A drink from the Oasis… 26Nov08
Dear Saints,
Below you will find this week’s Inspirational E-mail. I pray you will enjoy it and forward this thought on to your friends as well as offer them an invitation to church this weekend. Have a great thanksgiving with your family and friends. My mother-in-law has been busy baking at our house and I am looking forward to her great cooking tomorrow and Saturday. If you’re looking for a good reminder about Thanksgiving, this is what I read to my family each year.
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1. A Drink from the Oasis… ———————- “Thankfulness: An Overlooked Way to Fight Sin” ——————-
Paul knew that we cannot just stop being anxious. Worried thoughts have a way of creeping back into our minds, no matter how hard we try to ignore them. Therefore, he instructs us to replace worrying with ‘prayer and petition, with thanksgiving.’ When you are in a dispute, it is natural to dwell on your difficult circumstances or on the wrong things that the other person has done or may do to you. The best way to overcome this negative thinking is to replace it with more constructive thoughts, such as praising God for his grace through the gospel, thanking him for the many things he has already done for you in this and other situations, and praying for assistance in dealing with your current challenges (cf. Matt. 6:25-34).
When you remind yourself of God’s faithfulness in the past and ally yourself with him today, you will discover that your anxiety is being steadily replaced with confidence and trust (cf. Isa 26:3). In fact, recalling God’s faithfulness and thanking him for his deliverance in the past was one of the primary ways the Israelites overcame their fears when they faced overwhelming problems (e.g. Psalms 18, 46, 68, 77, 78, 105, 106, 107, 136; Neh. 9:5-37).
Taken from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict
by Ken Sande, Updated Edition (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2003) pp. 86-87.
Food for Thought
Thankfulness for what God has done for us is a very important–but often overlooked–key to overcoming sin in our lives. Anxiety (as Ken discusses above) is one common area of sin. In this case, thankfulness corrects our perspective, reminding us of God’s past faithfulness and his sure promise to care for us in the future.
The apostle Paul also prescribes thankfulness as the antidote for other sins with which we struggle. In Ephesians 4 and 5, Paul exhorts us to put off the sins of our flesh, replacing them with behaviors that reflect our new nature in Christ. He specifically mentions foolish talk, crude joking, sexual immorality, covetousness and debauchery as behaviors that the Christian is to replace with thanksgiving (Eph 5:3-4; 18-20). So much sin is rooted in selfishness and pride; thankfulness loosens the grip that these sins have on our hearts.
The holiday season can be a time that induces a great deal of anxiety and conflict. In the United States, we enter this season with a day of remembering the many things for which we can be thankful. As you anticipate celebrating Thanksgiving this week, take a moment to consider ways that cultivating a thankful heart can help you to overcome sins that you have been battling or conflicts that you anticipate will arise. PeaceMeal is a weekly e-publication of Peacemaker Ministries (www.Peacemaker.net). All Rights Reserved.
Gospel Centered Conflict Resolution
a. In the Gospel I have been reconciled to God and live as a minister of reconciliation to others. Therefore I can approach all my conflicts looking for God’s redemptive purposes in them. 2 Cor. 5:18-19 (ESV) All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; [19] that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
b. In the Gospel I have forsaken my own righteousness for the righteousness of Christ. Therefore I can see disagreement or even the sins of others against me as opportunities to die to myself and glorify God.
c. In the Gospel find my identity in my union with Christ. Therefore I am able to please God no matter what another person does to me. Therefore in conflict the actions of another person never need to determine my actions.
d. In the Gospel I have been forgiven of my sin. I can confess sin knowing God will forgive me of it. I can also extend forgiveness to others, even as God has forgiven me. Therefore I can see conflict as an opportunity to humble myself and love others in ways that only grace can make possible.
e. In the Gospel I see that forgiveness comes with a price heavily paid by the one extending it. Therefore in conflict I will never trivialize the asking of forgiveness, and will never offer it without the intent to fully release the person I am forgiving from the debt he owes to me. Cornelius Planting: Forgiveness is a journey with a definitive start, not a closure experience. To forgive, we will have to do some dying. We will have to pray our anger into the heart of God Forgiveness is about setting certain memories out of our reach. Instead, we deliberately bring to mind that which will soften our hearts toward the other. We will focus on the value of lasting relationship. Forgiveness is a form of grace that flourishes for all parties. Forgiveness does not mean setting the clock back on the relationship (as if nothing happened). It is a turn away from destruction to a new future. (thoughts from message on forgiveness at Living Faith 2004).
f. In the Gospel I know that God is at work in my circumstances by his Spirit to make me more like Christ. Therefore I can view conflicts as opportunities to grow through adversity, not unpleasant interruptions in my life. Tim Lane: A Gospel-centered approach to life sees conflict as ‘unsought one-on-one counseling’.
g. In the Gospel I have been called to a life of faith, hope, and love. Therefore I can view conflict resolution as an opportunity to walk out the life of a peacemaker who sows peace to raise a harvest of righteousness. (thanks to Sovereign Grace for this!!!)
2. Admin Stuff:
a. December 6th we will be participating in the Lord’s Table. George Conklin will be facilitating this for us at Bob Sommers’ house. In preparing your heart for communion, I highly recommend this: Heart Preparation Guide for Communion. Some great audios on this topic can be found here.
b. We continue our study with Josh Hunt, Session 9. Josh has asked us for a video clip (samples here) on how we have doubled. Does someone have the capability to take some video for us to send to Josh? How exciting!!! We should be finished with our reading by now too.
c. We also continue our review of the Core/Launch/New Member material. This week we will be covering the topic of Our Commitment to Protecting Our Children. Remember, that as we EDITING this document/class and at the end of the process we will be covenanting together regarding these relational commitments and it will be the orientation for all visitors who are interested in becoming members of Oasis. Please come prepared (meaning reading the section we are covering beforehand) to include looking up the scriptures (or even adding some of your own…).
d. Our scripture reading for this week is Luke 16.
e. Men’s Tribe is taking a break this week. We normally meet in a coffee shop. Why? That is a really a good question. If you’re interested in why, we have 10 Reasons Why Men’s Tribe Meets In Coffee Shops. If you’re wondering where they are meeting next and when, contact Michael Richter.
f. Advent starts on the 30th this month. What is Advent?
g. Oasis Thanksgiving is on Saturday this week at Derek & Connie’s House, 3-8pm. Elf or something else will be running in the background.
3. Prayer Requests (PR) and Community Needs (CN):
a. Updated prayer requests can be found at: http://oasisgc.wordpress.com/prayer-board-facts/ A humbling gift to intercede for so many… many visitors in the digital world leave requests here. If you have a prayer request make sure to get it to Kia or Christine (thank you so much for praying for us!!!). If you are looking for some handy guides for prayer, check out these Prayer Cards. You can click on the “Prayer Cards” link and select which ever prayer card your interested in, and a sample of it can be seen with adobe reader (www.adobe.com).
b. How is your intercession going for the requests we handed out 2 weeks ago?
c. Remember to continue also to be praying for those who have lost jobs, those who have unresolved conflicts, those who far from God, for the churches in Berkeley county, and our city.
stunned by the gospel of Jesus Christ,
Derek R. Iannelli-Smith
Oasis Website – Oasis Facebook Group
Oasis…where relationships are a mess worth making
