We Love God!

God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

As Christian leaders we will be required to admonish and rebuke. In fact, a good deal of time may be spent doing this work. It is an important aspect of ministry not to be neglected because it is used by God to rescue people from sin and deception. You will never know until heaven the full extent of good you have done for others by rebuking them about sin or warning them about false doctrine.
Alexander Strauch

One of the great lessons of church history is that God has used theological controversy to corporately sanctify His church as each Christian “contends earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Many crucial doctrines have been clarified and purified through respectful debate in the hermeneutical context of the universal church. Indeed, this is the very reason why God allowed controversy in the church at Corinth: “For there must also be factions (opinions) among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you” (1 Cor. 11:19). Yet to avoid the disunity of the Corinthian church, we must handle our opinions with abundant humility and grace.
John Thompson

Bible Reading: JAN05: Genesis 13-15

In today’s reading we see that Abraham did leave
Egypt and God forgave him and restored him to
fellowship. But God could not overrule the sad
consequences of the trip to Egypt. There was a loss of
time and testimony. Sarah’s maid, Hagar, came from
Egypt, and brought untold trouble to the family. Lot had
developed a taste for Egypt. Though Abraham took Lot out
of Egypt, he could not take Egypt out of Lot! How tragic
when a mature believer leads a younger Christian astray!

Are you a mature believer who is guilty of
leading others astray? Many Christians are careless in
their daily living. There is an old saying that our
actions speak louder than our words. Be assured that the
world is always watching the Christian! God forbid that
we should ever be guilty of bringing reproach upon our
Lord and Saviour. As Christians, we should carefully
guard our testimony. We are God’s children, the Holy
Spirit lives within us, and our every action should be
controlled by Him. Let’s not be guilty of leading others
astray by our careless living.