Growth Treating others with respect.

[Rollo Tamasi]

I read this today in the Christian Crier;

Romans 15:7 “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

I heard a true story of a man who was obviously poor who had soiled and torn clothes that came into a church. The man came forward at the invitation but when a deacon saw that the man had a pack of cigarettes in his pocket, the deacon came up to him and took the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and crushed them and said, “Not in here!” After the services ended, the pastor came up to the same man and gave him ten dollars so that he could buy another pack of cigarettes and apologized for what the deacon had done. This pastor welcomed this man and the deacon should have also. Thankfully the man was saved anyway, despite what the deacon had done. When someone comes into our church, our home, or anywhere we might receive people; rich or poor or in any way different from us we should welcome them because they too were created in the image of God. We should welcome all people just “as Christ has welcomes [us because this is] for the glory of God.”


It is quite easy to think our agenda is more important than showing respect to others.
I am a very sensitive person and I was shown disrespect last Sunday morning by the new lead pastor and an elder at the same time.
I was hurt because I'm sensitive.
I could never retaliate.
I take it to God in prayer and he frees me from any bad feelings I have.

Please remember, any Christian,even if you think they are lower then you for some reason, is a child of God and God is not a respecter of persons.
Romans 2:11;

Let's show God our faith and give each other this Christmas the gift of respect.

 

[Papyrus_dust]

That is incredibly timely. Bless you. God forbid the enemy believes us self righteous in lending this teaching to those in Christ as we walk in our personal lives anywhere at all.

 

[for_his_glory]

They rejected Christ as Messiah for He did not come as a Priestly King full of riches. What they did not see was that Christ came into the world the High Priest of all who come in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. He was the son of a carpenter and from all places, Nazareth. A question was asked, "What good could come out of Nazareth" and the answer is, Christ the King of kings and Lord of lords, Emmanuel - God is with us. Christ is full of the riches of Gods glory as He is the greatest gift of love who shines in a world of darkness.

Glory in the highest, peace and goodwill towards men.

 

[Tatilina]

I read this today in the Christian Crier;

Romans 15:7 “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

I heard a true story of a man who was obviously poor who had soiled and torn clothes that came into a church. The man came forward at the invitation but when a deacon saw that the man had a pack of cigarettes in his pocket, the deacon came up to him and took the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and crushed them and said, “Not in here!” After the services ended, the pastor came up to the same man and gave him ten dollars so that he could buy another pack of cigarettes and apologized for what the deacon had done. This pastor welcomed this man and the deacon should have also. Thankfully the man was saved anyway, despite what the deacon had done. When someone comes into our church, our home, or anywhere we might receive people; rich or poor or in any way different from us we should welcome them because they too were created in the image of God. We should welcome all people just “as Christ has welcomes [us because this is] for the glory of God.”


It is quite easy to think our agenda is more important than showing respect to others.
I am a very sensitive person and I was shown disrespect last Sunday morning by the new lead pastor and an elder at the same time.
I was hurt because I'm sensitive.
I could never retaliate.
I take it to God in prayer and he frees me from any bad feelings I have.

Please remember, any Christian,even if you think they are lower then you for some reason, is a child of God and God is not a respecter of persons.
Romans 2:11;

Let's show God our faith and give each other this Christmas the gift of respect.

Thank you for the reminder, in these last days, we have to strive and fight to resist allowing our hearts to grown cold, especially with those who believe differently than us. Very important to always keep that in mind!

 

[Jim Parker]

Let's show God our faith and give each other this Christmas the gift of respect.

This is not HOT TOPICS edited by reba

 

[JAG ..]

I could never retaliate.
I take it to God in prayer and he frees me from any bad feelings I have.

Please remember, any Christian,even if you think they are lower then you
for some reason, is a child of God and God is not a respecter of persons.
Romans 2:11;

Let's show God our faith and give each other this Christmas the gift of
respect.

There was a time when I emphasized what we could call the "harsher" verses
of the Holy Bible. You can find 'em in there if you're looking for 'em, and you
can interpret them in such a way and then make application of your interpretation
so that you end up "feeling totally justified" in leveling harsh condemnation to other
people who say they are Christians but do not measure up to what you have decided
the Bible requires. I don't do that anymore. I quote the words of the Lord Jesus, "forgive
and you will be forgiven" and "judge not and you will not be judged" and "blessed are
the merciful for they will be shown mercy" and "blessed are the peacemakers for they will
be called children of God."

I liked the spirit of your OP and especially your words that said, " I could never retaliate.

I take it to God in prayer and he frees me from any bad feelings I have."__Allen Wynne

Christendom, 21st century, is saturated with bitter schism that in many spots embrace pure
hate and that in the name of the Lord Jesus, especially in certain spots on the Internet -- for
example some of the things that some Arminians and Calvinists say to each other in threads
on certain forums on the Internet is clearly pure hatred being expressed to fellow Christians.
And that's just the tip of the hate-berg, so to speak.

Anyway, I've learned not to do such as that. That's not a good thing to do.

God Bless.


​

 

[PeterJens]

4> Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.
5> You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,
6> who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped,
7> but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature.
8> He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross!
9> As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,
10> so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth –
Philippians 2:4-10

Caring and knowing people is important. People vary such a lot, and knowing why and how to speak to
people appropriately is a gift of love and the Holy Spirit. We are not pulling people up but serving to
help them where they are, so that when love flows from their hearts they know how to walk.

 

[JAG ..]

It is quite easy to think our agenda is more important than showing respect to others . . .

I could never retaliate.
I take it to God in prayer and he frees me from any bad feelings I have.

Please remember, any Christian, even if you think they are lower then you for some reason,
is a child of God and God is not a respecter of persons.
Romans 2:11;

Let's show God our faith and give each other this Christmas the gift of respect.

How do you personally interpret and apply these two passages from Ephesians below
to your OP?

Eph. 4:1-3
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every
effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" . . .

Eph. 4:30-32
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave
you."

There was a time when I quickly "passed over" verses like those above on my way to my
favorite "war-like verses" and to my interpretation and application of them to other people. Sure,
I gave "lip service" to practicing the truths in such verses as Eph.4:1-3 and 4:30-32, but I did not
in fact actually apply and practice them. And the New Testament is saturated with verses like those
from Ephesians up there.

Anyway, I steer towards verses like that theses days. I attribute this change of emphasis to some
personal suffering experienced over many months. I know what it is to hurt. And I now what it is to
be in constant need of mercy and grace, and so these days I'm emphasizing such as Eph. 4:1-3 and
Eph. 4:30-32.

Yet I hold the line firm on orthodoxy and do not dabble in liberalism and such as that. I'm convinced
one can "hold the line" firm and do that while practicing the truths of those 2 passages in Ephesians
and also what the Lord Jesus said, quoted earlier:

"Forgive and you will be forgiven" and "judge not and you will not be judged" and "blessed are
the merciful for they will be shown mercy" and "blessed are the peacemakers for they will
be called children of God."

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

How do you personally interpret and apply these two passages from Ephesians below
to your OP?

Eph. 4:1-3
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every
effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" . . .

Eph. 4:30-32
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave
you."

There was a time when I quickly "passed over" verses like those above on my way to my
favorite "war-like verses" and to my interpretation and application of them to other people. Sure,
I gave "lip service" to practicing the truths in such verses as Eph.4:1-3 and 4:30-32, but I did not
in fact actually apply and practice them. And the New Testament is saturated with verses like those
from Ephesians up there.

Anyway, I steer towards verses like that theses days. I attribute this change of emphasis to some
personal suffering experienced over many months. I know what it is to hurt. And I now what it is to
be in constant need of mercy and grace, and so these days I'm emphasizing such as Eph. 4:1-3 and
Eph. 4:30-32.

Yet I hold the line firm on orthodoxy and do not dabble in liberalism and such as that. I'm convinced
one can "hold the line" firm and do that while practicing the truths of those 2 passages in Ephesians
and also what the Lord Jesus said, quoted earlier:

"Forgive and you will be forgiven" and "judge not and you will not be judged" and "blessed are
the merciful for they will be shown mercy" and "blessed are the peacemakers for they will
be called children of God."

Yes, I lean o those verses now.
A few years back in a house group I emphasized the need to be peaceful and not support the governments cause to kill mass numbers of people for what we called for the sake of peace.
We send our kids over seas and tell them to serve their country and then they come back dead or broken.
At this house group, the leader asked me how I could think that way.
I thought about it for a moment and said, "I wanted to be a man of peace and God gave that to me.
I think it's something you have to want, and God will surely give it to you.

By the way, when I go into the VA for an appt., I read the American Legion magazine and whatever other publications are there, and I'm
amazed at how many soldiers come back injured and are not receiving the care they need.

 

[JAG ..]

By the way, when I go into the VA for an appt., I read the American Legion
magazine and whatever other publications are there, and I'm amazed at how
many soldiers come back injured and are not receiving the care they need.

Its reasonable to believe that something is wrong with the VA care system.

"In 2013, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs released a study that
covered suicides from 1999 to 2010, which showed that roughly 22 veterans were
dying by suicide per day, or one every 65 minutes."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_veteran_suicide

If you "google around" you can find some articles that say 35 veteran suicides per
day. That's a lot of hopelessness and a lot of despair and a lot of severe depression.

I'm not a pacifist. Pacifism is not a Biblical position. You can compellingly demonstrate
the need for a "just war" from the Holy Bible. For example, World War II was a "just
war" --- it was clear that the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) could not be stopped
with mere words. But this does not mean that war and killing ought to be glorified as it
is today by Hollywood and by many good-Conservatives as well, who have come to
thoroughly enjoy Rambo type movies and who cheer and applaud loudly when the 'bad
guys" experience a bloody gruesome death.

In Rambo type movies, the format is very predictable. First, they show you how mean
and evil the bad guys really are. You get to see them rape, torture, and pillage the
innocent people. This builds the justification for their up-coming gruesome death.
The last Rambo film I saw, the main bad guy was literally gutted like a deer at the
end --- the audience cheered and clapped. It was a bloody mess. You saw it all. Truth
is the audience would have enjoyed an even more gruesome and prolonged death for
the bad guy.

So where is the Biblical justification for getting pleasure and enjoyment from seeing
bad guys suffer horrible gruesome deaths. How does that harmonize with the Great
Commission? And with the New Testament's teaching in general?

 

[JAG ..]

We send our kids over seas and tell them to serve their country
and then they come back dead or broken.

Few Hollywood movies show you the aftermath of what war really does
to human beings. They show mostly the glorification of war. The few movies
that do show the physical aftermath of war, do it briefly mixed in with the
majority of scenes that show you the glorification and excitement of war
and its battles. Gettysburg showed some of the horror, but the movie in
general glorified was as heroic and admirable. The American Civil War
was a bloody mess. Couldn't the Christian North and the Christian South
have found some other way to settle their political disputes? The number
of dead and seriously wounded on both sides was heart-breaking for the
men and their families.

By the way, Hollywood movies are a significant military recruitment vehicle
for the American military. This is one reason why the military complex
cooperates eagerly with Hollywood in the production of its military films.

Its a sad world in certain spots and at certain times. A tour through the VA
hospitals where they take care of the most severe war casualties, is truly
heart-breaking.

World War I was one of the saddest chapters in Western history. The Christian
nations of Europe literally killed each other by the millions and millions over
political issues that were did not require the death and maim of millions and
millions of human beings.

One does not have to be a pacifist (and I'm not) in order to quote "blessed are
the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God."

War ought to be the very last choice/solution after all other efforts have failed.