Dealing With Conflict

Matthew 18:15-17---Moreover, 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. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglects to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.

This is the only passage in the New Testament that tells how to practically go about resolving a conflict between brothers in Christ. If we would follow it carefully, we would resolve many conflicts before they got to the point of being irreparable. Step one: The one who is offended goes to the one that offended him, one on one. 90% of issues will be resolved there. Usually, it is a misunderstanding or something that was done unintentionally. Do it quickly before bitterness takes root. Once you become embittered, no response will be sufficient to restore the relationship. Step two: If there is no resolution, the offending brother refuses to listen, then take along two or three witnesses. Ideally, there should only be five people at the most that know about the problem. We get into trouble when we start telling others and forming groups to support one another's perception of what happened. Everyone wants to get support and sympathy, but the godly way is to keep those that know limited in an attempt to resolve the issue. Finally, if the brother refuses to listen, then take it to the church. Some interpret this to mean the elders of the congregation you attend. Others believe this means to bring it before the entire church body for resolution. If the brother refuses to listen to the church, (this assumes the church will be of one mind) treat him as a pagan or tax collector. This is one of Jesus' few teachings about what the church needs to do. Jesus is referring to believers that gather to worship. It really did not exist at the time, so Jesus is looking into the future and specifically addressing a future need for His followers in a corporate setting. Then the question is how to treat a pagan or tax collector. Is Jesus saying how the Jews treated them or how He and His disciples did? One of them was a tax collector. Treat them as those in need of salvation, loving them, but not considering them a part of the body of the local church. That would still offer hope that things could be restored if they would repent.

Look To Christ And Live

Numbers 21:8-9 ---The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live."  So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

After more wandering in the wilderness because of their refusal to trust God, the Children of Israel became impatient. They began to complain again about their conditions. It was their own actions and their own requests that had placed them there, but they began to blame it on Moses. It is always easier to point the finger at someone else than to consider our role in our difficulties. God sent poisonous snakes amongst them as a judgment. (There are still poisonous snakes with a fiery bite in that region of the desert) The people began to cry out to Moses for help. Our song changes from a whine to a plea when we are in a life and death situation. The LORD's instruction was to take a pole and place upon it a bronze snake. If the people would just turn and look at it they would be healed from the deadly venom. Here is another wonderful picture of what God did for us. Bronze is representative of judgment. The snake is the cursed being that was used by Satan to trick Eve and thereby bring the venom of sin and death into the world. One day that sin would be judged upon a pole. All we need to do to be cured of sin's deadly venom is to look and live. If we will have faith that sin has been judged in the One who hung there, we will live. Thank the LORD for His wonderful plan of salvation. Look and live!

Water of Life

Numbers 20:8, 10-11---"Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink." He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" ¹¹Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

This is the second time the LORD commanded Moses to bring water from the Rock. The first time God told Moses to strike the rock with his rod. This second time Moses was told to speak to the rock. Instead, Moses spoke some harsh words to the complaining people and struck the Rock twice. We can hardly blame him for being upset. This incident was cited as the reason he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. What is so horrible? We must remember that the LORD spoke clearly to Moses. Moses was not trying to discern what the LORD was leading him to do. In 1 Corinthians 10, we learn that this rock is a picture of Jesus. The first time we come to Him for the water of life, we find that He had to be struck for us that the water of life might flow out. He was struck in our place upon the cross. Once struck, He need never be struck again. All we need to do is speak to our Rock, and the water of Life is freely given to us. What an awesome picture God was painting! But Moses marred it. Notice that in Moses' anger he also said that he and Aaron were the ones bringing out the water from the rock. Jesus alone can do that. Moses fell into the fatal error of many leaders. He suggested that he is the one who meets their needs, pointing to self instead of God. We must always be careful to give God all the glory.

Don't Give In To Fear

Numbers 14:44-45---But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and Moses, departed not out of the camp. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.
The Israelites had come right up to the border of the Promised Land but refused to go in because of fear. When they heard the alternative, they changed their mind. "If it was God's will before, won't God bless us if we do it now?" They wanted to save themselves from the consequences of sin by obeying now, but it was too late. They had already complained, whined, and refused to obey. The cloud did not lead them even though they were now willing. They decided to go anyway without Moses and the Ark of the Covenant, without God. They were soundly defeated. Timing and circumstance affect the will of God. It was God's will for them to enter in when they first heard the report. After their reaction to the report, it was no longer God's will. They had to reap the consequences of their decisions. You can't go back in time and make it right. You have to face the music. If at any time you decide to go back to escape the consequences, God will not be with you. Deal with the consequences of sin the best you can. If you are repentant, God will be with you as you face them. Since they had failed to obey, the next best thing was to obey God in the days to come, not go back and try to change things. Obey instantly when the first instruction comes. It is a tough lesson with heavy penalties. Learn to obey the first time. Realize that God's instructions are the best route for you.

Spiritual Legacy

Numbers 14:28, 33---Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
The nation had come right up to the boundaries of the Promised Land and been afraid to trust God. They wanted to kill Moses and Joshua and elect a new leader to take them back to Egypt. Their lament was, "If only we had died in Egypt or in this wilderness." So God gave them their request. They wished they had died in the wilderness, and their sentence is exactly what they asked for. That is often the sentence God gives a man, what he demands. If we could just have faith that what He has planned for us is so much better than our own ideas, we would move forward into the Promised Land. Instead, many demand death in the desert. That is a sad thing, and yet it is what we asked for. But the really sad thing is that our children suffer from our faithless choices. While we are wandering in the wilderness, they are wandering with us. Instead of settling them down in the Promised Land, and giving them a better start in their life, we leave the battles ahead to them. Faith and the fruit of it is the greatest inheritance you could possibly leave your children. A nice cave in the desert near a spring does not compare. How is your life affecting your children? Are you beginning a legacy of faith or building a foundation for them on shifting sand? Our lives affect so much more than our own daily comfort. What are you sowing?

Intercession For Others

Numbers 14:18-19---The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven these people, from Egypt even until now.
The LORD was ready to exterminate these whining people when Moses interceded for them. Because of the fact that God knows the future, I think He was not as desirous to destroy them as much as He was to bring out the heart of intercession in Moses. Moses interceded with God according to the character of God that had been revealed to him. He's saying, "Wait a minute. You told me You were abounding with love and forgiveness. You are just, but then there is that wonderful side of You that is so great in Love. Exercise that love now, and forgive these people." When we plead with God according to His wonderful attributes, we are standing on a sure footing from which to plead. We can make a case that is legitimate. The people would be punished, but at the same time, God would exercise His great love. God answered Moses prayer because He was pleading according to the attributes of God. That is how we should pray too. Do you know God is abounding in love? You can count on that. Just as He forgave them all the way from Egypt to the entrance of the Promised Land (a picture of our journey from the world to heaven), so will He forgive you when you look to His wonderful attributes. He forgives us not because of what we do but because of who He is. Yet, there is a warning here. We may not arrive at all He had for us because of our insistence on sin. That sin will affect generations to follow. Learn from these rebels who are so like us, and cast yourself upon the LORD.

Take Heart, God Will Finish His Work In You

Matthew 16:21-23---From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest, not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
From a study of the chronological life of Jesus, we see this turning point came right before the transfiguration. Three of the disciples would witness the glory of Jesus. Their eyes would confirm what they had been thinking in their hearts. Yet, they still had an earthly kingdom mindset. Jesus had to prepare them for the shock they were about to face; seeing Him suffer at the hands of religious leaders, killed, but rising again to life. Peter had just been commended for his perception of the revelation of God that Jesus is the Messiah. Then Peter became an instrument of Satan. How did he go from one extreme to the other so quickly? He turned back to mind the things of men. When we have a heavenly mindset, influenced by the Holy Spirit, the ways and preferences of man are not a priority. We seek out the ways and preferences of God. When that means pain and loss, there is a temptation to retreat to man's ways. Peter loved Jesus. Yet, his love was brotherly kind of love, and he knew it. It was not the love of God that prefers others above your self. We often resort to minding the things of men. It is our old nature. We think it is safer, but if we could see through God's eyes, we would see it is foolishness. It ends in vanity. It is the ways of God, the mind of Christ, that produces fruit that remains. May the Lord help us to see beyond the present pain, filling our minds with His thoughts, to see the eternal good He produces through suffering and loss in this life. Peter did not cling to His revelation that Jesus was Messiah for very long, but God is not done working in Peter. There are still some crash landings and recoveries that are ahead in the story, but it ends with God finishing the work He started in him.

Trust God to Defend Your Godly Decisions

Numbers 12:1-3 ---Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this. (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

Moses family didn't approve of his marriage. We don't know what happened to Zipporah, his first wife. The new wife was an Egyptian, probably one of the multitude that came out with the Israelites to worship the God of the Hebrews. I think Moses was big enough to make his own decisions and godly enough not to be second-guessed. The real issue is leadership. Who has the final say? "Shouldn't we vote on whether or not this is the right decision? God speaks to us too! Why should he remarry at his age (80+yrs)?" Yes, He does speak to them. We just saw in the last chapter how His Spirit was placed upon the elders. The question remains, who will have the final say? It is a power struggle and not the last one we will see in the desert. The power belongs to God. He's in charge. He is leading through his servant Moses but helping him with the elders. This most humble of men does not defend himself and his decision to marry, but God will defend him. We can know that if we are walking with the LORD, in humble submission to Him, that we need not defend ourselves. The office of the prophet as the intermediary between God and man has since ceased (Luke 16:16). The Holy Spirit communes with each of us, and we have His Word. Still, the principle is the same. We will often be questioned, and sometimes our whole family will be against us (Matthew 10:36). We should know that we need not argue our case. If it is a righteous decision, the LORD will defend us. If it is not a godly decision, we will see the fruit and learn from our mistake. That is genuine humility.

High and Mighty

What The Cross Means To The World

A Difficult Expression, A Gentle Response

Matthew 15:26-28---But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
After Jesus gave the crowds some hard sayings, only the disciples remained (John 6:66-68). Jesus then journeyed outside the region He regularly taught in. He led the twelve to Tyre and Sidon. There were communities of Jews there, but we have no record of any teaching or interaction except this one story. A Canaanite woman came to Jesus to plead for her daughter's healing. She must have heard stories of His work on the shores of Galilee. She pleaded for mercy, but Jesus told her He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As she continued to plead, Jesus gave her a very hard saying. "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." Let us put this into some perspective to see if we can read between the lines. Jesus already had gone to Samaria. They were not considered Jews by the Jewish standard, yet Jesus ministered to them. They declared Him to be the Savior of the world. Jesus was thrown out of His hometown for reminding them that prophets were often sent outside Israel to Gentile people. In the story following our text, Jesus went to the region of Greek cities and fed the 4000. (Mark 7:31f) Yet, He told the disciples to go only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel (Matthew 10:5). It seems that there was a turning point here in the ministry of Jesus. He knew it was coming, for He knew the prophecies (Isaiah 11:10; 42:6). It was God's plan to offer salvation to the Jews first. The Apostle Paul follows the same pattern in His ministry (Acts 13:46-48). This Gentile woman's response was filled with faith. Compare that to the Jews response to Jesus' hard saying to them (John 6:52,66). Jesus often comes to us with a hard saying to test and strengthen our faith. Jesus' saying actually drew her closer instead of driving her away.

Is Anything Too Hard For God To Do?

Numbers 11:21-23---And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them? And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the Lord's hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.
The people were whining about not having meat to eat. Moses was very discouraged. God promised meat for a month along with some valuable lessons. Moses just couldn't see that it was possible. He looked out over the camp and couldn't imagine how God could do it. His response to God was an exaggeration. Certainly, all the fish in the sea could have fed them. Even the flocks they drove before them could have fed them. When we are discouraged, even the practical looks impossible. God's response is worth memorizing and keeping at hand when you think He has promised more than can be delivered. Has the omnipotent God lost some of His power? Can't the One who created the world and everything in it provide anything at any time He chooses? Is anything out of His reach? Don't limit the Eternal One! He can do whatever He says He will do in keeping with His perfect character. This was going to be a lesson for Moses and for you and me. You and I have seen what God can do when we read these true stories. We have seen what He has done in the lives of people we know and in our own life. We have seen that God can do what we considered impossible. Never doubt God's capability to do what He has promised. He is able! You have seen it. You will see it again. Trust Him, and climb out of your pit of doubt up into the sunlight of faith.

Lord, Keep My Heart Satisfied With You

Numbers 11:4-6---And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul has dried away: there is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes.
They started wailing again. It's easy to join a pity party. The rabble and troublemakers are always among us. They point people toward the temporal and not to Jesus, the eternal. They point to the things that you do not currently possess and not to the blessings at hand. They crave the things of the world and not the things of God. Did the manna cost? Here they are with the miraculous provision and they are whining for something more exotic. It would be hard to have the same meal day after day, and a miracle loses its awe to us when we see it daily. How we remember the good but not the bad! Their babies were fed to the crocs and their backs to the whips, but they want to go back for a nice dinner. The real problem is that they are not hungry for God. Jesus said that He is the manna that comes down from heaven. They are tired of focusing on one thing. They'd like a little worldly diversion. It shows they had not grown spiritually, and though they were out of Egypt, Egypt was not out of them. Watch out for the allurement of the world. It promises its delicacies but neglects to tell you of the price you will pay for them or how temporal their satisfaction is. The Promised Land has plenty to satisfy, but you must be prepared by learning to put first things first. Which will it be for you, forward, or backward?

Coffee ☕️ And Conversation

Look For The Good

Matthew 13:56-58---And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
At first, Jesus' hometown folk were impressed with Him. When they figured out what He was saying, they looked for reasons to be upset with Him. A person that does not like the message will soon accept a critical spirit and begin to find fault in the messenger. The Greek word for 'offense' is skandalizo which comes from the noun skandalon. Skandalon is the word used for the trigger of a trap. It is the lever that causes the trap to spring shut. When we look for faults in others, we are searching for something to grab hold of for accusation. The accuser of the brethren is Satan. We don't realize that when we seize that trigger, the trap closes in on our mind. From that time forward all that person's perfections appear in our mind as flawed. We assign motives that were never in that person's mind, thinking we are more spiritual. Remember, the unredeemed find fault in the church every day. It is not a sign of spirituality, but of immaturity. Those hometown folk that was with Jesus did not accept the call on His life, even as He read it from the Word of God. "How could this man be the one Isaiah wrote of? We know His sisters! He didn't study under a great rabbi! How dare He claim a relationship with God that is greater than ours and instruct us!" When Jesus shared that His message would go to the Gentiles and reminded them of examples of the same in their own Bible, they tried to kill Him. It is sad that He could not do miracles there because of their refusal to believe and have faith. The trap they had sprung on themselves not only kept the miraculous from blessing the city, but it prevented them and those they influenced from entering the kingdom of heaven. The very people Jesus had grown up among, as a living example of a holy child, teen and young adult, refused the salvation they had been waiting for. Don't reach for that trigger! If you already have, repent! God can free you from the trap if you will confess your sin. The revelation of an error in another is the call to intercede, not condemn. Isn't that how you would like Jesus to treat you? (Ephesians 4:32; Matthew 6:14,15)