A Rude Awakening For Those Who Call Themselves Christian

Francis of Assisi, a thirteenth-century Catholic Italian monk, wrote of the person lesson in humility to be gathered from another person's offense.

Whom are we to count as our 'friends'? All those whose unjust actions and words cause us all manner of grief and trial...

How can I suggest that you should greatly love such people?

For this reason: Their evil actions draw out and display to us our own evil responses-anger, gossip, slander, hatred and the like. Then we see our sin for what it is. And only then can we repent and forsake it. 

Awwe snap!!!


Francis, ., & Hazard, D. (1992). A day in Your presence: A 40-day journey in the company of Francis of Assisi : devotional readings. Minneapolis, Minn: Bethany House Publishers, page 86.

Conflicts Can Get Ugly Quick… Watch How You Enter.

I've noticed in my life that sometimes I don't enter conflicts well. Even if I have good intentions, many times I enter conflict primarily to elevate my pain or hurt without acknowledging the other person's pain or hurt. What about you?

I don't think we do this on purpose. It can be difficult to think of the other person and what God has done for them when we are wronged. Its easy to recognize our pain over others because we are living in it. Its hard in the midst of our pain to step outside of ourselves and thank God for his grace and thank Him for what he has done for us and the other person we're in conflict with.

Before you enter conflict, do you thank God for the person who may have cause pain in your life?  Do you tell that person that you pray for them?

Joy Versus Happiness

Verses like these use to trouble me:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds," --James 1:2 (NIV) 

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials." -- 1 Peter 1:6 (NIV)

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;" -- Romans 5:3 (NIV)

Rejoice in suffering?  Consider it pure joy when we face trails? My heart says, "Yes Jesus! Praise the Lord!" But my mind says, "Whatever dude." When I face difficult trails the emotions that surface are hurt, anxiety, anger, or sadness. Rarely did joy surface.