II Corinthians 13:11-12
"Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you." Over the past 40 years of ministry I have seen it all; (I think). So allow me a small privilege for this March newsletter. Paul makes a statement that on the surface seems harmless and easy to grasp. But underneath it is full of self discipline because of Godly maturity in each Christian; not family, not couple but each individual believer in Jesus Christ. If there is any "self" left in a believer who reads this, it will be almost impossible to obey this request from Paul. But at the same time, Paul adds a condition to this request that MUST be obeyed in order to comply with his wish. Here it is and it comes in 3 parts. 1) Put things in order. That is; make sure the church is running smoothly. Have leaders in place who care for the flock. Have teachers prepared to teach out of love and not for vain glory. Make the Sunday morning church service as pleasant as possible flowing with God's love everywhere so that those who attend will find respite for an hour. This also refers to every person who comes to church. Is your life running on Godly gasoline? Are you tuned in to the Holy Spirit? Are you asking to serve out of selfish motives or do you do it out of love for God and others? 2) Agree with one another. Paul did not mean that agreement went with saying yes to everyone who made a request or wanted to have his/her own way. It meant to agree to disagree in Christ's love and to allow God to work through the rest. My boss at Sears was one of the toughest men I have ever worked for. He was demanding, controlling and detailed. I didn't agree with everything he said or did, but he gave me the freedom to tell him when I thought he was wrong. But when he was "off the clock," he was my best friend. We separted out our business from friendship. You should do that also. Okay, you disagree with someone, a person doesn't meet your expectations, but for God's sake don't leave the church or think it was done on purpose. Give some leeway to human erroe. I make mistakes, forget to mention things and so do you. So give everyone the chance to correct things or at least to apologize for unintentional mistakes. 3) Live in peace. Now this is the most difficult of all. When a person carries feelings around for all to see then "self" is walking tall. Christians cannot afford to cut off or isolate other Christians who love them just because of some mistake or assumed mistake. LIVE IN PEACE. That's not a request from Paul. That's a demand. Are you one that cannot seem to make peace for more than a week or two? If so, stop now and ask God to help you rid yourself of selfish desires, thoughts and wishes. Paul ends with "And the God of Peace will be with you. Listen to me here. If you harbor any of the negatives I have mentioned, it will be very hard for the God of Peace to help you from your own ways. God can do it but you will have to be willing to allow God to perform in you these life changing ways. "Greet one another with a holy kiss." You can do that no matter what if your life is in tune with God. Put things in order, agree with one another, live in peace. These are the rules for you and me.
kent

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