Family Offenses

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. Matthew 8:15

In today’s culture that act is almost unheard of. How much humility can actually be found today? Do our Churches even foster that kind of atmosphere? I know lots of churches where that if you tried that you be called out as a ‘messenger of satan’! OR “Who made you God that you can judge me?!!” Then of course there is the absolute pendulum of those individuals that have to run around telling everyone how ‘bad’ they are and that God sees their ‘sin’ and that they’ll be punished for it. To ALL of this I ask, “Where is the Holy Spirit?” Where is the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Does you spiritual community even teach those things? Do they model this kind of behavior?

The fact is …human relationships aren’t always easy, especially in this hyper-selfish culture, where everything has to center around ‘me-ism’. Where everything now is a ‘social-media’ meme or post about how wonderful your latest meal is. Where the most trivial acts of a person’s life are supposed to be applauded by the admiring masses. When you think so highly of yourself who is able to tell you your faults?

In a ‘real’ relationship you should be able to speak with honesty, humility, and truth, in fact in real friendships that is actually desired from one another. But if we were really mature we’d be able to hear the Holy Spirit before that individual even comes to us and He’d be convicting us of our ‘faults’ and we’d be listening to Him. So when that individual comes to us ..we can quickly agree with them and ask for forgiveness and embrace one another as true family.

When crisis hits and chaos reigns all of our true character comes right to the surface and if we’re going to ‘mess up’ it will be in that kind of circumstance. And those around us will catch the brunt of our immaturity and wrong reactions to the current situation. We must as mature individuals realize the pressure and give grace accordingly to our family members. The appropriate time will come when we can talk about their selfish behaviors and restore and renew the bonds of friendship and family. But in the ‘heat’ of that time — a mature person is listening the ENTIRE time to the directions of the Holy Spirit and following His lead and working towards the safety of all with all of the fruit of the Holy Spirit being activated within them.

Beloved …those times of crisis are coming quickly to ALL of us. As this world fills with blatant evil because the ‘Church has lost it’s salt’ the ‘offenses’ will rise from every direction. The accusations will come hard and fast whether they are true or not. Are you close enough with the Holy Spirit to be able to follow His direction at a moments notice?

Are you sensitive enough to the Holy Spirit for Him to tell you about your faults and character flaws? Are you willing to go to those painful places with Him where you hide your emotional wounds and scars? Do you know anyone in your friendship relationship circle that you consider mature enough to share your most intimate issues? If you don’t have anyone like that — I’m very sad for you. This culture says only a ‘therapist’ is able to help you with those deep issues. This is sad to me as that tells me that we no longer really confide with one another, and we no longer really have any ‘real’ friends and we’re just wearing a mask all the time, not really being our true selves with people.

I suggest you go to the best therapist I know… the Holy Spirit. Work it ALL out with Him. Begin today as no one is promised another day on this earth… and we may be out of time to mend those wounds within us. Why you ask if heaven is almost here? Because we ARE HIS ambassadors in the here and now, and must be His instruments of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. And we can ONLY produce those fruits with Him in our lives guiding and directing us. Do you have eternal treasures and rewards stored up for you from all the times you followed His instructions to the letter? Or will all the ‘good deeds’ you did in your own effort be the things you point to when He asks what you’ve done? What really will last through His ‘fire’ of truth, judgment, and refinement?

Be diligent to seek Him EVERY morning. Walk your entire day with Him. Be humble, gracious, polite, generous, and respectful no matter what is thrown in your direction. Be His ambassador today. 

Follow His lead.