Chris' Christian Blog

February 8, 2021

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Hi Everybody

I was preaching today. The topic was one that I was a bit reluctant to preach on because it placed me and one of the members of my congregation in direct conflict with each other. It was a sermon about judging others as sinful because we disagree with their blatantly sinful choices. I take the position that we are all equally guilty in the eyes of God and that the only difference between Christians and non-believers is that our daily sinfulness is forgiven. I was sure I hurt his feelings so I spoke with him about it later. He said that I had not. I had spoken what God had given me.

How do you deal with conflicts of belief with fellow believers?

Jesus told us that if we were offering our gift at the altar and realized that somebody had something against us, we were to leave the gift at the altar and go reconcile the conflict. If the person would not hear us, we were to go back with two or three witnesses and try to settle it. If that still failed we were to take it to the church for a decision. Matt 18:15-20.

The gentleman in question for me was having no part of any of that. I finally grew tired of his belligerence, and realizing that I was dealing with a force of evil, rebuked him in the name of Jesus Christ and ordered Him to be quiet. The demonic force left him and we have been fine since that time. Of course, most disagreements in the church have nothing to do with demons. The demon had been troubling this brother for days and we just thought he was getting cranky. The Lord pointed out to me what it was and I used the Lord's authority to deal with it.

In most cases, simply going to the person you've offended and making amends is sufficient. Use the steps of Matt 18 described above. If you were the one who was offended offer forgiveness and forget the offense. "Justified" or forgiven to God means "Just As if I'd Never Done It." We must forgive and forget as if the offender had never offended us to begin with.

"Prompt: I was traveling the galaxy with Bill and Ted in a phone booth and we found this planet: ♥noVember tHiNg♥ } Read this item: No More Seasons in the Rain (E) Poem Entry

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No More Seasons in the Rain  (E) Poem Entry #2232899 by ♥noVember tHiNg♥

Write about this in your Blog entry today."

This is a poem about depression. Depression is a mental illness that affects 25% of the population. It is usually more predominant in women than in men but a large percentage of men, 15% the last I heard, suffer from it as well. It is characterized by poor sleep or too much sleep, over or undereating, a general feeling of lethargy, loss of interest in things one normally cares about, a serious lack of energy, and a general sense of hopelessness. If you suffer from depression you need not suffer. It is a very treatable illness as science has made all sorts of advances in combatting it. See your doctor today.

"Prompt: Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment. Lao Tzu
Use this quote to inspire your blog entry."

I would have to agree. I believe knowing oneself is the trick. Knowing oneself and liking oneself opens the door for many communications and relationships to others. More often than not when I have a conflict with another I find that I play some small role in that conflict. I then have to fix my part of that conflict.

"Prompt: I think we can tell a lot about the character of a person from the way they treat their inferiors, superiors, or enemies. What are your thoughts on the subject?"

I would agree. If they treat everybody with love, including their enemies, they are likely Christian.