November 14, 2023

Hello Advent Family,

Haver you ever had to address a troubling issue with a friend?  Maybe they were having an area in their life where you knew they weren’t acting the way they should.  It can be difficult to navigate how to handle those types of situations.  Perhaps you have wrestled with whether or not you should address the situation.  Perhaps we can gain some insight from Galatians 2 and the interaction between Paul and Cephas (Peter).  Let’s look at it together today.

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Often in situations like this I hear Christians incorrectly quote, “Judge not that you not be judged.”  While that is in scripture it refers to a persons salvation not their behavior.  As Christians we have a responsibility to each other to hold each other to the standards that Jesus has called us to.  When you see a brother or sister heading in a direction that you know will cause them harm you should love them enough to address the situation.  The key word however is love.  If you find yourself addressing the situation out of a feeling of being better or honestly anything other than a deep love for the other person then perhaps you are not in the right place to address the issue.  It truly is a blessing to have those in your life who love you enough to make sure you stay on the right path.  I encourage you all to seek out people like that in your life and invite them to help you follow Jesus well even if it hurts sometimes.
 
In His Grip,
Pastor Dave

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