Inside Destination

Mark 14: ⁵³ And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and with him were assembled all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. ⁵⁴ But Peter followed Him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire.

⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and all the council sought testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. ⁵⁶ For many bore false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.

⁵⁷ Then some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, ⁵⁸ “We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.’” ⁵⁹ But not even then did their testimony agree.

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“He is so stinky” were the hurtful words spoken towards one person in our class. “I bet he pees on himself” said one. “I bet he will give you some disease” said another. One day, he was trying to speak kind words to me, but I backed away. I mean he did smell and I didn’t want to catch anything.

• Sometimes I believe in the negative stories spoken about people.
• Sometimes I believe in the slander people sling on others.
• Sometimes I believe in the unsubstantiated things said about people.

False witness comes deep from the heart. It comes from a desire to be right and in control at the same time. The church leaders wanted to be in control but JESUS was taking the spotlight. HE did nothing wrong, yet HIS accusers tried to dream up lies.

• GOD wants me to look for the good inside of people.
• GOD wants me to speak encouraging words about people.
• GOD wants me to dig through the dirty surface of people and seek the inside HE loves.

Slander is something GOD despises. Whether I call it venting or trying to get “my” point across, speaking bad about someone is not of GOD. JESUS wants me to look inside of those who seem dirty on the outside but in reality are seeking GOD. This group of hurt people desire to follow GOD but have a hard time and need grace the same as me.

• Are you involved in slander of someone?
• Are you speaking negative words about people instead of speaking grace?
• Can you ask GOD for healing of your tongue and your mind so you can think and speak gracefully today?