OUTLINE:

Hos 14:9
Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the ways of the LORD are right,
And the righteous will walk in them,
But transgressors will stumble in them.

Gal 6:9-10 [Amplified]
Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in. So then, while we [as individual believers] have the opportunity, let us do good to all people [not only being helpful, but also doing that which promotes their spiritual well-being], and especially [be a blessing] to those of the household of faith (born-again believers).

Gal 6:9-10 [Message]
So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.

Jas 1:25 [Amplified]
But he who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and faithfully abides by it, not having become a [careless] listener who forgets but [a]an active doer [who obeys], he will be blessed and favored by God in what he does [in his life of obedience].

Jas 1:25 [Message]
But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God-the free life!-even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.

The Body of Christ
We are held together by individual parts, each of us "supplying" connectivity and support as "joints" do in a human body. Imagine a human body without any tendons or ligaments (those things that hold the bones in place) - we'd have a pile of bones! This is what Satan desires ("a house divided against itself will not stand" - Mt 12:25).

"do not give the devil an opportunity"
How might we do this? We "forget" about the Lord who has shown us grace, our eyes are diverted from Christ, and since we cannot multitask, we have opened the door up to Satan.

"do not give the devil an opportunity"
Satan wants to divide our house, and he will use whatever he can to cause dissension among us, even "good" things. He'll use personal preferences, personality conflicts, relationships, money, etc... all to break us apart as brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Schemes of the Devil
Satan wants me to look out at all of you and see your flesh as "who you are", but I refuse. If you are saved, you have been made new. I choose to see you as God does, as holy. Your flesh, though irritating, is temporal.

Gal 5:15 [Amplified]
But if you bite and devour one another [in bickering and strife], watch out that you [along with your entire fellowship] are not consumed by one another.

Part of His Body
We all have a choice to make. We can choose to be a healthy part of the body, acting in righteousness, or a cancerous part of the body, living for self, in unrighteousness.

God's Household
Satan devises endless schemes to divide the Church and the churches. The easiest way is to get people looking at others' flesh by their flesh. (2Co 5:16)

"according to the flesh"
Paul describes the flesh's inability to fellowship with spiritual man, to "see it all as truth" - "But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light" (Eph 5:13). The flesh is blind, incapable of discerning the inherent goodness of a "new creature" (2Co 5:17).

God's Household
Satan devises endless schemes to divide the Church and the churches. The easiest way is to get people looking at others' flesh by their flesh. (2Co 5:16)

God's Household
There's no such thing as inconsistency between Jesus Christ, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit. As a godly church, our goal is to "recognize no one according to the flesh", but rather by the Spirit (aka by Christ, by the Word).

A Shepherd's Perspective
When I walk into this church, I say to myself, "This is God's house...far be it from me to allow, on my watch, anything or anyone to soil it."

2Co 11:29
Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?

"ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME."
Jesus refused to tolerate irreverence toward His Father in His Father's house (the Temple). Do YOU have this same "zeal", or do you tolerate irreverence because of partiality, or weakness, etc.?

Grace Isn't Always "nice"
Man has pigeonholed grace into a one-sided thing, where it is defined as all things that accommodate man's predisposition about God's benevolence towards His creatures. These are the inventions of man's flesh.

Grace Isn't Always "nice"
A grace-oriented household demands that the leader (that's YOU men!) be righteously indignant in the same way Jesus was.

Grace and Works
Acting on behalf of the Lord, in grace, is a good work, no matter how it offends those effected. "Flipping tables" (ala Jn 2:15) sends the right message that, "This is the LORD'S house!"