Roseau Times-Region - Serving Roseau County for over 100 Years - The Official Roseau County Newspaper

Recently I have been reminded that the best health care plan is preventative health care: Living healthy, and when possible, knowing what to do when our health wavers. Now what is true for our bodies is equally true for our souls. Preventative soul care.

Getting along! That's how I'd like to invite you to view this morning's message. Lest you think I'm aiming it at one of you specifically or someone you know. I'm not! If this nudge was on your behalf, that's between you and God.

Getting along! Positive, nothing in the way, nothing against each other that we have not biblically dealt with kinds of relationships. Plain and simple, getting along. I want to focus on Christian relationships. If you're not a Christian there are some things you need to attend to before you apply today's message to your situation.

Philippians 4: 2-3 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.  Yes, and I ask you, my loyal yokefellow (companion), help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Apparently they were maintaining an arms folded posture against each other. Have you ever done this? Body language can be very revealing. Maybe even more revealing than our words. Arms folded with intention may mean, "I'm not changing," and "I'm not going to consider what you're saying." See, my arms are folded, that's how I keep them from receiving you!"

Basically saying, they were arguing with each other. They were Christians. Christians not getting along with each other; folks who profess to love Jesus sticking their tongues out at each other..in the name of Jesus. Can such a thing be? Well...yes it can!

A converted Eskimo was asked by a visiting pastor how his life was diferent since he invited Christ into his heart. "Well," he said, "it is like I have those two dogs inside of me, a black one and a white one, and they are always fighting." "Which one wins?" asked the pastor. "The one I feed said the Eskimo. How insightful, and the Eskimo hadn't even been to seminary. Christians aren't immune to having difficulties with each other.

The plot thickens: these ladies were in the ministry. They should know better right? In reality most of us have pockets of spirituality, those areas of our lives that Jesus has been able to capture for himself and God's glory. BUT! There are other areas, the growing edges of our lives where the battle still rages for control. For example, the Pharisees received an "A" from Jesus on tithing but flunked Compassion 101! Maybe Euodia or Syntyche was bossy? Hmm, sometimes we allow the good in our lives to cloud the issue of our bad or renegade flesh.

Now look at the end of the verse. "Their names are in the book of life." They're going to have to spend the rest of eternity in heaven with each other! Have you ever thought about the fact that you're going to spend eternity with the Christians you fuss with down here? We're going to spend eternity with people of other demoninations. Catholics are going to live with Protestents. In relationship to baptism, "dunkers" are going to have to live with "sprinklers."

Well, I'm funning you a bit, but wouldn't it be better to solve the personal clashes down here so we can walk through the Gates of Glory hand in hand, and heart to heart?

Last but not least "I ask you, loyal yokefellow, Help these women... Sometimes our getting along problems need outside intervention. God gives permission for that to happen.

The objective is redemption, or reconciliation, not judgement.

Until Next Time,

Pastor Joe Elick

1940-2021