Friday, July 10, 2026

Deeper Roots Survive Storms

Deeper Roots Survive Storms 
by David Brenneman 

"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You;" JOB 42:5

     You may have heard it said that a person does not not really know who his friends are until the bottom
drops out. In much the same way, we will never personally know how truly faithful, strong and wise Jesus is apart from adversity. Indeed, if our lives are free from pain, turmoil, and sorrow, our experience of God will remain purely academic. Our trust in Him would never increase, mature, or be strengthened. Our relationship with Him could be compared to that with a great-great-grandfather about whom we've heard stories yet never met personally. We would have great admiration but no intimacy or fellowship. That is not the kind of relationship God wants with His children.
     Through the costly death of Christ, the Lord has opened the
way for us to have direct access to Him, and He wants nothing to
stand between us. So He engineers circumstances through which
He can reveal Himself to us in a personal and profound way and we
can bond with Him emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. When
difficult seasons arise, do not despair. Instead, rejoice that God is about to reveal Himself to you in a powerful way, and get ready to 
experience His faithfulness firsthand.

Jesus, thank You for revealing Yourself to me through all my
circumstances. Amen.
- Trusting God with Today, Dr. Charles Stanley. 

We experience situations throughout our life where we pray and Jesus shows up through the various people He's placed in our lives.  

This is for our extreme benefit as pointed out by Dr. Stanley.  

Likewise true is this notion that we need the things we go through in life in order to grow in Christ.

A tree may grow tall and wide and have a fantastic appearance...but if the roots are truly shallow then comes the right kind of storm and it will topple over. 

King Saul had all the appearance of a great King, however his life in the Lord was extremely shallow. When things really began to happen whereby he should have grown in his relationship with the Lord...he blew it.

King Solomon had been granted great wisdom in order to lead the nation of Israel...yet blew it as well. 

We, more often than not, want out of our situations. Rather the appropriate response should be to ask for prayer to see us through them. To learn what it is that the situation is there for and to rely on Christ our Savior to grow us in Him. 

Indeed if He brings you to something He will see you through that something.  

The children of Israel were lead out of the land of Egypt. Right up to a sea with Pharaoh’s army on their heels. Moses did as instructed and the sea parted and they went through on dry land. 

The lesson was for them to look to the Lord for everything.  

During my 10 or so months of unemployment the Lord brought us to this same place. No retreat was possible and going forward was the only option. Daily my thoughts were to pray about what He had in mind for me to be doing that day. Taking it one day at a time.  

He brought deliverance from many places and people. People who chose to be dispensers of grace in our time of need. 

Oh, my Dear Reader, you can constantly complain about your life's situations or you can seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, find out what it is you're to be learning and grow in your relationship with Jesus through it.

There's absolutely nothing random about your life's adventures. The Lord, through His Spirit, is going to continue His workmanship in us one way or another. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them. Period. 

The things we emotionally react to rather than trust God in will always steam roll us if we let them. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.  

I will testify those verses from Proverbs 3:5-6 are absolutely the truth. Those verses stayed with me and are staying with me during those perilous times of unemployment and now into employment.  

Those 10 months were a time of growth for me in Christ. You can either get the point of why you're going through some rough patches or you can miss the point entirely.

Stop and go back to Proverbs 3:5-6.
Stop and reconsider Ephesians 2:10.

Stop and be grateful that He is right there in this with you. Grow your roots deeper in the Lord. 

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 
New American Standard Bible 
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 
A corporation not for profit.   
La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

Thursday, July 9, 2026

What ARE You Doing?

What ARE You Doing?
by David Brenneman 

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going." Ecclesiastes 9:10.

"But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need." 1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12.

"Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good." 2 Thessalonians 3:12-13.

"Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality." Colossians 3:23-25.

While we read in Ecclesiastes 9:10 about Sheol, that's not the destination for the saved in Christ Jesus.  

Idleness is the opposite of all we read in the rest of the Scriptures here this morning. Idleness and pursuing things that do not make for the righteous life that God desires for us.  

Do you pursue things that aren't glorifying God? Have you stopped to see if God is truly being lifted up or is it you?  

The workmanship we are in Christ is not to make us a better person but rather to make us fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.  

It isn't for us to pursue this or that that strikes our fancy. Nor is it for us to justify our pursuits by way of slick reasoning. Either God gets the glory for great things He has done or He isn't.

Anything from daily life to jobs to hobbies can either be glorifying God or they won't be. These are the deeds done in the body that we will give an account of before Jesus. These deeds those thoughts and intentions and actions. 

We are supposed to live lives that glorify God, to the best of our ability, because at any moment they may be our last upon this Earth.

Do you think about your day ahead in that light?

Do you or have you invested, time, energy, effort and perhaps money into things that are not worthy of the calling for which you've been called in Christ?  

In more than one place in the Scriptures we're told to consider our ways. This is the message for today: consider your ways!

Consider your motivations.
Consider your reactions to situations and people.

Are you living a life that you would live if Jesus was physically there with you? Would you be how you are in front of Him? 

Would you be as productive if He were physically with you?

Would you be as lazy if He stood there with you?

Would you change your hobbies, your this or that if He were physically there with you?  

The truth, my Dear Reader, is He is right there with you. 

He is.

Your part is to take up your own cross and follow Him. Are you?

Your part is to pursue that which you can and will do that glorifies your Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. 

Doesn't matter how big that is or how small. What's important is to do your best as unto the Lord because it's the Lord whom you serve. 

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 
New American Standard Bible 
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 
A corporation not for profit.   
La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Why Worry?

Why Worry?
by David Brenneman 

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34.

There are actually several things you can do in and of yourself to help Satan's agenda in this world and one of the easiest is to worry about things, problems, situations in this life of yours rather than to take those things to God in prayer. 

Satan loves to, and historically he's taught his minions to, get people to focus on the enormity of a situation or problem rather than the enormity of God. 

We sometimes will even convince ourselves that we're not worrying, we're just 'intensely concerned' within ourselves.  

That's still worrying.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21.

We either are going to walk by faith and not by sight or we're not. 

Let's start with history. Your history in Christ. Has there ever been an instance where Jesus failed you? Has there ever been a time when He didn't prove He cares for you? Have you ever seen Him ignore you?  

While the answers to your prayers might not be what you were expecting or even looking for they were answered. So why do the foolish thing and keep things to yourself rather than to deliver them, both the small and the great things to Jesus?

Truly there's nothing that the Almighty Creator of the Universe can't do in accordance with His will, His character, His love for us and His obedience to His Father.  

Ours is to bring the things that are on our hearts and minds to Jesus for Him to handle. That's walking by faith. He may yet hand you a shovel to help out in your answer to your prayer but He will answer. Quite often ours is a mindset to just get Jesus to fix things rather than for us to get our hands dirty. 

Peter, James, John, Paul, Jude, and others we read about that many think of as pillars of the Church...got that distinction not from worrying but through prayers and walking by faith, by going through things that the Spirit directed rather than by avoiding those things that were to grow them in Christ. 

You miss the very best point of why you face situations, they are just situations in the eyes of God, in that they come to you to grow you in Christ. 

"All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness." Hebrews 12:11.

There's a very distinct point to why situations come and go in your life.  

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2:10.

While you may be caught by surprise...no part of the Trinity that is God ever was.  

These things we experience are going to grow us in Christ. These things are for our sanctification.  

Keep the right attitude in Christ Jesus. Keep your prayers going and your thankfulness to God in Christ Jesus that you aren't alone in what you face. That He has heard you and that He will still do what is best for you. 

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 
New American Standard Bible 
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 
A corporation not for profit.   
La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

Full, Unbridled, Unrestricted Transparency

Full, Unbridled, Unrestricted Transparency 
by David Brenneman 

How much anticipation do you have in your expectation of Jesus Christ returning for you? Are you excited? Does it motivate you in any way to be striving to be better today in living for Jesus than you did yesterday? 

Jesus is the Word of God. 

"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Hebrews 4:12-13.

Your every thought and intention is and has been recorded and will be until either you are called home to Heaven or the Rapture of the Church.  

Have you ever truly thought of what that means? Ever considered the ramifications of that idea?

"O Lord, You have searched me and known me." Psalms 139:1.

"I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds." Jeremiah 17:10.

He knows every big n small thought and intention you have ever considered. He knows all that you've hidden even from yourself. All that you muttered under your breath that you shouldn't have said or thought concerning others. Knows all that you dreamed about and never pursued. Knows of all the opportunities taken and all you failed to embrace. Knows all whom you were sent to help n all you turned away from helping. Knows all the times you justified your disobedience towards Him when the Spirit presented an opportunity for you and you chose not to do it. 

He knows all the times when your love for others came close to matching His own for them. Knows all the times when your thoughts were right concerning His Word and your understanding of it.  

He knows.  

Everything you have lied to yourself about as well. All the things that you deceived yourself into doing. All the honesty evil things that you did nothing to stop when He wanted you to step in. All these things and more.

Now consider this that all of these things, both the pleasant, joyful, uplifting and the sad, grieving, discouraging things are what we will be giving an account of before Jesus. 

There's a day fixed by the Father’s own authority for when the Church of Jesus Christ will be complete. A day when the last person who's come to salvation in Christ Jesus does so and the Church is ready to go to forever be with Jesus.  

We all who are saved will leave this world at the command of the Lord Jesus on that day and Scripture says that we will give an account of our lives before Him. 

Our deeds, thoughts and intentions will be tested as through the fire of truth. Whatever we thought, said, did or intended to do will come to light. Only that which was done right, with true obedience, with the right heart attitude, will survive. 

It's never enough to just come to Christ for salvation and then do nothing more to grow in Christ, to nothing to honor Him for all He's done for us.

It's never a good thing to neglect the work He's trying to do in us to make us more like Himself. 

It's a very sobering thing to know that He's known all of what we're like and still loves us enough to not want to leave us in that condition. 

It should be a very sobering thing for us to realize how much of the letters to the Churches in the book of Revelation is directed towards those who profess to be Christians. 

We truly cannot afford to be nonchalant about our relationship with Jesus or our thoughts, intentions or actions.  

We cannot afford to not give of our best as unto the Lord in pursuing a right and true life in Christ as He wants for us.  

There's going to come a day when all of that and more will be revealed as either worthy or unworthy before the Lord. 

Think about these things as you go about your day. Are you honoring God or protecting yourself? Are you growing in Christ or have you grown stagnant? Are you putting your own thoughts, desires, dreams ahead of what the Spirit wants and desires for you? 

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ means to think, go and do, as He did.  

As the Scriptures say "consider your ways..."

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 
New American Standard Bible 
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 
A corporation not for profit.   
La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

Monday, July 6, 2026

Throw It In the Fire!

Throw It In the Fire!
by David Brenneman 

Take, in prayer, whatever has a hold of you that is sin and ask Jesus to remove it n throw it in the fire. 

A possible strange way to put it I admit. However, we're to run from temptation. We're to lay our burdens at the feet of Jesus. If you read of what many of the righteous kings did upon becoming king you will see how they destroyed those things that were an abomination to the Lord. King Josiah burned many things to ensure they wouldn't be usable again. Reading in Proverbs there's much that's written about running from sins.  

In the New Testament we read of fleeing youthful lusts.  

Our sins, once confessed, are cast as far as the east is from the west by our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
But we must confess them. Then we must turn from them. 

We must treat sin as something we don't consider nor give the time of day to. Sin, no matter how small or how large, shouldn't be a thing we dwell on. Dwelling upon it leads to entertaining temptation which leads to sinful acts.

Consider as well these words of Paul through the Spirit "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete." 2 Corinthians 10:3-6.

In war many things of the enemy must be destroyed not just buried nor removed. 

Sin in any form is an abomination in the eyes of our Holy God.  

We should think on sin as He does. 
We should find it as repulsive as He does. We should rather see sin destroyed than entertained. 

This is another excellent example of what is meant in the New Testament of "considering your ways". 

In what ways have we renamed sins and sinful behavior so that we don't feel as bad about continuing in it?

How many hobbies do we have that in reality have taken our attention away from our growing in Christ?  

How many 'things of this world' really have us in their grip rather than the false freedom we think we have concerning them?

Oh we may joke about the things we say we 'love' but in reality are we really joking? Does the God of Heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, joke about such things? To be honest it's that train of thought that caused me to stop and consider before making statements about what it is that I 'love'.

Jesus took sin and its evil effects 100% seriously which is why He would not take a single step away from the direction of the cross.  

What's more...Satan strived throughout the entire life of Jesus on this Earth to put an end to Him because even he knew what the destructive power of the cross would mean for sin.

Sin deserves to be thrown in the fire. Sin deserves to be destroyed, cast far from us.  

We likewise need to stop seeing just how close we can get to that line without crossing over to sinning. Sooner or later that line WILL get blurry.

Sin is nothing to be trifled with. 
Sin is why Jesus stayed on the cross. 

Treat sin as the disgusting, revolting, ugly, utterly sinful thing that it is...and throw it in the fire. 

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 
New American Standard Bible 
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 
A corporation not for profit.   
La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

Sunday, July 5, 2026

What Makes a Country Great?

What Makes a Country Great?
by David Brenneman 

"And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." Luke 9:23-26.

What makes a country great?  
Is it not the grace and mercy of the Lord God Almighty? Is it not all and only what He has done towards and for that nation? Our contributions are but filthy rags compared to how great the grace and mercy of God are towards us.  

Our nation has many many good things going for it, however, the blights, the sins, of this nation are ever present before the Lord even when much, of not all the population downgrades the severity of them.

It's through the obedience of the peoples towards the Word of God that indeed causes true greatness to envelop a nation. 

When it's peoples remember the Almighty who positioned such a peoples in human history. Read in the history of Judah and Israel and you'll see of what becomes of a nation that puts their relationship with the Lord God Almighty before all else and what became of those whom didn't. 

Habakkuk is another excellent book on the subject because of its content on such matters.  

Our obedience to the Word of God, our relationship with Jesus, should always be more important to us than all else including a 'love' for a country. Does not Scripture explicitly state that we're to love not the world nor the things of the world?  

Did not Jesus, in this passage we read this morning, tell us where our love, our priorities, ought to be?

Nobody, when they stand before Jesus to give an account of their lives, is going to be praised for being a great patriotic person. It's only the deeds done in the body for Christ, done through His Spirit, that are going to count, that are going to matter. 

While I appreciate the freedoms of my country, I don't have feelings of 'love' for it because of what that Scripture passage I referred to said about not loving the world nor the things of the world.  

Truthfully, I am ashamed at what direction this nation has gone in even my lifetime. It's growing colder towards the things that make for a Godly nation. It still is here only by the grace and mercy of God.  

It is by the grace of God that we're able to enjoy the freedoms we do here in the United States. It's by the grace of God that any nation is able to be as they are. It's by the mercy of God that we have not received as a nation what we deserve for turning away from defending the unborn, the widows and orphans. For our celebrations of sexual sins. For our many other Biblical reasons that exist.  

We need to be taking up our own cross and following Jesus more seriously if we want to see this nation to continue to exist. We need more people who claim the Name of Jesus Christ to start living out their lives honoring Him who saved us.  

We certainly need more fervent prayers to the Throne of Grace for the sins of this nation. I refer us all to Daniel's prayers concerning the sins of his people that were heard and honored before the Lord. 

These steps will be what will continue to cause a nation to be great in what matters. Great for the sake of what the world considers great is trash concerning what is considered great in the eyes of my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. 

Returning to loving the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit. 

Returning to loving your neighbor as yourself. 

Returning to trusting in the Lord with your everything. 

Trusting in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. 

Setting your mind on the things that are above and not on the things that are of this world. 

These will lead a people of a nation towards what God says makes a nation great. 

Truthfully as is the health of the professing Church as is the health of a nation. Patriotism can be a fine thing but it matters not unless obedience and trust in the Lord, living a life that takes up their own cross and follows Jesus comes first.  

Whether it's the USA or any other country...what will cause it to find more of the grace and mercy of God will be only in its people's becoming more and more of the followers of Jesus Christ than they used to be. Fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ must be the first step.  

Read the letters to the Churches in the book of Revelation. Now consider how those churches have all fallen. Consider again that the content of these letters still apply to Believers throughout the world today. 

Yesterday I indeed reflected on the United States still being here 250 years later...just didn't in a way that most did. I was praying for the nation's sins. Was praying for the leaders. Listening to the Spirit rather than joining in the festivities.  

Want a country to be great? Turn it to the Lord Jesus Christ. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make its paths straight. 

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 
New American Standard Bible 
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 
A corporation not for profit.   
La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

Saturday, July 4, 2026

Who Do You Fear Offending More...God or Man?

Who Do You Fear Offending More...God or Man?
by David Brenneman 

“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of the son of man who is made like grass," Isaiah 51:12.

"Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. He said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the Lord’s people circulating. If one man sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the Lord desired to put them to death." 1 Samuel 2:22-25.

"Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house? Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? Why do you kick at My sacrifice and at My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling, and honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house. You will see the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that I do for Israel; and an old man will not be in your house forever. Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die in the prime of life. This will be the sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: on the same day both of them will die. But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always." 1 Samuel 2:27-35.

"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15.

We have before us 'choice'. We choose either to obey God or we choose someone else. 

We also can fall into the trap of being more afraid of what man may do than what it will and does mean to our Holy God. 

Scripture is there for these reasons: "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

When we know the good we ought to be doing and do not do it, we're sinning wilfully. James 4:17.

When we know what God's Word says unmistakably and choose to not act as His Word clearly says to...we will be having a lot of answering to do before God.  

Matthew 18 isn't there as a mere suggestion. Jesus spoke of what to do and how to proceed in an orderly, God respecting, way.

We can read of how gravely the results of some in the Old Testament were judged before the Lord for being more afraid of their sons than of offending a Holy God. 

My Dear Reader...we have enough to answer for before Jesus when we give an account of our lives before Him...do we want to really add to that by putting fear of how others will take our decisions more than how disrespected, dishonored, we will be before Him with whom we have to do?

There are some in the professing Church who do not remove the evil within their ranks whom ought to be removed. They're more fearful of them than they are of offending God. They won't proceed with what Jesus said in Matthew 18.

Ours is to obey God and leave the consequences to Him. End of story. 

Eli's example has the extremely sad, highly disappointing, words of the Lord directly to him. 

When we're more afraid of offending people than offending God we're in serious trouble. 

I really do adhere to "I would rather stand with God and be judged by the world than to stand with the world and be judged by God".

We quench the Spirit when we choose the fear of man over the fear of God. 

Really consider your ways when these challenges come. Because, again, we will give an account of our lives before Jesus. 

We are to love the Lord our God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. This means He gets our full attention, gets all our everything in its fullest measure as unto the Lord. It says clearly in Colossians 3:23-25 "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.".

I have seen and still do hear of Pastors of churches whom will not obey nor follow-through with dealing with those supposed brothers and sisters in Christ as the Scriptures state. The results are 100% predictable. Satan gets a foothold in those churches. Every single time. 

We read in Revelation, the letters to the Churches...Jesus yet again trying to get the Churches to turn towards obedience of Christ over what man wanted.  

If ever we're more concerned with what man thinks than what God has said...if we're ok with offending God but not in offending a man or woman...we're falling from a position that ends in judgment. 

Biblical example after Biblical example shows what results when those who place offending people as more important than what Jesus thinks. Take great care that you, my Dear Reader, do not follow in those footsteps.

What Jesus said to do in Matthew 18 has healing in mind of both persons and relationships.  

In at least 10 places in the Scriptures Israel was instructed to obey the voice of the Lord their God. Deuteronomy 11:13,27; 13:4; 27:10; 30:2,8,20; Joshua 22:5, 1 Samuel 12:14; Jeremiah 7:23.

Please do not make the same mistakes as they and put offending people ahead of offending the Lord your God, your Savior who is Christ the Lord and your Heavenly Father. 

Do not grieve the Spirit in this as well. 

To love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit means what we do, think, say and live by with Him means more than anything with anyone else.

Lastly...there's yet again example after example in the Scriptures where when people didn't treat as holy the Word of God concerning dealing with those whom needed dealing with...that the Lord sent people to mete out judgment to deal with these people. As Scripture says God will not be mocked. Whatever a man sows he will reap. Don't stand in the way of God's judgment or you'll share in it.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 
New American Standard Bible 
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