A Self-Righteous Spirit

Here’s Today’s Devotional from The Vine…

 

Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? - Matthew 7:4

 

But is it not a kindness to a friend to take the mote out of his eye? If we met a neighbour with a cinder in his eye, would it not be a brotherly thing to stop and take it out for him? Then why is it not just as true a kindness to want to cure another’s fault, even though we have the same fault ourselves? If we did it in the right spirit it would be. We are bound to seek the welfare of our friends in every possible way, and therefore, if we discover in them things that mar their beauty, we should seek the removal of those things.

But the trouble is we are not apt to look at our neighbour’s faults in this loving and sympathetic way. To begin with, we do not know, or at least we do not confess, that we ourselves have beams in our own eyes; we are not even aware that there are motes in our own eyes. It is the self-righteous spirit that our Lord is here condemning. A man holds up his hands in horror at the speckle has found in his neighbour’s character; and his neighbour, looking up, sees in him an immensely magnified copy of the speck. Will the neighbour be greatly benefited by the rebuke?

Suppose a bad-tempered man lectures us on the sin of giving way to temper, or a dishonest man on some apparent lack of honesty, or a liar on the wickedness of falsehood, or a bad-mannered man on some discourtesy of ours, or a hypocrite on insincerity, what good will such lectures do, even admitting that we are conscious of the faults? We are only irritated by the unfitness of such rebukes from those in whom the faults are ten times greater than in us. We wonder how people can have the face to talk about motes in our eyes when huge beams project from their own eyes. Truly this is not the way to tell others of their faults.

Don’t Harden Your Heart

Here’s Today’s Devotional from The Vine…

As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. - Matthew 13:4

 

How are human hearts beaten into a highway?

A child’s heart is sensitive to every impression. But as it grows older, the thousands of influences, feelings, emotions and imaginations, treading over it continuously, trample it into hardened heart. Every time the child feels she ought to do a certain thing and does not do it, allowing the good impulse to pass, she is left a little less sensitive to do the right thing then next time.

The same effect is produced by the experiences of life which are common to us all. The wheels and traffic of day-to-day business go lumbering over the heart. We ought to have our hearts fenced in, and allow none of these heavy vehicles to pass over them. A businessman ought to keep his heart soft and warm in the midst of all his business, tender as a little child’s, humble, teachable, loving, and trusting. He ought to have a secret place in his inner life into which no unwholesome traffic, none but the priestly feet of heavenly guests, should ever pass. But too many make their hearts an open passage-way, till they are beaten into a hardened state that nothing can have any further influence.

Another way is by the traffic of sinful habits. There’s an old legend of a goblin horseman that galloped over men’s fields at night; and wherever his foot struck, the soil was so blasted that nothing would ever grow on it again. So is it with the heart over which the sinful feet of lust, sensuality, greed, selfishness, and passion are allowed to tread. There’s an idea which exists that it’s somehow OK for us to indulge in sin for a time, so long as we repent afterwards. This is a lie of Satan who tries to whisper it in our ears. The heart that is repeatedly trampled on by vile lusts or sinful activity of any kind is never the same again!

A Self-Roghteous Spirit

Česky: Ženské oko. English: A woman’s eye. Esperanto: Virina okulo. Français : Un œil de femme. Slovenčina: Ženské oko. Српски / Srpski: Женско око. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here’s Today’s Devotional from The Vine…

Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? - Matthew 7:4

 

But is it not a kindness to a friend to take the mote out of his eye? If we met a neighbour with a cinder in his eye, would it not be a brotherly thing to stop and take it out for him? Then why is it not just as true a kindness to want to cure another’s fault, even though we have the same fault ourselves? If we did it in the right spirit it would be. We are bound to seek the welfare of our friends in every possible way, and therefore, if we discover in them things that mar their beauty, we should seek the removal of those things.

But the trouble is we are not apt to look at our neighbour’s faults in this loving and sympathetic way. To begin with, we do not know, or at least we do not confess, that we ourselves have beams in our own eyes; we are not even aware that there are motes in our own eyes. It is the self-righteous spirit that our Lord is here condemning. A man holds up his hands in horror at the speckle has found in his neighbour’s character; and his neighbour, looking up, sees in him an immensely magnified copy of the speck. Will the neighbour be greatly benefited by the rebuke?

Suppose a bad-tempered man lectures us on the sin of giving way to temper, or a dishonest man on some apparent lack of honesty, or a liar on the wickedness of falsehood, or a bad-mannered man on some discourtesy of ours, or a hypocrite on insincerity, what good will such lectures do, even admitting that we are conscious of the faults? We are only irritated by the unfitness of such rebukes from those in whom the faults are ten times greater than in us. We wonder how people can have the face to talk about motes in our eyes when huge beams project from their own eyes. Truly this is not the way to tell others of their faults.

Second Chances

MAR 15

THE STICK TURNED PINK…

By Laura Anne MacKay:

Murderer.

That’s what some people would call me.

After years of living in fear, years of having to be the strong one – I would soon be free. My ticket to freedom was a place at university in another city. I’d fought hard to have that opportunity. I’d stayed in school. I had studied diligently. I had overcome the obstacles in my way to get where I wanted to be.

And then the stick turned pink. Suddenly I found myself aged 17 and pregnant.

I still remember crying in the doctor’s office waiting to hear what my options were “It’s your own stupid fault” he told me, thrusting a piece of paper describing procedures for terminating a pregnancy.

What I needed was someone to listen. Instead I received judgment.

I listened to my head and not my heart. My heart ached to be a mother. My head said ‘You don’t want to be known as the straight A student who ruined her life because of some silly mistake.’

I sacrificed my first child so that I could gain freedom.

Only I wasn’t free. I was burdened by a guilty secret that I didn’t want anyone to know about.  That kind of sacrifice leaves scars that can’t be seen. It was scarring me on the inside — not being able to grieve a loss that you have chosen.

16th January 2002. That is the day my daughter was due to be born into this world.

8th February 2002. That is the day I discovered God and asked if He would please take the bad stuff that had happened in my life and to use it to help others.

He did.

These days you’ll find me counselling people through unplanned pregnancy, supporting people grieving after all kinds of pregnancy losses – whether they were chosen or not. I teach sex education in schools. And the secret is out. I have a child in heaven, and her name is Sophie. She gave me wisdom and compassion.

Second chances are there to bring good out of the first chance – no matter how badly you might have messed it up.

What’s your second chance story?

The Trap of Discouragement

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HABAKKUK 1:2

Do you feel stuck in discouragement? If so, you are not alone.

At some point everyone experiences dashed hopes. Disappointment—an emotional response to a failed expectation—is the normal initial reaction. But allowed to linger, it can turn into discouragement, which hovers like a dense cloud. When that’s the case, there is no sense of joy or contentment, no matter what you do.

The circumstances that trigger these emotions may be unavoidable, but the way we respond is a choice. We can either let sadness overwhelm our souls or face the situation with courage and bring it before the One who can help us.Living in discouragement will divide the mind, making it hard to focus on anything besides our pain. Then as anger becomes habitual, we’ll look for someone to blame—whether God, people around us, or yourself.

Frustration that isn’t handled well may develop into depression, which in turn can estrange us from others—people do not enjoy the company of someone who’s bitter and defeated. This isolation leads to a low self-esteem. Finally, in a fog of discouragement, we can make poor decisions based on crushed emotions instead of truth. Obviously, choosing this self-destructive path is not God’s best for our lives.

Though we’ll all face disappointment from time to time, believers are not to wallow in it. Instead, God wants us to trust Him with everything—even our unmet expectations and deepest sadnesses. Remember, there is divine purpose for everything He allows to touch His children’s lives (Rom. 8:28).

Dr. Charles Stanley

 

You’ll also enjoy :http://chronicillnesspaindevotionals.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/why-the-constant-battle-with-discouragement/#wpl-likebox

 

 

 

We Shall Be Changed

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READ: 2 Corinthians 4:16–5:8

We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. —1 John 3:2

Being afflicted with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, Thomas DeBaggio chronicled his gradual memory loss in the book Losing My Mind. This book records the disturbing process by which—little by little—tasks, places, and people are all forgotten.

Alzheimer’s disease involves the failure of nerve cells in the brain, leading to gradual memory loss, confusion, and disorientation. It can be tragic to watch a previously mentally alert person slowly forget how to dress or fail to recognize the faces of loved ones. It’s like losing the person before he dies.

Memory loss can occur by other means as well, such as injury or life trauma. And for those of us who live into old age, the breakdown of our bodies is inevitable.

But for the Christian, there is hope. When believers receive their glorified bodies at the resurrection, they will be perfect (2 Cor. 5:1-5). But even more important, in heaven we will recognize the One who died to redeem us. We will remember what He did and know Him by the nail prints in His hands (John 20:25; 1 Cor. 13:12).

Forgetfulness may beset our earthly bodies, but when we see the Lord, “We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). —Dennis Fisher

Our Savior’s life for us was given
That we might one day bloom in heaven,
Our mortal bodies changed to be
Like His through all eternity! —Spicer

In the twinkling of an eye . . . we shall all be changed. —the apostle Paul

Our Daily Bread

Sowing in Tears

 Today God Is First  By Os Hillman

“Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.” - Psalm 126:5

The most difficult place to keep moving in faith is the place of extreme pain. Extreme pain, especially emotional pain, can become immobilizing to the human spirit if it is allowed to overcome us. The psalmist tells us there is only one remedy for overcoming painful circumstances that will result in joy. We are to sow in the midst of these times. You cannot do this if you live by feelings alone. It is an act of the will. This act requires that we go outside ourselves in pure faith.

I learned this principle during one of the deepest periods of my life. I had lost much that was dear to me. A mature man in the faith admonished me to reach out to others in spite of my own pain. “Invest in someone else,” he said. I did not realize what a place of healing and comfort that would become.

“He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him” (Ps. 126:6). Pain can become a source of joy if we take the first step by planting seed. There is a harvest that will come if we sow in the midst of tears

Overcoming Our Past

 Today God Is First  By Os Hillman

“Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah.” - Judges 11:29a

We’ve all heard stories of individuals who have overcome extreme hardship during their childhood years. Children of alcoholics, orphans who never have parents, loss of parents to a fatal crash, childhood disease – these are all difficult circumstances to overcome.

Jephthah was a man who overcame his obstacles and refused to allow his circumstances to prevent him from becoming great in God‘s sight. He was born to Gilead, a result of his father’s adulterous encounter with a prostitute. Jephthah’s half-brothers decided to reject Jephthah, and drove him away from their home saying, “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family because you are the son of another woman.” Imagine the rejection this young man felt as he was cast away from his own family.

This experience taught Jephthah to become a hardened warrior. Today he probably would have been part of a street gang. As he got older, his reputation as a warrior became known to those in his country, so much so that when the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead went to Jephthah and asked him to be their commander. Jephthah had to fight off those feelings of rejection from previous years.

“Didn’t you hate me and drive me from my father’s house?” he responded. He overcame his hurt and pain, and responded to the call God had on his life.

It is said that if we were to help the butterfly remove itself from the cocoon, the butterfly would not be strong enough to survive. It is the struggle that prepares the butterfly to become strong enough to fly. Without the struggle in the cocoon, it could not survive as a butterfly.

The Lord prepares each of us in similar ways. Some of our childhoods seem to have been harsh and born from a seemingly unloving God. However, the Lord knows our struggle and will make our life an instrument in His hand if we will follow Him with an upright heart. He does make all things beautiful in His time if we are willing to be patient.

Are You Feeling Like A Victim ?

“The Word For Today” with Bob Gass…

 

“Turn me, and I shall be turned” - Jeremiah 31:18 KJV

 

If you are you tired of feeling like a victim, read this: ‘I don’t want to feel this way anymore. I thought if my pain touched their lives I’d feel better. I didn’t. I thought by holding it over their heads I’d feel better. I didn’t. I thought by telling everyone what they’d done to me I’d feel better. I didn’t; it only cost me friends and kept the pain alive. I thought if they acknowledged how wrong they’ve been I’d feel better. They didn’t, so I felt worse. I thought if I could understand why I pick such relationships I’d feel better. So I read books and talked with counsellors. But that didn’t work, because then I uncovered other issues I didn’t have the emotional energy to deal with. I thought time would make me feel better. It helped, but it didn’t heal, because there were still too many things that triggered old memories. I thought by moving to a new house in a new city and getting a new job I’d feel better. I didn’t; I only changed addresses, not what was going on inside me. Finally, I did two things that worked; not overnight, but gradually, patiently, consistently as I kept doing them, they worked. First, I decided to forgive – and keep forgiving until the past no longer controlled me. Second, I cried out to God, “Turn… me, and I shall be turned.” He answered my prayer. My perceptions began to clear and my heart began to heal. Why? Because at last, getting well meant more, so much more to me than remaining a victim.’

 

Trouble is a Messenger

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“My Father is the husbandman” (John 15:1).

It is comforting to think of trouble, in whatever form it may come to, us, as a heavenly messenger, bringing us something from God. In its earthly aspect it may seem hurtful, even destructive; but in its spiritual out-working it yields blessing. Many of the richest blessings which have come down to us from the past are the fruit of sorrow or pain. We should never forget that redemption, the world’s greatest blessing, is the fruit of the world’s greatest sorrow. In every time of sharp pruning, when the knife is deep and the pain is sore, it is an unspeakable comfort to read, “My Father is the husbandman.”

Doctor Vincent tells of being in a great hothouse where luscious clusters of grapes were hanging on every side. The owner said, “When my new gardener came, he said he would have nothing to do with these vines unless he could cut them clean down to the stalk; and he did, and we had no grapes for two years, but this is the result.”

There is rich suggestiveness in this interpretation of the pruning process, as we apply it to the Christian life. Pruning seems to be destroying the vine, the gardener appears to be cutting it all away; but he looks on into the future and knows that the final outcome will be the enrichment of its life and greater abundance of fruit.

There are blessings we can never have unless we are ready to pay the price of pain. There is no way to reach them save through suffering.
–Dr. Miller