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Archive for September, 2009

28
Sep

Confrontation for Growth

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ~Matthew 10:34

Confrontation is always a hard pill to swallow for all the people involved. It’s always awkward and almost always involves some one calling someone else out on an issue of sin in their lives.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:4, “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?” We all have our issues but when is the time to tell that brother or sister that what they are doing needs to stop?

For anyone who knows me, they understand that there is no in between with me. I’m rough around the edges and don’t shy away from situations I feel warrant a voice. Never-the-less it feels poignant to elaborate on why I believe confrontation is a healthy part of a Christian walk.

I was playing football recently and in the course of getting down a dirty another player stomped on my toes. I felt a cleat pierce my big toe and the signal reached my head telling me it was painful. Yet I got back up and played the next play, and the next play, and the next, until the game had been finished and won.

Sometimes in the course of our Christian walk we come up against situations where a friend, a co-worker, a brother in Christ needs their toes stepped on. Jesus tells us many will hate us because of Him(Matthew 10:22). I’ve lost friends over situations which dictated correction. When our toes get stepped on we need to recognize why it happened, deal with the pain of sin, get up, and keep on fighting to win the game.

We were called to be salt in a dying world. As salt(us) stings on an open wound(sin) the long term effect is that salt also helps heal.

Guys, I can’t stress this enough. If you see something wrong, fix it. Whoever it may be could be pissed at you now but later realize the place you pulled him out of. The Lord never backed away from sin. The woman at the well, he called her on her marriages, the lame man by the pool, the tax collectors. Jesus offered gentie Biblically backed correction in order to encourage them back to a full on faith in Christ. We even see Paul in Galatians 2 chastising Peter for his hypocrisy against the customs of the time. And these are two pillars of faith having an argument, stepping on toes.

Clearly our intentions need to be right as we approach these conflicts and that comes from reading and praying daily. When you are there the words that you speak will be truth in love(Ephesians 4:15).

What ever you are approached with bring it before the Lord. Know that as you confront the situation head on, you’ve brought it to the Lord first, and that He is in control.

25
Sep

the God of peace

“peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication.” – derek webb

“nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. it is a sword that heals.” – martin luther king jr.

“eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.” – gandhi

“do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – paul the apostle

“love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you.” – Jesus

20
Sep

Get off your butt

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ~2 Corinthians 12:9

Any one who’s ever been in a relationship long enough or who is married has seen this scenario. You both are exhausted, you can barely keep your eyes open. Maybe you’re lounging on the couch or falling asleep in bed. And then men, you hear “Honey, could you get me a glass of water?”

Perhaps if your relationship is young you jump up and grab that glass of water or whatever she asked for. But the day comes later on when you’ve been together so long that the voice in your head wants to tell her “Your legs aren’t broken, I’m tired.”

See, the Bible tells us to die to self(1 Peter 2:24) but inevitable our selfish nature creeps back in. When we started out as new Christians with our baby relationship we wanted nothing more than to please the Lord. ‘Yes Lord!’ ‘What now Lord?’

We eventually hit that brick wall of Satan. We’re tired and down-trodden. We just need to rest, we want to close our eyes for just a minute and recover. And we look up and say “I’m thirsty”. Jesus said ‘whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst’(John 4:14)

While I might selfishly make my girlfriend or wife get her own glass of water, as Jesus bride he never will say ‘Nah, I’m tired too man. I’m helping 6 billion people here. Get your own water.’ What an amazing revelation! I wanted to quickly look at two things to ponder as we go about our day. One for men in particular and one for us all.

Ephesians 5:25 says ‘Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her’. I love this because you know what? It means I need to get off my lazy butt and get that glass of water. It means surrendering my life for the sake of my wife. It means loving when I don’t want to love, it means striving when I want to give up, and it means sacrificing when I want something else. Because if we look at the love of Christ for the church we need look no further than the foot of the cross. Where he bled and died and gave up his spirit for each and every one of us.

Romans 8:28 – 39. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him(28)… If God is for us, who can be against us?(31)… nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.(39). Read those 11 verses and tell me you aren’t amazed at the love of Christ.

We can hit that brick wall. We can be broken, tattered, left for dead and know that ALL things work together for good. We know that God is for us. We know that Jesus is at the right hand of the father interceding for us. We know that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. And we can get back up and fight with him right along side us.