I made a similar post a couple of years ago, but thinking back now, I find it interesting how I haven’t progressed much spiritually…..anyways, still, I wonder.....
What if I absolutely refused to attend the retreat 5 years ago? What if I decided to take off with my cousin during the 2nd day, how if I never received salvation after feeling convicted, who will I be today? Would I even be alive today?
Close your eyes, picture yourself at a party. You're having fun and a fight breaks out, this bald, stocky, drunk and enraged jerk ruins the party for everyone by the ever so typical, “what are you looking at?” phrase, which inevitably lead to the initial confrontational vibe. He then continued to talk crap, even after the other guy initially passed on the confrontation. The idiot starts thinking he’s tough, which is noticed by another guy who had been scoping him out throughout the night because he happened to be a fellow “tough guy”, surrounded by 5 of his friends. The other guy rises up from the crowd of his friends and chucks a beer bottle at him, the idiot retaliates by grabbing a metal bar stool and swings it wildly, aiming recklessly and before you realize it, the metal stool he swings hits your face, you black out for a second, you open your eyes and notice your nose is bleeding profusely, you black out again, and an ambulance comes and takes you to a local hospital. You get looked at by the ER physician to find out you have a broken nose and will be needing an eye patch for the next 3 weeks from your "orbital muscles"(http://www.99main.com/~charlief/Blindness.htm) being "damaged". Damn party pooper.
On the bright side, you happened to be a Christian, and your church family is there to support you, even visiting you at home and offering prayers. As you sit in your room after all the church people leave, you start thinking about why this happened and try to recollect messages from the past to help raise up your spirits.
You sit there and think about the sermon from the past week, you think about the great fellowship you had. And it all becomes blurry, you slowly become enraged, you're overtaken by the thought of hatred. You remember the guy at the party that caused all this. You hate this guy with all your passion. Your heart actually feels physical pain because you hate this guy.
Now, picture that guy as me. I just very well may be that guy today. There's a lot of guys like that out there, guys who've yet to be awaken to the truth. Guys who outwardly display their resentment and discontentment in the world they live in because of their inward insecurities. Before, I get caught up with blabbbing on and on, i'll just stop this here. The point i'm trying to make is this, don't be too quick to judge those that curse you or make you feel bad. Have love for him/her, have sympathy, but most of all, pray for him/her with all your heart. This should be an impulse that comes without saying if you have accepted Christ in your heart. That guy can be used preciously by God.
Passage from last night's fellowship:
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 (NIV)
....Hurry up, slow down, and chill.
God will do, wut he gots to do.
God Bless.
Jimmy
What if I absolutely refused to attend the retreat 5 years ago? What if I decided to take off with my cousin during the 2nd day, how if I never received salvation after feeling convicted, who will I be today? Would I even be alive today?
Close your eyes, picture yourself at a party. You're having fun and a fight breaks out, this bald, stocky, drunk and enraged jerk ruins the party for everyone by the ever so typical, “what are you looking at?” phrase, which inevitably lead to the initial confrontational vibe. He then continued to talk crap, even after the other guy initially passed on the confrontation. The idiot starts thinking he’s tough, which is noticed by another guy who had been scoping him out throughout the night because he happened to be a fellow “tough guy”, surrounded by 5 of his friends. The other guy rises up from the crowd of his friends and chucks a beer bottle at him, the idiot retaliates by grabbing a metal bar stool and swings it wildly, aiming recklessly and before you realize it, the metal stool he swings hits your face, you black out for a second, you open your eyes and notice your nose is bleeding profusely, you black out again, and an ambulance comes and takes you to a local hospital. You get looked at by the ER physician to find out you have a broken nose and will be needing an eye patch for the next 3 weeks from your "orbital muscles"(http://www.99main.com/~charlief/Blindness.htm) being "damaged". Damn party pooper.
On the bright side, you happened to be a Christian, and your church family is there to support you, even visiting you at home and offering prayers. As you sit in your room after all the church people leave, you start thinking about why this happened and try to recollect messages from the past to help raise up your spirits.
You sit there and think about the sermon from the past week, you think about the great fellowship you had. And it all becomes blurry, you slowly become enraged, you're overtaken by the thought of hatred. You remember the guy at the party that caused all this. You hate this guy with all your passion. Your heart actually feels physical pain because you hate this guy.
Now, picture that guy as me. I just very well may be that guy today. There's a lot of guys like that out there, guys who've yet to be awaken to the truth. Guys who outwardly display their resentment and discontentment in the world they live in because of their inward insecurities. Before, I get caught up with blabbbing on and on, i'll just stop this here. The point i'm trying to make is this, don't be too quick to judge those that curse you or make you feel bad. Have love for him/her, have sympathy, but most of all, pray for him/her with all your heart. This should be an impulse that comes without saying if you have accepted Christ in your heart. That guy can be used preciously by God.
Passage from last night's fellowship:
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 (NIV)
....Hurry up, slow down, and chill.
God will do, wut he gots to do.
God Bless.
Jimmy
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