offense

This morning I was reading an older book called, "The Bait of satan." John Bevere gives some great teaching on being offended. It's amazing how many people take the bait by being offended and then allow the enemy to ruin their spiritual lives or at least stunt their spiritual growth. I can always tell how spiritually mature someone is, by how much it takes to offend them. It's never the Jesus in us that get's offended, it's our flesh. Many people will keep moving from church to church every time they get offended. It's like continually pulling out a tree by it's roots and then trying to replant it. #1. It never grows deep roots. #2. The tree's growth is either stunted or the tree dies. Roots grow deep through hot summers and strong winds. Have you taken the bait of "offense?"

offended

Today, while driving back to C3 from a $1.78 Taco Bell run, (proof I am a church planter) I saw something that offended me. There were a group of young girls probably 14 - 17 walking down our main street in town where several American flags hang from the light posts. As I look down the road I see one of the girls with one of those flags still on the pole and she throws it in the middle of the road and walks away. I am the first car to come upon it and I pull in a driveway, honk my horn at the girls who quickly walk away, run out and pick it up. Now, I am trying to keep from saying something that is unbecoming of a pastor in their town. But I was angry. When I find myself in situations like this, I tend to think through all the what if's. What if I would have run up to them and "tore into them", what if I could have called fire down from the sky. But I had to ask myself why did that offend me and why do I struggle to just let it go? In this case, it is for patriotism....but in most cases, it is not. It is more like pride or fear.....or both. Anyway...I FORGIVE THEM for what they did today against their country. They probably have no clue that men and woman have and still do give their lives so we can fly that flag.