WEDNESDAY'S WORD - FORBEARANCE - Sadell Bradley 09/23/2020

WEDNESDAY'S WORD

FORBEARANCE

Sadell Bradley

09/23/2020

"We should meet abuse by forbearance. Human nature is so constituted that if we take absolutely no notice of anger or abuse, the person indulging in it will soon weary of it and stop. " - Mahatma Gandhi

PRAY. PROTEST. LAMENT. WORSHIP.

SUNDAY, October 4th, 2PM Pray. Protest. Lament in Washington Park The Warehouse Church joins with Mosaix Cincinnati. Invite your friends and family as we worship Jesus in an atmosphere of UNITY!

WAREHOUSE T-SHIRT FUN-RAISER

Got your Warehouse T-Shirt yet? For every T-Shirt sold, $10 will go to the Warehouse for Missions. Click here to purchase one of the many styles available. Our goal is to sell 500 T-Shirts to raise $5,000 for AV/Sound renovations in the lower level of our church, and to assist parents of CPS students. When you get your T-Shirt, post a photo! Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

FORBEARANCE is a term that we usually hear used in banking. It means to refrain from exercising a legal right, especially enforcing the payment of a debt. We've heard it recently during COVID-19 as banks offered struggling families a mortgage forbearance - a solution that offers customers a temporary lower payment for up to six months to avoid foreclosure or a negative affect on their credit. We understand that you've lost a job, your income has declined, or you're unable to work due to an illness of your own or a family member. Instead of giving you a harsh penalty, we sympathize with your situation, and we are going to extend grace, mercy, and time for you to get back on your feet". Many have been helped by this intervention.

BEAR WITH ME, PLEASE! FORBEARANCE in relationships means patient self-control; restraint and tolerance. Forbearance is a term that is found several times in Scripture. The Greek, anecho - to hold up, to bear with, to endure, to have patience with, to suffer, to admit. to persist. It has the idea of completing a process, still bearing up even after going through the needed sequence or course of action. It means we are to make allowance for the faults of others and pardon them. Sometimes we'll give them time to make things right or even choose to suffer consequences or carry the burden of what is owed us, whether money or apologies. Paul wrote in Colossians 3:12-15, "12Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14And above all these things put on charity (love), which is the bond of perfectness. 15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

'ONE ANOTHERING'

The Bible encourages the character developing practice of 'one anothering.' We are commanded to love one another, to forgive one another, to prefer and esteem one another better than ourselves. Paul admonishes in Ephesians 4, " 1I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." We can choose not to be harsh in meting out judgments and penalties. We can be peacemakers who offer others much needed slack, especially in this time...as a mark of Christ's love and our newfound maturity.