2 Corinthians 3:18 “But
we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the
Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just
as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
Continuing from the last
post, Pastor Herk states that a big part of our problem in failing to
communicate is that we fail to remember that we are no better than the people
that we are trying to communicate to, because we all are sinners who have
fallen short of the glory of God in our sins and not good enough nor deserving
of God. Evangelism Explosion explains it as: Faith is the hand of
a beggar reaching out to accept the gift of a king. It is by the love
of God and by God’s grace alone that any of us are forgiven. Our reputation is
not at sake. So the question is: Are we too good for the people Jesus died for
and is on mission to save and change into His image by way of sanctification?
Ecclesiastes 4:10 “For
if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to
the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.
Is not our conversation to
lift them up? Reach down and help people up to a “saving” knowledge of Jesus
Christ at the foot of the cross, for we all were in their place before. It is
like a stairway to heaven, each step from glory to glory. Build people up for
Christ’s sake, not tear people down. Always remember who the Lord is and whose
you are in your daily conversation.
Isaiah 45:5-7 “I am the Lord, and there is no other; there
is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, that
they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there
is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there
is no other; I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create
calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.”
Pastor Herk gave us four
ways how to resolve conflicts. (1) Think before you speak. No trash talk and no
speaking in anger allowed. (2) build up and edify others in order to restore,
not destroy. (3) be kind and gentle-hearted in your conversation, with a “forgiving
as you have been forgiven” spirit. (4) Be imitators of God for He has saved us
in order to reflect His love to those around us. Be holy as your Father in Heaven is holy. If we refuse to do these
things, we hurt our witness, we hurt the church, the body of Christ, and we cripple the Holy Spirit to work within us.
Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore
be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love,
just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering
and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”
We never seem to fail to
communicate how we feel, but fail to communicate the love of Jesus, who died
for us that we may have life and life eternal. We make the choice to be
offended. But, we belong to Jesus, so choose to reflect Jesus. Saying nothing
says lots. The greatest need in the world today is the need for Jesus Christ.
Do not fail to communicate the Way, the Truth and the Life.
In Christ, Brian
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