Panoramic image of Santa Severina village, Calabria, Italy. by Ggia
Good morning, beloved,
Labor day..history, there ya go, interesting to me that we celebrate work by taking a day off. Yet, the Blue Better Bible has a terrific post on rest…read on!
I wanted to share the verses of the day…then dive in.
16 Come near to me and listen to this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it happened, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent His Spirit in andwith me.
17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way that you should go.
18 Oh, that you had hearkened to My commandments! Then your peace and prosperity would have been like a flowing river, and your righteousness [the holiness and purity of the nation] like the [abundant] waves of the sea.
We have been struggling with bickering siblings in our household lately. Ok, not lately, always. And I have always had different techniques for coping with the fighting. Trying different ways to deal with the little sinners saved by grace..ahem. Well, last night I walked each of my kids separately (except for the eldest) through Matthew 18..after reading another book, this time, though, I kinda felt this family had an edge on the advice market. The Duggars. I have been very blessed by reading these two books they have authored.
One thing has been how they teach their children to do chores. It has helped my stress level tremendously. The other has been this teaching. Matthew 18 was memorized by their whole family with hand signs and repetition and as they meet sibling “controversy” they walk through the verses.
So I began this last night, and realized something very profound to me. It is one thing for me to teach the children not to bicker because it is the wrong thing to do, it is quite another when we are speaking Jesus’ words to one another and He is doing the teaching. Aha.
15 If your brother wrongs you, go and show him his fault, between you and him privately. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.
16 But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two others, so that every word may be confirmed and upheld by the testimony of two or three witnesses. (then a bunch about bringing in the church…ahem.)
19 Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree (harmonize together, make a symphony together) about whatever [anything and [g]everything] they may ask, it will come to passand be done for them by My Father in heaven.
20 For wherever two or three are gathered (drawn together as My followers) in (into) My name, there I Am in the midst of them.
So we went phrase by phrase together, how does this look?
If your brother wrongs you, go show him his fault, between you and him privately.
So your brother wrongs you, in our family it’s not an “if”, it’s a “when”. Jesus finishes Matthew 18 with 35 So also My heavenly Father will deal with every one of you if you do not freely forgive your brother from your heart his offenses. Brothers, sisters wrongs you. Offense. Our first response has to be..yep, I’ve been wronged. What does God expect? A free forgiveness…no chains. However, it is our responsibility to go show him his fault. For as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:12 And when you sin against your brethren in this way, wounding and damaging their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Sin against Christ? I think it is so critical we remember who our sin is actually against. The Lord Jesus. A bit of perspective, wouldn’t you say? Colossians 3:13 Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive]. We are a forgiven people. The Lord has freely forgiven us! We can do NO better.
And how do we show our brother his fault? Ah, yes, the critical part in our family…you did this, you are wrong, you! you! you! The pointed index finger also is a big help over here. Leviticus 19: 17 You shall not hate your brother in your heart; but you shall surely rebuke your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. The sin is on us if we do not rebuke our neighbor, if we harbor hatred. Psalm 141: 5 Let the righteous man smite and correct me—it is a kindness. Oil so choice let not my head refuse or discourage; for even in their evils or calamities shall my prayer continue. We are righteous when we correct one another with kindness…that of course can be misconstrued. Please don’t…at this point, a discussion of how wrongly the church can interpret is not my focus. We are to treat one another with kindness.
What do we gain when we obey this? Our brother!! Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the [uncompromisingly] righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise captures human lives [for God, as a fisher of men—he gathers and receives them for eternity]. By allowing forgiveness, kindness and hope to flow through our speech, we are wise, righteous, life flows through us. And we gain unity with our brothers and sisters! What hope! Not to give in to the whispers of the evil one, but to say yes to life. Romans 12: 21 Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good. James 5:19 [My] brethren, if anyone among you strays from the Truth and falls into error and another [person] brings him back [to God],20 Let the [latter] one be sure that whoever turns a sinner from his evil course will save [that one’s] soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins [[a]procure the pardon of the many sins committed by the convert].
This is Jesus’ cry to us! We have a responsibility to live our life overcoming evil. How? Mastering it with good! We turn our brother or sister towards life instead of death.
So, part one. I’m going to watch the Odd Couple now. LOL. Have a wonderful day…of rest. 🙂 Pray on, pray on.
Related articles
- Matthew 18:15-20 (NKJV) (avod.wordpress.com)
- How many times do I have forgive? (nackynice.wordpress.com)
- Forgiveness (jesusfootprints.wordpress.com)
- Understanding Matthew 18:15-17 (kimolsen.wordpress.com)
- 5 Things I Learned During My Fasting Period (thejustshepherd.wordpress.com)
- Conflict Resolution: Three Thing To Avoid (waltbrite.wordpress.com)
- Labor Day: The Blessing and the Curse of it all (eagleviews.org)
Leave A Reply