Category: Kingdom Community

Fellowship and koinonia

patience patient

Accepting The Faults Of Others

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We should be patient with the faults of others as well as our own faults. We can pray that God will give us strength to be patient and kind. We can remind ourselves that others have to bear with our faults. We can remember that we usually cannot correct our own faults without great effort; why should we be impatient with the habitual faults of others? Besides, human faults are an opportunity for us to allow our character to be refined. If it is our place to say something about someone’s fault, and we have mentioned it more than once then we should not nag someone so that we get into a dispute over it. We can just fulfill our proper role without becoming angry or aggressive. We should not take the situation out of God’s hands and into our own, but rather seek to honor God with our meekness Continue Reading →

humility

Upside-Down Leadership – Part 2

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Last week we looked at three foundational attitudes for leadership: thinking of oneself as a student, a servant, and a messenger. Together these attitudes form humility in us. Today we build on humility with more ideas that deepen humility and equip us for mature leadership, whether we lead as a parent, a spouse, an employee, or in ministry. This is a straightforward discussion so please don’t get offended. Truly Love People. This means our heart is committed to the well being of the people we serve, with at least some measure of affection. If we don’t truly love the people then we need to find a way to change our heart or reconsider our calling. Be Weak and Strong. We are a flower in the field but also an anchor in the storm. This sounds like a paradox but it actually makes a lot of sense. Jesus made himself vulnerable for Continue Reading →

humility

Upside-Down Leadership-Part 1

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You just finished leading a great meeting. Everyone was happy and happy with you. Several smiled and thanked you personally. At home you are feeling thankful for being able to lead. Then as you relax your mind starts wandering and thinking about what a great person you are. You are a fantastic leader, so much better than most…whoa! What happened here? You were just thinking about being thankful then you started getting delusions of grandeur. How quickly spiritual pride rears its head. Scripture teaches that you have an old self, or “flesh” that you have to fight. This explains why these temptations and impulses rise up within us. We also have an Enemy that takes advantage of our old self. So we shouldn’t get discouraged by temptations to pride. The early devout Christians considered pride the deadliest of enemies for those pursuing spiritual growth. They observed that once someone decides Continue Reading →

relationships, couple

12 Keys To Tackling Relationship Difficulties – Part 2

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This is Part 2 of this post, Part 1 can be found here. KEY 7: Be courageous. One of the big reasons we don’t tackle relationship difficulties is that we are afraid. We are afraid of conflict, we are afraid of getting hurt, we are afraid of doing it wrong, etc. In order to combat this ask yourself if you are afraid. Then ask yourself if the fear is really as big as you think. Then ask yourself if that fear should really stop you from tackling a difficulty. Is it worth some discomfort to improve a relationship? The antidote to fear is faith. Trust God to help you and to help you learn. Trust the advice you have gathered. Trust the fact that your heart is in the right place and if you express true care then nearly everyone will respond reasonably. KEY 8: Grow your communication skills. When Continue Reading →

relationships, couple

12 Keys To Tackling Relationship Difficulties – Part 1

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The purpose of this post is to learn how to deal with difficulties in relationships according to scripture, understand the root attitudes needed to tackle difficulties, and allow the difficulties to transform us into the new Christformed person God is making us. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God and the second is to love others. This is the foundation and end of spiritual growth, spiritual formation and spiritual theology. So relationships are the most important element of Christianity! This means we should learn to master relationships and how to love people. Thus, relationship difficulties are our biggest testing ground and our biggest growth opportunity. This post looks at keys to dealing with the difficulties we have in relationships. Part 2 of this post is found here. KEY ONE: Know your weaknesses. We all have relationship weaknesses. If we can be honest about them we will be able Continue Reading →