"And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches." Acts 15:39-41
The truth is that we will not always agree. The bible is our guide in so many ways, but there are many areas that are not specific and are up for interpretation.
In this case, there were two very good friends and brothers in the faith who separated over whether or not to include a young disciple. They both felt so strongly about their polar opposite opinions that they did not continue their work together.
On the face of it, this may seem a tragedy, in reality, however, it is not. You see beloved, the work continued, the number of young "interns" were doubled and separately, the two duos were able to cover more territory and do more work than might otherwise have been possible. Neither of these men who were so strong in the faith and so critical to the growth of the church were dissuaded from the faith because of their difficulties. They continued on.
Some may separate from us due to differences of opinion, but as long as the cause of Christ is served and the spreading of the gospel continues, we must trust that all things are working together for good as part of God's grand design. Let us also not give up hope on maintaining our fellowship one with another. Later, Paul reunited with Mark and described him as being valuable to his work. One way or the other, we will see each other again as long as we remain in Him.
Pursuing discipleship,
Lee
Showing posts with label conflict. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conflict. Show all posts
Friday, February 10, 2017
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
About Worrying-12/27/2011
"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matt 6:34
There was a woman once whose son came home with the type of news no proud parent wants to hear. He had received a one day suspension from school for horseplay. It seems that he caused a young lady to fall and hit her head. Unfortunately this required stitches.
As you can imagine, the mother went into full frantic mode. "Is the girl alright?" "Is my son in trouble?" "Will the parents sue?" "Will my son be brought up on charges?" Things were made worse by the fact that there was an attempt to phone the mother of the young lady, but the call was neither answered or returned.
To be sure, it is good and right to be concerned about the welfare of another, particularly in an at fault situation. Concern, however, is the immediate neighbor of worry. Worry, in this context, is composed of anxiety. Anxiety my beloved, is like foam; it is derived from something real and tangible but is both useless, temporary and full of air. You see, unlike fear, which can prepare the mind and body for fight or flight, worry simply weighs one down with no benefit. It consumes energy and interrupts the thought process. It derails logic and threatens faith. It accomplishes absolutely nothing. No amount of worrying influences any outcome.
As it turned out, the mother of the young lady eventually called. She said that she was over being upset. She also said she did some checking to see what kind of young man the woman's son is and found the reports to be good. As a result, she felt sure that it was an accident and that everything was OK.
Just like that, the woman's worry, like foam, evaporated, having served no purpose and accomplishing no good. It had only caused discomfort and exasperation...and then was gone. Jesus asks, "And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span? "If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?" Luke 12:25-26. Perhaps a better use of our time in situations like these is prayer.
Loving Like Jesus,
Lee
There was a woman once whose son came home with the type of news no proud parent wants to hear. He had received a one day suspension from school for horseplay. It seems that he caused a young lady to fall and hit her head. Unfortunately this required stitches.
As you can imagine, the mother went into full frantic mode. "Is the girl alright?" "Is my son in trouble?" "Will the parents sue?" "Will my son be brought up on charges?" Things were made worse by the fact that there was an attempt to phone the mother of the young lady, but the call was neither answered or returned.
To be sure, it is good and right to be concerned about the welfare of another, particularly in an at fault situation. Concern, however, is the immediate neighbor of worry. Worry, in this context, is composed of anxiety. Anxiety my beloved, is like foam; it is derived from something real and tangible but is both useless, temporary and full of air. You see, unlike fear, which can prepare the mind and body for fight or flight, worry simply weighs one down with no benefit. It consumes energy and interrupts the thought process. It derails logic and threatens faith. It accomplishes absolutely nothing. No amount of worrying influences any outcome.
As it turned out, the mother of the young lady eventually called. She said that she was over being upset. She also said she did some checking to see what kind of young man the woman's son is and found the reports to be good. As a result, she felt sure that it was an accident and that everything was OK.
Just like that, the woman's worry, like foam, evaporated, having served no purpose and accomplishing no good. It had only caused discomfort and exasperation...and then was gone. Jesus asks, "And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span? "If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?" Luke 12:25-26. Perhaps a better use of our time in situations like these is prayer.
Loving Like Jesus,
Lee
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Resisting Revenge-DD 5/19/2011
"Never pay back evil for evil to anyone..." Rom 12:17
Beloved, it is our natural inclination to hit back when hit. None of us have any desire to suffer wrong undeservedly. None of us have any desire to suffer wrong even when we deserve it. No sooner that we have been offended we either respond immediately or begin making plans to get "pay back."
We must ask ourselves what we hope to accomplish by doing this. Yes, we may be successful in teaching a person a lesson, but just as likely we will escalate things into a full blown conflict. This is literally how wars begin.
As children of God, we must realize two things. One is that we are His children and He will protect us. The Spirit has said, "Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord." Rom 12:19.
We must also remember that our mission on earth is not to create or maintain enemies, but to win souls. It would be difficult at best to gain a brother or sister in Christ with a clenched fist.
Let us remember, that we were enemies of God at one time. He loved us enough to send his only begotten son as a peace offering. Not just His hands were open, but His arms and His heart. Let us follow the Almighty's example of love, grace and mercy. He will take care of the correction of those who have arrayed themselves against us. As the popular 60's saying goes, "(let us)give peace a chance."
Loving Like Jesus,
Lee
Beloved, it is our natural inclination to hit back when hit. None of us have any desire to suffer wrong undeservedly. None of us have any desire to suffer wrong even when we deserve it. No sooner that we have been offended we either respond immediately or begin making plans to get "pay back."
We must ask ourselves what we hope to accomplish by doing this. Yes, we may be successful in teaching a person a lesson, but just as likely we will escalate things into a full blown conflict. This is literally how wars begin.
As children of God, we must realize two things. One is that we are His children and He will protect us. The Spirit has said, "Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord." Rom 12:19.
We must also remember that our mission on earth is not to create or maintain enemies, but to win souls. It would be difficult at best to gain a brother or sister in Christ with a clenched fist.
Let us remember, that we were enemies of God at one time. He loved us enough to send his only begotten son as a peace offering. Not just His hands were open, but His arms and His heart. Let us follow the Almighty's example of love, grace and mercy. He will take care of the correction of those who have arrayed themselves against us. As the popular 60's saying goes, "(let us)give peace a chance."
Loving Like Jesus,
Lee
Friday, April 1, 2011
The Solution for Inner Conflict-DD 4/1/2011
"Oh wretched man that I am. Who shall free me from this body of sin?" Rom 7:24
This cry of frustration, guilt and shame comes at the end of one of the most self deprecating admissions of all time. Paul lamented the warring factions of sin and righteousness within himself.
This cry of frustration, guilt and shame comes at the end of one of the most self deprecating admissions of all time. Paul lamented the warring factions of sin and righteousness within himself.
How often do we found ourselves in a similar situation? At times it seems that there is to much sin in our righteousness to enjoy God's grace. Other times it seems that there is too much righteousness in our sin to enjoy rebellion.
Beloved, we are all subject to that which afflicts the mind and the body. John once warned of the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. One or more of these is always at the root of a fall. The good news, however, is that there is an answer to Paul's question! Only One can save us from ourselves. And he accomplished it by taking our sin onto himself. As wretched and conflicted as we are, the way to our salvation has already been paved.
Loving Like Jesus,
Lee
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