notes from lisa...

Most of us, have a wrong idea of how to reach the world. We have a desire to see men saved, but our methods aren't effective, and they don't follow the example of Jesus. We suppose that to win the world we must first address their sin. The "world" is aware of its sin, in most cases--maybe, every case. We all have within a us a conscience--saved or unsaved; it's innate. It will tap all of us on our shoulders when we mess up--the Holy Ghost didn't give us a conscience (when we accepted Jesus Christ); we always had one. The Holy Ghost provides the means to respond to sin in our lives--and to avoid sin, before it happens; the Spirit gives us power to say "no" to sin, but we know what sin is, whether we admit it or not. When we attempt to reach the world, our misconception of their lack of awareness of sin (in their lives) leads us down an unwise path. Instead of providing them with the solution, we offer them the problem. We attack. We list their sins ...

I'M SORRY!!! How do YOU say, "I'm sorry"? Often, when we have offended someone, and are aware of it, we apologize--or, at least we say the words. What, though, is the feeling behind the words? Apologies come in many forms and appearances. Some are genuine, some only serve the offender--to appease guilt or to feel justified, some are downright hostile--and not really accepting of any guilt in the matter, and many more are never even uttered , but (supposed to be) assumed by those we have offended. All of us offend. All of us have a duty and responsibility to apologize. It is also a privilege --repentance in any form, is freeing and cleansing. Still, many of us resist honest, straightforward, responsibility-accepting apologizing. Genuine "I'm sorry's" are healing. They open lines of communication, restore trust and make room for unity and love to abound. It is our pride and self-will that keeps us from offering sincere apologies. We are more c...