A FEW TRUTH NUGGETS

If you take vengeance into your own hands, in that case the person already has his punishment, and you have left no room or place for God to administer his wrath.  Rom 12:18; Prov 24:17-18.


If you forgive the person, you are not letting him “off the hook” or lightening God’s discipline in his life.
But if you hate and resent him, you are not making God’s discipline any more intense.   


If your motive is to receive the praise of man, then you already have your reward…and probably will receive no more from God. 
                                                                        Matthew 6:1-8

Popularity will breed compromise if our motives are wrong, and our hearts are not pure. This is especially a problem for leaders who are well-known and popular.
If our motivation is to receive the praises of men rather than pleasing God, the day will come when we may have to choose between integrity and compromise.  Are we willing to potentially incur the disfavor of man by declaring the whole counsel of God as we know it? Or will we incur God’s displeasure by compromising the message in order to please man and save our reputation and popularity?

“For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”  Acts 20:27

“For I think God has displayed us, the apostles, last as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.”  1 Corinthians 4:9

“Then Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.’” 1 Samuel 15:24.

“How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God.” John 5:44

 

 Israel defeated Jericho, a formidable enemy of great size.  But because of sin in the camp they had a very difficult time defeating Ai, which was small and insignificant. Their story tells us the outcome of the battle depends upon our heart and not the size of the enemy. The battle will not be easy just because the enemy is small, and neither will it be hard just because the enemy is large.

The outcome depends upon our faith and obedience.

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