Pastor John is married to his wife Candy who with their three children, Krista, Joanna, John Anthony, and two son-in-laws, Matt and Doug, serve together in the ministry.Īfter graduating from Kent State University, Pastor John pursued a career in professional baseball before accepting the call to the ministry. He has produced books, tapes, and other teaching materials to empower, enable, and equip Believers with the Word of God. With a strong emphasis on the grace of God and with a prophetic voice, Pastor John preaches and teaches in churches, conferences, and crusades both locally and throughout the world. Pastor's ministry mission is to help people discover God's dream for their Life, the Local Church, and the Last Days' Harvest. Pastor John Rasicci is the founder and Pastor of Word of His Grace Church in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, where we are building people who are building the Church. We can disagree without slandering, undermining, causing dissension, sowing discord, or offering our opinions to others covertly to rally a faction to our side against a person. Conflict always creates an unreconciled situation or something between you and the other person (you become closed, withdrawn, judgmental, critical, and go out of your way to avoid). Conflict always involves hostility, ill-will, revenge, vengeance, and grudges. To disagree means to have or express a different opinion. Do not confuse conflict with mere difference of opinion or conviction. Disagreement can teach us tolerance for differing views. We can disagree without being disagreeable. Disagreement, at times, is permissible but destructive attitudes are not. Strife is different than disagreement and when we disagree we are not hating as some like to spin it. If we don’t add fuel to the fire it will eventually go out (Proverb 26:20). Learn to appease it with a soft answer (Proverb 15:1, 18). Proverb 17:20 says, “The beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before it be meddled with.” The Amplified Bible version of this verse makes it more clear, “The beginning of strife is as when water first trickles therefore stop contention before it becomes worse and quarreling breaks out.” We need to learn to avoid retaliation at the first word, or trickle, for strife begins at the first word of discord not after the full blown argument. The Bible says it is an honor for a man to cease from strife not win a fight (Proverb 20:3). Strife is a devouring and consuming weapon of satan (Galatians 5:14, 15) that stops the flow of revelation knowledge, the gifts of the Spirit, and God’s wisdom from flowing in our life and reduces our walk to a mere natural one instead of supernatural (1 Corinthians 3:1-3 2 Timothy 2:23-26 James 3:15, 16). Sowing strife is saying things and doing things that stimulate (or provoke) people’s anger resulting in heated conflict, bitter contention, division, and unresolved differences between two Believers. The root word this word comes from is “erithia” which means causing a faction or division. The word for strife comes from the Greek, “erethizo,” which means to stimulate (especially to anger). This is also applicable to interaction on social media. To live in love and harmony requires that we refuse strife, discord, and disharmony. Satan’s strategy is to keep God’s people from living in love and harmony by using strife. He attacks the one force that all those powerful elements rest upon which is love. In order to stop the move of God among them, he could send a demon to oppose each of these spiritual elements but that is not necessary. A group of Believers working together in faith and love, operating with the gifts of the Spirit, revelation knowledge, and moving in the power of God have the potential to destroy satan’s efforts.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |