From The Crucible (by Assoc. Pastor Linda Pugsley)

It is so encouraging to know that God knows! He knows our struggles and our weaknesses; He knows our successes and our failures. And with all that, He still loves us. We must learn from that and love one another.

We must love the husband who works too much; we must love the wife who spends too much; and we must love the child who argues too much. It is when we are in sin that we need that love the most. The love is like a light that can guide someone away from what is wrong.

Love doesn’t mean you agree with the sin or don’t address it. Love means you teach the right way, live the right way yourself and still not have anything against someone who is not doing it correctly. Now that is a tall order!

That is hard, even impossible at times. That is why we must call out to Jesus. He knows the way through it. He is the way through it. Don’t say you can’t do it. "God has not given us a spirit of fear (timidity) but of power and of love (a sound mind)." 2 Timothy 1:7

If you don’t have power, if you don’t have love, if you don’t have discipline—then ask for it. God cannot lie. He said He has given it to us. Take it…and then ask for more! Endure the fire—it’s producing pure gold!

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