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Problem Solving – Confrontation In Love


Problem Solving – Confrontation In Love

S.O.A.P = Scripture.Observe.Apply.Pray!

Scripture

2 Corinthians 13:11 Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. (NLT)

2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, and live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. (NIV)

Reference:

Philippians 4:4 Always be joyful in the Lord, I say it again rejoice! (No matter what Apostle Paul went through, he never got tired to tell the people to rejoice). – Our inner attitude does not have to reflect our outward circumstances!

God is very clear in His Word. He gives us many practical ways and directions for us to follow His example.

Observe  

God wants us to be joyful, to grow, to be mature, to encourage, to live in harmony and peace with each other. God is love and God is peace. God is with us.

Joyful = Feeling, expressing, or causing great pleasure and happiness.  – In other words: Happy, in good spirits, bubbly, cheery, radiant, thrilled, ecstatic, or lighthearted.

Mature/maturity = Having reached an advanced stage of mental or emotional development characteristic of an adult. The state, period or fact of being mature.  - In other words: Responsible, reliable, dependable, wise and sophisticated.

Encourage = Give support, confidence or hope to someone. In other words: Uplift, cheer, inspire, motivate, or fired up.

Harmony = Agreement or concord. - In other words: Friendship, fellowship, cooperation, understanding, unity, like-mindedness, union and oneness.

Peace = Freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility. - In other words: Calm, restfulness, solitude, ease, or contentedness.

Apply

How to solve problems? (Through hard work)

1.     Be joyful: Our joy is connected to Jesus; no one can take our joy away. We can fluctuate in our happiness, but our joy is consistent, WHY? Because Jesus is consistent. He is the same yesterday, today and forever more. God has given us the power to choose. We can choose to express our feelings in a positive or negative way. Who wants to be around a miserable, complaining and constant down Christian? NO ONE, and besides that, it’s no representation of Christ. God has done more then we could EVER ASK for us. There is always something to rejoice about. Start by the many simple things we can easily take for granted. Learn to count your blessings (I thank God for food, clean water, clothes, shoes, job, house, apartment, comfy bed, public transportation, friends, & family) When was the last time you thanked God for all of these things? So many in the world would consider all of the above luxury. I rejoice in you my Lord.

2.     Grow to maturity: We take full responsibility to grow in Christ (to maturity) by reading God’s Word daily, through prayer, fellowship with other Christians, serving the Lord, seek wise counsel and consistently going to church. When we struggle with something or dealing with issues, we go to God first. He is our number ONE source to seek and to grow. Can God bless you through someone else? Of course, but they are not a substitution of God. And guess what? Those same people (Pastors, leaders, mentors etc.) have to go to God as well for answers. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33.

3.     Encourage each other: There are many opportunities to lift someone up. It is our choice to be attentive and respond to it positively. Encouragement brings hope to all people. Do not underestimate the power of a kind word and a listening ear.


4.     Live in harmony: In everything humble yourself, don’t seek quarrel. Learn to agree with one another or respect and embrace each others differences. Seek understanding and avoid assumptions. Surrender your all to God. Seek positive solutions. Again it is our choice to love in action.

Promise: Then the God of love and peace will be with you!

-      -  We partner with God. He gives us clear practical principles to work with (no excuses). We follow directions and stay out of trouble. When you honor God in his ways, you will receive his love and peace. It is always available, but we rob ourselves from God’s love and peace, by doing it our own way (disobedience)

Be joyful, grow to maturity, encourage each other, live in harmony and peace… these are great qualities to have… If you ignore them and give into neglect, denial, withdrawal, or bitterness, you will not experience God’s peace and love. Why? Because you choose to pull away from God, and handle your emotions in the flesh.  You can’t be joyful, grow to maturity, encourage each other or live in harmony and peace if you gloss over problems, conflicts, and difficulties. Dwelling on the past won’t help you at all. God encourages us with many practical ways to choose a better perspective, see the following verses.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Phil 4:6-9

If you haven’t been joyful lately, you may not be looking at life from the right perspective.

Prayer 
I adore you Jesus and thank you for who you are. I praise you and worship you for all you have done for me and continue to do. You have blessed me in so many ways, I can’t thank you enough. I give you all the glory and honor. Father God I pray that you will constantly keep my heart in check. Please do not let me drift away and compromise. I pray that I will always have a joyful attitude, no matter what comes my way. You have given me the power to choose and by the power of your Holy Spirit you enable me to be joyful in all circumstances. There will be days of trouble, but I can still choose to praise you through it. You have given your life for me and never complained, even though you were blameless. You have paid the price for my many sins and I’m forever grateful. I pray that I will grow to maturity each day, please keep me alert if I get tempted to stay stagnant. I want to become more like you every day. I pray that I will be sensitive in my dealings with people and that I always have uplifting, edifying and encouraging words to share with others. Teach me your ways and to seek harmony and peace with everyone. I want to experience you daily and want to be near you. Pour out your love and peace on me and use me to do the same to others. You are my everything and true example. I pray that when people hear me speak, they hear your voice come out of my mouth. I thank you and praise your wonderful and holy name. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

By Nicole Crews

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