Am I my brother’s keeper?
Lord Jesus, you became human, died for me, and rose so that I may have a personal relationship with You and the Father through the Holy Spirit. Help me to understand that having the best relationship with you means being in right relationship with others. Remind me Lord that I do not live in a bubble with you, but as part of Your kingdom family. Amen.
Ezekiel 33:7-9 You son of man I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me…if you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death.
Have you considered that God has entrusted certain people to you to hold firm in the faith?
Spend time in prayer asking the Lord, “Who are you calling me to right now Lord, and what are you asking of me?”
Psalm 95 If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts
There tend to be areas of our lives that we hold back from God, areas that we maybe don’t feel that He belongs or that we do not trust Him with. Today, in your life, what are you holding back? Where is your heart hardened?
Why are you hardened to “your way” in this area? What are you afraid of? Consider whatever that fear is to be a lie whispered by the enemy.
Can you open the door to our Lord even a little bit? In prayer be honest and talk to Jesus about this. It might look like this, “Lord Jesus, I know that I still need to control _____________. Show me why I hold onto this so tightly. Help me to release this to You. Holy Spirit build faith and trust in my heart that I may have the strength to release this too. Amen.
Romans 13:8-10 Love does no evil to neighbor; hence love is the fulfillment of the law.
Evil seems extreme doesn’t it? It can be easy to read this and convince ourselves that we’re “okay.” Think of it this way, evil is the absence of love and love is to will the good of the other. Consider your neighbor anyone who draws into your proximity either directly or indirectly.
Where have you fallen short in willing the good of your neighbor, not just in your actions and words, but also in your thoughts. Perhaps take some time to write those moments down and then ask Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the the effects this has created.
If this makes you feel guilty, uncomfortable, or remorseful, that is okay. Holy Spirit is doing the work of Ezekiel on your heart.
Matthew 18:15-20 If your brother sins against you…
Have you ever considered that Jesus was the OG for conflict resolution? Have you ever used this Gospel as a blueprint for conflict resolution?
We see the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel being tasked as the “watchman” for all of Israel. Jesus now appoints each of us to this same task for those whom God entrusts to us; our circle of influence.
Where in your life has unresolved conflict resulted in broken relationship? God desires to enter into that brokenness and restore the relationship. In prayer, ask Jesus to show you one way that you can reach out in that relationship and begin building a bridge.
Deep Dive: As a way to assist you as you reflect, I am sharing a link below to a very brief but insightful ‘examination of conscience’ based on the 10 commandments that I feel ties in really well with St. Paul’s epistle.
