The Word for Today
With Bob Gass

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Showing Grace (2) He gives more grace. - James 4:6

An old Quaker bought a cantankerous dairy cow and every milking session became a battle of wills. Determined to demonstrate grace under fire the old man refused to react when Bessie stomped on his foot, whipped him in the face with her tail, and knocked over the milk bucket. Finally she kicked him against the barn wall and that did it! Glowering, he growled, "Thou knowest I'm a Quaker and cannot strike thee back - but I can surely sell thee to a another farmer!"

When you are the injured party, it's hard to be gracious and finish the job at hand. That's when you need "more grace," and to keep in mind a few important principles:

• Conflicting viewpoints help you to grow. If you've ever been around teenagers you can relate. They're experts at coming up with unconventional, off-the-wall opinions that challenge you and keep you honest.

• Never resort to character assassination. Disagreeing is one thing, destroying somebody is another. Some of the most vicious personal attacks, public and private, have been waged over religion and politics. If you must fight, fight fair.

• When you lose, take it on the chin. Instead of endlessly rehearsing old grievances, "Help others with encouraging words; don't drag them down by finding fault" (Ro 14:14-19 TM).

• Sometimes it's necessary to go separate ways. When Paul and Barnabas argued over whether or not John Mark should travel with them, "There followed a sharp disagreement between them" (Acts 15:39 AMP). End of story? No, just the beginning of two different ministries!

So be gracious! What's happening to you right now may well be God's way of moving you into a new area of blessing.

SoulFood Bible Readings: Isa 11:1-10, Lk 1:39-56

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This message from The Word for Today came from Rhema Broadcasting Group Incorporated in association with The Vine, New Zealand. "The Word for Today"® is copyright © Bob Gass Ministries.

Used under 'limited copy' permission by:

The Word for Today
With Bob Gass

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Showing Grace (1) Let your conversation be gracious. - Colossians 4:6 NLT

Even when you try to "live at peace with everyone" (Ro 12:18 NIV):

1. Conflicts will still arise. After all, life would be boring if we all marched to the same drumbeat. That's why there are so many coffee flavours and political opinions! You don't have to concede or compromise your values, but it costs no more to be tactful and gracious than it does to be critical and caustic. And that's especially true when correction is called for.

   Paul says, "If a Christian is overcome by...sin, you who are Godly...humbly help him back onto the right path" (Gal 6:1 TLB).

2. Even Christians won't always agree. Chuck Swindoll writes: "When I was younger I couldn't understand how two people who loved the Lord and believed the Bible, could come to different conclusions. In my two-by-four thinking I was convinced that all Godly minds held to identical conclusions... I soon discovered that there weren't only various opinions, but God had the audacity to bless those who disagreed with me.... [He] isn't nearly so narrow-minded as many of His people... God's much easier to live with... tolerant... full of more grace and forgiveness than all of us."

Every perspective has some merit. When you grow up in a home that functions on a right versus wrong justice scale, the person who's 'right' gets praised while the one who's 'wrong' gets put down. And that's a pity because generally it's not an "I'm-right-and-you're-wrong" issue, as much as an "I-see-it-this-way-and-you-see-it-that-way" issue.

So before you go to war ask yourself, "What's more important, my need to correct or my need to connect? Can I let somebody else be 'right' sometimes, without injecting my opinion?"

SoulFood Bible Readings: 2 Ti 1-4, Jn 19:30-42, Ps 128, Pr 31:10-13

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Tell your friends about The Word For Today e-mail service. If you've been encouraged by The Word for Today, then your friends will be too. NZ - Click here, UK - Click here.

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This message from The Word for Today came from Rhema Broadcasting Group Incorporated in association with The Vine, New Zealand. "The Word for Today"® is copyright © Bob Gass Ministries.

Used under 'limited copy' permission by: