Monthly Archives: July 2017

Will women get along?

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It isn’t a mystery that women often have difficulty getting along with other women. The entertainment business makes billions turning women into combatants.

Anyone who has worked with females in schools or in the workplace has likely seen the carnage that can result from squabbling women. Supervisors can spend an inordinate amount of time brokering peace among them.

God’s people have not been immune to this truth and countless souls have been lost, as a result. God’s people have dealt with squabbling since creation. Sadly, very often it occurs because women are arguing, gossiping or jockeying for position.

Some well-known examples from Scripture are:

Sarah and Hagar (Genesis 16).

The wives of Jacob(Genesis 29-30).

Hannah and Peninnah (1 Samuel 1:1-7).

Euodia and Syntyche (Philippians 4:2-5).

“And besides they learn to be idle,

wandering about from house to house, and not

only idle but also gossips and busybodies,

saying things which they ought not” (1

Timothy 5:13, NKJV).

Women and men of God must rise above this type of behavior and be good examples. Men have been destroyed by pride and machismo for as long as humans have been on earth. Both genders have their weaknesses.

However, Christians are called to something better.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but

be transformed by the renewing of your mind,

that you may prove what is that good and

acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans

12:2).

“Therefore, having these promises, beloved,

let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness

of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness

in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

Women and men of God must:

See souls rather than sins.

Separate people from their weaknesses.

Never forget who we are as saints.

We cannot bring fleshly problems into the Lord’s Church. His kingdom has a new way of living and thinking. Become dedicated students of God’s Word, to learn how we ought to conduct ourselves in the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:1).

When Christians will not follow this advice and insist on starting trouble, pray for them and refuse to participate in their sin.

Sadly, far too often, spineless husbands are afraid to anger their wives so they allow them to persist in their sins. Both of them are doing the devil’s work!

When will God’s people grow up and truly make a difference in the world?

by Richard Mansel

That decision will fall to us. Which will we pick?

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Each of us is awaiting a trial that will decide our eternal fate. Each moment, we grow closer to the decision and the verdict. When it comes, there will not be an appeals process. No higher court exists nor can we lie or depend upon our legal team to circumvent the law.

In this courtroom, neither skin color, heritage, wealth, prestige or our network of associates will have any bearing on the decision. Exhaustive research on rare court cases will be pointless because we will not even have a lawyer. We will stand, bare and alone, before the bright lights and burning vision of the judge.

Every person will have their own trial and it cannot be avoided. Every thought and action of our lives will be available to the court. We will be unable to hide or shirk this responsibility. The floor will not swallow us nor can we flee.

The judge will be gracious, merciful and patient. Yet, he will be bound to the law (John 12:48), and the inescapable result, the one we have chosen. As strange as it sounds, we will decide our own fate. However, not in the way we may imagine.

In this courtroom, Christ will be the judge (2 Corinthians 5:10; John 5:22) but we will be judged by the works that we have done, ones that have been faithfully recorded by God (Revelation 20:12). Our own lives will seal our fate.

When the verdict is read, we will either enter heaven or be doomed to hell (Matthew 25:31-46). The end will be upon us and we will feel the ultimate joy or the ultimate nightmare. The extremes cannot be more stark or vivid.

Which will we decide? All of us would choose heaven but most of us will live for hell (Matthew 7:13-14). Christ is full of grace, mercy and longsuffering (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; 2 Peter 3:9). Yet, we will make the decision by allegiance. Our actions and attitudes will decide whether we have chosen Christ or Satan.

Christ has all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3), but he demands that we give up everything for him (Mark 8:34; Romans 12:1-2). Christ has given us all that we need but he cannot make us choose him.

That decision will fall to us. Which will we pick?

by Richard Mansel