ICS Daily Devotions
Reconcile with Your Brother
3 John 3-4(NKJV) For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Every pastor rejoices when their sheep are walking in the truth! Some of us just refuse to grow and walk in the truth even though we have been believers for many, many years. Our lifestyle and speech are not very different from the worldly people if we choose not to have our minds renewed and walk out the truth. We will still be very carnal in our ways. Our soul (i.e. our emotions) will not be prospering. Instead, it will be cluttered with all kinds of unhealthy thoughts and vibes.
Nothing changes in our lifestyle unless we walk out the truth after we have taken the first step to accept Jesus Christ into our lives. The path from spiritual infancy to maturity requires every believer to have their mind renewed and constantly renewed till the day they die. We have to constantly align ourselves with the Word of God. We grow from carnality to spirituality by choosing to walk in the Spirit and not gratifying the desires of the flesh. We cannot choose what we want to submit under the Lordship of Christ and yet, still expect to prosper in every aspect of our lives.
Matthew 5:23-24 (NKJV) Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
It is not easy to love someone with “phileo” love which is a conditional love. We will not want to love those who have hurt us especially those whom we loved and trusted. The first reactions after we have been hurt are anger, sadness and possibly disillusionment. Some people might even turn inward and refuse to speak to anyone about the pain and the hurt. It can happen to someone who used to be very chatty and all of a sudden, there is a “glazed” look or a dull countenance. We will slowly turn resentful, hostile, vengeful and even allow grudges to take root in us. We begin to meditate on the negative things in life. Slowly but surely…. love, peace and joy will be stolen from our lives. If we refuse to deal with it or take the step to forgive the person, we may bring anger and bitterness to other relationships because we will tend to think that is how people will treat us. We will not be able to enjoy new friendships or relationships. That is the reason why sometimes divorcees will never fully recover from their broken marriages. They will go from one broken marriage to another and this affects people regardless of which social stratum they belong to. The person might find it meaningless to connect with anyone in a deeper manner because of the fear of being hurt again.
Jesus encourages us to reconcile with the brother/sister who has something against us before we come into the presence of God. If we work on the bad horizontal relationships with other people by reaching out for reconciliation and forgiving the other party as soon as possible, then we are able to have a good vertical relationship with God too. We can keep the joy, love and peace in our lives and begin to receive and give love again.
Sermon Series: Is Your Soul Prospering
