SAWDUST AND PLANKS

 

Luke 6:37

 

"Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven." ESV 

 

We are guilty of examining our own lives with our eyes half open followed by a string of excuses. Can we see that this keeps us from having to discipline ourselves, to get rid those things that need to be out of our lives? We are guilty of making it even worse by putting on our spiritual magnifying glasses and prideful judge robes so we can scour and scan the smallest faults in others. If we don't get ourselves back in line with Christ, He will judge us with the same method we used to judge others.

 

Lord, forgive us for being so quick to minimize our own faults and exaggerate the faults of others. Give us hearts that cover a multitude of sins and eyes that cannot discern sawdust specks from planks. Imprint in our hearts that all sin is rebellion. In Your holy and all wise name we pray, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

No Copyright Infringement Intended

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ARE YOU ON THE PANEL OF JUDGES?

1 Samuel 16:7

 

"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." ESV

 

As humans, we tend to judge the worth of others by appearance. We judge the exterior. God judges by looking at the heart. We cannot make a judgment the way God does because we can't see the heart of another person. We can't judge others because we are not able to gather the information necessary to make a correct judgment. Only God can do that.

 

Heavenly Father, we ask that you help us to keep from judging others, to leave that up to You, the One who knows the hearts of all people. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

©2008-2014

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

No Copyright Infringement Intended

Personal Use Only

LOGS, BOARDS, AND SPLINTERS

 

 

Luke 6:41

 

"Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" ESV

 

How often do we pray for the Lord to search our hearts and reveal to us any thing that is there that is not pleasing to Him? Probably not very often, perhaps we might see something we don't want to see. If we really want to apply this scripture, we need to understand it goes much further than telling others what they are doing wrong without checking our own lives. How many of us read the scriptures or a devotional or listen to a message and never fail to think of someone else that should be reading or hearing this? How many of us believe it our Christian duty to let others know they are doing wrong, when it actually interferes with the work the Holy Spirit has been doing? Remember, anything unpleasing to God that we can detect in others is something we ourselves are capable of doing. We can seek the Lord to help us with those things in us and let Him use us, if He chooses, to speak to others.

 

Heavenly Father, forgive us for taking the easy way and just letting others know when they are doing things wrong. Help us to have the courage to allow You to expose any unpleasing thing within ourselves and then to change it by Your grace. Give us sensitivity to Your Holy Spirit to know when we are to speak to others and when we are to keep quiet and let You work. We ask in Jesus' name, Amen.

 

          

©2008-2013

Daily Grace

Bobbi Craigmyle, Psy.D., BCPCC

 

http://insidetheshrink-dailygrace.blogspot.com/

 

No Copyright Infringement Intended

Personal Use Only