I was getting caught up on the Living Proof Blog this morning and found the last entry to be so applicable to something we were talking about in Bible study last night! Every 2 weeks, Beth and a team of blog followers memorize a new scripture and post it. This is Beth's most current memory verse. I'm not going to say much more about it, but we all undergo times in our life where there is disagreement--even among believers, and I am finding it so important we know how to handle them in a way that honors the Lord. So, I think I'll memorize this one as well...
“And the Lord’s slave must not engage in heated disputes but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth and they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:24-26 The NET Bible
This portion of Scripture and others like it seem altogether ignored or dismissed in a culture where believers stay embroiled in one heated dispute after another. Scripture tells us how to differ without ripping the fabric of our common faith to shreds. In the segment above, the Apostle Paul uses words like kindness and gentleness. When we tend to think that carnality is the only kind of sin that can keep the church from revival, we’re overlooking the steady stream of commands in the New Testament about how to treat one another. Disunity can shipwreck the whole lot of us right there on the shore of disgrace. We can even be right and fall into the chastisement of God because our hearts were wrong. May God forgive us, heal us, and help us. -Beth Moore
May the Lord bless you and grant you (and me!) the patience and kindness we need for today,
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