Confronting the sin of a brother or sister in Christ is not judging them or a statement of condemnation; instead, it is a show of concern for their spiritual welfare.
All in Advice
Confronting the sin of a brother or sister in Christ is not judging them or a statement of condemnation; instead, it is a show of concern for their spiritual welfare.
You have to destroy the world around you (metaphorically) to keep it from infecting you with sin until you glow brightly enough with the power of God to walk through the darkness without stumbling.
We’ve frankly forgotten how to spread the Word of God like Jesus, Peter, and Paul did. God doesn’t care about the number of people sitting in your pews. He cares about the number of souls destined for Heaven. And it’s time we stop being lazy and start caring for souls the same way He does.
In the end, you can boil Solomon’s statements down even more—to just three words, in fact. Life isn’t fair. But I’ll qualify that statement. Keep this in mind the next time you see someone whose talents aren’t being employed properly, even more so when you become disgruntled with your position and believe it is your own talents that are being wasted. Life isn’t fair, but the God who holds it in His hands is just and good. He will not forsake you nor abandon you; He will use you as He needs you used.
So, no matter what happens tomorrow, no matter who becomes president or senator or representative or governor, remember that your time here is temporary. The lease on your home here is short; soon you won’t have to pay that rent anymore. When all’s said and done, you’ll have a wonderful, permanent home waiting for you. And there, you will be at home forevermore.
You’ll find that the peace of this world is brittle, taut, and actually nearly as peaceless as full out war. The tension in the air in times of worldly peace is so thick it can be cut with a knife, but the true peace of God is malleable, flexible, and able to be applied at all times without breaking. It can lift any weight, stop every flood, calm every fight, drown every fire.
When we talk about commitment to God, we must commit everything in a full out sprint to God, like little children, else we risk selfishly holding back parts of ourselves from Him, and that’s no way to enter the kingdom of God. He wants all of you, and He’ll settle for nothing less.
How do you treat your prayer time, your Bible time? Is it something you rush through because you need to do it? Are you merely performing the physical acts out of an obligation? Or are you devoting your heart to it like it’s something you treasure?
Johnny thought he won by gambling himself against Satan, but Satan had two pocket aces the whole time. In the end, when we try to beat sin by wagering ourselves against it, we only lose. The only way to win against Satan is to walk away from the table, to not be dealt a hand at all. Because even if you’re walking away from the cards with a couple extra dollars in your pocket, Satan’s walking away with your sinful soul.
I know this is a hard battle to fight. Anxiety is a beast that does not let its prey slip from its claws with ease, but you can escape it. There is much power in knowing God has it all under control; you can rework your brain to be dependent on Him rather than yourself, to trust Him, even when your mind tells you to fear.
Guard your tongue, guard your mouth, speak the Gospel backed by scripture. Speak carefully and exercise caution when provoked to answer, and don’t let what you say be the reason for someone turning away from the way, the truth, and the life.
So, let your words be life, truth, healing, fixing, complimenting, and pointing people to Jesus. Don’t hold back that compliment because you’re afraid it would sound awkward. Compliment endlessly and unashamedly. Tell people how much they mean to you.
You don’t need to know the plan. In fact, I still say it’s better you don’t. Lean on your faith in the one who’s writing the story, the one who holds your tomorrow, and know that He will work everything together for the good of those who love Him.
A you who chooses to follow someone else’s life is not fully you. Who you are is dependent on who you follow. So, stop trying to be other people. You’re free to be you only in Christ Jesus, only when following His will. So be you.
There are two sides: Good and evil, God and Satan, and they’re fighting for control over your very being. They are literally warring inside you just like those two wolves. But because of free will, it’s not up to them who wins this battle, it’s entirely up to you. And it all depends on which one you feed.
Meanwhile, we know the plans that God had for the war, we have a defensive location set, and we have the provisions to last through a siege. Our goal is not to win, to wipe out Satan’s army, but to merely survive until word of God’s victory reaches our ears and those of our enemy.
When hard times come around and you feel like God is distant and the emotional high you once had as you chased after His heart disappears, the most common question is, “How do I get that fire back to pursue God? How do I get motivated to love Him, to read my Bible, to pray?”
Ephesians 4:26-27 provides a framework for resisting any temptation that comes—don’t give it time to cause you to sin. When Satan comes to tempt you, don’t give him time to chip away slowly at your defenses. Get rid of him quickly so he can do no damage to your walk with Christ.
It’s okay to be real with your emotions and thoughts. It’s okay to admit that sometimes you doubt God. It’s okay to acknowledge how hard it is to love how Christ loves. It’s okay to admit your struggles. And it’s high past time we started making the body of Christ a safe place to be imperfect humans.
We would hate to leave behind loved ones, but when you’re afraid of the small things like helping out a homeless person or showing love to a friend or even an enemy, keep in mind that to die is to gain all the benefits of being with Jesus. What’s a little fear in the perspective of eternity?