“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” Ephesians 4:15

Sometimes being a Christian can appear complicated and confusing, especially when it seems as though Christians have always been battling between showing unconditional love and grace and speaking the truth boldly and without apology. Most Christians tend to take either one side or the other, but if we look at the life of Jesus, He had a balance of both.

He showed grace to those who needed an extra measure, yet to people such as the Pharisees He wasn’t afraid to have a stern hand and rebuke them. For Jesus, it was more about the heart of the people He was reaching and what method would bring them closer to Him and the truth. What really matters to Christ is our heart behind our actions, and I think if we were to focus on reaching people’s hearts, it would be easier to find that balance between truth and grace. If we have a bitter or angry heart, we are more likely to complain or argue with others. Once we get our hearts in line with Christ’s Word, we will start to become more like Him in all areas of our life, including in how we talk to and witness to others.

What different Biblical types of love are there?

In the Greek, phileo represented a friendship or brotherly love, and agape represented a God-like love. The type of love talked about in this passage is agape, reminding us that when we speak the truth, the love that needs to be shown is a love that says what others need to hear in kindness, instead of just saying what others think they want to hear.

Is there an example of Jesus being a witness by speaking the truth?

In the New Testament Jesus found Himself speaking the truth to the Pharisees on many occasions. One such confrontation that occurred took place in Luke 11:37-44. Christ doesn’t keep anything back, He calls the Pharisees greedy and wicked and compares them to unmarked tombs that others don’t even notice. The reason that Christ found it important to confront the Pharisees instead of just showing grace was because they knew the law and were twisting it to make themselves look good. The Pharisees needed to be confronted so that they would stop using the law to make others feel inferior and unworthy of the love of Christ.

Is there an example of Jesus being a witness by showing love?

One of the most beautiful examples of Christ showing grace in the New Testament took place in John 8:3-11 when Christ showed grace to the adulterous woman. The woman knew what she had done was wrong and didn’t need Christ to tell her how to change her life.  At that point she needed to know that Christ loved her despite her past, but that He loved her too much to allow her to stay that way.  So what Jesus gave her was hope and a second chance, which most others wouldn’t have given her.

What situations have you found yourself in where you had to choose between showing grace and truth?

When has someone had to be truthful with you when you would have rather just had grace, but later you were glad they were honest with you?

How have you grown from others’ loving honesty toward you?

How can you apply how they treated you into witnessing and talking to others?

Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15

About a week ago, I was sitting in my college church class when a common question for discussion was brought up: “What is the best way to reach others for Christ?”

Some students began to say that they had always been taught to show grace to others, and not necessarily approach them with the gospel, but let them come to Christ through watching our actions. Other students didn’t agree with this method, but instead believed in being more evangelistic and approaching others with the gospel in a more straightforward, confrontational manner.

After several minutes of discussion and debate, a common ground was reached and a realization was brought to light. If it’s all about grace, then eventually, no one will know the truth or the gospel; they’ll just think you were a good person for showing grace and kindness. However, if all we care about is truth, many people may feel as though being a Christian is all about rules and knowledge, and not about an action of showing love to others.

The real answer to the question is that it takes a balance of both grace and truth. This really hit me hard, because I tend to have a habit of caring more about rules then helping people. However, when I talk to someone who doesn’t know about Christ, I sometimes allow fear to rule my life and give an excuse that because I care too much about rules, I need to be careful and only show others grace. Yet, if I only show grace, then how are they supposed to ever know why I’m living the way I live and come to personally know the Lord of my life?

I need to balance both, focusing both on speaking the truth, and speaking it in love.

What side do you usually fall on? Do you tend to let your life speak for itself, or do you speak up and tell others about Christ? Or maybe you’ve found a good balance between the two? I’d love to hear your story!

Brittany

Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

“Being confident in this, that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

The Greek translation of ”confident” is peitho, and it means to be convinced or to trust in (The Strong’s NIV Exhaustive Concordance). What stands out the most to me about this verse is that we can trust God. This verse tells us that God is going to take care of helping us grow and leading us through situations; all we have to do is trust in Him and listen to His leading. The phrase to carry it on to completion means to finish or attain a goal. We can also know that God has a goal and a purpose for our lives, and He is going to accomplish those goals in us if we allow Him to.

What are some examples of people in the Bible who went through hard times, but God used those times to prepare them for the goal He had for them?

Ruth lost her husband, went through poverty, and moved to a foreign land where she could’ve been considered an outcast. She lost everything she knew, but instead of allowing bitterness and grief to get the best of her, she chose to trust Naomi’s God, who quickly became her God. God not only brought her a home and a husband, but allowed her to be part of the kingly lineage of Jesus Christ.

Do we always see the end result of God’s plan for our lives while we are on earth?

Hebrews 11 is all about biblical heroes of faith who went through great trials on earth, but who knew that what they were going through was for a greater purpose. Verses 13-16 and 32-40 of this chapter show that they did not always see what the good of their situations were until they were in heaven, but they still chose to trust God and were joyful through their situations because they had faith.

What things have you gone through in your life of which you are still waiting to see the purpose?

How do we not lose hope when we go through troubles and we don’t necessarily see God’s reason behind it?

What steps can you take to keep a joyful and confident attitude in the midst of uncertain circumstances?

Don’t lose heart, but remember that God will complete His good work in you!

Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

Today we are so fortunate to have a guest blogger at Only By Prayer. Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

Being confident in this, that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Sometimes it’s easy to get down and not understand why God put us on this planet. Sometimes, when everything seems to be falling apart, it’s hard to see what purpose God could possibly have for our lives and what good He could bring out of our simple situations.

While I don’t have the answers, and I don’t know why God allows some events to happen, or our lives to sometimes get completely out of our control, I do know one comforting fact. God is walking beside us, and He is constantly working in us until He brings us home.

A mistake that I personally can make is that when something difficult occurs, I blame myself and beat myself up about it. However, if I truly believed that God is working in me to bring about His glory and is making a “good work” in me, I would be able to forgive myself and realize that God has an ultimate purpose in my life.

For example, sometimes very godly people will lose their jobs, and while they trust God, they can begin to look back and start with the “if onlys.” “If only I hadn’t been as bold in my witness at work.” “If only I had put more personal time into my job.” “If only I had worked harder,” and the list can go on and on.  The fact is, we can’t go back and change our circumstances and situations. We need to trust that God knows what He’s doing and has a purpose for bringing us through the trials He has allowed in our lives.

When life seems difficult and hard to understand, we need to remember Philippians 1:6 and realize that, if we allow Him to, God is always walking beside us and is using the situations we go through for His ultimate glory. Instead of walking around in fear about what has or might happen, we can walk in confidence and allow God to use our hurt and hardships for His ultimate good–and ours.

Pray on!

How often have we been taught that being helpless is a bad thing?

I grew up in a family where my grandparents emigrated from Germany. They worked hard to establish a business, lost it all in the Great Depression and started over and did it again. I was taught that hard work and independence were important traits to have—and they are.

But it’s been revolutionizing to me lately to discover that our helplessness is the very thing that God is looking for in a person. What? Well in the book A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller, chapter 6 is actually about learning how to be helpless in prayer. He says that prayer is all about bringing your helplessness to Jesus. When we finally realize that we can do nothing lasting in our own strength and power and move out of the way and let God work through our weaknesses, then things start to happen. That’s what grace is all about.

Even more amazing, the more we mature in our Christian walk, the more helpless we realize we are, and the more God works through us. Jesus says in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” And you know what? This is exactly how Jesus prayed and ministered. He did nothing apart from the power of God. “Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner,” John 5:19. So, feeling weak in a situation is actually a great thing. We turn to prayer and bring our helplessness to Jesus who sends the Holy Spirit to empower us.

Where are you weak today so that God can work?

Don’t see it as a hindrance, but rather see it as an opportunity for the power of God to work through your life. Has this ever happened with you? Feel free to share your comments on the blog.

Pray on!

Today we are so fortunate to have a guest blogger at Only By Prayer. Brittany Jean is a nineteen-year-old college student living in the Midwest with her parents and younger brother. She is currently majoring in pre-law and is planning on using that degree for ministry.

God is always there. That’s an easy concept to believe when we have everything figured out and life seems to be going perfectly. But then, a big trial always seems to come from nowhere and shake our foundation. For me, it was a huge bout of depression brought on by a lack of finances, the loss of my car, the breakup with my boyfriend, major health challenges, and an overwhelming load of college class work.

I lost hope and stopped believing God was there because I couldn’t feel Him. But it was just the opposite; God was closer to me than ever through this. He was taking away everything else I was clinging to so that I would only be able to cling to Him.

Once I had been emptied of everything the world would say defines me, God began to draw me to Him, taking care of all of my needs and worries. I can see God more clearly now than when I had everything. I have learned that only when I have been emptied of the world’s pleasures and successes, then can I be filled with the love and nearness of Christ.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in Spirit.” Psalm 34:18

Come back tomorrow for more from Brittany. We will post a devotional and study questions from her. Until then, pray on!

Update:  Click for Brittany’s study called When We Are Broken We Can See God’s Hand.

If you’re a high school or college student interested in guest blogging, drop me a line and tell my about yourself and what you’d like to write about: janevanosdol@me.com.