How Do I Gently Correct Someone Who Receives Wrong Journaling?

Question from Hilda: How do you handle correcting someone who shares impure journaling with the group without embarrassing that person?  

Answer: If my heart feels it is not from God I have done each of the three options below, depending on the situation.

One - Offer a reminder of how we purify journaling

I would probably say, “That’s interesting. Can I ask you a question? When you wrote that section were your eyes fixed on Jesus?”

Most often they will say, no.

So then I state the principle: “The intuitive flow comes from the vision being held before your eyes.”

So when our eyes are fixed on Jesus and we tune to flow, it is most likely coming from Jesus. If my eyes are fixed elsewhere, and I tune to flow, then the flow is suspect and could be impure. So anytime I review my journaling and see a paragraph that was written when my eyes were not fixed on Jesus, I put a ??? next to the paragraph since I am unsure as to its purity.

Two - Recommend submission to spiritual advisors

I would say, Hmm... I think I would put that on hold until I had submitted it to my three spiritual advisors.

Three - Explore the questionable content with them

Just this last week a man sharing his first journal entry with the group said that Jesus told him that he was able to hear Him so didn’t need to receive visions. The man did comment, “I’m not sure if that was Jesus or just my objection to developing vision.” As he went on sharing his journaling it included a picture that had come to his mind.

I pointed out to him, “Well, you DID actually see a vision as you journaled. That picture you just described was a vision from the Lord.”

He then realized that was true.

So I concluded with, Jesus saw vision all the time (Jn. 5:19,20,30), and we are to imitate Christ (Phil. 3:17), and you did receive a vision in that journal entry, so I believe your journaling was wrong.

I sensed he was able and willing to accept that and we moved on. If he was not able to accept it, I would have shared with him what Derek Prince said years ago: "You don't HAVE to do anything the Lord offers to you. You GET to avail yourself of it if you so choose."

Summary

Just to re-cap, 99% of the journaling people share is from God according to the witness of my heart. It is wonderful counsel from the Wonderful Counselor and builds faith, hope, compassion, understanding, and forgiveness. Jesus also calls people to holy living (i.e. “Go and sin no more" – Jn. 8:11).

A five-minute walk and talk with Jesus in His Garden is enough to inspire and direct a person for the day. It sure beats beginning the morning with a newscast of what satan has done in the last 24 hours. Let's purpose to keep seeking the things above (Col. 3:1-3) and set our mind on the spirit (Rom. 8:5-6)!