Corona Devo 1701

We're in this together as Believers.  

This walk-of-faith...complete with slip-ups and stumbles, and even all out brawls.  

We're human, and our fleshly desires take over and we fall to sin sometimes.  We all do.  But our brothers and sisters in Christ...our true brothers and sisters in Christ: they pick us back up again and remind us what God says about us (we're forgiven if we repent) and they get us back on the path that leads to the Lord, one step at a time.  

And sometimes they stand in our path verbally, physically, or spiritually...in an attempt to correct us in Christ.  

This is accountability within the family of God (AKA the church), and being-here-for-each-other, and sometimes setting-each-other-straight: that's what family does for each other: blood-family and blood-of-Christ family.    

We're in this together as Believers.  

If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.  All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.  ~I Corinthians 12:26-27

~~~

And (did we know) that the Lord even has a little "how to" listing in Matthew 18 pertaining to how we should go about handling a sin slip-up/stumble/or brawl:

“If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 

(16) But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 

(17) If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.  ~Matthew 18:15-17     

Handle things one-on-one first.  (And I noticed that the Bible mentions nothing about gossiping/"sharing" the issue with others to "get them on our side" before going directly to the person involved.  Just go to the person involved.)

And if this doesn't work, bring a couple other Christians with you.  Sometimes an intervention is necessary and helpful in allowing someone to see their sin.

And finally, involve your church.  These people are in Godly authority, and they will have insight and experience in corralling wayward and even lost sheep.  

These steps are God's way for us to handle sin (wayward activity) amongst the family of God.

But sometimes (apparently), He allows us a little creative license...and His will is still accomplished.

~~~

The other night at a high school football game, our daughter was doing what many students do at high school football games: paying (absolutely) no attention to the game, and all attention to friends.  

But then her attention turned to one specific friend who was riled up and very angry: he was actively engaged in pushing a couple other kids.  

A (well-meaning) boy restrained the fired-up boy and moved him away from the fight.  But upon being released, the first boy ran back and re-engaged in attempts to hurt the other kids.  

Our daughter is friends with the child who was raging.  His mom and grandparents are Christians and he used to faithfully come to her after school Bible group, but he hasn't come in quite a while.  

He (like many of us), knows the Lord, but that night at the game, he wasn't acting like himself.  (Apparently a couple kids had pushed him and hit him, and now he was in retaliation.  But--someone was going to hurt, and someone else was on their way to a school suspension.)

After the first attempt to cool her friend down was unsuccessful, and as she watched him actively attempting to hurt other kids, our daughter entered the situation.  She grabbed her friend's arm and locked eyes with him.  When she spoke it was with authority, "Stop the fighting.  This isn't you.  You are better than this, (his name), and I don't want to see you fighting anymore."

His reply came quickly, and was the opposite of what I expected.

"Okay.  I'm sorry."

They had a little more discussion, and then the group of kids broke up and the game was ending.  

When our daughter got to our car and shared the story, she was shaking.  She knew she had reached him.  

As she chattered about these details, a text buzzed in on her phone from the boy she had engaged with: 

Hey I'm sorry for what I did, I know you might not know the full story, and I know it might not matter but I'm sorry.  I know he's only a 6th grader and that's my fault, but I was only defending myself.  I know that pushing him was a wrong way to deal with it and I'm sorry I won't do it again.

~~~

Well--she didn't follow God's how-to guide to dealing with believers-in-sin, but I think maybe God has flexibility sometimes.  And the bottom line is that we're in this together as Believers, and we need each other.

Sometimes I get off God's track, and I need you to hold me accountable.

Sometimes you get off God's track, and you need me to hold you accountable.  

God knows that, and as brothers and sisters in Christ, He built us to work that way:  

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.  ~Proverbs 27:17

~~~

Do we need sharpened today?  

Do we have a friend who needs sharpened?

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  ~James 5:16

~~~

It's no secret: we're in this together (as Believers), and God has given us His Word to instruct us on what steps to take as we hold our brothers and sisters accountable.  And He has also given us liberties in doing so.  

To Him be all the glory, and may He direct our steps today as to how we fit into His story.  Amen. 

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com