Mighty To Save

God's love is soo good. : )

I just wanted to share a story that happened yesterday (it's a new A.M. now).

I started working with my dad in March this year. Every day since I've been working there, there's this guy who rents out half of my dad's warehouse/garage/shop, so his office is right next to us. He always comes in and out of our office, but the most we've spoken to each other is "hello". But even with such a short word and not knowing him at all, I've felt a burden to pray for him for these 7 months. Though I never got to it cause I still wasn't sure if God was calling me to be a "prayer warrior" for him.

This past Wednesday as I was reversing out of the driveway of work, I was saying to myself "I really feel like I need to pray for this guy now...". I still wanted confirmation from God though...

So yesterday (Thursday), I got to work and sat down in this chair in my dad's office. The guy was in or came and sat in the chair next to me, and he and my dad started talking. Then my dad gets up and walks outside, so now it's just me and this guy in silence. I was nervous because I wanted to say something about God but didn't know how to bring it up. So as I was panicking in my mind, he starts speaking to me. He asks "Do you go to school?" and I said no. Then he asks "What do you do?". First I answered "I work here..." then the light bulb in my mind went on and I realized this was the opening I needed so I added "... and I'm very involved with church". We talked a little about it and then it was quiet again, so I got the courage to ask "Do you go to church?"... And that opened up more conversation. He told me how he didn't really believe in any religion or one specific God, but that was the confirmation I needed just the day before... I needed a strong reason to pray for him.

It was no coincidence that I ended up talking to him about God the day after I had been burdened about it when through all the seven months we hadn't spoken more than a "hello".

I'm so thankful to serve a God who knows how to listen and to speak to me. He knows every worry and every thought. He's truly mighty to save. : )

Judgment VS Accountability

I think a lot of people get confused with the difference between "judging" and "holding someone accountable".
Sin is really not at all what other people think about you, it's what God thinks about you. If someone points out your sin, it shouldn't be offensive unless it is in fact NOT a sin that you are committing. That's where it's really important to line up what God says with the actions of your life. Ask yourself, "What am I doing to give people the wrong impression?". If someone points something out specifically, we have to look at where it came from: Did they say it because they have something against you or because God Himself speaks about it in His Word? Sometimes people feel "judged" because they know they're doing something they're not supposed to be doing.

I remember a year ago I felt "judged" because I was hanging out (a lot) with someone who didn't follow God. Now I look back and see those people felt uncomfortable about me hanging out with that person because they cared about my walk with God and saw something I didn't. Scripture was pointed out to me but I thought "Oh that doesn't apply to me..."... YES IT DOES!
Did hanging out with that person cause me to sin? YES! Was God displeased? YES! Did it matter what my friends thought? YES! Because they were looking out for me!
If a friend is letting you play with fire because they're worried about offending you, it's time to get new friends...
Who IS our truest friend anyway? Isn't every believer's best friend Jesus, the One who gave His life for us? What does HE say about what you're doing?

Friends... Everything you do should line up with Scripture, and if it's not, then you really need to consider what your friends are telling you...
As hard as it is to believe, they're doing it because they care and don't want to see you fall, not because they have nothing better to do than "judge" their friends because they're jealous of their sin or something?

"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted." (Galatians 6:1)
If this offends you, ask yourself why it offends you then examine your lifestyle... DOES it line up with what GOD says?
"... But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted." - There's only so much a friend can do for you so consider what's offered to you and be thankful that someone cares enough about you to say something.

I don't say all this to say anything against anyone, I say this because I too have been there and have realized the truth behind being "judged" compared to being "held accountable". : )