Tearing Down Barriers
Remember that Paul's last visit to this church did not go well. The Corinthians had followed some poor teaching & this lead to a division with Paul. Rather than deal with the issue right away, Paul choose to leave & let things settle down a little bit. We had a teaching on this earlier. Sometimes it's better to walk away and let emotions cool down, before attempting to correct a situation.
However, there are now naysayers & troublemakers who are using Paul's actions against him. Please remember that there will always be people who look for any possible negative. They live in the world, with the world's standards of dog-eat-dog (which has been established by the works of the devil). There is no grace or compassion in their hearts & they twist every action into something it is not. Do not follow these people. Do not allow their twisted view of the world to warp your opinion. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control. Listen to the people in your life who have these qualities - for they are being lead by the Spirit & not by the devil.
And make sure that you are living by the Spirit. Do not allow your heart & your mind to be ruled by wild emotion. Read the Word, spend time in prayer, & eagerly seek Truth. In this way, you will find the fruits of the Spirit for your own life & you will not be a thorn in someone's side.
No comments:
Post a Comment