Words of Encouragement and Thoughts (6)
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Shalico2007
Jesucristo es el Rey! Que Dios te Bendiga!
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Quote from the radio series, "Secure in God’s Choice."
The prophet Isaiah says this in chapter 12, verse 2:
Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.
I am sorry for people who find salvation in a church or in the law or in a doctrine or in a denomination. How flimsy those things are. How incapable they are of providing the salvation that we need. But when we see our salvation is in God Himself, then we can say, as Isaiah said, “I will trust and not be afraid. . . .” That gives us confidence. It removes fear and anxiety.
Our problem today in the Christian church is that we are prone to be extremely self-centered and earth centered and really there is no peace, there is no security, there is no confidence for those whose lives and thoughts and purposes are all centered in themselves.
The prophet Isaiah says this in chapter 12, verse 2:
Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.
I am sorry for people who find salvation in a church or in the law or in a doctrine or in a denomination. How flimsy those things are. How incapable they are of providing the salvation that we need. But when we see our salvation is in God Himself, then we can say, as Isaiah said, “I will trust and not be afraid. . . .” That gives us confidence. It removes fear and anxiety.
Our problem today in the Christian church is that we are prone to be extremely self-centered and earth centered and really there is no peace, there is no security, there is no confidence for those whose lives and thoughts and purposes are all centered in themselves.
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DRAWING FROM THE SOURCE
Jeremiah 2:13
For us who believe in Jesus, contentment should be governed by inner attitude and the decisions we make rather than by external circumstances. Because Paul had learned this secret, he was able to experience joy and peace in any kind of situation—whether he was surrounded by friends or isolated in a Roman prison; whether he had plenty or was in great need.
The apostle understood what it meant to live in Christ and to have Christ living in him (John 15:1-9; Galatians 5:22-23). He had made a simple but profound faith decision to draw his life from the Lord and, as a result, had the calm assurance that what he possessed inside could never be stolen. He was confident in his identity as a child of the Almighty, with full access to the abundant life Jesus offers.
I want to challenge you—this week, when something threatens to steal your contentment, choose to draw from God; decide to stop drawing from other sources and trying to be in control. When you find yourself becoming flustered, anxious, or angry, stop and say, “Lord, You are my source, and I draw from You the capacity to be kind. I draw from You the forgiveness I need to extend right now. I draw from You the love I need to express.” This decision is a matter of simple trust.
Watch and see how God will quiet your spirit and provide confidence when you draw only from Him as your source. You’ll be surprised at your own attitude: When you respond from within—rather than from the flesh—Jesus will give you the ability to respond as He would.
InTouch Daily Devotional
Jeremiah 2:13
For us who believe in Jesus, contentment should be governed by inner attitude and the decisions we make rather than by external circumstances. Because Paul had learned this secret, he was able to experience joy and peace in any kind of situation—whether he was surrounded by friends or isolated in a Roman prison; whether he had plenty or was in great need.
The apostle understood what it meant to live in Christ and to have Christ living in him (John 15:1-9; Galatians 5:22-23). He had made a simple but profound faith decision to draw his life from the Lord and, as a result, had the calm assurance that what he possessed inside could never be stolen. He was confident in his identity as a child of the Almighty, with full access to the abundant life Jesus offers.
I want to challenge you—this week, when something threatens to steal your contentment, choose to draw from God; decide to stop drawing from other sources and trying to be in control. When you find yourself becoming flustered, anxious, or angry, stop and say, “Lord, You are my source, and I draw from You the capacity to be kind. I draw from You the forgiveness I need to extend right now. I draw from You the love I need to express.” This decision is a matter of simple trust.
Watch and see how God will quiet your spirit and provide confidence when you draw only from Him as your source. You’ll be surprised at your own attitude: When you respond from within—rather than from the flesh—Jesus will give you the ability to respond as He would.
InTouch Daily Devotional
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I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me.
John 8:41-44
You are doing the things your own father does. We are not illegitimate children, they protested. The only Father we have is God himself. Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (NIV Bible)
Over the centuries, God has suffered a great injustice at the hands of those who claim to be the closest to Him. In Jesus' day, they were called Pharisees. They were Israel's religious leaders who misrepresented God to the Jewish people. They portrayed God as a legalistic, rule-bound entity that required performance instead of mercy, regulations instead of grace.
While some of these Pharisees had good intentions, many others had political ambitions and loved to be in the limelight. They used their spiritual influence to make others stumble as they blindly followed their spiritual leaders. Jesus loved the Pharisee as much as he loved the prostitute, yet it was the Pharisee who caused Him the most grief. It was the Pharisees whom Jesus rebuked openly with scorching words of warning, not the woman at the well.
In their delusions of grandeur, these leaders misled many because they masqueraded as God's children. Jesus made it clear that they were not God's children, but were in fact misrepresenting Him. Jesus came to dismantle all our misconceptions and to reveal what His Father was really like. Jesus told his followers in John 14:9 Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. If you really want to know what Father is like, all you have to do is look at His Son. All of Jesus acts of compassion and kindness were pure expressions of his Father's true nature.
Today we find that many still struggle with misperceptions of God, especially as Father. Some of us might have had God misrepresented to us by a modern day Pharisee, while others might have had an abusive or emotionally distant earthly father. The good news is that God is not like the Pharisees, and He is not a temperamental father, but is absolutely perfect in every way. And He loves us perfectly.
If you have had God misrepresented to you by somebody, I would encourage you to forgive those who have misled you. Whether they did so intentionally or not, by forgiving them, you break any unhealthy ties that you have with them and you open the door for God to show you what He is really like. He loves you and really is the Father you have been looking for all your life!
PRAYER
Father, I confess that people have misrepresented You to me in the past, but now I want know You for Who You really are. I want to forgive those who have portrayed you falsely and I want to see You as You are, not as I thought You to be. I repent of every lie that I have believed about You. You are not an angry Judge or a legalistic Pharisee, but a loving Father. And You are my Father. Thank you for revealing your true nature to me through the life of Your Son Jesus. In the name of Your beloved Son Jesus I pray, AMEN.
Father's Love Letter devotional
John 8:41-44
You are doing the things your own father does. We are not illegitimate children, they protested. The only Father we have is God himself. Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (NIV Bible)
Over the centuries, God has suffered a great injustice at the hands of those who claim to be the closest to Him. In Jesus' day, they were called Pharisees. They were Israel's religious leaders who misrepresented God to the Jewish people. They portrayed God as a legalistic, rule-bound entity that required performance instead of mercy, regulations instead of grace.
While some of these Pharisees had good intentions, many others had political ambitions and loved to be in the limelight. They used their spiritual influence to make others stumble as they blindly followed their spiritual leaders. Jesus loved the Pharisee as much as he loved the prostitute, yet it was the Pharisee who caused Him the most grief. It was the Pharisees whom Jesus rebuked openly with scorching words of warning, not the woman at the well.
In their delusions of grandeur, these leaders misled many because they masqueraded as God's children. Jesus made it clear that they were not God's children, but were in fact misrepresenting Him. Jesus came to dismantle all our misconceptions and to reveal what His Father was really like. Jesus told his followers in John 14:9 Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. If you really want to know what Father is like, all you have to do is look at His Son. All of Jesus acts of compassion and kindness were pure expressions of his Father's true nature.
Today we find that many still struggle with misperceptions of God, especially as Father. Some of us might have had God misrepresented to us by a modern day Pharisee, while others might have had an abusive or emotionally distant earthly father. The good news is that God is not like the Pharisees, and He is not a temperamental father, but is absolutely perfect in every way. And He loves us perfectly.
If you have had God misrepresented to you by somebody, I would encourage you to forgive those who have misled you. Whether they did so intentionally or not, by forgiving them, you break any unhealthy ties that you have with them and you open the door for God to show you what He is really like. He loves you and really is the Father you have been looking for all your life!
PRAYER
Father, I confess that people have misrepresented You to me in the past, but now I want know You for Who You really are. I want to forgive those who have portrayed you falsely and I want to see You as You are, not as I thought You to be. I repent of every lie that I have believed about You. You are not an angry Judge or a legalistic Pharisee, but a loving Father. And You are my Father. Thank you for revealing your true nature to me through the life of Your Son Jesus. In the name of Your beloved Son Jesus I pray, AMEN.
Father's Love Letter devotional
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Shalico2007
Jesucristo es el Rey! Que Dios te Bendiga!
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Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums
What’s Right Inside Your Bible
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.—2 Timothy 3:16-17
The greatest verse about biblical inspiration is also a great verse about biblical application. Second Timothy 3:16-17 not only tells us who gave us the Bible but also why it was given. God breathed out His Word for our benefit. Every part of it is profitable. Waiting in its pages is a wealth of blessings ready to teach, reprove, correct, and train us in righteousness.
We call the Bible “God’s Word” because it contains what He wants to say. He speaks into our lives through it. Each verse and every word accomplishes at least one of the purposes listed in today’s passage. No matter what our need, God has provided a response in His Word.
The Bible teaches us. The word used here has often been translated doctrine—meaning core teaching. Whatever we find in Scripture is truth that's worth being taught. Every time we read it we should be asking, What is God teaching me in this passage?
God’s Word reproves us. It is the precision instrument of the Holy Spirit, often stopping us in our tracks through the conviction of sin. When the Lord says “Don’t” in Scripture, He always means, “Don’t hurt yourself.” He graciously reprimands us.
God’s Word also corrects us. It not only points out the wrong, it also provides the right response. The Bible straightens out our lives like nothing else. On our own we steer in wrong directions, but God consistently directs us in the way we should go.
Scripture trains us in righteousness. It is an unerring guide for the lifelong process of discipleship God wants to bring about. We will never outgrow our need for His guidance.
Truth, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness are all ways God brings light to our lives by His Word. When we need to see where we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re going, we have a trustworthy source of guidance in the book God wrote. This is the picture described in Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
But there’s a catch in this great promise about the benefits found in Scripture. Note the last phrase in the verse: “. . . that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” All that God has for you in His Word may come to you if you dig into it. But if your Bible remains closed, though the benefits are all there, you have not accessed them.
Amazing things can happen when you open your Bible. Get familiar with it. Figure out how to find your way around. Ask for help. The spiritual maturity you long for will never be a reality until you practice regular, careful study of Scripture.
Becoming a competent disciple of Jesus—one who is equipped to carry out the tasks He places before you—will always involve His Word. When you are reading His inspired thoughts, the Lord is breathing into you His truth, loving reproofs, gracious correction, and the guidance you need.
Journal
What parts of Scripture do you gravitate to most often? Which ones do you tend to avoid?
Since it’s all profitable, how do you think you could benefit by taking time to familiarize yourself with books and chapters of in the Bible you have rarely visited?
Prayer
Lord, thank You for breathing out Your Word and using faithful servants to record it for the rest of us. Thank You that I can hold it in my hands, open it at will, and anticipate that the words my eyes fall on are for my benefit, to teach, rebuke, correct, and train me. I long to have desire and delight be my primary response every time I engage with the book You wrote. I thank You today, for the precious gift of Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Pastor James MacDonald
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.—2 Timothy 3:16-17
The greatest verse about biblical inspiration is also a great verse about biblical application. Second Timothy 3:16-17 not only tells us who gave us the Bible but also why it was given. God breathed out His Word for our benefit. Every part of it is profitable. Waiting in its pages is a wealth of blessings ready to teach, reprove, correct, and train us in righteousness.
We call the Bible “God’s Word” because it contains what He wants to say. He speaks into our lives through it. Each verse and every word accomplishes at least one of the purposes listed in today’s passage. No matter what our need, God has provided a response in His Word.
The Bible teaches us. The word used here has often been translated doctrine—meaning core teaching. Whatever we find in Scripture is truth that's worth being taught. Every time we read it we should be asking, What is God teaching me in this passage?
God’s Word reproves us. It is the precision instrument of the Holy Spirit, often stopping us in our tracks through the conviction of sin. When the Lord says “Don’t” in Scripture, He always means, “Don’t hurt yourself.” He graciously reprimands us.
God’s Word also corrects us. It not only points out the wrong, it also provides the right response. The Bible straightens out our lives like nothing else. On our own we steer in wrong directions, but God consistently directs us in the way we should go.
Scripture trains us in righteousness. It is an unerring guide for the lifelong process of discipleship God wants to bring about. We will never outgrow our need for His guidance.
Truth, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness are all ways God brings light to our lives by His Word. When we need to see where we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re going, we have a trustworthy source of guidance in the book God wrote. This is the picture described in Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
But there’s a catch in this great promise about the benefits found in Scripture. Note the last phrase in the verse: “. . . that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” All that God has for you in His Word may come to you if you dig into it. But if your Bible remains closed, though the benefits are all there, you have not accessed them.
Amazing things can happen when you open your Bible. Get familiar with it. Figure out how to find your way around. Ask for help. The spiritual maturity you long for will never be a reality until you practice regular, careful study of Scripture.
Becoming a competent disciple of Jesus—one who is equipped to carry out the tasks He places before you—will always involve His Word. When you are reading His inspired thoughts, the Lord is breathing into you His truth, loving reproofs, gracious correction, and the guidance you need.
Journal
What parts of Scripture do you gravitate to most often? Which ones do you tend to avoid?
Since it’s all profitable, how do you think you could benefit by taking time to familiarize yourself with books and chapters of in the Bible you have rarely visited?
Prayer
Lord, thank You for breathing out Your Word and using faithful servants to record it for the rest of us. Thank You that I can hold it in my hands, open it at will, and anticipate that the words my eyes fall on are for my benefit, to teach, rebuke, correct, and train me. I long to have desire and delight be my primary response every time I engage with the book You wrote. I thank You today, for the precious gift of Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Pastor James MacDonald
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THE DECISIONS THAT LEAD TO CONTENTMENT
Romans 8:28-39
Think about a circumstance in your life you’d change if you could. Are you frustrated? Worried? Angry? To experience the freedom of contentment in the midst of it—whether a hardship or unfulfilled desire—you must accept the situation as having been allowed by God, even if He didn’t cause it.
In these situations, I often pray, “Lord, I choose to accept this as though it’s coming from You. No matter what I see, I’m choosing to look to You.” Then I can rest in His omnipotence and the knowledge that I’m a child of the living God. Instead of feeling like a helpless, hopeless victim of my circumstance, I know I’m cared for and guided by my sovereign Father through whatever may come.
The second crucial decision is total submission. This doesn’t mean approaching God insincerely and saying, “Well, Lord, I just want to thank You for this! It’s all just so sweet, Jesus.” No, it’s not. Be honest and admit, “This is painful and I don’t like it. But I choose to submit to You because You are trustworthy and loving. I’m willing to persevere until You accomplish in me whatever You want. I choose to draw from Your strength for everything I need.” My friend, if you make this decision and follow through, your fears will lose their power.
Either you believe Romans 8:28 or you don’t. And if you do, you can entrust yourself to the Lord, knowing that He has your best interest at heart, will take care of you, and won’t ever leave your side. When you embrace these truths, you’ll have no reason to be anxious.
InTouch Daily Devotional
Romans 8:28-39
Think about a circumstance in your life you’d change if you could. Are you frustrated? Worried? Angry? To experience the freedom of contentment in the midst of it—whether a hardship or unfulfilled desire—you must accept the situation as having been allowed by God, even if He didn’t cause it.
In these situations, I often pray, “Lord, I choose to accept this as though it’s coming from You. No matter what I see, I’m choosing to look to You.” Then I can rest in His omnipotence and the knowledge that I’m a child of the living God. Instead of feeling like a helpless, hopeless victim of my circumstance, I know I’m cared for and guided by my sovereign Father through whatever may come.
The second crucial decision is total submission. This doesn’t mean approaching God insincerely and saying, “Well, Lord, I just want to thank You for this! It’s all just so sweet, Jesus.” No, it’s not. Be honest and admit, “This is painful and I don’t like it. But I choose to submit to You because You are trustworthy and loving. I’m willing to persevere until You accomplish in me whatever You want. I choose to draw from Your strength for everything I need.” My friend, if you make this decision and follow through, your fears will lose their power.
Either you believe Romans 8:28 or you don’t. And if you do, you can entrust yourself to the Lord, knowing that He has your best interest at heart, will take care of you, and won’t ever leave your side. When you embrace these truths, you’ll have no reason to be anxious.
InTouch Daily Devotional
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Do It Now!
Agree with your adversary quickly… —Matthew 5:25
In this verse, Jesus Christ laid down a very important principle by saying, “Do what you know you must do—now. Do it quickly. If you don’t, an inevitable process will begin to work ‘till you have paid the last penny’ (Matthew 5:26) in pain, agony, and distress.” God’s laws are unchangeable and there is no escape from them. The teachings of Jesus always penetrate right to the heart of our being.
Wanting to make sure that my adversary gives me all my rights is a natural thing. But Jesus says that it is a matter of inescapable and eternal importance to me that I pay my adversary what I owe him. From our Lord’s standpoint it doesn’t matter whether I am cheated or not, but what does matter is that I don’t cheat someone else. Am I insisting on having my own rights, or am I paying what I owe from Jesus Christ’s standpoint?
Do it quickly— bring yourself to judgment now. In moral and spiritual matters, you must act immediately. If you don’t, the inevitable, relentless process will begin to work. God is determined to have His child as pure, clean, and white as driven snow, and as long as there is disobedience in any point of His teaching, He will allow His Spirit to use whatever process it may take to bring us to obedience. The fact that we insist on proving that we are right is almost always a clear indication that we have some point of disobedience. No wonder the Spirit of God so strongly urges us to stay steadfastly in the light! (see John 3:19-21).
“Agree with your adversary quickly….” Have you suddenly reached a certain place in your relationship with someone, only to find that you have anger in your heart? Confess it quickly— make it right before God. Be reconciled to that person— do it now!
Utmost For His Highest devotional
Agree with your adversary quickly… —Matthew 5:25
In this verse, Jesus Christ laid down a very important principle by saying, “Do what you know you must do—now. Do it quickly. If you don’t, an inevitable process will begin to work ‘till you have paid the last penny’ (Matthew 5:26) in pain, agony, and distress.” God’s laws are unchangeable and there is no escape from them. The teachings of Jesus always penetrate right to the heart of our being.
Wanting to make sure that my adversary gives me all my rights is a natural thing. But Jesus says that it is a matter of inescapable and eternal importance to me that I pay my adversary what I owe him. From our Lord’s standpoint it doesn’t matter whether I am cheated or not, but what does matter is that I don’t cheat someone else. Am I insisting on having my own rights, or am I paying what I owe from Jesus Christ’s standpoint?
Do it quickly— bring yourself to judgment now. In moral and spiritual matters, you must act immediately. If you don’t, the inevitable, relentless process will begin to work. God is determined to have His child as pure, clean, and white as driven snow, and as long as there is disobedience in any point of His teaching, He will allow His Spirit to use whatever process it may take to bring us to obedience. The fact that we insist on proving that we are right is almost always a clear indication that we have some point of disobedience. No wonder the Spirit of God so strongly urges us to stay steadfastly in the light! (see John 3:19-21).
“Agree with your adversary quickly….” Have you suddenly reached a certain place in your relationship with someone, only to find that you have anger in your heart? Confess it quickly— make it right before God. Be reconciled to that person— do it now!
Utmost For His Highest devotional
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I am not distant & angry, but am the complete expression of love.
1 John 4:16
16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
(NIV Bible)
In Mark 12:28-31 Jesus tells one of the teachers of the law that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength. In this passage Jesus sums up all of the commandments into this one little but profound word...love.
Loving God and loving others is the foundation of the gospel, and the only way we have the capacity to love God is if it is in response to His incredible love for us. The bible says in 1 John 4:19 that we love because He first loved us. We cannot love Him first, He needs to love us first. It is only in the overflow of His love to us that we can love Him back and have the ability to love others.
Many Christians, especially those active in ministry, perceive the love of God as a ministry tool not to spend on themselves, but only to give away to others. But the truth is we need to first receive the revelation of God's love in our own hearts, before we will ever be able to give it away to others. God wants us to bask in His love, marinate in His love, soak in His loving presence, so that His love can touch the deepest need in our hearts. When we become like sponges drenched in the love of God, then when we bump into people, they will get soaked with what we have been soaking in.
The call of God in 1 John 4:16 is for us to live in love, for when we live in love, we live in God. There was a popular song a few years ago that said that God was watching us from a distance. While many of us have a theological grasp on the love of God, from an experiential perspective, we sometimes can feel that His love is just out of our reach.
God is not watching us from a distance, but is closer to than we could possibly imagine. His first priority is not that we save the world, but that we receive His love and simply love Him back. When like sponges, our hearts begin to drink in the extravagant love of God personally and intimately, before long it will begin to seep out of every one of our pores and truly impact the world around us.
PRAYER
Father, I acknowledge that You are the complete expression of love, and You love me unconditionally and without limit. Please teach me how I can take time to soak in Your love every day. I pray that you would remove any hindrances that would prevent me from receiving Your personal & intimate affection for me. I would ask that today, I would have the power through Your Holy Spirit, to comprehend how deep and high and wide and long is Your love for me expressed in Jesus . In the name of Your beloved Son Jesus I pray, AMEN.
Father's Love Letter devotional
1 John 4:16
16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
(NIV Bible)
In Mark 12:28-31 Jesus tells one of the teachers of the law that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength. In this passage Jesus sums up all of the commandments into this one little but profound word...love.
Loving God and loving others is the foundation of the gospel, and the only way we have the capacity to love God is if it is in response to His incredible love for us. The bible says in 1 John 4:19 that we love because He first loved us. We cannot love Him first, He needs to love us first. It is only in the overflow of His love to us that we can love Him back and have the ability to love others.
Many Christians, especially those active in ministry, perceive the love of God as a ministry tool not to spend on themselves, but only to give away to others. But the truth is we need to first receive the revelation of God's love in our own hearts, before we will ever be able to give it away to others. God wants us to bask in His love, marinate in His love, soak in His loving presence, so that His love can touch the deepest need in our hearts. When we become like sponges drenched in the love of God, then when we bump into people, they will get soaked with what we have been soaking in.
The call of God in 1 John 4:16 is for us to live in love, for when we live in love, we live in God. There was a popular song a few years ago that said that God was watching us from a distance. While many of us have a theological grasp on the love of God, from an experiential perspective, we sometimes can feel that His love is just out of our reach.
God is not watching us from a distance, but is closer to than we could possibly imagine. His first priority is not that we save the world, but that we receive His love and simply love Him back. When like sponges, our hearts begin to drink in the extravagant love of God personally and intimately, before long it will begin to seep out of every one of our pores and truly impact the world around us.
PRAYER
Father, I acknowledge that You are the complete expression of love, and You love me unconditionally and without limit. Please teach me how I can take time to soak in Your love every day. I pray that you would remove any hindrances that would prevent me from receiving Your personal & intimate affection for me. I would ask that today, I would have the power through Your Holy Spirit, to comprehend how deep and high and wide and long is Your love for me expressed in Jesus . In the name of Your beloved Son Jesus I pray, AMEN.
Father's Love Letter devotional
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This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums
6 Keys to Responding when Someone Sins against Us
by Sinclair Ferguson
How successfully do you handle the sins of others? Observation suggests that the Christian family too often reacts with either hot indignation or cold indifference, without a proper sense of biblical responsibility.
Sometimes we seem as bad at handling others' failures as we are at overcoming our own. No doubt these two things are related. Yet, given the nature of the gospel, would we not expect that the church should be vastly different from the world on this point?
Scripture gives several principles which should govern our response to the sins of others.
1. Grief. A life has been marred. Christ's name has been shamed. Perhaps others' lives have been invaded by the consequences of sin. Things can never be quite the same again. Hearts will have been hardened, making repentance the more difficult. Knowing this, we will weep with those who weep.
2. Realism. Conversion does not deliver the saints from the presence of sin. We may have died to sin, but sin has not yet died out in us. The regenerate man is only in the process of being healed. Sin dwells in him still, and is deceitful still.
This does not excuse the believer's sin, but it underlines that it is possible for Christians still to sin. Scripture encourages us that there will be no fatalities, but warns us that we can still be critically wounded.
The strong-stomached authors of the Westminster Confession caught this balance when they wrote that "sanctification is throughout in the whole man; yet imperfect in this life, there abiding still some remnants of corruption in every part, whence ariseth a continual and irreconcilable war . . . In which war, although the remaining corruption, for a time, may much prevail; yet, through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part doth overcome . . ." (XIV,ii,iii)
Such knowledge does not protect us from grief over others' sins, but it does help us to see that a single wound is not the end of the war, and thus preserves us from despair of ourselves or others.
3. Self-examination. We too are frail, we too may fall. Our sins may not have produced the same public consequences as those of our brethren, but may be no less horrible. We may have been spared the combination of sinful desire, the pressure of temptation, and the opportunity to act that has brought another to fall. Only those who know that they too are "subject to weakness" will be "able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray" (Heb.5:2).
4. Mutual confession. We are to confess our sins to each other, and to pray for one another (Jas.5:16). Why? Because mutual confession breaks the grip of Satan over the guilty heart.
Satan's paralyzing stranglehold depends on our acceptance of his winsome lies:
1) No other Christian could have sinned as you did.
2) No other Christian will accept you and love you now, so you must disguise your sin by any means you can.
But in mutual confession we discover and overcome his lies, and break the blackmailing grip that Satan has gained over us. It brings us back into the fellowship from which we have withdrawn out of guilt and a fear of discovery.
5. Forgiveness and reconciliation. Those whom Christ welcomes we must welcome. He grants grace and forgiveness in order that there may be amendment of life. We dare not reverse that gospel pattern by demanding rigorous rehabilitation before we extend forgiveness and reconciliation.
6. New discipline. Brothers and sisters who sin are to be restored gently (Gal.6:1). There is a twofold emphasis here, on discipline and grace. Those who have failed need to drink long and deeply from the fountain of grace, learning again and again that we are not justified by our sanctification but by God's grace. They will need to be protected from Satan's efforts to overwhelm and cripple them with guilt, or to drive them to a sense of despair.
Moreover, they have sinned, as we ourselves have, and together we must help them to remodel and rebuild their Christian lives and testimony. The foundations must be strengthened, the ruins must be reconstructed.
It appears from our Lord's teaching that all this may normally be accomplished informally by fellow Christians, long before it becomes necessary for formal discipline to be inaugurated. Such discipline is for the intractable only (Matt. 18:15-17).
We must never lose sight of the fact that the New Testament church contained one who, after his regeneration, denied Christ with blasphemies. Christ prays for those whom Satan seeks to sift like wheat. He loves them still.
Who knows to what usefulness a brother or sister may be restored by those who have learned how to handle the sins of others as well as their own?
This article was previously published in Eternity Magazine.
by Sinclair Ferguson
How successfully do you handle the sins of others? Observation suggests that the Christian family too often reacts with either hot indignation or cold indifference, without a proper sense of biblical responsibility.
Sometimes we seem as bad at handling others' failures as we are at overcoming our own. No doubt these two things are related. Yet, given the nature of the gospel, would we not expect that the church should be vastly different from the world on this point?
Scripture gives several principles which should govern our response to the sins of others.
1. Grief. A life has been marred. Christ's name has been shamed. Perhaps others' lives have been invaded by the consequences of sin. Things can never be quite the same again. Hearts will have been hardened, making repentance the more difficult. Knowing this, we will weep with those who weep.
2. Realism. Conversion does not deliver the saints from the presence of sin. We may have died to sin, but sin has not yet died out in us. The regenerate man is only in the process of being healed. Sin dwells in him still, and is deceitful still.
This does not excuse the believer's sin, but it underlines that it is possible for Christians still to sin. Scripture encourages us that there will be no fatalities, but warns us that we can still be critically wounded.
The strong-stomached authors of the Westminster Confession caught this balance when they wrote that "sanctification is throughout in the whole man; yet imperfect in this life, there abiding still some remnants of corruption in every part, whence ariseth a continual and irreconcilable war . . . In which war, although the remaining corruption, for a time, may much prevail; yet, through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part doth overcome . . ." (XIV,ii,iii)
Such knowledge does not protect us from grief over others' sins, but it does help us to see that a single wound is not the end of the war, and thus preserves us from despair of ourselves or others.
3. Self-examination. We too are frail, we too may fall. Our sins may not have produced the same public consequences as those of our brethren, but may be no less horrible. We may have been spared the combination of sinful desire, the pressure of temptation, and the opportunity to act that has brought another to fall. Only those who know that they too are "subject to weakness" will be "able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray" (Heb.5:2).
4. Mutual confession. We are to confess our sins to each other, and to pray for one another (Jas.5:16). Why? Because mutual confession breaks the grip of Satan over the guilty heart.
Satan's paralyzing stranglehold depends on our acceptance of his winsome lies:
1) No other Christian could have sinned as you did.
2) No other Christian will accept you and love you now, so you must disguise your sin by any means you can.
But in mutual confession we discover and overcome his lies, and break the blackmailing grip that Satan has gained over us. It brings us back into the fellowship from which we have withdrawn out of guilt and a fear of discovery.
5. Forgiveness and reconciliation. Those whom Christ welcomes we must welcome. He grants grace and forgiveness in order that there may be amendment of life. We dare not reverse that gospel pattern by demanding rigorous rehabilitation before we extend forgiveness and reconciliation.
6. New discipline. Brothers and sisters who sin are to be restored gently (Gal.6:1). There is a twofold emphasis here, on discipline and grace. Those who have failed need to drink long and deeply from the fountain of grace, learning again and again that we are not justified by our sanctification but by God's grace. They will need to be protected from Satan's efforts to overwhelm and cripple them with guilt, or to drive them to a sense of despair.
Moreover, they have sinned, as we ourselves have, and together we must help them to remodel and rebuild their Christian lives and testimony. The foundations must be strengthened, the ruins must be reconstructed.
It appears from our Lord's teaching that all this may normally be accomplished informally by fellow Christians, long before it becomes necessary for formal discipline to be inaugurated. Such discipline is for the intractable only (Matt. 18:15-17).
We must never lose sight of the fact that the New Testament church contained one who, after his regeneration, denied Christ with blasphemies. Christ prays for those whom Satan seeks to sift like wheat. He loves them still.
Who knows to what usefulness a brother or sister may be restored by those who have learned how to handle the sins of others as well as their own?
This article was previously published in Eternity Magazine.
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Shalico2007
Jesucristo es el Rey! Que Dios te Bendiga!
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