Just a little something a friend sent me via e mail ... so I do hope that everyone here will enjoy it !!
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Wisdom from a Friend
Thought I'd pass on some wisdom I received in an email today. I hope you are blessed by it. These long days are helping me to practice patience, something I've been thinking about the last little while. This is something I still need to learn a whole lot more. We are called to patient in conflict. It's our spiritual obligation to express this characteristic because God knows there is power in patience. Our natural tendency is to shout back when we are wrongly accused, but to demonstrate Christ we must choose a different path. Some of the things I've been working on are:
Stay quiet when verbally attacked. Another person's anger can feed our own anger & can lead to a shouting match. When we watch sporting events we see this all the time. Listen without responding. In our silence, it may be easy to mentally shut out the verbal assault, but I need to hear the other person's concerns. Control my thoughts. It can be tempting to dwell on the injustice of a situation rather than focusing on God and what He wants & what He thinks of us. I need to control my emotions, relying on the Holy Spirit to give me the right responses. I need to express appreciation when someone brings a concern to my attention. I need to ask forgiveness when I make mistakes.
In our human flesh, these practises sound so foolish and ineffective. But, the opposite is true. There's great power in patience & yet so very few practice it well. Even though I'm working on these things, I've not arrived.[/color][/size][/b][/font]
Quote from: TBEAR on December 10, 2004, 01:05:25 PM
Just a little something a friend sent me via e mail ... so I do hope that everyone here will enjoy it !!
[/size][/font][/color]
Wisdom from a Friend
Thought I'd pass on some wisdom I received in an email today. I hope you are blessed by it. These long days are helping me to practice patience, something I've been thinking about the last little while. This is something I still need to learn a whole lot more. We are called to patient in conflict. It's our spiritual obligation to express this characteristic because God knows there is power in patience. Our natural tendency is to shout back when we are wrongly accused, but to demonstrate Christ we must choose a different path. Some of the things I've been working on are:
Stay quiet when verbally attacked. Another person's anger can feed our own anger & can lead to a shouting match. When we watch sporting events we see this all the time. Listen without responding. In our silence, it may be easy to mentally shut out the verbal assault, but I need to hear the other person's concerns. Control my thoughts. It can be tempting to dwell on the injustice of a situation rather than focusing on God and what He wants & what He thinks of us. I need to control my emotions, relying on the Holy Spirit to give me the right responses. I need to express appreciation when someone brings a concern to my attention. I need to ask forgiveness when I make mistakes.
In our human flesh, these practises sound so foolish and ineffective. But, the opposite is true. There's great power in patience & yet so very few practice it well. Even though I'm working on these things, I've not arrived.[/color][/size][/b][/font]
T-Bear,
I remember this, was this something that i passed onto you? Either that or it get's around.
K4J