And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32.
“If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother” (Matthew 18:15). This is the way in which misunderstandings are to be settled. Speaking alone, and in the spirit of Christ to the one who is in fault, will often remove the difficulty. Show Christlike love for your brother by seeking to adjust the difficulty “between thee and him alone.” Talk quietly together. Let no angry words escape your lips. Present the subject in a way that will appeal to his best judgment. And if he will hear you, you have gained him as a friend.
Whatever the character of the offense may be, this does not change the plan God has made for the settlement of misunderstandings and personal injuries. Act out the spirit of Christ. Take the recipe God has provided, and carry it to the spiritually diseased [one]. Give him the remedy that will cure the disease of disaffection. Do your part to help him. Feel that it is a duty and privilege to do this, for the sake of the unity and peace of the church, which is very dear to the heart of Christ. He does not want any wound to remain unhealed on any member of His church. All heaven is interested in the interview between the injured member and the one who has been guilty of error. After settling the difficulty, pray together, and angels of God will come to you and bless you. There is music in heaven over this union.
As the erring one accepts the testimony borne, and gives evidence of true repentance, the sunshine of heaven fills his heart. Hearts are drawn together. The healing oil of love removes the disease and soreness of the wrong. The Holy Spirit binds heart to heart.
Those who have been united in Christian fellowship offer prayer to God, and pledge themselves to deal justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. If they have wronged others, they continue the work of repentance, confession, and restitution; and the disease is healed. They are fully set to do good to one another. This is the fulfilling of the law of Christ.
Repentance, confession, and restitution are all required. But these cannot atone for the sin, for God has been wronged in the person of His saints. The Lord Jesus alone is able to atone for sin, by the application of His blood, shed for the guilt of the sinner. His blood cleanses from all sin.—Manuscript 47, April 2, 1902, “Lessons From the Eighteenth of Matthew.”
The Upward Look p. 106
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for me I may be calling 911 soon because my throat feels like it is swelling and closing up. I have taken Benadryl but I cannot find my epi pen. Connie
—-pray for a young man in my church, Joe. Joe has Pancreatic Cancer and the Doctors have given him no hope because the treatments are not working.
Joe has a young wife and a little girl. Susie
—-I have an unspoken request. LS
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Dear Friends,
One evening some years ago, Ron went to the tire store to get a slow leak in one of my tires fixed. Then he was going to do some other shopping for the weekend. He had not been gone long, when he called. He had decided to take a dark alley to avoid a long line of traffic. All was going well on this poorly-lit shortcut when, suddenly, he hit a speedbump that was at least five inches tall. The impact jarred him and threw the car out of alignment to the point that in order to go straight down the road, he had to keep the steering wheel turned sharply to the left.
How often the evil one puts “speedbumps” in our path that leave us out of “alignment.” How many times all is going well until, suddenly, something happens that causes our world to come crashing down around us leaving us broken and miserable. We reel from the enemy’s attack. Life becomes unbearble.
Praise God! When we have strayed down the dark alleys of life, we do not have to face the enemy alone. “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” Our Loving Redeemer promises, “thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me.” “And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” Isa 59:19; 42:16; 44:21, 22
Often the evil one’s “speedbumps” appear through no fault of our own. Our Dear Saviour does not leave us to go through the trial alone. He assures us, “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour.” Isa 43:1-3
Moreover, our Great Creator equips us with all we need to fight against “principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Paul bids us, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance.” Eph 6:12-18
Let us “put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” vs 11 Let us be careful never to stray off the path that leads to Heaven. Let us “give diligence to make [our] calling and election sure: for if [we] do these things, [we] shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto [us] abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” Amen! 2 Peter 1:10, 11
Rose