Falsely Accused – Offense, Part 7 I once got offended at a cop. He made me so mad. I was innocent. I’ve had my share of transgressions, but this time, I really was innocent. A car in front of me saw this police officer and hit his brakes. I had seen him a way back and was already slowing down. So, when the guy hit his brakes, I hit mine a little harder. I closed the gap pretty fast, though I avoided an accident. I had done the right thing. The policeman pulled me over for tailgating. He didn’t agree with my assessment that I had done the right thing in preventing an accident from the other guy’s knee-jerk reaction. He lectured me. I began to seethe, because I knew that I was innocent. Well, it gets worse. He asked me for my registration. Did you know you are supposed to sign it? No? Neither did I. I think this guy was having a bad day or something, because he says, “You didn’t sign this. Did you know I can write you up and charge you $18.00 for not signing this?” Doing my best to be calm, I said, “I did not know I was supposed to sign it, but I can sign it right now, if you want me to.” He gives it to me to sign, then goes back to his car for a minute. In the meantime, I am just seething, because I am being falsely accused, and I know I didn’t do anything wrong. Never mind that I get away with other minor traffic offenses all the time. (Don’t look at me like that! We all do.) What’s that got to do with anything? I was innocent! He came back with the ticket and told me to drive safely. I replied, “I always do.” I bet my blood pressure was off the charts. Ceci didn’t help. She just told me I needed to calm down. “What do you mean, calm down? I was falsely accused!” I exclaimed. The last thing you want in a moment like that is the truth. It took me a couple of days to calm down. I was really eating that raw meat. I was extracting every morsel out of it. That officer was just out there doing his job. I’m sure he was a good man who just made a mistake. I really needed to give him the benefit of the doubt and let it go. I put that thing down and picked it back up at least 10 times over the next week. “I forgive him,” I would think. Then, the next time I would see a cop, all of the emotion and anger was back. But, you know the Lord. He didn’t give me any break. As those emotions rose up, He dealt with my attitude toward authority and toward the law. He made me look at the roots of that anger and my pride. He extracted every morsel from it to bring healing into my life. “If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.” (Matthew 6:14-15; GNT) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: So, we are now on day seven of asking the Lord to look through the hidden recesses of our hearts for any dregs of offense. Did you think we were done? Not yet. Thank Him that He is not done with us yet! Patterns of behavior are clues to our need of deliverance. Just like I seethed for a while every time I saw a police officer, you probably have those things that trigger you all over again. Time after time after time. Some of these offenses may be quite old. Some may be very recent. All of them need to get to the cross. Be brave and ask our faithful Savior for help finding root issues. Pride, envy, jealousy, covetousness, greed, and idolatry are root issues of sin in our life. Fear springs from these. Anger springs from these. Addiction, a side-kick of idolatry, does, also. These are fruit off a bad tree called sin and iniquity. Yes, we are saved when we ask Jesus into our hearts, but we are also “being saved” or sanctified as we daily work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Ignoring the fruit and roots of sin in our lives gives Satan a place in us. Get him out! Acknowledge your sin and iniquitous bents and apply the blood of Jesus there. Pride is in everyone. The Bible calls it the foolish pride of life. It manifested at the fall of man in the Garden of Eden and has been with us ever since. It is often hidden in plain sight; plain sight, that is, to everyone except ourselves. It holds us back, because it makes us think we know better than God. Open the door to your heart and let God root out the pride daily. It is in your best interest to do so. God blesses the humble, but opposes the proud. A prayer you can pray: Father, thank You that You are not done with me yet! You are faithful to apply the rod at the right time to keep me on Your narrow path of righteousness. You are the One Who makes us holy, for You cannot partner with the sinful and pride-filled. How beautiful is Your work in my life! My soul knows it well. So, for yet another day, I bring my heart to Your throne of grace. Use Your faithful scalpel of Truth, Holy Spirit. Cut between the thoughts and intents of my heart and don’t leave anything untouched that is meant to be removed today. Pride, envy, jealousy, covetousness, greed, and idolatry. If you are hiding anywhere, His light is about to shine on you. I will be changed by the great love He has for me. He is doing this work today in many thousands of Believers, so your kingdom can be undone in our lives and communities and nation. Revival and awakening are birthed in these waves where He calls us to turn from our wicked ways; to exchange them for righteousness and holiness. We repent of the fruit. We take His axe to the roots, and we will be free! Pride goes before a fall, but the Lord God gives favor and blessing to the humble. Root pride out of us, Lord Jesus. Amen! Today’s decree: “The meek shall inherit the land!”

Falsely Accused – Offense, Part 7 I once got offended at a cop. He made me so mad. I was innocent. I’ve had my share of transgressions, but this time, I really was innocent. A car in front of me saw this police officer and hit his brakes. I had seen him a way back and was already slowing down. So, when the guy hit his brakes, I hit mine a little harder. I closed the gap pretty fast, though I avoided an accident. I had done the right thing. The policeman pulled me over for tailgating. He didn’t agree with my assessment that I had done the right thing in preventing an accident from the other guy’s knee-jerk reaction. He lectured me. I began to seethe, because I knew that I was innocent. Well, it gets worse. He asked me for my registration. Did you know you are supposed to sign it? No? Neither did I. I think this guy was having a bad day or something, because he says, “You didn’t sign this. Did you know I can write you up and charge you $18.00 for not signing this?” Doing my best to be calm, I said, “I did not know I was supposed to sign it, but I can sign it right now, if you want me to.” He gives it to me to sign, then goes back to his car for a minute. In the meantime, I am just seething, because I am being falsely accused, and I know I didn’t do anything wrong. Never mind that I get away with other minor traffic offenses all the time. (Don’t look at me like that! We all do.) What’s that got to do with anything? I was innocent! He came back with the ticket and told me to drive safely. I replied, “I always do.” I bet my blood pressure was off the charts. Ceci didn’t help. She just told me I needed to calm down. “What do you mean, calm down? I was falsely accused!” I exclaimed. The last thing you want in a moment like that is the truth. It took me a couple of days to calm down. I was really eating that raw meat. I was extracting every morsel out of it. That officer was just out there doing his job. I’m sure he was a good man who just made a mistake. I really needed to give him the benefit of the doubt and let it go. I put that thing down and picked it back up at least 10 times over the next week. “I forgive him,” I would think. Then, the next time I would see a cop, all of the emotion and anger was back. But, you know the Lord. He didn’t give me any break. As those emotions rose up, He dealt with my attitude toward authority and toward the law. He made me look at the roots of that anger and my pride. He extracted every morsel from it to bring healing into my life. “If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.” (Matthew 6:14-15; GNT) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: So, we are now on day seven of asking the Lord to look through the hidden recesses of our hearts for any dregs of offense. Did you think we were done? Not yet. Thank Him that He is not done with us yet! Patterns of behavior are clues to our need of deliverance. Just like I seethed for a while every time I saw a police officer, you probably have those things that trigger you all over again. Time after time after time. Some of these offenses may be quite old. Some may be very recent. All of them need to get to the cross. Be brave and ask our faithful Savior for help finding root issues. Pride, envy, jealousy, covetousness, greed, and idolatry are root issues of sin in our life. Fear springs from these. Anger springs from these. Addiction, a side-kick of idolatry, does, also. These are fruit off a bad tree called sin and iniquity. Yes, we are saved when we ask Jesus into our hearts, but we are also “being saved” or sanctified as we daily work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Ignoring the fruit and roots of sin in our lives gives Satan a place in us. Get him out! Acknowledge your sin and iniquitous bents and apply the blood of Jesus there. Pride is in everyone. The Bible calls it the foolish pride of life. It manifested at the fall of man in the Garden of Eden and has been with us ever since. It is often hidden in plain sight; plain sight, that is, to everyone except ourselves. It holds us back, because it makes us think we know better than God. Open the door to your heart and let God root out the pride daily. It is in your best interest to do so. God blesses the humble, but opposes the proud. A prayer you can pray: Father, thank You that You are not done with me yet! You are faithful to apply the rod at the right time to keep me on Your narrow path of righteousness. You are the One Who makes us holy, for You cannot partner with the sinful and pride-filled. How beautiful is Your work in my life! My soul knows it well. So, for yet another day, I bring my heart to Your throne of grace. Use Your faithful scalpel of Truth, Holy Spirit. Cut between the thoughts and intents of my heart and don’t leave anything untouched that is meant to be removed today. Pride, envy, jealousy, covetousness, greed, and idolatry. If you are hiding anywhere, His light is about to shine on you. I will be changed by the great love He has for me. He is doing this work today in many thousands of Believers, so your kingdom can be undone in our lives and communities and nation. Revival and awakening are birthed in these waves where He calls us to turn from our wicked ways; to exchange them for righteousness and holiness. We repent of the fruit. We take His axe to the roots, and we will be free! Pride goes before a fall, but the Lord God gives favor and blessing to the humble. Root pride out of us, Lord Jesus. Amen! Today’s decree: “The meek shall inherit the land!”

Who Is the Offender? – Offense, Part 6 I think offense is harder to deal with when someone really close to you offends you or takes up an offense because of you. God had to put me through a season of teaching me about offense after I picked up that offense over my friends’ becoming offended at Ceci and me. (Got that? If not, go back and read yesterday’s GH15 article.) I hate it when God takes me to the shed over these things. I hate it, because I feel that at times I have the right to be offended. Sometimes, it feels good to be offended. Have you ever had a running conversation with yourself for 15, 20, 30 minutes, as if there is another person there, but, really, you are doing all the talking? You might carry on this way either in your mind or in the car or in your empty house? Doesn’t it feel good? Then, you stop and think, “What am I doing? They (who offended me) aren’t hearing this. All I’m doing is getting an upset stomach.” It happens to all of us. You can’t go through life and not be offended! You can refuse to pick up an offense, but, “scandalons” will come. The bait is going to be offered to you. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9; NASB) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: We are going to become so sensitive now to the prompting of the Holy Spirit when opportunities for offense present themselves. Rejoice in your freedom! When you made Jesus Lord of Your life, you gave Him the right to deal with offenses for you. The second the offense comes, hand it over to Him, saying, “This one’s for You, Jesus!” Catch yourself the moment you begin to start talking to yourself about what “that person” did to you or said about you. Bring that thought immediately captive to the Cross. Repent the second you know you have hurt someone. Even if you feel it was justified, find the place of reconciliation as quickly as you are able. Declare, “I will be known as a justice catalyst in my arena of influence.” A prayer you can pray: Lord, we rejoice in the freedom You are giving us in Christ as we walk through this study on offense together. Look! Thousands of Believers are becoming aware of the power offense has had over our lives. Thousands of us are going to walk free and able to be peacemakers. We will be able to speak into situations where emotion has ruled. Reign in our emotions and let us walk by Your Spirit, instead. Let us see both sides of an issue and understand why our opposition is fighting so desperately. Where battles are “hot” and emotions run high, we will be able to speak wisely and justly, calmly and confidently. Grant us greater favor and influence, even at the highest levels of government in our states and nation. Let it be known that there are those who are able to resist offense and find solutions to the moral, social, and justice issues we face. I am getting excited just thinking about it. This motivates me even more to walk closely to You each day. I can’t change how others act and react, but I can change, as I let You mold me into the image of Your Son who would not pick up any of the bait of offense Satan threw at Him. Thank You for Your example, Jesus. Amen. Today’s decree: The Ekklesia will overcome “scandalon” and become a great force to bring true justice into the nation.

Who Is the Offender? – Offense, Part 6 I think offense is harder to deal with when someone really close to you offends you or takes up an offense because of you. God had to put me through a season of teaching me about offense after I picked up that offense over my friends’ becoming offended at Ceci and me. (Got that? If not, go back and read yesterday’s GH15 article.) I hate it when God takes me to the shed over these things. I hate it, because I feel that at times I have the right to be offended. Sometimes, it feels good to be offended. Have you ever had a running conversation with yourself for 15, 20, 30 minutes, as if there is another person there, but, really, you are doing all the talking? You might carry on this way either in your mind or in the car or in your empty house? Doesn’t it feel good? Then, you stop and think, “What am I doing? They (who offended me) aren’t hearing this. All I’m doing is getting an upset stomach.” It happens to all of us. You can’t go through life and not be offended! You can refuse to pick up an offense, but, “scandalons” will come. The bait is going to be offered to you. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9; NASB) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: We are going to become so sensitive now to the prompting of the Holy Spirit when opportunities for offense present themselves. Rejoice in your freedom! When you made Jesus Lord of Your life, you gave Him the right to deal with offenses for you. The second the offense comes, hand it over to Him, saying, “This one’s for You, Jesus!” Catch yourself the moment you begin to start talking to yourself about what “that person” did to you or said about you. Bring that thought immediately captive to the Cross. Repent the second you know you have hurt someone. Even if you feel it was justified, find the place of reconciliation as quickly as you are able. Declare, “I will be known as a justice catalyst in my arena of influence.” A prayer you can pray: Lord, we rejoice in the freedom You are giving us in Christ as we walk through this study on offense together. Look! Thousands of Believers are becoming aware of the power offense has had over our lives. Thousands of us are going to walk free and able to be peacemakers. We will be able to speak into situations where emotion has ruled. Reign in our emotions and let us walk by Your Spirit, instead. Let us see both sides of an issue and understand why our opposition is fighting so desperately. Where battles are “hot” and emotions run high, we will be able to speak wisely and justly, calmly and confidently. Grant us greater favor and influence, even at the highest levels of government in our states and nation. Let it be known that there are those who are able to resist offense and find solutions to the moral, social, and justice issues we face. I am getting excited just thinking about it. This motivates me even more to walk closely to You each day. I can’t change how others act and react, but I can change, as I let You mold me into the image of Your Son who would not pick up any of the bait of offense Satan threw at Him. Thank You for Your example, Jesus. Amen. Today’s decree: The Ekklesia will overcome “scandalon” and become a great force to bring true justice into the nation.

Offense Breeds Offense – Offense, Part 5 Offense comes in many ways. Years ago, Ceci and I went to minister for some friends. These were very dear friends of ours. We stayed in their home and could tell that things there were kind of tense. They were doing their best to put on a good show. When the ministry time was over on the last day, the husband took me out for coffee and told me, “Our marriage is on the rocks and I don’t know if we’re going to make it. Things are horrible. Can you help us?” Well, we didn’t have a lot of time. We were supposed to leave for the airport in about two hours. I felt almost in a panic wondering what I could do to help these dear friends. I could tell them I would pray for them, but that didn’t seem to be enough. They were in a location where it was going to be hard for them to find help there. So, I knew Ceci and I were going to have to take those two hours and sit down and talk with them very directly before we left. We weren’t going to have three or four weeks to soft coat this, being nice and finally getting to the point. Our preference would be to ease into it, but we knew then that if we were going to help these friends save their marriage with these circumstances, we were just going to need to tell them the truth and hope for the best. So, we sat them both down and said, “Here is what we see in each of you. This is what you’re doing. This is how you respond. Back and forth. Then, we laid out what each would need to do differently. We “bottom-lined” them for about an hour and a half, and left for the airport. Well, about a month later, we started hearing back from other friends that they were very offended at us for the way we talked to them. The guy never told his wife that he had asked for us to intervene. She thought we had just butted in and said, “Let us tell you what’s wrong with your marriage.” They came to visit us and that’s where she found out her husband had asked for help. By then, there was this festering wound. They said some really ugly things to us. Now, I got offended, because they were offended! We had tried so hard to say things as gently as we could in the short timeframe we had. We wanted so badly to help them. And, he had asked me for this! So, I picked up an offense, too, and our relationship was not good for a while after that. “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16; NKJV) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: There is a saying, “Hurt people, hurt people.” Are you a hurt person walking around hurting others? Be honest about this. Some of the emotions that hurt others are: anger, blaming, shouting and verbal abuse, pouting or giving the silent-treatment, controlling what others do, withholding money, sex or other things, slamming, throwing or hitting objects, and ultimately, hitting or threatening to hurt another physically. Take your poison to the cross and repent. Get professional counseling, if need be. If you have ever tried to help someone else, then found yourself the object of their offense, forgive. If possible, go to them and ask for their forgiveness. If they will not see you or forgive you, leave it with God. You are free. (Be careful not to go to someone who is not aware they have offended you. You can cause an offense in that case. Just bring it to the Lord.) A prayer you can pray: Lord, I do not want to be a hurt person. I have no desire to walk around hurting others, because of undealt with offense. However, that is exactly what I will do, if I do not learn to respond well when offenses come. Thank you for yesterday’s clean-up time. Your examination of my heart needs to be an ongoing thing. I don’t know why I ignore You or even run from You when I am hurting. I guess I think the pain is justified. I want to go further today. I want You to show me how I physically react to offense and in what ways I turn around and hurt others when I am hurt. That cycle of offense needs to end with me, right now. Your grace is sufficient for me, Jesus. I come to the throne of grace to find grace to help in this time of need. I sure don’t like it when others hurt me and I don’t want my actions to hurt others. Accidentally, I am sure I will cause pain, but let’s work on my not being purposeful in that. (Look at the list in point 2 above and let Him begin to teach you how to overcome your toxic patterns of behavior toward others. Do point 3, if possible.) You are truly my Savior and Deliverer, Jesus. Amen. Today’s decree: Grace to the mountain of offense in Christ’s Church! Every mountain will come down and the ministry of freedom will arise in the land!

Offense Breeds Offense – Offense, Part 5 Offense comes in many ways. Years ago, Ceci and I went to minister for some friends. These were very dear friends of ours. We stayed in their home and could tell that things there were kind of tense. They were doing their best to put on a good show. When the ministry time was over on the last day, the husband took me out for coffee and told me, “Our marriage is on the rocks and I don’t know if we’re going to make it. Things are horrible. Can you help us?” Well, we didn’t have a lot of time. We were supposed to leave for the airport in about two hours. I felt almost in a panic wondering what I could do to help these dear friends. I could tell them I would pray for them, but that didn’t seem to be enough. They were in a location where it was going to be hard for them to find help there. So, I knew Ceci and I were going to have to take those two hours and sit down and talk with them very directly before we left. We weren’t going to have three or four weeks to soft coat this, being nice and finally getting to the point. Our preference would be to ease into it, but we knew then that if we were going to help these friends save their marriage with these circumstances, we were just going to need to tell them the truth and hope for the best. So, we sat them both down and said, “Here is what we see in each of you. This is what you’re doing. This is how you respond. Back and forth. Then, we laid out what each would need to do differently. We “bottom-lined” them for about an hour and a half, and left for the airport. Well, about a month later, we started hearing back from other friends that they were very offended at us for the way we talked to them. The guy never told his wife that he had asked for us to intervene. She thought we had just butted in and said, “Let us tell you what’s wrong with your marriage.” They came to visit us and that’s where she found out her husband had asked for help. By then, there was this festering wound. They said some really ugly things to us. Now, I got offended, because they were offended! We had tried so hard to say things as gently as we could in the short timeframe we had. We wanted so badly to help them. And, he had asked me for this! So, I picked up an offense, too, and our relationship was not good for a while after that. “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16; NKJV) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: There is a saying, “Hurt people, hurt people.” Are you a hurt person walking around hurting others? Be honest about this. Some of the emotions that hurt others are: anger, blaming, shouting and verbal abuse, pouting or giving the silent-treatment, controlling what others do, withholding money, sex or other things, slamming, throwing or hitting objects, and ultimately, hitting or threatening to hurt another physically. Take your poison to the cross and repent. Get professional counseling, if need be. If you have ever tried to help someone else, then found yourself the object of their offense, forgive. If possible, go to them and ask for their forgiveness. If they will not see you or forgive you, leave it with God. You are free. (Be careful not to go to someone who is not aware they have offended you. You can cause an offense in that case. Just bring it to the Lord.) A prayer you can pray: Lord, I do not want to be a hurt person. I have no desire to walk around hurting others, because of undealt with offense. However, that is exactly what I will do, if I do not learn to respond well when offenses come. Thank you for yesterday’s clean-up time. Your examination of my heart needs to be an ongoing thing. I don’t know why I ignore You or even run from You when I am hurting. I guess I think the pain is justified. I want to go further today. I want You to show me how I physically react to offense and in what ways I turn around and hurt others when I am hurt. That cycle of offense needs to end with me, right now. Your grace is sufficient for me, Jesus. I come to the throne of grace to find grace to help in this time of need. I sure don’t like it when others hurt me and I don’t want my actions to hurt others. Accidentally, I am sure I will cause pain, but let’s work on my not being purposeful in that. (Look at the list in point 2 above and let Him begin to teach you how to overcome your toxic patterns of behavior toward others. Do point 3, if possible.) You are truly my Savior and Deliverer, Jesus. Amen. Today’s decree: Grace to the mountain of offense in Christ’s Church! Every mountain will come down and the ministry of freedom will arise in the land!

Offense’s Downward Spiral into Sin – Offense, Part 4 Cain was punished by God for killing his brother, Abel. God made him a wanderer, but granted Cain’s request to not be killed by those he would wander across. Wouldn’t you think he would be undone by God’s mercy and fall on his face and repent? He did not. He took on a persecution complex instead. If you are a person that picks up an offense, you will usually go through this progression: You will usually be a wanderer. You go from job to job. You can’t stay in a church very long. You may fall in and out of personal relationships, as well. All of these can be a mark or sign that you are easily offended. If this is you and you can’t seem to find lasting relationships, and stay in one place and build, maybe the reason is because you are easily offended. You may take on a persecution complex. You will think everyone is out to get you. Your life circumstances are always someone else’s fault in your mind. You won’t see that the issue is yours to deal with! You may have anger issues. My own tendency when I feel offended is to get angry. You may not get angry, but feel deeply disappointed instead. Disappointment leads down the same path of rejection and into an ongoing persecution complex. Regardless of how it manifests in you, you must do something to make sure you do not pick up that bait! If you do, you are trapped. Now, you have an offense. Now, you have sin. “A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.’ (Proverbs 18:19; ESV) “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” (Proverbs 19:11; ESV) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Invite the Holy Spirit to come and show you where there is deep, even old, undealt-with offense in your life. Be honest before the Lord and with yourself as you read through each of the scenarios below. Do you see any patterns of wandering? Do you have trouble finding a church that fits you? Could it be offense at the root? Have you become offended at a pastor, elder, other member, former friend, or even a family member that didn’t express Christ to you the way you expected? Do you have trouble keeping a job? Do you often get fired or just get tired and move on, always looking for a better fit? Did you ever become offended with a boss or supervisor who you feel treated you poorly? Have you ever felt that another employee was treated better than you? What about regulations or company policies that you may have disagreed with? Did you ever have a Christian employer who was less than godly in your eyes? Now, the really tough one. Did you get offended at a parent or grandparent? You likely have issues with authority. Even if justified, we must forgive to move forward in life. Get professional counseling, if this seems impossible. You can trust God with your circumstances. Is your offense at a sibling? Read Genesis 4 and remind yourself of where this landed Cain. Jealousy and envy are not befitting a child of God. Forgive. Bless and curse not. Drop your “rights” and judgements and live free in Christ! Pray for their salvation, if they need to be born again. Your forgiveness and expressed love toward them may be used to save them from the fires of hell. That’s worth it, right? Knowing how you personally deal with offense will help you participate with the Lord’s healing of your soul. It will also help you stay free of offense in the future. What are your triggers? Do you get angry or disappointed? Worship the One Who sets you free! A prayer you can pray: Holy Spirit, I invite you to come and examine my life. Root out any place where the fruit of offense has taken place. [Walk through point 2-5 above, slowly and carefully, letting Him heal and deliver you. Let Him set you free, so you can be a minister of freedom to other captives!] Lord, show me where I am susceptible to taking the bait of offense. Teach me to be alert to my emotional reactions to things, so I can stop and process with You immediately. Make me an instrument of Your peace to help others get free and stay free. The Church is in need of the peacemakers to rise up. The nation is in need of the peacemakers! Let it be Your Church that fills this role. What glory belongs to You! You are so merciful, not to leave us in our offended state! All my life I will tell of Your wonderful ways. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Today’s decree: Church, live free of offense in Christ! Let God’s peacemakers rise up across this land!

Offense’s Downward Spiral into Sin – Offense, Part 4 Cain was punished by God for killing his brother, Abel. God made him a wanderer, but granted Cain’s request to not be killed by those he would wander across. Wouldn’t you think he would be undone by God’s mercy and fall on his face and repent? He did not. He took on a persecution complex instead. If you are a person that picks up an offense, you will usually go through this progression: You will usually be a wanderer. You go from job to job. You can’t stay in a church very long. You may fall in and out of personal relationships, as well. All of these can be a mark or sign that you are easily offended. If this is you and you can’t seem to find lasting relationships, and stay in one place and build, maybe the reason is because you are easily offended. You may take on a persecution complex. You will think everyone is out to get you. Your life circumstances are always someone else’s fault in your mind. You won’t see that the issue is yours to deal with! You may have anger issues. My own tendency when I feel offended is to get angry. You may not get angry, but feel deeply disappointed instead. Disappointment leads down the same path of rejection and into an ongoing persecution complex. Regardless of how it manifests in you, you must do something to make sure you do not pick up that bait! If you do, you are trapped. Now, you have an offense. Now, you have sin. “A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.’ (Proverbs 18:19; ESV) “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” (Proverbs 19:11; ESV) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Invite the Holy Spirit to come and show you where there is deep, even old, undealt-with offense in your life. Be honest before the Lord and with yourself as you read through each of the scenarios below. Do you see any patterns of wandering? Do you have trouble finding a church that fits you? Could it be offense at the root? Have you become offended at a pastor, elder, other member, former friend, or even a family member that didn’t express Christ to you the way you expected? Do you have trouble keeping a job? Do you often get fired or just get tired and move on, always looking for a better fit? Did you ever become offended with a boss or supervisor who you feel treated you poorly? Have you ever felt that another employee was treated better than you? What about regulations or company policies that you may have disagreed with? Did you ever have a Christian employer who was less than godly in your eyes? Now, the really tough one. Did you get offended at a parent or grandparent? You likely have issues with authority. Even if justified, we must forgive to move forward in life. Get professional counseling, if this seems impossible. You can trust God with your circumstances. Is your offense at a sibling? Read Genesis 4 and remind yourself of where this landed Cain. Jealousy and envy are not befitting a child of God. Forgive. Bless and curse not. Drop your “rights” and judgements and live free in Christ! Pray for their salvation, if they need to be born again. Your forgiveness and expressed love toward them may be used to save them from the fires of hell. That’s worth it, right? Knowing how you personally deal with offense will help you participate with the Lord’s healing of your soul. It will also help you stay free of offense in the future. What are your triggers? Do you get angry or disappointed? Worship the One Who sets you free! A prayer you can pray: Holy Spirit, I invite you to come and examine my life. Root out any place where the fruit of offense has taken place. [Walk through point 2-5 above, slowly and carefully, letting Him heal and deliver you. Let Him set you free, so you can be a minister of freedom to other captives!] Lord, show me where I am susceptible to taking the bait of offense. Teach me to be alert to my emotional reactions to things, so I can stop and process with You immediately. Make me an instrument of Your peace to help others get free and stay free. The Church is in need of the peacemakers to rise up. The nation is in need of the peacemakers! Let it be Your Church that fills this role. What glory belongs to You! You are so merciful, not to leave us in our offended state! All my life I will tell of Your wonderful ways. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Today’s decree: Church, live free of offense in Christ! Let God’s peacemakers rise up across this land!

Be Angry and Sin Not – Offense, Part 3 In the story of Cain and Abel, one did it God’s way and the other didn’t. And, the one who didn’t became angry. He didn’t deal with his anger properly. There is nothing wrong with growing angry. Sometimes we get angry at the wrong things, but it is not a sin in and of itself to get angry. The Bible talks about being angry and not sinning. God made us with emotions. We can even have righteous anger. It is not anger in and of itself that is the problem. If someone hurts you and offends you, the key is what you do with that anger. How do you process it? How do you carry it? How do you get rid of it? Cain’s anger turned into depression. His countenance fell. He began to mope and sulk. The next thing you know, that turned into a deep hatred for his brother and he murdered him. God laid a sentence on him. He said, “You are going to be a vagrant. You will be a wanderer in the earth.” It is fascinating to me that Cain says, “Hey, this is too strong a sentence on me. Now, everyone who sees me is going to want to kill me.” God says, “I’ll take care of that. I’ll put a mark on you to make sure no one kills you.” Notice the fact that even though Cain was at fault, he was not punished with death. He was just cast out. “‘Why are you so angry?’ the Lord asked Cain. ‘Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.’’” (Genesis 4:6-7; NLT) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Fairness and justice are two key words in the nation today. Fairness is defined as “impartial and just treatment or behavior without favoritism or discrimination.” Justice is “the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited awards or punishments. The establishment or determination of rights according to the rule of law or equity.” Think about these definitions for a minute in light of the truth that God is always just. People cannot decide how we should be treated by God. Only God gets to decide that and He is trying to save us! Say, “God is always just. God is always true. God has made a way of escape from the snare of the fowler and “Jesus” is that way of escape.” Intercede for those you know are in the battle for justice. Here are a few: David Daleiden, Jack Phillips, Abby Johnson, Will and Dehavilland Ford, and Dr. Alveda King. Ask God to examine your heart. Are you offended at Him? Humble yourself and work it out with Him, if so. Ask Him to keep you from sin. Are you offended at His Church? If you are, Repent and work it out with God. Pray for His beautiful Bride to become unoffendable. Acknowledge His Divine protection over your life, deserved or not, and worship Him. A prayer you can pray: God, You are a God of Justice. You are always righteous and good. You know the end from the beginning and You get to decide where You bestow mercy, grace, and favor. Keep us from becoming offended at You. When we see You grace another with favor and blessing, keep our hearts from misunderstanding fairness and justice. You are the Author of these things. You are the One we can call on to correct injustices against the innocent, even those who do not know You. Correct things in our society that are out of order due to the sinful nature of man. We can also ask You for justice for those who love You. We pray for those fighting against injustices, such as David Daleiden and Jack Phillips. Help them, Jesus! We join our prayers to those battling for righteousness and justice for the unborn, against racism, to deliver from gender identity issues, the breaking of poverty, and other such things in our society. These are matters where tempers flare on both sides and our nation is divided over them. We need Your intervention, Lord. We need Your Wise Counsel. We must find a way to stay unoffended at those we disagree with, so we can bring Your solutions to the table. Forgive us when we have become offended at You, thinking we know best about these things, or thinking You are delaying. Forgive us for becoming offended at Your Church. Wake her up, Lord! Cause every Believer to engage in some way in the battle over these lost souls, and for our nation’s atmosphere to shift! Only You can save us, Jesus. Amen. Today’s decree: God is always just. God is always true. God has made a way of escape from the snare of the fowler and “Jesus” is that way of escape.

Be Angry and Sin Not – Offense, Part 3 In the story of Cain and Abel, one did it God’s way and the other didn’t. And, the one who didn’t became angry. He didn’t deal with his anger properly. There is nothing wrong with growing angry. Sometimes we get angry at the wrong things, but it is not a sin in and of itself to get angry. The Bible talks about being angry and not sinning. God made us with emotions. We can even have righteous anger. It is not anger in and of itself that is the problem. If someone hurts you and offends you, the key is what you do with that anger. How do you process it? How do you carry it? How do you get rid of it? Cain’s anger turned into depression. His countenance fell. He began to mope and sulk. The next thing you know, that turned into a deep hatred for his brother and he murdered him. God laid a sentence on him. He said, “You are going to be a vagrant. You will be a wanderer in the earth.” It is fascinating to me that Cain says, “Hey, this is too strong a sentence on me. Now, everyone who sees me is going to want to kill me.” God says, “I’ll take care of that. I’ll put a mark on you to make sure no one kills you.” Notice the fact that even though Cain was at fault, he was not punished with death. He was just cast out. “‘Why are you so angry?’ the Lord asked Cain. ‘Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.’’” (Genesis 4:6-7; NLT) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Fairness and justice are two key words in the nation today. Fairness is defined as “impartial and just treatment or behavior without favoritism or discrimination.” Justice is “the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited awards or punishments. The establishment or determination of rights according to the rule of law or equity.” Think about these definitions for a minute in light of the truth that God is always just. People cannot decide how we should be treated by God. Only God gets to decide that and He is trying to save us! Say, “God is always just. God is always true. God has made a way of escape from the snare of the fowler and “Jesus” is that way of escape.” Intercede for those you know are in the battle for justice. Here are a few: David Daleiden, Jack Phillips, Abby Johnson, Will and Dehavilland Ford, and Dr. Alveda King. Ask God to examine your heart. Are you offended at Him? Humble yourself and work it out with Him, if so. Ask Him to keep you from sin. Are you offended at His Church? If you are, Repent and work it out with God. Pray for His beautiful Bride to become unoffendable. Acknowledge His Divine protection over your life, deserved or not, and worship Him. A prayer you can pray: God, You are a God of Justice. You are always righteous and good. You know the end from the beginning and You get to decide where You bestow mercy, grace, and favor. Keep us from becoming offended at You. When we see You grace another with favor and blessing, keep our hearts from misunderstanding fairness and justice. You are the Author of these things. You are the One we can call on to correct injustices against the innocent, even those who do not know You. Correct things in our society that are out of order due to the sinful nature of man. We can also ask You for justice for those who love You. We pray for those fighting against injustices, such as David Daleiden and Jack Phillips. Help them, Jesus! We join our prayers to those battling for righteousness and justice for the unborn, against racism, to deliver from gender identity issues, the breaking of poverty, and other such things in our society. These are matters where tempers flare on both sides and our nation is divided over them. We need Your intervention, Lord. We need Your Wise Counsel. We must find a way to stay unoffended at those we disagree with, so we can bring Your solutions to the table. Forgive us when we have become offended at You, thinking we know best about these things, or thinking You are delaying. Forgive us for becoming offended at Your Church. Wake her up, Lord! Cause every Believer to engage in some way in the battle over these lost souls, and for our nation’s atmosphere to shift! Only You can save us, Jesus. Amen. Today’s decree: God is always just. God is always true. God has made a way of escape from the snare of the fowler and “Jesus” is that way of escape.

The Lesson of Cain and Abel – Offense, Part 2 There’s an interesting progression in Genesis, Chapter 4, between Abel and Cain, where the first murder occured. The progression that took place in Cain’s life, I think, is very common today. He offered the Lord a sacrifice from the first fruits of the ground. He was a farmer and he brought a sacrifice to the Lord of his crops. Abel, on the other hand, was a rancher, and he brought the sacrifice of an animal, which he offered to the Lord. There is actually a lot going on here. You won’t understand fully, unless you understand some of the words that are used. The passage says that God had regard for Abel’s sacrifice, but not for Cain’s. The reason is that, from the time of the fall (of man), the sacrifice required the shedding of blood to atone for sin. Cain brought an offering to God of the first fruits of the ground. So, God had regard for Abel’s offering. The word “regard” here, means “to gaze at with favor” or “to turn the face toward”. In other words, Abel’s sacrifice, the blood sacrifice, meant that God could turn toward Abel, fellowship with him, and accept him. This was a precursor of the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross, an atoning for sin. He could not accept Cain’s offering, because there was no blood sacrifice. So, Cain became really offended. The Lord said several strong things to Cain. Let me paraphrase what He said, “Why are you acting this way, Cain? You know the rules. You know the way this works. If you want My gaze, if you want My acceptance, you have to do it this way.” In fact, He says to him in verse 7, “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?” That’s what this was all about. One was accepted. The other was rejected. “It came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.” (Genesis 4:3-5; NASB) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Understand the conflict that will occur when God turns in favor toward those that accept the sacrifice of His Son. Those who don’t yet know Him will feel this tension. Intercede for the salvation of the lost. Ask the Lord to show you where you are trying hard to get God to accept you. He accepts you through the blood of His Son. Enter His Hebrews 4 rest! Thank Him for saving you! Worship Him! A prayer you can pray: Father, my heart is overwhelmed with praises to You for You have done a wonderful thing! You have given every human being an opportunity to be regarded with favor by giving us Your Son, Jesus, as the ultimate blood sacrifice. We can choose to accept Him or not, but the sacrifice is made. Your face now turns toward those who receive that precious life laid down. It is more and more obvious that those not yet accepting that sacrifice see the difference. They feel the lack and don’t understand why they are so frustrated and angry. They lay traps for the godly and long to see us fall. Father, save them! Let us refrain from being offended by them, and love them to You, instead. It is not always easy. Sometimes we may feel like we want to hurt them back, find ways to punish or humiliate them, or make them eat their words, but this is not Your way. That’s the way of offense. Lord, keep us from picking up that bait, so they may see You in Your Church! Grace for the harvest, Jesus. Amen. Today’s decree: There is only one acceptable sacrifice by which we may be saved – that of Jesus. May we make Him known across our land!

The Lesson of Cain and Abel – Offense, Part 2 There’s an interesting progression in Genesis, Chapter 4, between Abel and Cain, where the first murder occured. The progression that took place in Cain’s life, I think, is very common today. He offered the Lord a sacrifice from the first fruits of the ground. He was a farmer and he brought a sacrifice to the Lord of his crops. Abel, on the other hand, was a rancher, and he brought the sacrifice of an animal, which he offered to the Lord. There is actually a lot going on here. You won’t understand fully, unless you understand some of the words that are used. The passage says that God had regard for Abel’s sacrifice, but not for Cain’s. The reason is that, from the time of the fall (of man), the sacrifice required the shedding of blood to atone for sin. Cain brought an offering to God of the first fruits of the ground. So, God had regard for Abel’s offering. The word “regard” here, means “to gaze at with favor” or “to turn the face toward”. In other words, Abel’s sacrifice, the blood sacrifice, meant that God could turn toward Abel, fellowship with him, and accept him. This was a precursor of the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross, an atoning for sin. He could not accept Cain’s offering, because there was no blood sacrifice. So, Cain became really offended. The Lord said several strong things to Cain. Let me paraphrase what He said, “Why are you acting this way, Cain? You know the rules. You know the way this works. If you want My gaze, if you want My acceptance, you have to do it this way.” In fact, He says to him in verse 7, “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?” That’s what this was all about. One was accepted. The other was rejected. “It came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.” (Genesis 4:3-5; NASB) Give Him 15 minutes in prayer: Understand the conflict that will occur when God turns in favor toward those that accept the sacrifice of His Son. Those who don’t yet know Him will feel this tension. Intercede for the salvation of the lost. Ask the Lord to show you where you are trying hard to get God to accept you. He accepts you through the blood of His Son. Enter His Hebrews 4 rest! Thank Him for saving you! Worship Him! A prayer you can pray: Father, my heart is overwhelmed with praises to You for You have done a wonderful thing! You have given every human being an opportunity to be regarded with favor by giving us Your Son, Jesus, as the ultimate blood sacrifice. We can choose to accept Him or not, but the sacrifice is made. Your face now turns toward those who receive that precious life laid down. It is more and more obvious that those not yet accepting that sacrifice see the difference. They feel the lack and don’t understand why they are so frustrated and angry. They lay traps for the godly and long to see us fall. Father, save them! Let us refrain from being offended by them, and love them to You, instead. It is not always easy. Sometimes we may feel like we want to hurt them back, find ways to punish or humiliate them, or make them eat their words, but this is not Your way. That’s the way of offense. Lord, keep us from picking up that bait, so they may see You in Your Church! Grace for the harvest, Jesus. Amen. Today’s decree: There is only one acceptable sacrifice by which we may be saved – that of Jesus. May we make Him known across our land!