| Start of Matt buffer: Tue 07:24:32
Matt: good morning
Dave: so it is! Same 2 U!
Matt: yes tis
Dave: I'm making up for the missed and late mornings!
Matt: lol
Dave: are you ok to start early, or do you want to wait for a bit?
Matt: doesn’t bother me
Dave: what stood out for you in this study?
Matt: ummm, no 9
Dave: what do you think about it?
Matt: that’s pretty cool
Dave: have you felt certain things that used to really control or dominate your life fall away as you get to know Jesus?
Matt: ya. There are some people that really get on my nerves, the sorta ones that u’d like to take the 1st chance to knock them so hard they find themselves in the next week. They still do the same things, it just doesnt bother me anymore
Dave: cool. Why doesn't it bother you anymore?
Matt: dunno, it just doesn’t
Dave: did you pray about it at all?
Matt: ya
Dave: ah ha! Have you said a thank-you prayer for the stress going away?
Matt: no
Dave: I am a lot the same. I tend to forget that I actually prayed for things that have happened in my life! You might want to make a note to thank God for changing your heart
Dave: another reason that you are changing is probably because you are liking yourself more
Matt: ??
Dave: when Jesus comes into our life He replaces our 'self opinion' with His opinion of us
Matt: o, ok
Dave: we then begin to see ourselves as He sees us. And we notice that we must be pretty special . . . if God would die for us! And when we appreciate ourselves we tend to care less about what jerks say about us or to us
Dave: is it really possible for us to come to a point of seeing other people the way God sees us?
Matt: ya
Dave: do you know any people at church who have a hard time loving people "the way they are"?
Matt: ummm . . . no
Dave: I have bumped into a lot of judgmental and "You change and then you can be one of us" types
Matt: ya?
Dave: one of my church members told another one, a week ago, that Catholics were going to hell. The
woman she was talking to is Catholic.
Matt: :-s
Dave: it nearly brought her to tears. She has been coming to our SDA church with her family for years because her husband is an Adventist
Matt: o cool
Dave: I baptised her daughter a month ago. She was leaning towards baptism herself. But yesterday I was talking to her and she said "If that is the way that the people in the church feel about me and my parents, then I don't want to be one of them"
Matt: o
Dave: do you think Jesus would have ever told someone that they were going to hell for being different from Him?
Matt: no
Dave: how can we make sure we don't treat people that way?
Matt: by letting him into our lives
Dave: how can someone who is an Adventist treat another person (for whom Jesus died) so ruthlessly?
Matt: by falling away from God
Dave: I just pray that I am careful with my words and I ask Him to give me His nature and kindness above my own judgmentalism and selfishness. Now it is my turn to be forgiving. Just imagine . . . God gets treated this way by thousands of people every day
Matt: millions more like
Dave: no wonder once someone confesses he forgives and forgets. JUST TO KEEP HIS SANITY!
Dave: share your thoughts on 1 john 1:9
Matt: k prtty much if we admit we've sinned and confess it to God He'll forgive us
Dave: how does He do it? Doesn't sin bother Him?
Matt: He is faithful and just to forgive our sins. He loves us
Dave: wanna pray?
Matt: k
Dave: dear Jesus,
Dave: thanks for loving us so much. Please help me to demonstrate your forgiveness and kindness to others. Thanks for Matt and the journey he is on with you. Amen
Matt: God, thanx for helping my get to know you better, and thank u for helping me to get along better with certain people and to forgive them, please be with them. Amen
Dave has left chat
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Dave Edgren has joined our editorial team and is now looking after Signs of the Times magazine.