1. UNCONDITIONAL Love & Acceptance! (1Cor 14:4-7, 13)

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”

“13And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

This LOVE is possible because of the LOVE (agape) of God!

“7Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”

We can express UNCONDITIONAL LOVE to others as a result of God’s LOVE thru CHRIST JESUS in our hearts – flowing out by the Holy Spirit of God.

2. CONFLICT RESOLUTION! (Eph 4:26-32)

“6Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27Neither give place to the devil. 28Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. 29Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Since we have been released or forgiven, then we have the capacity and power to “LET GO” the wrongs that have been done to us by the power of the Holy Spirit!

(Philemon 1:18,19)

“If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account; 19I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.”

“25And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

3. COMMUNICATION! (Prov 18:21)

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.”

In communicating, several factors must be considered.

First, learn not to INTERRUPT!

Second, get to the POINT!

Third, choose your WORDS wisely!
(you may have to EAT them!!)

“Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
(Col 4:6)

Fourth, learn to LISTEN!

Fifth, do not be QUICK to JUDGE!

Sixth, try NEGOTIATION!

Seventh, being RIGHT isn’t always RIGHT!

4. CORRECTION! (Rev 2, 3)

Jesus loved the Church. But please do not misunderstand. That kind of LOVE means sometimes there needs to be some CORRECTION.

(Rev 3:4,5)
“4Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

(Rev 3:19)
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”

(Prov 13:1)
“1A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.”

(Prov 16:24)
“24Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”

5. COMMENDATION! (Prov 12:25)

“5Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.”

Words of AFFIRMATION are extremely important. We really have to work at this…..without crossing the line into flattery!

Conclusion: Since strong RELATIONSHIPS do not just happen, that means these “biblical” principles can be practiced!

Review all 5. Take time to reflect and pray over each one. Then trust the Lord to make the changes that are necessary.

When all is said and done, we will see our Lord BUILD RELATIONSHIPS that LAST!