Conflict is a fact of life. People have different motives, methods, perspectives, and desires. Some of these are sinful some are not. In fact trying to live a godly life in a sinful world will create conflict. Conflict per se isn't necessarily bad. But we have a problem when conflict stems from, is expressed with, or remains unresolved, because of sinful motives, attitudes, or actions.
God's Word addresses conflict with real practical direction aimed at our motives, attitudes, and actions.
Can you minister grace to people who don’t inspire you to acts of kindness? Let me suggest a good beginning. Stoop down and embrace them. Love that reaches up is adoration. Love that reaches out is compassion. But love that stoops is grace.
We must tell the truth...in love. Confronting is not the same as criticizing. Be careful of using the truth like a battering ram to force the pastor to change. You don’t want the confrontation to turn into a power struggle.
The common denominator with every type of opposition thrown at Nehemiah were the strategies of prayer, purpose, and perseverance. The enemy of our souls wants us to stop praying, lose sight of our goal, and to stop working
As citizens of that world to come, our work today—whether in our homes, our cities, or around the world—should be to live out and encourage the ideals of that world to come with every fibre of our beings.
Expecting others to live according to your list will make you miserable. And if you live according to their list, you’ll be even more miserable.
Type A people are the ones up front. They motivate and inspire others. Type B people work behind the scenes. They’re the thinkers, with an attention to detail. We may each be a personality type but we’re all created by God for a unique purpose.
If it were possible to make all the wrongs right, it would be so much easier, wouldn’t it? When you’re misunderstood sometimes there’s nothing you can do but let it go.
Misunderstandings can easily lead to broken relationships. Before this happens do your best to come to a resolution. Then graciously forgive. And move on.
We tend to think of teens as the only ones who deal with rebellion and defiance but these tendencies are in all of us, no matter our age.
Now that we’ve considered the action we must take, let’s turn to Galatians 6:1 for a close look at the proper attitude we need. To qualify for helping restore others to the truth, we must first be filled with the Spirit and not controlled by the flesh.
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