A Failure To Communicate?

I have learned through experience that even the closest of brothers can misunderstand each other and ruffle each other's feathers, despite loving each other and get upset or angry and then "bite and devour each other." "Cease from anger, and forsake wrath" (cf. Ps. 37:8). Jesus warned in Matt. 5:22 that we shouldn't be angry at a brother or even insult him. There is a fine line drawn between "speak[ing] the truth in love" and being judgmental. In my definition, judging (I do not mean rebuking, admonishing or correcting) is not something we have the prerogative to do (I mean reading minds, determining motives, or deciding someone isn't a Christian who claims to be). 1 Cor. 5:12 says, "Do you not judge those who are in the church?" (He was talking about known sin in the church body). God judges those outsides--we are to save them not condemn them. Yes, the Bible says that judgment must begin at the house of God. If believers are scarcely saved, what about the infidel?

All Christians should be willing to swallow their pride and apologize when wrong or convicted of sin and want fellowship more than a win so-to-speak. The truth often hurts and it takes bravery to tell someone the truth and to rebuke or admonish a believer, but sometimes it must be done. Let love be the rule: "Love bears all, believes all, hopes all, endures all, love never fails." It is unfortunate when we carry our feelings on our sleeves, are hypersensitive, or have vulnerable areas--we all live in glass houses with skeletons in our closet, as it were, and shouldn't judge harshly or rashly. Our motive must not be to cause hurt nor damage egos but to edify or correct.

When we know someone we know how to press their buttons and manipulate them if we want to and sometimes we inadvertently push the wrong buttons and get a rise out of them--let's learn from our mistakes. In my opinion, it is an unfortunate event to judge someone in a judgmental spirit intentionally, but we should not return the favor and do likewise if you know what I mean. We don't return evil for evil or insult for insult--it just retaliates, escalates, and estranges.

As they say, familiarity breeds contempt, which is probably a maxim, with the exception being Christ himself. In the final analysis, we all have "feet of clay" or have vulnerabilities and weaknesses not readily apparent, and must be sensitive to each other's feelings as well as accept believers the way they are--God did! (Because we are "accepted in the beloved.")   Soli Deo Gloria!

Are We Called To Preach?

Preachers often have favorite doctrines or agendas that they enjoy, but Paul said he was not remiss to proclaim the whole counsel of God. Just because we preach--and we are all called to preach in some vein--doesn't mean we are perfect, experts on the subject, or deserve the right to preach on it. What is important is that we key into our listeners and know where they are at and where they are coming from, and tailor the message to them specifically and clearly. God has chosen us to preach the Word regardless; however, it is hoped we will not become hypocrites, and we will practice what we preach. Jesus was the prototype preacher par excellence in that He practiced what He preached and preached what He practiced--but we all fall short of this ideal. By the way, Paul said he preached not himself, "but Christ and Christ crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2).

Someone has said of Jonathan Edwards that "his doctrine was all application and his application was all doctrine"; we are not to just make our preaching an intellectual thing that has no relevance. Our preaching should challenge us as well as our hearers and we should humbly thank God for the honor and privilege of preaching and for the high calling that it is. Sometimes it is even ironic that we can preach on a subject because of our background. For example, many ex-drug addicts or ex-convicts have dramatic testimonies, and sometimes the experts on home life actually come from broken homes or less than ideal situations. Sometimes it is very interesting to hear what they have to say and what their point of view is because of their experiences.

Let's not second-guess God as to why we are preaching and accept the authority of the pulpit as being from God and has His anointing. The focus should be to preach the Word according to our faith and gifting. In the final analysis, we really want to know what the Bible says more than some one's experiences which can be biased. (We test our experiences by the Word of God, not the Word of God by our experiences.)   Soli Deo Gloria!