Luke 17:1-4

¹ And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! ²It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. ³ Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, ⁴ and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

luke 17:1-4

The past few days, i've really come to realize that when reading his Word you need to be extremely focus. Its never a one-time read kinda thing. You have to read it once, read it again, and read it again. There are lines that you may not get at first, second, or third glance, but you really have to break it down.

Here are the main points I got out of the passage.

being the one that causes others to sin is worse that "drowning yourself in the ocean" (as used in the passage). As brothers and sisters in Christ, we should be working together and supporting each other in spirit and in love. Not pulling each other down. After reading this, i immediately thought of Kelly's talk about dress code at semi formal events. Girls should not be wearing short dresses, or low cut dresses that can easily be temptations for guys. Thinking about it, i really hope im not doing anything that causes others to sin, and if i am i hope im notified about it and i'll do my best to change it.

forgive. Christ forgave and loved us first and we must also learn to do so. Like the passage says, if they confess and repent, we must forgive. Dont hold a grudge towards others, like it says in Ephesians 4:26. One may turn on you, and backstab you over and over again, but if they truly confess, learn to forgive. Even though you forgive, i dont think you still have to be their friend and place your trust in them, but ensure you are both on good terms.

At War?

The Same Spirit at Work

Jon Walker

“For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:18 NIV)

A time long ago and in a land far away, I found myself frustrated one day with a co-worker. Actually, frustrated is a mild word because, as my sweet southern aunts might say, I perceived this co-worker as contrary.

Just to be clear: I’m no choirboy, either.

In a Cold War sense, there were fights and quarrels between us, both wanting something, but neither one of us able to get it. Jesus’ brother, James, says this sort of conflict is evidence of ungodly desires (James 4:1–2). I realized that at the core of my frustration was our inability to get along, even though “the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, jealously longs for us to be faithful” (James 4:5 NLT).

This is what God whispered into my ear: “The same Spirit at work in you is the same Spirit at work in him.”

Did you catch that? The same Spirit at work in you is the same Spirit at work in him.

Is there another believer with whom you have trouble getting along? Remember, the same Spirit at work in you is the same Spirit at work in him or her.

This year, what will you do to try and bring peace between you and this person?

Conflicts, we're always in them. Whether it may be with family, with friends, with yourself. They can be small conflicts over who's the pick up the phone or big conflicts that can cause destructive consequences. According to this devotional, it states that when these conflicts arise, it is evidence of ungodly desires. This does make sense. Whenever we're in conflict we have a desire for something, something for us to go our way. For instance, when the phone rings and you're arguing with someone else to pick it up, you yourself dont want to move, you want keep on doing what you wanna do. Its just you you you you. These are not godly desires. The passage (James 4) speaks about dealing with worldly things, within the scripture it even says "flirting with the world" God is a jealous lover, he wants you to be faithful, so when we "fight" with others, there are no godly desires present, and becomes something God isnt pleased with.

This is an interesting line. “The same Spirit at work in you is the same Spirit at work in him.” The same people you have conflicts with have the same spirit as you. What does that even mean. Thinking about it, here's my stab. Like we're somehow all connected? What do you think? comment below.

Are you in conflict with anyone? Are your desires aligned with Christ's? Or are they selfish desires? Are you "at war"? How are you going to re-establish that peace with them?

this was a more difficult one to understand,

Jason