One of the most uncomfortable feelings that you could experience in the Church is when you and another member(s) have a disagreement. In order for the body to be completely whole, you have to deal with that disagreement. The question is how?
How do you deal with the disagreement while at the same time preserve your self respect?
This is the wrong question to be asking.
Sadly however, it is the question that we too often ask ourselves when we do have disagreements within the body of Christ. The question we should be asking is what does God say about the issue we are disagreeing about? I find it ridiculously funny that we as Christians don’t think to ask God first about what He has said about an issue in His word. We usually ask Him last, after we have made the situation worse with our pride and egotistical attitudes.
Instead of approaching the word and removing ourselves from the situation, we refer to our feelings as to how we should proceed. When we do this we place our feelings in the driver’s seat and relegate God to passenger status. The interesting thing is that God won’t force Himself in the driver’s seat. He won’t force you to lean towards His wisdom and instruction He has given to us in His word. He will take a step back and wait for us to fall on our face. (We usually do just that) Even then, He won’t move until we drop our pride and call on His name.
God is sensitive like that.
God has instructed us to love and be kind to one another even if we have to take the initiative.
In Genesis 13:8-9 Abram took the initiative to resolve a conflict between himself and Lot by saying, “This arguing between our herdsmen has got to stop. I’ll tell you what we’ll do.” Abram placed family peace above his own desires.
Selfishness keeps conflict brewing in the midst of the body of Christ. It is a cancer to the body.
Proverbs 13:10 – Pride leads to arguments
Proverbs 28:25 – Greed causes fighting
If we just lean on God in the midst of disagreements instead of leaning towards our own flawed selfish, prideful feelings, we would see so much more of God in the midst of our churches. A sad but true statement is that Satan is present in some churches more so than God. We invite Satan and exclude God from the guest list. Then we wonder why God doesn’t answer our prayers when we call.
Psalms 55:18 – He rescues me and keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, even though many still oppose me.
I have on many occasions’ seen people who don’t know Christ, show more love to their fellow man than those who do. We (Christians) have the hardest time understanding how important is for us to show grace to one another and forgive each other.
Luke 17:3 – If another believer sins, rebuke him; then if he repents forgive him.
We like to rephrase the latter part of that verse to say …then if he repents make him continue to feel guilty.
God wants us to get this relationship thing right.
Matthew 18-15-17 – If another brother sins against you, go privately and point out the fault… If you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again…If that person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church.
We like to skip the first two steps and go right to the take your case to the church part. So many issues escalate out of control because we let our need for retribution get in the way of God’s need for us to love one another whole heartedly.
I often tell my children just because you feel like saying something it does not mean you should say it. What I mean by that statement is that if it’s not said in love to build one another up, you probably should not say it.
We can discuss hurtful situations in love and be the better for it. But if all we have on our minds is getting even, we need to let it go until it’s not about us but rather all about God. That’s when we will see the true power that love commands and the bond that it creates.
Showing posts with label Forgiveness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Forgiveness. Show all posts
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
True Meaning of Grace
When you think of the word grace, do you really know what it means? Do you really understand the power behind the word? For me, it was about seven to eight years ago that I truly learned what that word meant. Until that time, if you had asked me what the word grace meant, I would have told you with confidence that it was the act of praying before you eat dinner. I thought it was a synonym for giving thanks to God for the food I was about to eat to sustain my body. I was way off target, as I think many people like myself probably are.
I have learned that grace is the opposite of mercy. You can't talk about one without talking about the other. Grace is the undeserved gift that is freely given to us by God; Eternal Life. Mercy is God withholding that which we do derserve; Death. So to say it in simpler terms, grace is us getting what we don't deserve while mercy is us not getting what we do deserve.
Romans 5:15
But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
Romans 5:17
For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
Grace is such a powerful word! It takes into account the cross and what it offered to each and every one of us. It visually shows us that God has the power to do for us what we can't do for ourselves. I know I can't afford to pay the debt that I owe. Through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and the grace that is attached with it, my debt is paid in full.
Imagine this...
You are in a 5-star resturant. You have just finished eating the best meal of your life. The waiter brings the bill to your table and walks away. You pick up the bill and look at it. Instantly your eyes bulge out of your head and your breathing increases because the bill is much more than you expected. You open your wallet to realize you don't have enough money to cover the tab. Your heart drops as you wonder how you are going to get out of this mess you have gotten yourself into. The waiter returns to the table and you start to tell him that you can't afford to pay for your dinner. He stops you before you can finish and he tells you that someone else already paid your bill in full.
Someone who you couldn't see, saw that you had a struggle and without you asking or even deserving it, he covered you completely.
How would you feel if this was really you? Would you feel appreciative? Would you accept the gift? Would you say no thanks and try to find a way to cover the bill yourself?
Well I would like to remind each of us that this person really is us. We have accumulated a debt through our sin that we cannot afford to pay. God, who we cannot see, foresaw that we were struggling and without asking or even deserving it, he paid our bill in full. He covered us because He knew we could not cover ourselves.
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Question to parents. Would you sacrifice your child for the benefit of someone else? To take this question further, would you sacrifice your child for the benefit of someone who has shown nothing but hatred towards you? They have spat on you. They have mocked you. They have hurt you physically and emotionally. I don't even have to think about this question. The answer is not just no, but emphatically no.
God did just that. He gave what was most valuable to Him up for sacrifice for you and I. We put Jesus on the cross. We spat on Him in our disobedience. We mocked Him in our unbelief. We hurt Him physically and emotionally through our constant abuse of His grace. In spite of our actions, He not only said yes, He emphatically said yes.
As a result we should respond to Him out of gratitude and not out of duty. Duty says that at some point I can pay my debt off, but gratitude says that even though I can never repay you what I owe, I will continue to show you how much I appreciate you by never forgetting your act of grace. I will look for opportunities to show that same grace to others. I will forgive where forgiveness is needed. I willl show compassion where compassion is needed. I will offer a hand where a hand is needed. I will remember the gift I received. I will remember the gift was freely given when I did not deserve it.
Now that we have been given grace, we must fight to honor it through our actions and our attitudes. We must remember the cross and the price that was paid on it.
Romans 6:1-3
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
Romans 11:6
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
What Jesus did on the cross was enough. We don't have to add anything to it. God said in II Chorinthians 12:9 that His grace is sufficient. Whenever we try and add to what God has already done, we cancel out the power of the cross in our lives for that moment.
I ask each of you that have read this blog to look within yourself and seek out the opportunity to give grace to someone else. It is through God's grace that we live in His inheritance. I don't know about you, but I want all that my Father has for me. The key to me accessing it is through His perfect grace that He so freely gave to me.
Acts 20:32
And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
I have learned that grace is the opposite of mercy. You can't talk about one without talking about the other. Grace is the undeserved gift that is freely given to us by God; Eternal Life. Mercy is God withholding that which we do derserve; Death. So to say it in simpler terms, grace is us getting what we don't deserve while mercy is us not getting what we do deserve.
Romans 5:15
But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
Romans 5:17
For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
Grace is such a powerful word! It takes into account the cross and what it offered to each and every one of us. It visually shows us that God has the power to do for us what we can't do for ourselves. I know I can't afford to pay the debt that I owe. Through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and the grace that is attached with it, my debt is paid in full.
Imagine this...
You are in a 5-star resturant. You have just finished eating the best meal of your life. The waiter brings the bill to your table and walks away. You pick up the bill and look at it. Instantly your eyes bulge out of your head and your breathing increases because the bill is much more than you expected. You open your wallet to realize you don't have enough money to cover the tab. Your heart drops as you wonder how you are going to get out of this mess you have gotten yourself into. The waiter returns to the table and you start to tell him that you can't afford to pay for your dinner. He stops you before you can finish and he tells you that someone else already paid your bill in full.
Someone who you couldn't see, saw that you had a struggle and without you asking or even deserving it, he covered you completely.
How would you feel if this was really you? Would you feel appreciative? Would you accept the gift? Would you say no thanks and try to find a way to cover the bill yourself?
Well I would like to remind each of us that this person really is us. We have accumulated a debt through our sin that we cannot afford to pay. God, who we cannot see, foresaw that we were struggling and without asking or even deserving it, he paid our bill in full. He covered us because He knew we could not cover ourselves.
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Question to parents. Would you sacrifice your child for the benefit of someone else? To take this question further, would you sacrifice your child for the benefit of someone who has shown nothing but hatred towards you? They have spat on you. They have mocked you. They have hurt you physically and emotionally. I don't even have to think about this question. The answer is not just no, but emphatically no.
God did just that. He gave what was most valuable to Him up for sacrifice for you and I. We put Jesus on the cross. We spat on Him in our disobedience. We mocked Him in our unbelief. We hurt Him physically and emotionally through our constant abuse of His grace. In spite of our actions, He not only said yes, He emphatically said yes.
As a result we should respond to Him out of gratitude and not out of duty. Duty says that at some point I can pay my debt off, but gratitude says that even though I can never repay you what I owe, I will continue to show you how much I appreciate you by never forgetting your act of grace. I will look for opportunities to show that same grace to others. I will forgive where forgiveness is needed. I willl show compassion where compassion is needed. I will offer a hand where a hand is needed. I will remember the gift I received. I will remember the gift was freely given when I did not deserve it.
Now that we have been given grace, we must fight to honor it through our actions and our attitudes. We must remember the cross and the price that was paid on it.
Romans 6:1-3
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
Romans 11:6
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
What Jesus did on the cross was enough. We don't have to add anything to it. God said in II Chorinthians 12:9 that His grace is sufficient. Whenever we try and add to what God has already done, we cancel out the power of the cross in our lives for that moment.
I ask each of you that have read this blog to look within yourself and seek out the opportunity to give grace to someone else. It is through God's grace that we live in His inheritance. I don't know about you, but I want all that my Father has for me. The key to me accessing it is through His perfect grace that He so freely gave to me.
Acts 20:32
And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
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