< Previous www.TerryLowry.com February 201818Gossip Devotion for October 6From: Psalms for Living: Daily Prayers, Wisdom, and GuidanceBy Mark Lanier“My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent,for people who are wicked and deceitful haveopened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues. Withwords of hatred they surround me; they attackme without cause. In return for my friendshipthey accuse me, but I am a man of prayer. Theyrepay me evil for good, and hatred for myfriendship.”Psalm 109:1-5 Gossip is mean, hurtful, and destructive. Gossip isa seductive sin. Speaking about others in wayswe shouldn’t can make us feel important…butshould it? It can also feed the small part of us that mightlike to see others in bad light.But should we gossip? Sometimes, it simply entertainsus in the sense that we get enjoyment out of it. None ofthis may be conscience with us, but the seeds behind gossip are dark seeds. There is no wonder that Paul puts gossip in the veryharsh category of sins, setting it out as something thatunsaved people do.“They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness,evil, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit,maliciousness. They are gossips.” Romans 1:29It isn’t only the unsaved, though. Even the Corinthianshad gossip issues over which Paul showed concern. “For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find younot as I wish and that you may find me not as you wish,that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger,hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.”2 Corinthians 12:20Paul taught Timothy to stop people from gossiping. “Besides that, they learned to be idlers, going aboutfrom house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossipsand busy-body’s, saying what they should not.”1 Timothy 5:13All believers should guard their tongue. We need to becareful about what we say. Our words need to be meticu-lously honest. We need to be on guard against everimpugning someone’s motives – something we can’t reallyknow. Our words should be words of love, encouragement, andlife-building. We also know the pain of people who gossipand speak out against us. It is a terrible and unfair thing. What does the believer do when speak ill behind theirbacks when they incite discord? Jesus teaches us to findrefuge in God in prayer and in love. Jesus told us to prayfor and love those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Thisshould be our goal in tandem with our prayers for the Lordto reach out and deliver us from the consequences of gossip. Don’t gossip. Pray for others. PRAYER: Lord, we pray for your help in two ways: firsthelp us to control our tongues and ears. May we not begossips and may we not listen to other’s gossip. We alsopray for those around us who are gossiping. We bless you,Father. Amen.”Weekdays 2:00 to 3:00 PM on FM 100.7 The Word. Visit www.TerryLowry.com19February 2018 www.TerryLowry.comPolitical ConvictionsWeekdays during the What’s UP Radio Program, listen to thedaily devotion by our friends at Crown Ministry. This devotion isby the late, great Larry Burkett, founder of Crown Ministries.“Such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.”(1 Peter 2:15)When I first became a Christian, it was my conviction that politics was a corrupting influence and that Christianityand politics didn’t mix.However, as I look back over history, especially reading the early history of America, it’s clear that Christianity andpolitics were intricately entwined—they were one and the same—and the religious convictions of our Founding Fathersare clear in everything they wrote: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.So, now I’m more convinced that Christians must be involved in politics. I believe we have the responsibility to makeour positions well known. We have the right to vote for the candidates of our choice and to speak out against the candidates who don’t stand for the value systems we hold dear.If we don’t get involved in politics, we will end up with exactly what we have today: a secular society. My spirit isgrieved when I think of what we are leaving the generation of Americans who will follow us. Without the Christianfoundation that was established in this country, we can easily become an evil society.With a Christian foundation, we are God’s unique creation and subject to God’s unique blessings. So I would imploreyou to get involved. Pray about it and spend your money supporting candidates that best reflect your value system. www.TerryLowry.com February 20182021February 2018 www.TerryLowry.com www.TerryLowry.com February 20182223February 2018 www.TerryLowry.com www.TerryLowry.com February 201824Republican State PropositionsProposition 1Texas should replace the property tax system with an appropriate consumptiontax equivalent.£ Yes £ NoProposition 2No governmental entity should ever construct or fund construction of tollroads without voter approval.£ Yes £ NoProposition 3Republicans in the Texas House should select their Speaker nominee by secret ballot in a binding caucus without Democrat influence.£ Yes £ NoProposition 4Texas should require employers to screennew hires through the free E-Verify sys-tem to protect jobs for legal workers.£ Yes £ NoProposition 5Texas families should be empowered tochoose from public, private, charter, orhomeschool options for their children’seducation, using tax credits or exemptionswithout government constraints or intrusion.£ Yes £ NoProposition 6Texas should protect the privacy and safe-ty of women and children in spaces suchas bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers in all Texas schools and government buildings.£ Yes £ NoProposition 7I believe abortion should be abolished inTexas.£ Yes £ NoProposition 8Vote fraud should be a felony in Texas tohelp ensure fair elections.£ Yes £ NoProposition 9Texas demands that Congress completelyrepeal Obamacare.£ Yes £ NoProposition 10To slow the growth of property taxes,yearly revenue increases should be cappedat 4%, with increases in excess of 4% requiring voter approval.£ Yes £ NoProposition 11Tax dollars should not be used to fund thebuilding of stadiums for professional orsemi-professional sports teams.£ Yes £ NoEVER YBODY VOTESON THESEJack Roady for Galveston Co. D.A.By Sara Tracey, Assistant EditorThe LINK Letter What are others ‘in theknow’ are saying aboutJack Roady, GalvestonCounty Criminal District Attorney?Since f irst elected in 2010, JackRoady has led the off ice with professionalism, integrity, and anuncompromising commitment to justice. Under Jack Roady’s leadership, the Galveston CountyDistrict Attorney’s Off ice has reduced dismissals and increased convictions, with an overall 89% felony jury trialconviction rate. Galveston County also obtained its firstdeath penalty conviction since the mid-1990s, for a manwho killed his infant child. There are two death penaltycases pending. 2016 Texas Prosecutorof the YearIn 2016 Roady was honored as Texas Prosecutor of theYear by the Texas State Bar’s Criminal Justice Section.Jack Roady is a proven public servant with 10 years ofprosecution experience as a trial and appellate prosecutor,plus 7 years of successful experience leading the GalvestonCounty D.A.’s Office. Jack Roady’s primary opponent has never worked as aprosecutor or criminal defense lawyer (with the possibleexception of one criminal defense case). Since taking office in 2011, Jack Roady created the firstmajor fraud unit in the Galveston D.A.’s Office, with aprosecutor devoted full-time to fraud prosecution and a fraud examiner to provide the investigative expertise necessary for these complex criminal cases. Jack Roady also created a Public Integrity section, with achief-level prosecutor and a senior investigator to investi-gate and prosecute crimes committed by public employeesor officials. Innovations andCost SavingsWhile increasing convictions, Jack Roady has alsoworked to create two diversion courts within GalvestonCounty. The Galveston County Veterans Treatment Courtallows certain men and women to address problems relatedto their military service and to avoid future criminal activity. The Galveston County Drug Court focuses on providingnon-violent drug addicts the opportunity to break the “drugabuse-arrest-conviction-drug abuse” cycle. This Court focuses on helping them lead more productive and law-abiding lives, while saving Galveston County taxpayersthe expense of dealing with repeat drug offenders. Do the Right ThingJack Roady leads with a vision imparted to every prosecutor in the office: “Do the right thing, the right way,for the right reason.” He has stressed that integrity and justice should prevail in every case handled by his assistantdistrict attorneys within the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office. Finally, Jack Roady has worked closely with Commis-sioners Court on budgeting and staffing issues, and he hasbrought the D.A.’s Office in under budget every year.Roady’s opponent has declared bankruptcy twice (whichwere eventually dismissed) and had two I.R.S. tax liensfiled against him in the last four years totaling more than$799,000. Yet, he wants to manage an off ice with an annual budget of more than $6 million. The choice is clear: Jack Roady, a proven, dedicated, andtrusted public servant who should continue as GalvestonCounty Criminal District Attorney.Jack Roady Next >