What are you speaking?
James 3:8-10
8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. NKJV
What we speak does make a difference; we should always speak life into people and not death. This does not mean we do not speak the truth in love when we see some of our people go into sin or false doctrine. Gal 6:1 tells us to help our brothers - not to criticize but to help them. Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
We are to build each other up and not tear each other down. Unfortunately I have seen Christians "tearing each other down" too many times. God bought this subject of speaking in love to me when I read the account of Paul on the Damascus Road. Jesus asked "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" He did not say, "Saul why are you persecuting My followers," but "why are you persecuting Me." He showed me that every time I speak against other Christians or Christian denominations, I am pulling down the name of Christ. We must remember to attack the sin, not the sinner. I find that we, as Christians, sometimes let our politics get in the way of our speaking the truth in love. There are some politicians I do not agree with (and I am sure you feel the same) and that is our right as citizens, but as a Christian I must pray against the sin in our nation and not the sinner. Ask God to move on the hearts of our leaders to make Godly decisions and to send Godly reformers into all aspects of our nation. We must pray life into our nation and ask God to heal our land.
As Christians, we must support each other. This becomes more important each day. No longer can we let petty jealousy or envy invade our minds. We must support each other in love and by our actions. I know this would never happen to you, but it has happened to me. I have had someone leave my ministry and move on to something else. I would then have "well-meaning friends" come and tell me all that they were doing; the good and especially the bad. These "friends" were sure I would want to know. This "messenger from Satan" was trying to kill both ministries. They would tell me things that they hoped would bring dissension between our ministries - a great trick of Satan. Here is how I put a stop to such nonsense. If the news was good, I say, "praise God - lets you and I pray for them right now and ask God to bless them more"; if it was bad, I would say, "well, they need our prayers so lets you and I pray that God will help through this adversity. Trust me. that type of person will not be back and Satan will be defeated. We will all at one time or other have people leave our ministries. When they do, send them away with a blessing and then release them. Remember their method of ministry may be different from yours, but it does not mean it is wrong. Let God direct their path and let God direct your path. Do not let Satan steal your joy and blessings. Speak life into others' lives. Remember, what you sow is what you reap, so sow blessings.
Praying for God's best in your lives,
Bishop Bob Coulter
This post was an email sent out by the Bishop of the Group that we are honored to be ordained with.. Very Encouraging to Angie and I to be serving with folks like these.....
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