judge Them - in Love

If over 70% of Americans claim to be a Christian, then why aren’t we standing up against those that attack our beliefs?  Most are taught that Christianity is a peaceful, loving religion and that we shouldn’t be quick to judge others or to call out those that are living in unrighteousness.  All of this is true to an extent.  For all of us are sinners, yes every single person with enough interest to open this blog is indeed a sinner in the Lord’s eyes.  For we can all quote Matthew 7:1-3 (intentional or not) : ““Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “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?”  If you hadn’t memorized it now you can, so the next time you want to throw it out there, you have a reference.

If we knew a man was dying from dehydration and we had a gallon of water, would we not give that water without question?  If your child were playing in street and you saw a semi barreling down at the top of the hill, would you not scream at that child to get out of the road and even run to them to move them out of the road if necessary?  We are faced with a society that has chosen to abandon the truth’s of the scripture, the words of the Lord and accept living in their sin.  Death sits upon the horizon and based on what we see it will surely come upon them with an eternal damnation.  If we are to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 24:39) than we should do everything we can, even unto death, to help them discover the truth about salvation and eternal peace with the Father.

Are we not guilty in our apathy by not reaching out to others, in loving judgement, when we see them blatantly being disobedient to the will of the Father?  What is the will of the Father, you might ask.  That none, no not one perish into the eternal abyss, but that all should come to belief in His Son, Jesus Christ, and repent of their evil ways (John 6:40).  You have been taught (most likely) that your Christian faith is a personal thing, meant to be between you and God and not shared with the world.  I am here to tell you that you are wrong.  John, Paul, Peter, Timothy, Mark, Barnabas and so many others in the early church gave you the example of what to do with your faith.


Learn, study, read and grow in your walk with God.  You have the water to share with others, but you are choosing to keep it to yourself.  Not all are called to be preachers, but we are called to share the love and grace of our Lord with everyone we meet.  Why aren’t you doing that?  What good excuse do you have for not telling someone in your neighborhood, at the grocery store, at work, at school, etc. about the saving grace of our Lord.  Are you afraid you might be embarrassed, you might lose a friend, you might offend them.  Get over it.  If indeed you have given your life to Jesus Christ, than you have accepted all that entails, which includes being an evangelist for His word, and sharing His message with others.  

Judging is not condemning, judging should be the most loving thing you do for someone who is heading toward hell.  Is it not a righteous intent when you are sharing the love of Christ with someone and in doing so you must point out the unrighteousness of their actions?  As Jesus tells us in John 7:24, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”  That is another verse you should memorize

(c) Sondove Enterprises, 2015

Sometimes It is Hard to Do

“Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” – 2 Corinthians 2:10-11

I am one of those that tend to hold a grudge, are you?  When it becomes obvious that another person has chosen to intentionally wrong me, I struggle to find the grace to forgive them and move on.  The inherent pride and desire of my heart though is to cause my adversary to experience pain similar to that which I have experienced.  I believe it’s in our human nature to seek justice against those that have wronged us.  The problem comes in that we lose focus on who is in control of justice and what true justice actually means.

The Lord tells us in Leviticus 19:18, “‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”  I fully embrace the fact that God is looking out for me.  As a follower of Jesus Christ I am comfortable that He is my provider, my defender and my strength.  When we desire for others to stumble and to fall as a point of declaring justice for their wrong doing, we are in essence seeking unrighteousness upon them.  But have you considered that it is not just going to negatively impact the other person, but you as well?

By seeking retribution against others we are taking the situation from God Almighty and claiming that we know better than He does, how to deal with it.  We are actually introducing unrighteousness into our own lives by driving a wedge between God and ourselves.  This desire to control the outcome of a situation gives Satan an opportunity to introduce evil behavior into the situation.  As hard as it is most times to sit back and let God have control, that is exactly what we are asked to do in these circumstances. 

Have faith and trust that every action against you as a child of God, is an action against God himself.  When we read in Romans 12:19, “Do not revenge…”It is mine to avenge, I will repay,” says the Lord”  we must trust that He is Sovereign and will indeed bring those that have wronged you to justice in His own timing.  You may never see the vengeance acted out, and you may never be the benefactor of the justice in that situation; but you can be confident that the Lord is going to deal with it.

Praying for and forgiving the other person is the righteous thing to do.  I’m not saying it is easy, because it’s not, but it will strengthen you, help you get past the situation, and keep your spirit focused on God where it should be, and not on the temporary things of this life.  Think eternally when you begin feeling anger, spite and vengeance toward another.  You will see, how it helps put everything in a God perspective.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2014
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Put Down the Gavel

Read It, Learn It, Live It, Share It

“We love, because He first loved us.  If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." – 1 John 4:19-20

She fell at his feet, half naked, bruised and battered.  Her eyes were swollen from crying as she looked up into his eyes.  She said nothing, but He saw her fear and plea for mercy emanating from her face without a single word.  Those that trailed behind her, shouted and screamed obscenities, vulgarities and condemnation.  According to scripture: “But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” – John 8:7  Her accusers left, and she remained near his feet, I imagine, filled with thankfulness and love for His grace upon her.

He spent the night in chains, in a dark hole in the ground where rats and snakes dwell.  His body was clothed only in a loin cloth, and hung limp from the shackles secured to the wall above his head.  When the morning broke the opened the dungeon door and brought him forth.  He then was forced to the top of a hill where he did not want to go, but was forced by the guards and magistrate of the day.  His arms were bound to the wood and his cross was raised before the people of Jerusalem.  As the day went on, the sun beat down upon his flesh and the people cursed him and spit upon him as he hung helpless.  His breath was becoming desperate and shallow as his lungs began to collapse.  He observed another on the hill that day and recognized Him as the man from the temple earlier in the week.  He was praying and speaking to Jehovah, and asking for forgiveness for those who condemned Him, loving them even in this circumstance.  The realization came that this was no ordinary man, not a criminal at all, yet here He was being crucified along-side those who were.  As the day drew on, the criminal spoke to the man who hung in the middle.  “And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”  And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” – Luke 23:42-43

Jesus loved those who by the world’s standards are completely undeserving.  Those living in sin, those who had broken commandments and harmed other individuals in the process.  He demonstrated His grace and love to those who the world had condemned, because they came to Him for salvation and redemption.  Which of you has never broken a commandment, has never sinned or lived unrighteously?  Do you hold yourself more unrighteous than those who came directly to the Son of God?  Do you refuse the truth of God’s love, grace and mercy as available for you?  I say today, that if Jesus Christ’s atoning blood and grace was sufficient for the forgiveness of one of these sin filled people, it is sufficient for the sins of all mankind.  For if it is not sufficient for the redemption of all sins, than it is not sufficient for any.  For God has provided but one path to righteousness, forgiveness and eternity with Him in heaven.

With this in mind, who are you judging and condemning from the acceptance and forgiving grace of God?  On what grounds are you basing your judgment and determining that you have such authority on earth?  Does God’s love have limitations or boundaries?  I say no, it does not.  His love and grace is limitless, unbound and overwhelming.  The openness of the recipient is the limiter.  We are called to love others and God has loved us.  This act is the most difficult challenge you will face in life, because it is our instinct to judge others against our standards in life, when in reality they will be judged only by their Creator.  We are to provide guidance and loving direction to those we see in sin and unrighteousness, but it is not our position to claim their fate in the eternal judgment of mankind.  Share the love of God without condemnation and then let God work within those individuals to bring them to the realization of their sinful actions.  Trust me, He’s much better at it than you will ever be.

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© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
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