Devotional for Wednesday August 20th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Conflict”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:2-3 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Christians have to work for unity within the church”

 

In the book, “Handling Church Tensions Creatively” author Fred Prinzing writes of the time when he was a brand new pastor, fresh out of seminary, and of how he naively went into that position believing that since everyone in the church was at least a professing Christian, and since everyone shared the same goal of serving the Lord well, then it followed that everyone would get along.

 

Wrong!

 

Fred quickly discovered that despite sharing a common faith, Christians have widely divergent views on most aspects of church life. All of those divergent views mean that there are going to be a lot of strongly held – and often opposing – opinions about what should be done, how, and when. And so there will inevitably be frustrations, tensions, resentments, and arguing.

 

In the forward to that same book Dr. Joe Aldrich, the President of Multnomah School of the Bible, wrote “Diversity of opinion and varying cultural and religious traditions make tension (in the church) inevitable.”

 

That’s why Paul wrote what he did in Ephesians 4:2-3. Even back then in the early church, at a time so close to the time of Jesus, during a period in church history when some of those who had actually been with Jesus where still alive and could be seen and heard, even then, there were tensions in the churches.

 

And so Paul found it necessary to remind them (and us) that since we are so different, and since we do have widely divergent views on many things, it’s essential for us to be humble and with each other. We must have great patience and our goal must be to safeguard the spirit of peace and unity within the fellowship. It has to be intentional. We must consciously recognize the inherent dangers of tension and disunity that always exist within any group of believers, and we must work to safeguard the peace and unity which the Lord calls for and which we all want.

 

Do the expressions humble, gentle, patient, peaceful, and loving describe your personal approach to church life? That’s what it takes to minimize conflict and maximize unity in a church family.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Tuesday August 19th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Conflict”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he won’t listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector.” Matthew 18:15-17

 

Our thought for today: “Jesus instructed us on how to deal with conflict”

 

Matthew 18:15-17 is the classic New Testament instruction on how to properly – Biblically – deal with conflict. The instruction comes from Jesus Himself. Let’s take a closer look at the three steps the Lord tells us to take in order to effectively deal with conflict.

 

First, if there is a conflict between you and another person, you are to go to that person privately and attempt to resolve the issue one-on-one and face-to-face. This is the first and most important step in conflict resolution and unfortunately it’s the step that is most often skipped. Many people don’t have the courage to deal with an issue in this manner. This kind of face-to-face encounter can be uncomfortable and therefore people commonly avoid it. But Jesus tells us this is the first step we are required to take in order to attempt to resolve a conflict.

 

Second, if the personal one-on-one encounter did not resolve the issue, and if it really is important enough to warrant continued action, then one or two other people should be brought into it to act as mediators. These should be mature Christians who are impartial and therefore unbiased.

 

Finally, if it is a serious situation and still has not been resolved, then it’s time to call the church together and prayerfully have the entire body deal with the issue. If it turns out that the person who is the source of the serious conflict is resistant and unrepentant, and therefore is the cause of disunity and strife within the body, and if the person refuses even to submit to the correction and guidance of the entire body of believers, Jesus says we are to treat that person as if they are unsaved. They would then have their membership in the body revoked and our attention would shift to trying to win them to genuine faith in Christ.

 

This is tough stuff, but that’s how important conflict resolution is to the Lord. However this approach to conflict resolution has to be employed in the context of, and in conjunction with, all of the other Biblical guidance we’ve learned so far this month. Our words are to be well chosen and spoken in love and kindness. We are to be careful not to give offense and we must be slow to take offense. We must limit our efforts at conflict resolution to issues that really matter, and be prepared to simply shrug off unimportant matters. And we must do our best to live at peace with everyone.

 

If our interpersonal relationships are conducted according to Biblical principles, there will be little conflict to begin with. When there is conflict, if it is addressed Biblically, the chances resolution and reconciliation are very good.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Monday August 18th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Conflict”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Conflict is avoided and Satan is defeated when we use the right weapons.”

 

Continuing our study from the last three days of devotional messages we have learned first of all, that Satan is the father of conflict. We have also seen that he is a master deceiver and manipulator, and he will use unsuspecting and inattentive Christians to create conflict and then to keep it going. And finally, we have learned that there are Biblical strategies for defeating Satan as he attempts to sow the seeds of conflict and disunity among Christians. Today we want to focus on the fact that God has provided us with effective weapons to be employed in the spiritual realm, which we can use to defeat Satan.

 

1. First, we must recognize that since our true foe is Satan and since the real battle is waged in the spiritual realm not the physical, we need spiritual weapons to fight him with. God has provided us with those spiritual weapons and that’s the truth Paul was writing about in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

 

2. Second, we do not approach Satan head-on, by ourselves. Instead, we face Him standing alongside Jesus Christ. In prayer walk up to the Throne, take your place beside Jesus, then turn around and face Satan from that perspective. (Ephesians 2:6). Then when Satan looks at you he doesn’t see you standing alone, he sees you with Jesus standing by your side.

 

3. Put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-17).

 

4. Command Satan with the authority of the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17-18; Matthew 4:1-11)

 

5. Claim the victory through Jesus (Romans 8:31, 37)

 

Of course what I’ve just described is appropriate for dealing with Satan in any circumstance, but especially so when he is trying to sow the seeds of conflict among Christians. Conflict can be avoided, and Satan can be defeated, if we use the weapons God has provided us with to do so.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Saturday and Sunday August 16-17

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Conflict”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Satan’s strategies can be defeated”

 

Yesterday we learned about the true nature of Satan and how he lies, deceives, manipulates, and entices Christians to voluntarily do the things that he does not have the power to force us to do – including engaging in conflict. Today I want to share with you some intentional steps we can each take to thwart Satan’s activity among us as he attempts to create conflict in our midst. These come from the book, “The Christian’s Handbook on Conflict Resolution” by Greg Sumii.

 

1. Speak the truth about the situation, but do it in love. (Ephesians 4:15)
2. Provide correction where correction is needed, but do so with gentleness. (2 Timothy 2:25)
3. If confrontation is needed, do it privately. (Matthew 18:15)
4. Truly seek reconciliation as the desired outcome. (Matthew 5:23-24)
5. Show love and pray for the one you are in conflict with. (Matthew 5:44)
6. Bear with the shortcomings of the other person and be prepared to forgive them. (Colossians 3:13)
7. Entrust yourself to God, who is the perfect and righteous Judge. (1 Peter 2:21-23)
8. Intentionally put aside your negative emotions. (Ephesians 4:31)
9. Be a servant. (1 Kings 12:7)
10. Even if you can’t do these things for the sake of the other person, do them anyway for the cause of Christ. (Colossians 3:23-24)

 

I think you can probably see that if the Christians on both sides of a conflict take these steps, there’s no way Satan can win. Tomorrow we will take a look at some spiritual assets we have which empower us to do the things we have just discussed.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Friday August 15th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Conflict”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Satan incites conflict”

 

As we’ve discussed in previous devotional messages on this subject, conflict originates with Satan. He was the originator of the first conflict (when he rebelled against God), and he is the father of all conflict since then. It’s important for us to know this about him and to keep it in mind. Otherwise he will use our ignorance and inattention against us.

 

As my old friend Greg Sumii explained in his book, “The Christian’s Handbook on Conflict Resolution”, since Satan is our avowed enemy it’s important for us to know his true nature. The Bible tells us that his true nature is “tempter” (Matthew 4:3); “deceiver” (Revelation 12:10); “accuser” (Revelation 12:9); “liar” (John 8:44); “confuser” (1 Corinthians 14:33); “oppressor” (Acts 10:38); and “thief” (John 10:10); just to name a few. Oh, and he is a vicious lion looking to devour unsuspecting Christians (1 Peter 5:8).

 

We also need to remain conscious of the fact that Satan has a mission field – and we’re it! Satan’s mission field is the church and individual Christians. His mission is to hurt and destroy. His strategy is to tempt Christians to be hurtful towards one another by allowing their emotions to override their spiritual maturity. Any inroads he is allowed to make in damaging a Christian witness, diluting the effect of God’s love and power, or in disrupting the unity of a church fellowship, means that he wins and we lose.

 

Yes, Satan is the enemy. But the good news is that he is already a defeated foe, and he can only enjoy such victory as we allow him to have. Tomorrow we will discuss some strategies for dealing with this foe.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Thursday August 14th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Conflict”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. Above all, put on love – the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts.” Colossians 3:12-15 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Broken relationships are restored through Christ and His grace.”

 

Many years ago when I was a Pastor in California I knew a man by the name of Greg Sumii. Greg was a Christian counselor who was on staff with the California Southern Baptist Convention. He was an expert in conflict resolution and his ministry was to travel around the state helping to resolve conflicts in churches. He even wrote a book entitled, “The Christian’s Handbook on Conflict Resolution.”

 

The passage cited above – Colossians 3:12-15, is one of the New Testament passages Greg found very instructive and helpful in assisting Christians to resolve conflicts. Conflicts almost always arise out of impatience with one another, or out of a sense of having been wronged, and are often fueled by anger and negative emotions.

 

So Greg begins by reminding us that as the people of God, we are God’s chosen ones. We share a common bond in the family of God. Second we are holy, in that we have been called to Him and set aside for Him. And also, that we are deeply loved by Him. We have all of that in common. And so, first and foremost, our attitude towards each other must be cloaked in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. You probably noticed that in that list there is no mention of, and no room for, anger, meanness, pettiness, selfishness, or a victim mentality.

 

Paul reminds us that the Lord has forgiven us for our transgressions and shortcomings, therefore we too need to be patient and forgiving of the shortcomings we think we might be seeing in others and which might be the focus of the current conflict. He reminds us that love for one another has got to be the motivating force that undergirds our relations with one another and if that is the case, it will lead to unity. Finally in this verse, Paul tells us that it needs to be the peace of Jesus that controls our hearts, and our mouths.

 

Things may not always be to our personal liking; we may not always get what we want; and other people may be less than perfect in our eyes – and it is ok to say so. However, how we go about addressing those issues matters very, very much. Bitterness, criticism, anger, is never the way of the Lord. Peace and patience, kindness and compassion, love and unity, is.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Wednesday August 13th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Conflict”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Make sure that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness springs up, causing trouble and by it, defiling many.” Hebrews 12:15 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Negative emotions fuel conflict”

 

In Hebrews 12:15 the writer cautioned his readers to make sure that no root of bitterness was allowed to exist in their hearts because from it, will spring trouble that will ultimately defile many. A root is the unseen portion of the plant that provides the structure and support needed for it to exist. The root is what draws the minerals and water from the soil to feed the plant. Without the root, the plant will wither and die.

 

Conflict is like that. Conflict springs from a root of bitterness in the heart. But it can only live if it is fed. Negative emotions are the thing the root of bitterness feeds on. If we harbor negative emotions about a person or a situation, we are in effect nurturing that root of bitterness deep within us, and on the surface, the conflict not only sprouts, but it grows like a weed.

 

That’s why in Ephesians 4:31 Paul writes, “All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice.” (HCSB). The fact that we are instructed to remove it must mean that it can be removed. How? By bringing it to Jesus.

 

In yesterday’s devotional message we noted that all conflict has it’s origin in Satan. The devil is the source. We also learned that conflict is inconsistent with the Fruit of the Spirit. And so we bring the situation before the Lord, ask Him to bind Satan and to thwart his influence in the situation, and then we invite the Holy Spirit to rule and reign in our own lives and in the lives of the people on the other side of the issue.

 

The conflict may still persist if the people on the other side don’t give it to Jesus too, but at least we will have done our part to help resolve it and at least we will not be harboring a root of bitterness about it in our own heart. Negative emotions fuel conflict. So get rid of the negative emotions.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Tuesday August 12th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Conflict”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.” Ephesians 6:12 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Conflict is of the devil”

 

As I’ve noted in a previous devotional message, sometimes conflict is necessary. But even in those cases where it is necessary, it’s necessary because someone is acting in an inappropriate and sinful way. All conflict is from Satan. The very first conflict originated with the angel Lucifer when he chose to rebel against God, was cast out of heaven and became the devil. He has been inciting conflict among humans ever since.

 

Conflict was not part of God’s original plan for the human race. It came about as the result of sin. Therefore any time conflict exists, sin is present. This is what Paul was reminding us of in Ephesians 6:12. Our battle is really against Satan and the spiritual forces of evil which he commands. At its root demonic inspiration is where it begins and that’s what keeps it going.

 

This is why in 1 Peter 5:8 the Apostle warns us to be on our guard because our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking to see who he can devour. Make no mistake, Satan is our enemy. Yes he is out to get us, and yes he will create conflict among us if we allow him to.

 

There are way too many passages of scripture in both the Old and New Testaments which speak of God’s desire for His people to live in peace, for us to miss the point that conflict is something we need to strive to avoid if at all possible. If we look at Galatians 5:22-23, which lists for us the Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control), we realize there is no room for conflict there. If the Spirit rules and reigns in the lives of everyone on both sides of the issue, there will be no conflict. It is only when Satan is allowed into the situation that conflict arises.

 

Conflict is of the devil. If we choose to, we can refuse to allow him to sow seeds of dissension into our relationships. James made that pretty clear when he wrote, “Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 (HCSB)

 

Resist the devil and he will be able to have no influence in our relationships. Submit to God and it will be His Holy Spirit who rules and reigns in our lives. When that is the case there will be no conflict because conflict is of the devil, but the Spirit inspires love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Monday August 11th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Conflict”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Come, let us discuss this,’ says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they will be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “A sin is a sin is a sin …”

 

This morning I want to return to the subject we addressed in last Friday’s devotional about the fact that we all have our own sins and therefore we need to pay more attention to our own faults than we do to the faults we think we see in the lives of others. Our Bible passage for that lesson was Matthew 7:3-5 where Jesus taught the parable of the speck and the log.

 

I’m bringing us back to this subject because it’s such a big problem and such as constant source of conflict. Even if we do come to the point of admitting and acknowledging our own sin, we usually then begin to rank our sins against those of other people and we come to the conclusion that “Even if I do have some sin in my own life, it’s not as bad as the sins of other people.” “Their sins are much worse then my sins.”

 

Not according to Jesus they aren’t.

 

In Isaiah 1:18 does the Lord say that the other guy’s sins of murder and theft and adultery are like a bright scarlet stain – too obvious to be missed or ignored; but your sins of pride and envy and gossip are just sort of a very dim light pink and are hardly noticeable – therefore you don’t really need to worry about them too much because they’re really not a big deal? That’s what He says, right? Not! He makes no distinction between one sin and another – together they’re all like scarlet to Him. To Jesus they’re all a big bright glaring red stain against the pristine whiteness and purity of His holiness.

 

The great devotional writer Oswald Chambers once explained it this way, “If you look at a sheep in the summertime you would say it was white, but see it against the background of startling virgin snow and it looks like a blot on the landscape. If we judge ourselves by one another we do not feel condemned, but immediately Jesus Christ is in the background – His life, His language, His looks, He labors, we feel judged instantly.”

 

Focusing on the sins and shortcomings we think we see in the lives of other people, while conveniently ignoring our own sins, is a common source of conflict. Ranking our sins against those of others and pretending that we are somehow better, or not as guilty, is ridiculous. In the eyes of God you’re as guilty as the next person and as much in need of forgiveness as they are. Take a look at the Gospels sometime and see which sins bothered Jesus the most. He quickly forgave the prostitutes and the tax collectors, but He condemned the smug and judgmental Pharisees.  If sins were going to be ranked, and if we used Jesus’ own reaction to those sins, we would probably have to conclude that religious pride and self-righteous smugness are much worse sins than are adultery and stealing.

 

Yes, in the eyes of God a sin is a sin is a sin, and yours are just as bad as the next guy’s. And so are mine. So rather than criticizing and condemning them for theirs, maybe our time would be better spent doing something about our own.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim

Devotional for Saturday and Sunday August 9-10

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Conflict”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “To start a conflict is to release a flood; stop the dispute before it breaks out.” Proverbs 17:14 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Conflicts can quickly get out of control”

 

Rushing water can be terribly destructive. Once a flood starts, there’s little that can be done to hold it back. During the current cycle of extreme weather that is being experienced around the world, we frequently see stories on the news about raging floods sweeping away everything in its path. Several years ago the island nation of Japan experienced a massive tsunami. As the result of an offshore earthquake, a massive wall of water 30 feet high swept in from the ocean and devastated entire costal cities and towns.

 

Conflict often takes on the characteristics of a raging flood. Once it starts it can be hard to stop. If the reason for the conflict isn’t quickly brought out in the open by the two parties and dealt with, it can build and swell and soon become like that tsunami, a raging and consuming wall of conflict that can be devastating.

 

Shifting metaphors – unresolved conflict can sometimes be like a volcano. It lies beneath the surface bubbling and building. As each aggrieved party thinks about it and stews over it, the thing begins to grow in each of their minds. Each begins to imagine nefarious and devious motives on the part of the other. Each starts to fantasize about future encounters with their enemy where they dress-down that person and set them straight – usually to the applause and admiration of an observing crowd. And so the thing begins to take on a life of its own in the minds of the combatants and soon, like a volcano, it spews over and becomes something much more than it ever should have been.

 

I’m mixing metaphors here (floods, volcanoes, festering stews), but you get the point. Conflict left unchecked and unresolved quickly gets out of control. Solomon’s advice in Proverbs 17:14 is that we are to avoid the conflict to begin with. If you can’t prevent it from starting, then at least follow the instructions Jesus gave us in Matthew 18:15-17 and deal with it quickly because conflict left unchecked, can quickly get out of control.

 

God Bless,
Pastor Jim