Enjoying the Journey

Dealing with Accusations

Accusations are damaging things.  For sure there are times that sin must be addressed and sinners confronted.  That is called restoration – at least that is what it should be called.  The ministry of reconciliation always has as its goal the restoration of sinners to fellowship with God.  Accusations are another thing altogether. Perhaps it would help if we could see that accusations are not simply statements.  They are one of the chief characteristics of a person named Satan.  We often speak of his work in the Garden of Eden as a work of temptation.  In fact, it began as a work of accusation.  He accused God to Eve.  Soon he would accuse Eve to God.  That’s the way accusers…

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Handling Criticism

I like to be liked.  So do you!  There is a great danger in seeking to please men – desiring to gain their compliments and avoid their criticism.  “The fear of man bringeth a snare” (Proverbs 29:25). Living for the praise of men is empty.  Accolades and acknowledgment do not bring fulfillment.  Beware!  Compliments will make you a man of men, not a man of God.  Listening to others boast of you is just as deadly as boasting of yourself. Dr. Lee Roberson used to say that we must “die to compliments and criticism.”  Both tend to rouse the flesh.  Men who walk in the Spirit cannot afford to listen to the flesh, whether it speaks positively or negatively. You…

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What I Learned at the Dead Sea

My dad and I had the privilege to be part of training several Iraqi pastors a number of years ago.  For over a week we taught a group of men in Ammon, Jordan who were going back to Baghdad to start Baptist churches.  It was an exciting work in a needy place. Near the end of our trip, the Jordanian pastor who had hosted us announced that he wanted to show us a few things before leaving his country.  Driving his old Mercedes about 100 mph through the desert, he gave us the quick tour of some of Jordan’s biblical sites.  We saw bedouin people living in the same wilderness through which the children of Israel had passed. It was…

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