Midweek Encouragement - "Where’s the Beef”

"Where’s the Beef?”

Have you been hurt by someone in the Church? Maybe it was a leader, a pastor, or another believer. Maybe someone lied about you, stole from you, betrayed you, shamed you, ridiculed you or didn’t treat you the way you thought you should have been treated?

         I’m not sure what the devil is up to lately, but through the last two or three weeks, he’s been very busy trying to drive a wedge of division into some of the ministries here at the Mt. Laurel Church of God. I refuse to let that happen. What about you?

         Maybe I should start today with two “givens.” (1) None of us are without failures so we must be careful if we’re reaching to cast that first stone. (2) God loves everyone . . . no matter what they've done. As important as those two givens are, they’re not the most important things to remember here. Here’s the most important: You get to choose how you’ll respond to the things done to you.

         Let’s admit it. Everyone hurts someone sometime. If you haven’t, we need to talk honestly. Every one of us does hurtful things occasionally. What we don’t realize is that, when we hurt others, we’re also hurting ourselves. Perhaps the place to begin is to decide if you’re hurting others because of an issue or situation in your life.

         I’ve also learned that people who offer healing to others can only do so because they’ve allowed God to heal them. Maybe you’re hurting now. Will you allow God to use what happened to you for good?

         What some damaged people do is to hold on to unforgiveness until it becomes bitterness in them. And when they become bitter people, they, in turn, hurt others. We don’t have to allow that though. We have the choice to become ministers of reconciliation and to share in the sufferings of Christ! Paul, writing to the Christians at Rome said, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17).

         If you’re willing to abundantly share in the sufferings of Christ, your comfort will abound through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:5 says, “For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”

         If we remember that one of the greatest gifts we were ever given is forgiveness for all the nasty stuff we did to God, how much more so should we forgive others when they offend us! But be careful because forgiveness is rooted in love. And love is the fruit of forgiveness. Forgiveness starts with love and it results in love. We received forgiveness because God Himself who is love came to earth in the form of man (Jesus) to love us. He asks us to love others.

         My friends, the way to find healing from the hurt that someone in your church has caused is to allow love to do its greatest work in you at the moment of your greatest pain. You remember God’s kind of love, don’t you? “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

         If you've been hurt by the church or someone in the Church, I'm so very sorry that happened to you. I may not be able to fully understand what you went through, but God does. He hasn't overlooked it. He’s for you. He longs to pour out His comfort on you. He invites you to sit with Him and cry, complain or question if you need to. I pray that His love will strengthen you so you’re willing to reflect His kindness and goodness to others who need to know Him too. Won’t you allow the head of the Church, Jesus, to heal you today?

Call me anytime, if I can help you heal,

Pastor Dale

Pastor Dale (PD) and Pamela his wife are honored to serve the Mt. Laurel Church of God. If this Mid-Week Encouragement has helped you, perhaps it may encourage someone else. Feel free to share this email with anyone you choose. And if for some reason you'd like to stop receiving PD's Mid-Week Encouragement, just send me an email (kingdomguy@gmail.com) and I'll accommodate your request.