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Nothing in life is any more difficult than seeing past a person's sin and loving their heart. Jesus did that with each one of us and has called us to do the same with others. It is very easy to get on our self-righteous pedistal and preach about all the horrible things others do in violation of God's commands. It is not so easy to set our own sins on that pedistal for all to see.
If we as beleivers would just be more transparent, allowing others to see our struggles, battles and failures; we would be 100% more effective in communicating our love than by preaching sermons only.
Thank you for sharing this important truth.
B2Y
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Posted 04/22/2008 01:15am
Author: blessings2you
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What a wonderful post - so succintly put. We had a preach about loving the lost as part of our witness - as Paul did in 1 corinthians 9 (I think) which really challenged me and this beautifully written blog has really made some great points that we all need to be reminded of . Thank you
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Posted 04/22/2008 01:26am
Author: sarahl
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You are right sister! It is hard for us to keep our convictions to ourselves and it is easy to look upon and "judge" the sin of another, especially in an area where we do not fall. But the truth is that we each have our own weaknesses and God works with each of us differently. We are not all addicts, we are not all adulterers, we are not all cheats, and we are not all gossipers. But within a church we'll find the gossiper judging the addict while an adulterer condemns the embezzler. Mix it up any which way, it is all hypocrisy... We have no right to judge, only God can do that.
And we can never quite understand the battle of someone in bondage to a particular stronghold of sin if we have never experienced the same bondage. If we are not say, a gambler, we will never quite understand that compulsion and it is easy to think we know how to solve the gambler's problem. We can't see past our own sins but it is so easy to see the sin of another and think we know better. That's not very different from the Pharisee comparing himself to the tax collector...
Better we turn that searchlight inwards to examine ourselves and be honest towards God. I know I'm no better than the sinner next to me because I too sin. We all fall short and yet God loves us just the same... And if I can't love another sinner, what good am I as a testimony of God's love?
Thank you Sister for the reminder of these truths and another great post! No one else gets the point across in a quicker way than you... 
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Posted 04/22/2008 02:15am
Author: doulos
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Happy, all I can say is Amen! God has been crushing my once self-righteous view I had and has been repleacing it with His love. I am forever reminded of where I came from, I am always reminded of the sin in my life, right now and we are all in need of a Savior and a Love like none other. Awesome blog! Blessings! Andrea
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Posted 04/22/2008 03:40am
Author: allforhim
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I think we look at others and find some sense of self-satisfaction or pride in thinking (as doulos says) "at least I'm not that bad, because I've never done (fill in the blank).
If we truly understood that whatever repugnant sin THEY have is the same as our own sin, in God's eyes, then we will be able to love and tolerate in the right sense of the word, these others.
When we truly recognize the grace we have received, we are gracious to others.
Great post, sweetie. Very convicting.
Love ya bunches,
Gracie
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Posted 04/22/2008 04:17am
Author: savedbyegrace
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Amen Sister . . . just as God hates sin so should we; just as God loves the sinner so should we; we must never forget God has saved us from a multitude of sin; we must never forget we are a work in progress and there remains things in each of us God is working on;
When ministering to others we must never forget LOVE is the prescription needed for healing, God's LOVE.
Blessings from NC
TchAble
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Posted 04/22/2008 05:59am
Author: tchable
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amen and thank you happy and my other brothers and sisters for commenting on your blog.my past is what god saved me from but i still have traces of it because he isnt finished with me yet and this christian life isnt like god owning 'the heavenly laundromat' and he's trying to remember did he put the fabric softner in before the rinse cycle... ... the kids say we need to"keep it real' and how could you do that if you dont know what real is cause you're hiding behind your"secret identity"?when clark kent came out of the phone booth , he was still clark kent only in different clothes... ..
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Posted 04/22/2008 06:57am
Author: iraqivetsgtret
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Amen! Amen! Amen! We must be on the same Holy Ghost led wave-length today!
How many hearts have been broken because of racism, sexism, classism, within the church walls!
How much strife and division has the church allowed to go on in the name of keeping the congregants comfortable?
How many of us have reached out to someone that's just a little different looking, acting, dressing than we are and reached out to them in love?
Oh... my heart bleed with yours sister...,my heart bleeds with yours.
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Posted 04/22/2008 01:20pm
Author: blackrose65
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Thank you for writing this blog. My heart jumped in joy as I too am convinced without doubt that my witness of the love of God through Jesus Christ is what the world needs to see. This witness draws in because it is unassuming and open hearted and recognized as not of this world. Individual sin is dealt with as God directs each one of us. But the love and graciousness and peace of Christ can safely be extended to all without the fear of error. It is not easy to always see past the sin to see the sinner as God's beloved child but with just the desire to do so, much grace is given to uphold the decision.
Peace and much blessings to you,
Lisa
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Posted 04/22/2008 04:44pm
Author: lmforrest
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I JUST did a personal devotion on this exact subject. Last week I was the target of many horrible statements and opinions and was extremely hurt and angry. As a matter of fact, I still am hurt. But my anger has subsided some and so instead of letting these awful statements control what I did, I delved into a few verses recommended by my best friend. First, I began with Ephesians 6: 11-13. I felt I needed to armor up and be ready for another attack, and it was true. James 1:2 was recommended to me by my best friend which serves as a huge comfort to me during my time of pain and suffering. From there, I was led to Romans 12: 14 and 21 and all the verses inbetween. The theme is to bless those who persecute you. Bless those who torment you. Love them instead of hate them. "Love the sinner, hate the sin" thing. So, I asked myself and the Lord, "What can I do to overcome evil with good? How can I bless these people?" I made them brownies.They were suspicious and fairly grateful...and continued to attack me just as hard as before, if not worse. And though that ISN'T ok, I was ready for it and I had some amazing people behind me to fall on.
Basically, I learned the same lesson in a God-created way. And I was VERY upset at first, because the last thing I wanted to do was be nice! I had much "better" ideas of my own that would solve the problem very nicely...but they were just going to add to the problem. I am reminded of the bisexual neighbor of mine who is very lost and needs REAL love very badly. I think I'll make her brownies. 
Thank you so much for your very insightful posts!! They are very helpful to me.
~rosiehunny
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Posted 04/27/2008 09:00am
Author: rosiehunny
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Amen!! And thank you for this wonderful post!!
Too often I have been guilty of being too judgemental, or not wanting to show love to someone who I disagree with. Thank you for reminding me to love just as God loves. We as Christians need to let God's love shine through in us, so that we, through Christ, may be the light of the world.
Also, blessings2you made a great point about letting our failures be seen. If we preach, but make it sound like we have never sinned and it's everyone else who is doing something wrong, we probably will only turn people away. But if we show that we have sinned, but we have forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ, and that forgiveness and grace is available to anyone who will simply give their heart to Him, we will reach more people.
Thanks for a great message!
God bless,
-Helena
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Posted 04/30/2008 10:25am
Author: h0lalaric0h
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Great Blog Happy
"Hate the Sin but Love the Sinner"
Not always as easily done as said and something many of use need to strive to attain.
Love in Christ
Pooh
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Posted 05/09/2008 06:17pm
Author: poodlelady
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Great post! One of the reasons I attend the church I do now, after going to 4 different ones before finding this one is the fact that the people in this church are real. No phony smiles, no I'll pray for you and never speak to me again, etc. I have been guilty of it myself, though, so it is a great reminder. jesus always loved first, then confronted the sin.
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Posted 05/28/2008 03:41pm
Author: lyn71
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Log Into Chatroom 
Creative Commons: Attribution
I have a lack of understanding about other peoples convictions sometimes. I get like, thats not what I think so your wrong! But in reality, I must take their convictions and pray about them. 
