Charisa Stories

Tag: unity

  • Can A Divided Body Of Christ Change The World?

    My head explodes when I allow myself to wade into the political discourse between followers of Jesus Christ on Facebook, X, and other social media. There are important cultural issues that Christians need to prayerfully and gracefully seek God’s wisdom to address. What I read is rarely graceful and that makes me wonder how prayerful the messengers have been before hitting the send button. What gives you the right to judge the faith status of another believer because you disagree with them? I was wrong about many political things in my life but I did believe in Jesus (in spite of what some critics thought) and God patiently changed my heart.

    Because of the nature of social media a topic that should be thoughtfully debated instead becomes an us versus them. I can assure you that no one’s mind is changed by a name calling rant. If fact, that person is more likely to dig in even deeper to what may be incorrect opinions because of your unkind comments.

    These judgements of motives and personal attacks are so damaging to the message of grace that I hold so dear. Sometimes I try to imagine myself as a skeptical seeker looking to explore this Christianity thing. I am pretty sure if I stumbled on some of these mean-spirited threads I would run straight for the secular hills.

    The irony of this need to “win” the argument at the expense of Christian charity and love may be one more profoundly effective tactic of the enemy. The moment the Church is divided by culture instead of united in Christ is the moment our light for the message of the Gospel dims. Paul noted that God’s sovereignty can take any proclamation of the Gospel and use it for His glory.

    “It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16 They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. 17 Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18 But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.” (Phillipians 1:15-18)

    I hope that most followers of Jesus wish to communicate the incredibly liberating forgiveness of the Gospel. I hope that most of us wish to be accurate in that communication. But I also hope that most of us wish to be gracious, kind, loving, and thoughtful toward all in the body who desire to celebrate Jesus. 

    When asked what the most important commandment was Jesus replied without hesitation.

    “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”

    And he added a second part…”Be accurate and angrily make sure others are accurate at all costs.”

    Hardly.

    His convicting command is well known.

    “The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.” 

    Don’t hijack my point. Accuracy is important but you cannot love your neighbor as yourself by condescension, assigning of bad motives, and smug righteousness. 

    I wish followers of Jesus would proclaim what we are FOR more passionately than what we are against. What if we decided to spend all of our energy proclaiming that the Son of God came to earth as a human, lived a sinless life, was crucified as a sacrifice for my sin and yours and then was resurrected to show the ultimate victory over sin and death?

    What if we decided to be a little kinder, give a little more, serve a little more often, and commit to unity in our ranks?

    My concern is that the lack of unity is the single biggest problem in the universal church and, of course, in our individual fellowships. There is no more powerful community than a group of believers who live in unity. Nothing levels the playing field like genuinely following Jesus. 

    Famous preacher D.L. Moody had this warning. “I have never yet known the Spirit of God to work where the Lord’s people were divided.”

    The One that unites us is so much more important than the things that divide us. Can we commit to encountering others in grace based on our unity in Jesus Christ?
    The choice is ours.

  • Jesus Showed Us Why a Room Full of Bobbleheads Doesn’t Work

    We often wonder how to get along with a group of people who have very different personalities and backgrounds. Should we surround ourselves with people just like us so we can feel safe and unchallenged? Many leaders choose only those who agree with them. My friend Clint Hurdle shared why you must have different voices in the room or every meeting is a narcissistic waste of time. Here is Clint’s comment.

    “I would tell my staff that I could simply surround my desk with bobbleheads and tap their heads if I wanted blind agreement in the room. I would offer my plan and the bobbleheads would nod yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I’ve been that guy nodding while my heart shouted no! I’ve also had colleagues agree with me hoping to gain my favor instead of helping me make the best decision. I can’t be surrounded by bobbleheads. I need people who are going to tell me the truth. This was the consistent mantra in the room when I was the manager.”

    “Tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear.”

    Clint is releasing a new book on February 11th entitled Hurdle-isms: Wit and Wisdom from a Lifetime in Baseball. I highly recommend you purchase and enjoy the wisdom of my friend as he tells stories of life and faith.

    So what should we do when putting together a leadership team? I think we have a pretty good leadership example in Jesus as He chose his Apostles. I always tended to rush through the list of the names to get to the stories. Last week I dove into the unique group of men Jesus assembled to follow Him.

    These are the twelve he chose:

    Simon (whom he named Peter),
    James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them “Sons of Thunder”),
    Andrew,
    Philip,
    Bartholomew,
    Matthew,
    Thomas,
    James (son of Alphaeus),
    Thaddaeus,
    Simon (the zealot),
    Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him). (Mark 3, NLT)

    The first observation is that Jesus completely obliterated our tendency to be drawn to people of power, financial status, and educational prominence. If you were launching a crucial three year training program to spread the Word of God would you pick ordinary and unrefined followers to make up your team? That is who Jesus is. His choice was not defined by their status but their hearts and willingness to follow Him. He needed a different and unique skill set from each one in the group. The choice of Judas Iscariot seems so wrong but Jesus knew that the Father’s plan needed to be finished. Let’s look at the other eleven to see the how challenging this room might look without the unifying love of Jesus.

    Peter: Passionate. Impulsive and often unable to keep his mouth shut when he should. Jesus loved His heart and made this often frustrating follower a key element in the building of the church.
    Andrew: An early disciple of John the Baptist who became the first to follow Jesus and willingly introduced his older brother Peter to Jesus.
    James and John: They were sons of Zebedee who were known for their intense passion that sometimes played out as pride and anger. Wonder why Jesus tagged them the Sons of Thunder? This might be a clue.

    He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. (Luke 52-55, NLT)

    Jesus looked past the impulsive mouth of Peter and the ungodly anger of the James and John. He saw their hearts. He loved them. And they got to witness the miracle of the Transfiguration outlined in Luke 9:28-35. By the way, that was another time that Peter popped off awkwardly.

    Phillip: Not much is known about him but he knew that this was the Messiah the prophets had foretold and he shared that with Nathaniel.

    Nathaniel: He dissed the community of Nazareth (John 1:46-51, NLT) yet Jesus recognized his heart as a man of complete integrity.

    Matthew: How about this addition? A man hated by the Jews for abusing his fellow countrymen with unfair taxation and loyalty to the Romans. Again, pretty sure that would not happen if I were assembling a team but Jesus saw his unique potential to spread the message of the Gospel.

    Thomas: When you bring in a person nicknamed “Doubting Thomas” you have obviously not secured a bobblehead. His tough questions and seeking of truth were invaluable to the trust of others.

    James the Less: Probably not the title I would desire but He was chosen by Jesus. We will find out some day exactly the impact this humble servant had.

    Simon the Zealot: A passionate activist is the kind of person that many of us avoid today. Jesus knew if he transferred that passion to the message of redemption and forgiveness he would be an invaluable asset.

    Judas, Son of James: We don’t know much about him except he grew impatient with the Lord sharing His truths (John 14:22) with the Apostles and not more openly with the world. I am sure he figured it out after the Resurrection.

    What a group! Would you think this odd mix of men would be the kind of leadership team that could lead well and make a difference for eternity? My view from afar would be absolutely not. What caused this ragamuffin group to begin the revival that is still changing the world?

    The love of Jesus.

    And the unity they shared when they saw God’s plan for salvation completed with the trial, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. These common men unified by Jesus proclaimed the Gospel fearlessly.

    Jesus showed us how to love and get along with a challenging group. You need honesty, trust, love, the willingness to listen, and accountability. That is incredibly difficult without a point of unity. Paul told us what that point of unity must be.


    “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.”
    ‭‭(1 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

    We have that ability to be unified in Christ. Can those of us who differ on some issues focus on that? I wonder what a difference we could make. Those eleven (plus a later addition) made a pretty good difference.

  • Want a Healthy Community? Focus on the Last Five Letters of the Word.

    One of the 7 Core Values of my church is Community. I was blessed to speak on that value this week at Waterbrook Bible Fellowship. Here is the statement about Community from our church website.

    Genuine biblical community means living in caring relationships that are guided by biblical truth and grounded in spiritual accountability. We value real community, and yes, we know how messy and hard it is. But, we also know that real and lasting life-change—spiritual transformation—primarily occurs in the unity and diversity of authentic relationships.

    Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus about living in community in the power of the Spirit. Note that he wrote these caring words while in jail for the “crime” of serving the Lord. His heart for his people overshadowed his difficult circumstance.

    Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all. (Ephesians 4:1-6 NLT)

    We have been called by God to be humble, gentle, patient, and forgiving of each other’s faults because of love. Then Paul reminds us that the Lord is our source of unity.

    Community is a basic human need. Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman and CEO, saw that need. When he joined Starbucks, he wanted to create a place for human connection, conversation, and one that fostered a sense of ­community – a third place between work and home. That was the genesis of one of the most successful business models in history.

    One of the places that used to be the third place between work and home was the church. For many, it still is a community that matters, but sadly for some, church is a place that has lost its appeal. Why did that happen?

    The church shares some of the blame for not aggressively proclaiming the amazing nature of grace. We allowed the proclamation of what we are against to be the face of the church instead of the Gospel message that gives us hope. We talked about the repulsiveness of sin instead of the forgiveness of sin that leads to peace and joy.

    We have somehow proffered the narrative that church requires individuals to undergo a begrudging moral cleanup to be worthy of inclusion in our club. The attractiveness of the church should be that you don’t have to shape up and you don’t have to clean up. We just want you to show up and learn about the redemptive power of the Gospel.

    All of us want a place where we are accepted. We are designed for community, and the church needs to realize that it must be a place of teaching and honest reproach but, perhaps more importantly, a place of refuge, grace, and safety. A walk-in clinic for messy seekers and messy Christians. The truth is that all of us are messy. If many people honestly relayed the condition of their souls, as soon as they walked in the door, they would be triaged with a code blue of love, concern, and prayer.

    The writer of Hebrews encourages us to lean fully into God’s love, and from that base we can love others.

    24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25, NLT)

    The concept of thinking of ways to motivate others to acts of love and good works is wonderful. But just thinking about it isn’t enough. We have to come together in community for it to work effectively. And nothing should level the playing field like embracing the teachings of Jesus. He cares not a whit about color, status, resume, income, or appearance. Jesus looks only on the heart. Would Jesus hear the ugly words of a hurting person or the desperate tone of their need? Would He condemn the sin or embrace the sinner and whisper gently in their ear that there is a better way? Of course, there are consequences to sin, made ever more clear when we turn on the news every day. But the truth is that all of us are sinners. We need to share the hope and joy of living in Christ.

    Building a loving and grace filled community is also based on this important truth.

    Loving everyone who enters our doors does not mean we accept all their behavior.

    May I repeat that?

    Loving everyone who enters our doors does not mean we accept all their behavior.

    The Jesus Revolution began when people involved in all kinds of wrong behavior were accepted, loved, and taught the Gospel. From that came the biggest revival of my lifetime.

    Paul wrote about the need for unity.

    I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. (1 Corinthians 1:10, NLT)

    We need to be unified in Christ. You can’t spell Community without unity. I am grateful that Scripture recognizes our need for one another on this journey. Share your journey with your brothers and sisters in Christian community. I know that some have tried and been wounded. Some have tried and been ignored. I have been there too. I encourage you (make that plead with you) to not give up. Pray for those connections. We are created to live in community and it isn’t easy. Worthwhile endeavors rarely are.

    You can hear the entire message on Community by clicking here.

  • Color Shouldn’t Matter ‘Cause We All Bleed the Same

    It was so sad to hear of the passing of the incredibly talented singer Mandisa. I remembered a duet from Mandisa and TobyMac that touched me deeply. They addressed the heartbreaking issue of racism and political division that affects our culture and often impacts the church.

    These lyrics immediately grabbed my heart.

    Are you left?
    Are you right?
    Pointing fingers, taking sides
    When are we gonna realize?

    We all bleed the same
    We’re more beautiful when we come together
    We all bleed the same
    So tell me why, tell me why
    We’re divided.

    Why indeed? I am praying for another leader like Martin Luther King Jr who will remind us that hateful rhetoric never, ever, ever changes a heart. 

    Followers of Christ have a message of hope and light that is desperately needed. But we can get caught up in the politics of our world and snuff out that light. I have been guilty of that in my journey at times.

    I fear our culture will get darker in the days and months ahead. Followers of Christ have to make a decision. We can decide to complain that Christians are no longer respected and valued in the culture. Or we can decide to show the kind of kindness, forgiveness, grace, and love that early Christians demonstrated to change a hostile culture. Christianity really functions best as the underdog. We can ask God to give us the strength and grace to be a light in the darkness.

    What does that mean? What message makes a difference? During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods’ appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the rumpus about?” he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”

    Perhaps the fact that grace and forgiveness are rare commodities in this society is a big reason we see such anger and hopelessness.

    Our natural reaction to those who denigrate our faith is to strike back. Jesus knew this would happen and He had some very radical instructions.

    “But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:27-28,  NET)

    I wonder what God could do if we followed those words?  And if we remembered that we all created in the image of God but our different experiences and stories can divide us. They don’t have to.

    If we’re gonna fight
    Let’s fight for each other
    If we’re gonna shout
    Let love be the cry
    We all bleed the same
    So tell me why, tell me why
    We’re divided

    My prayer is that we do not focus on the multitude of political issues that divide us but on the one healing name that can unite us.

    Jesus.

    His blood was shed on the Cross for all races. If we believe that then why are we divided? We don’t need to be if we keep our eyes on the Cross.

  • Winning Takes More than Talent

    Putting together a roster in major league baseball that makes the playoffs is incredibly difficult. The 162 game season is a brutal grind. There can be lots of friction during that long regular season. Even the best teams can have embarrassing performances. Players and teams have hot and cold streaks. Obviously the most important ingredient is talent but there are a couple of other factors that help make a winning franchise.

    One of the most important things that winning teams understand is that every teammate brings strengths and weaknesses to the team. A great team celebrates the strengths of each player and works together to offset the weaknesses. I pondered this as I was reading about the career of New York Yankee player Joe Gordon. In 1942 Gordon led the American League in strikeouts. He made more errors that year than any other second baseman. He hit into more double plays than anyone in the league. By dwelling on those stats we could surmise that the New York Yankees were looking for a new second baseman for the following year. But there was one mitigating factor that caused them to reconsider.

    Joe Gordon won the American League Most Valuable Player for that season.

    In spite of the flaws mentioned above Joe Gordon had a great season. He batted .322, fourth in the AL, with 18 homers and 103 runs batted in. Gordon teamed with Phil Rizzuto to lead the league in double plays turned defensively. In 1942 Joe Gordon was deemed to be the MVP of the league despite some weaknesses in his game. Great managers and good teammates know that every player has strengths and every player has weaknesses.

    And that is the lesson I was thinking about for the church. Too often we dwell on the weakness and not the gifts that God has given others. Or we acknowledge the gifts but make sure to note the weaknesses. All of us are a mix of gifts and flaws. The first mention of spiritual gifts is in Paul’s letter to the Roman church.

    I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. (Romans 1:11)

    Paul wants to use his spiritual gifts to strengthen and encourage others. I believe that every single Christian is given spiritual gifts. We are given those gifts for many reasons but two of the primary ones are to glorify God and strengthen one another. But I wonder if we sometimes look at our spiritual gifts as something that we exercise for our personal fulfillment. I am sure Joe Gordon often struck out when his team needed a hit. But his teammates (and the rest of the league) saw his gifts. Base runners batted in and key home runs hit. A vital double play turned and great range at his position. That is what made him valuable to a winning team. His strengths were vital to the team winning. His flaws were compensated by the team working in unity toward the goal of the World Series.

    Do we do that in the church? Or do we choose to focus on the flaws of others? The World Series is a wonderful goal but it pales in comparison to the goal that Jesus challenged us to pursue.  Do we understand what it means to be unified for the common goal expressed so succinctly in the Gospel of Matthew?

    Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20)

    That is the game plan. Each of us has been given gifts to contribute. Each of us has flaws. Can we pray that we will be mature enough to focus on Who unites us instead of what divides us? Even the MVP of the American League had shortcomings. So will the pastor, elder, committee member, and volunteer as we pursue the Great Commission of Christ.

    There is another thing that winning teams understand. You don’t have to be best friends with everyone on the team but you do have to be united for the common goal of the team. Jesus prayed for unity for those who follow Him.

    May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. (John 17:23, NLT)

    We have been given extraordinary gifts of grace. Spiritual gifts. Forgiveness. Partnership with the Father through Jesus. And then he outlines how we should respond in unity.

    I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
    (I Corinthians 1:10)

    My prayer is simple.

    God give us the grace to be unified as a team for your glory. Teach us to use our gifts to strengthen one another and glorify you. Give us the strength to be a good teammate  and the humility to believe that it cannot be about me for the team to succeed. Give me the desire to be a good teammate in the body of Christ. Teach me to see and exalt the gifts of my brothers and sisters even if they compete with my own talents. And especially teach me to be graceful with the flaws of others. We are all gifted and we are all flawed. A unified team understands that truth. Help us to do the same for the sake of the body of Christ.

    Amen.

  • A Recipe for Revival


    When I got serious about following Jesus there was a song we sang regularly at gatherings.

    We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
    We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
    And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
    And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
    Yeah they’ll know we are Christians by our love

    What a difference the body of Christ would make in today’s contentious world if we believed and lived these very simple words.

    We are one in the spirit.

    There should be no separation by wealth, color, talent, or power. We are one in Jesus.

    We pray that our unity
    will one day be restored.

    We are still praying that today. It is not a difficult concept to understand how important unity is to achieve any goal. Can a team of self-centered football players win a championship? A team needs to have one unified focus to achieve success. How much more important is unity in the body of Christ as we seek eternal goals? Certainly one of the enemies primary strategies is to create disunity. The frustrating thing is how we can become disunified over issues that would be incredibly embarrassing and humbling if Jesus appeared in person and asked what our problem was.

    “Well, uhhhh, we were arguing about how the church should respond to (fill in the blank).”

    I can picture the person squirming as Jesus looks into their eyes and, even more uncomfortably, into their hearts. When we forget the forgiveness, love, patience, and grace of God we lose our unity. And social issues become giant chasms of division that cause people to run away from our message.

    My friend Pete Jung shared a quote with me from John Alan Turner that is also uncomfortably convicting.

    “It’s hard to convince people that a God they can’t see loves them, when a church they can see doesn’t seem to like them.”

    Ouch.

    Paul wrote to a divided Corinthian Church with an admonition. But he began by reminding them of their blessings.

    4 I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. 5 Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. 6 This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. 7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (I Corinthians 1:4-10, NLT)

    We have been given extraordinary gifts of grace. Spiritual gifts. Forgiveness. Partnership with the Father through Jesus. And then he outlines how we should respond in unity.

    10 I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

    How will they know we are followers of Jesus in a life-changing way? Jesus makes it clear.

    35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35, NLT)

    That is how the early church changed the culture and that is the only way Christians can impact the divided world we live in. It ain’t happening through Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook. Jesus is the ultimate influencer and His words are eternal.

    “Your love for another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

    Love for one another and unity in Jesus is the recipe for revival. And they will know we are Christians by our love.

  • No Matter How Many Years We Live We’re Only Here for a Little While

    This life is just the warmup act for followers of Jesus. A classic tune from the Righteous Brothers reflects my hope.

    If you believe in forever,
    Then life is just a one-night stand.

    Those lyrics reminded me that even if you hit triple digits on the age odometer this journey is still an eternal blink of the eye. Your significance is not how long but how well you live your life. Not how much fame or money you gain but what you do with time you are given.

    This weekend a song popped up on satellite radio called “We’re Only Here for a Little While”. Billy Dean is singing about leaving a funeral and recognizing his need to slow down and enjoy the everyday blessings of life. He decides to become intentional about doing the things that matter instead of worrying and tweeting about things that don’t amount to a hill of beans in eternity. 

    Gonna hold who needs holdin’
    Mend what needs mendin’
    Walk what needs walkin’
    Though it means an extra mile
    Pray what needs prayin’
    Say what needs sayin’
    Cause we’re only here for a little while.   

    That is a pretty good to do list to live a life that makes a difference. Being present with those you love. Forgiving AND asking to be forgiven. Taking your journey with Jesus seriously. Understanding and practicing the power of prayer. Speaking the truth in grace and love. The last lyric is the one that is most fraught with danger. We often find it easy to say what we think needs to be said. It is such a difficult thing to speak truth into the life of someone who is determined to go their own way. Perhaps a gigantic how to clue is embedded in a verse from the Gospel of John.

    Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory—the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father. (John 1:14, NET)

    Jesus was full of grace and truth. Most of us are full of truth or we are full of some variation of that. I suspect in God’s wisdom, grace comes first because we have a far harder time communicating with grace. I am often willing to be “honest” and tell you where you are wrong. Doing that with grace and truth requires me to love you and to be vulnerable. Jesus modeled a perfectly balanced blend of grace and truth.

    That is my prayer as I engage those who have made mistakes and are suffering the consequences of those decisions. I pray that I will always present truth as a gift of grace from a loving God instead of performance demands in order to be acceptable to Him. The following principle is nearly always true.

    Truth presented as law hardens hearts. 
    Truth presented with grace changes hearts.

    When we meditate on the grace given to us as a free gift by our gracious God we can can begin to model Paul’s words to the church at Ephesus.

    Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. (Ephesians 4:15, NLT)

    Meditate on Paul’s words and remember we are only here for a little while. That would help us worry a little more about the things that matter for eternity. And focus on the One who can unite us.