A spirit reflecting Christ

I just wanted to encourage a spirit of Christlikeness in our posting as others have done in the past. I have seen recently, particularly on the Sipping Saints, John MacArthur on alcohol, and Serious Call to Holiness threads, a spirit of contention. We are human. It is so easy to do. But there may be many who are reading these postings around the world who are not believers. It is not honoring to the Lord we claim to serve and follow. In many areas of doctrine, you can find good and learned men and women, even godly men and women on different sides of an issue. We may strongly believe our own position is given by God, we may present it with passion, but it should not be with condemnation or derision toward those on the other side.

My own children, who were raised on the Bible, have pointed out (they are adults now) that there seem to be either sins of behavior or sins of attitude which differ in individuals according to their personality. Those of us who would never be caught with a drink in our hand or in sins of a sexual or sensual nature, may be the most vile on the inside in our prideful, looking down our nose on others. We are all sinners in the process of sanctification once we are saved. Let us just be very careful before we post that our spirit is right and honoring to God, even if we disagree.

Good word Sister!
And a timely admonition:)

Amen sister.

Perhaps some may benefit from reading the (John Wesley) sermon I shared in this thread: https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=57661&forum=34

It's called "Catholic Spirit - Sermon 39", and it is on love and unity in Christ in spite of (or rather, irrespective of) doctrinal and practical particulars.

Here is the link: http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-39-catholic-spirit/

I found it to be a blessing.

Thanks again for sharing, sister!

I remember back before I became a
Christian that I indulged the flesh in
every way. One day at work a woman
with a long dress and her hair in a bun
came up to me with a snarl on her face
and looked at me with anger, telling me
I was going to hell. My impression was
that this woman was truly miserable as
a Christian, and at least I was having a
good time on my way to hell.

It was around that time that I attended
a meeting with some Spirit filled Catholics
that were filled with the love of God, and
the priest began to share on having a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
I was saved, filled with the Spirit, and
began to follow Jesus and devour the
Word. The Holy Spirit began to deal with
me with the things in my life that were
not pleasing to Him. I am so glad that I
did not come in the legalistic way, but
allowed the Lord to have His way, and
was taught by the Holy Spirit that God's
main purpose for my life was to be like
Jesus, and the only way that I was going
to get there was to die to self, and allow
Christ to live in me by being filled and
led by the Holy Spirit.

Excellent post, thanks for the encouragement!

I have found that very few times that I get involved in controversy here does it come out for my good. I either end up thinking more of myself than I should or I partake of a contentious spirit. Also, it often will draw me away from what is most important and I then dwell on secondary things.

That's not to say that we shouldn't stand boldly for what we are convinced of as truth; but we certainly do need to be careful of losing the Christlike spirit of humility, meekness, patience, and surrender to God's will.

Thanks again for your timely post mama, and the Lord bless you and those precious children of yours; we continue to pray for them and you.

In Christ,

I'm touched, Ron that you would still be praying. It is almost 6 long years since I first requested prayer for my prodigals. Perhaps if I had exuded a more Christlike spirit when they were growing up, and worried less about "doing it right", they would see Jesus in all His beauty and holiness rather than a list of rules. Thank you ever so much for your prayers!

@mama27 (couldn't let this pass)

"Perhaps if I had exuded more of a Christ like spirit..."

You're breaking my heart...As the mother of a prodigal I went through the self shaming and self blaming for years. You spoke almost verbatim what I used to say in my heart. God did a very deep healing on me as well as gave me understanding with peace. I pray that He does the same for you. He knows how to bring them to Himself. God is the lifter of your head sister please stay encouraged people are praying...

Amen, brother Mark.

I agree with what you said. We usually are offended when we post something maybe thinking our point of view is THE correct one and not expecting anyone to differ from us :)

It really is the HOW of when we differ that is important, that we always post with gentleness and respect and consider our brothers and sisters as more important than ourselves.

Iron sharpens iron...:)

...another thing.

Some of us, like myself, are relatively new to the forum, and not realizing that some members have a "history" with (against) each other, we get caught in the crossfire :)