Don't Be A Biblical Bully

Knowing the Bible does not give us permission to use it as a weapon against people.

Sometimes we become so eager to correct others that we forget the heart of the One we claim to represent.

Jesus spoke truth, but He also showed compassion.

He confronted sin, but He never took pleasure in humiliating sinners.

He corrected people, but His goal was always to lead them back to God.

Speak the truth in love. [Ephesians 4:15]

There is a difference between biblical correction and biblical bullying.

Correction says, "What you are doing is wrong, but there is still grace for you."

Bullying says, "You are wrong, and I want everyone to know it."

Correction restores.

Bullying shames.

Correction points people toward Christ.

Bullying can push people further away from Him.

Before you quote a verse to expose someone, ask yourself why you are doing it.

Is it because you genuinely want them to encounter Jesus?

Or because you want to prove that you are right?

The Bible was never given to make us feel superior.

It was given to transform us first.

So before you correct someone else's life, let God's Word correct yours.

Be firm in truth.

Be generous with grace.

And never forget that the person you are correcting is someone Jesus died for too.

Ayen Guirhem via "Just Sayen"

Hold On!

The Living Presence Of God

The Holy Spirit is the living presence of God setting up residence inside you. He doesn’t settle for surface-level renovations - He targets the root of your desires. He breaks up spiritual blindness, dismantles selfish impulses, and plants desires your natural flesh couldn’t create on its own.

When love replaces bitterness, or unexplainable quiet settles over a mind that used to run on anxiety, that's the Holy Spirit bearing harvest.

Salvation is the Spirit of Truth tearing down the old framework of your life and speaking brand-new life into dead bones.

"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."

Ezekiel 36:26–27

- David Delfeld

Provided by "I Am With You Always"

Dupes or Disciples?

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind."

Matthew 22:37 (NIV)

The problem with the human mind is not just that in its natural or unconverted state, the mind is contrary to God. That's bad enough. But there's also a cosmic battle being waged for the control of your mind. This world, under the control of Satan, is filled with every kind of “philosophy and empty deception” imaginable - and people by the millions are buying into these false systems. But Satan isn't satisfied with that. He's also after the minds of believers.

Now he knows he can't mess with our salvation, because we are secure in Christ. But if the Devil can mess with our minds and get us thinking like pagans, he can render us useless in our impact for Christ.

Let me give an example of how hard Satan is working to capture people's minds. Someone has pointed out that although the New Age movement has no world headquarters, no full-time missionaries on the field, and no coherent organization, it is attracting disciples at a dizzying rate.

Now we know that the New Age philosophy is about as mindless and silly as any “ism” going. Pay a few hundred bucks and learn how to be your own God. So if it's so mindless, why are millions of people flocking to New Age teaching? Who's behind it? I'll give you one guess. No human is smart enough to pull this off.

That's a good example of what passes for thinking out there in the world. But look whom we have to pattern our minds after: Jesus Christ, “the fulness of Deity… the head over all rule and authority” (vv. 9-10). Because He is complete, we are complete in Him - including our minds. Everything you need to develop a Christlike mind, you will find in Him.

The problem with many of us is that we are listening to John and Joe and whomever instead of to Jesus. When we stand before Christ, some of us will have to say, “Well, John told me…” To which Jesus will answer, “John's not even up here. What were you doing listening to him?” So I ask you the question I ask myself: Are we going to be Satan's dupes or Jesus’ disciples?

If you've ever wondered why you need to develop a Christian mind,
Colossians 2:8 should answer your question.
Excerpt from "Time to Get Serious" - Tony Evans

Music: "Help My Unbelief"