How to Avoid Offense

I know it sounds like an impossibility, but remember, with God, all things are possible.

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John 16:1 – These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.

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The Scriptures warn us that offenses WILL come.  But that warning can be used as a marvelous launching point for understanding that the will of God does not always happen.  There are many things that occur in this world that are as far removed from the will of God as is possible.  I am often saddened by the life I see people living who mistakenly believe, for whatever the reason, that if it is the will of God, it will happen.  Once again, dear reader, this is simply not the case.  Father wants EVERYONE to be saved, but not all will be.  Father does NOT want offense to come into your life, but there is plenty of it to go around.  Whether it succeeds in gaining entrance into your life is up to you.  With all the liberty and freedom that becomes yours as a child of God, there also comes responsibility.  The more you know, the more freedoms you enjoy, and the more freedoms you enjoy, the greater the responsibility you must shoulder.  With the freedom to live free of offense comes awesome responsibility in your personal relationship and development in the Word.  I encourage you to take a few minutes to find and read our Manna for Today, and then carry what you read throughout your day in meditation.  Your success in overcoming offense rests in your obedience to the Word of God.

Look closely at our Text for Today.  I want you to focus strongly on these words of Jesus.  “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.”  Do you see the key the Lord is giving you in how to avoid offense?  It is directly connected to the “things…spoken unto you.”  While we should absolutely give attention to the specifics of what God’s Word declares, it is the key I want you to see in this passage.  I have a safe in my home in which I store certain valuables.  I could describe all the valuables I store in it, and it would not benefit you one bit unless you HOLD THE KEY to the safe.  Today I want to offer you THE KEY TO AVOIDING OFFENSE.  That KEY is found in what you do with the Word of God.  You must first hear it; faith comes by hearing.  Once you have faith, you must work that faith, for faith without works is dead.  Then you must keep, or be a doer of that Word, for the love of God in its noun form is defined as “keeping His commandments,” and that is how faith works. Now you hold the key. 

Manna for Today – John 16:1-16; Psalm 119:165; Isaiah 26:3; Psalm 119:11; Matthew 11:6; Mark 4:17; Luke 7:23; Joshua 1:8; Isaiah 55:11; Romans 10:17; James 2:18-26; 1 John 5:3; Galatians 5:6

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