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Day 279, or October the 6th. We don't need megaphone

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diplomacy. Our thoughts today come from Matthew

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chapter 18, verse 15. If your brother or sister

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sins, go and point out their fault, just between

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the two of you. If they listen to you, you have

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won them over. And now the big picture surrounding

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this verse. Our verse today is taken from a passage

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that records many events that take place east

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of the Jordan River in a province called Perea,

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which is never mentioned by name in the Bible.

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In the Old Testament, it roughly coincides with

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the region of Moab, an area that produced Ruth,

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but also was at odds with Israel for centuries.

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It's likely that there is now only a small number

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of days before Jesus is crucified, and these

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chapters include some important reconciling teaching

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about how to deal with those who offend you,

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how to forgive them, and what your priorities

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should be in daily life. And now today's action

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step. There is a certain amount of pleasure in

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putting someone straight in public where everyone

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can see them squirm and at the same time witness

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your ability to argue your case and be proved

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right. It rarely brings reconciliation and often

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builds a wall between the two sides of the argument.

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Jesus' wise advice is to do it just between the

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two of you. I have found that people tend to

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be far more reasonable when you get them on their

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own. when there is no audience to play to. You

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are an unusual person if you agree with everything

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that is said and done in your church or workplace

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or home, so try this method of dealing with disagreements

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next time. I probably need to hear this as much

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as anyone else hearing these words, but I'm sure

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we can all benefit from this teaching. If you

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have to have a one -to -one meeting, make sure

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you begin graciously, Perhaps with a short word

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of prayer, if that's appropriate. Try to listen

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more than you talk and beware of quoting biblical

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texts to back up your claim, unless you really

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have to. Rely on the Holy Spirit and not on your

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own eloquence.