Hello Everyone, Below is the latest newspaper article from Pastor Jim Frankeas for this Friday June 7th edition of the SJ Times. I hope you enjoy it! Newspaper Article: June 7th, 2013 Some people have lost their faith in church. I want to share with you some of the reasons why this is. People in general are afraid of pain, conflict, crisis of any kind. You don’t find that with the apostle Paul. Read Philippians 2: 1-5. Most interpersonal conflicts stem from turmoil, aggravation, and stress within people. Jesus said, “it is not what is on the outside of a person that defiles them but what comes out of the heart; hate, envy ; greed; and jealousy.” Most conflicts do not arise out of conflict of ideas but assumed hurts, violation of personal rights or a supposed threatening of one’s self esteem. Basically, conflict is rooted in sin, selfishness and the projecting of our unresolved feelings and expectations on to others. Many people are deluded by the poor me syndrome that pervades our society. We should especially as believers in Christ, not whine, but shine. To focus on all the blessings we have received and not the things that are seemingly difficult to us. Instead of viewing the glass half empty, lets view as half full and be thankful for what we have been graciously given. God’s help is at hand. He will mediate conflict if we will pray, worship and approach our issues knowing He loves us and cares for us. We don’t always have to be right and we don’t always have to have everything go our way. Ask the Lord to let you find a way to find middle ground in cooperating, collaborating, and emphasizing mutual goals that can bring the best in each person’s contribution without compromising truth. Many times we react out of emotional responses instead of assessing them in the light of God’s Word., prayer and Godly counsel. It is best to wait before making any major decision to be sure that the Lord is in full command of all our emotional, mental and spiritual faculties. It is too easy to react out of hand when something or someone is pushing our buttons. We need to always wait on the Lord and so that our decision is always in agreement to His Word. Often times we have selected filters that screen out things that are not to our advantage. James writes, “if anyone knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, to him it is sin.” The sins of omission are far bigger causes of the deterioration of faith than any other sin. We need to do the right thing whether we like it or not. As Christians we should be people of absolute integrity! Conflicts often come because of misinterpretations. When we take things too personally we set ourselves up to be hurt, offended or irritated. If you feel you have personally been offended go to that person privately and in most cases you will find that the person did not mean it the way it came out. That it was not the intent at all for you to be offended. But often times pride gets in the way and you keep the offense inside of you and it will grow and it turns into bitterness and unforgiveness. Conflicts come become of over generalization. Perhaps people heard of a preacher on TV. who scammed people out of money. There are those that apply “guilt by association” and assume wrongly that all churches and Christian leaders are like that. This is unfair and very judgmental, which leads some people to not trust anyone. People also like to blame others, the devil, or anyone besides themselves for their problems. Blame is never the method of any resolution. We need to always look at ourselves first in a honest way. We need always to forgive as Christ has forgiven us and to love one another as Christ loves us! Pray for others and allow God to do His job. Our job is to forgive , love, and follow the road of peace. The important thing to remember is God can give each of us greater maturity, patience, and wisdom, while we navigate through these adversities. Let us try to minimize the things that cause conflicts and know the Lord is able to work all things out if we simply humble ourselves, forgive as He forgives, Loves as He loves and focus not on the conflict but on Jesus! Jim Frankeas (Pastor of Hope Community Church in Pilesgrove) Mailing Address: PO Box 543 Swedesboro, NJ 08085
Posted on: Wed, 05 Jun 2013 20:59:10 +0000