Just a quick note…

I am so stressed out and this is NOT of God.  There is so much brewing in this church and factions splaying out as this meeting approaches.  It is ALL so not of God.  Idolotry is rampant as so many seem to be of the opinion that the board of directors and others are being unChristian by having Pastor out on leave.  They think “we’re” not forgiving (I put that in quotes because I, personally, have no power over this but quietly agree with them although I try to just keep a low profile and practise my Christianity by being slow to speak and slow to anger).  What the problem is, is that they are equating forgiveness with exoneration.  God forgives us all the time, but He does not always shield us from the consequences of our acts.

Scripture I’ve pulled up to encourage myself and my family:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

 

Ecclesiastes 7:9  Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.

 

Proverbs 19:11 A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

 

Ephesians 4:26-27 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

 

1 Peter 3:9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

 

Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

 

Ecclesiastes 5:1 Stand in Awe of God  Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

 

1 John 1:9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

 

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

 

Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

 

Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

 

Matthew 7:1-2  “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

 

Romans 13:1-2 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what

God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

 

Matthew 18:17 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

 

Galatians 6:1-2 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

 

Proverbs 11:3 A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.

 

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

 

Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

 

Psalm 51:6  Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

 

Proverbs 12:13-14 An evil man is trapped by his sinful talk, but a righteous man escapes trouble. From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him.

 

Proverbs 20:17  Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel.

 

Proverbs 11:1 The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight.

 

1 Timothy 3:7 Overseers and Deacons Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

 

Proverbs 12:22 The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.

 

Psalm 101:7 No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.

 

1 John 2:4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth i

s not in him.

 

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

 

Jeremiah 17:9:10 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?  “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”

 

Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

 

Leviticus 6:2-5 “If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him, or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do- when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering.

 

Numbers 5:7 Restitution for Wrongs  The LORD said to Moses,  “Say to the Israelites: ‘When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the LORD , that person is guilty and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it and give it all to the person he has wronged.

 

1 Corinthians 9:13 But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

 

Matthew 10:16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.  Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.