Tag: Love

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A Mote, Not a Beam

SEPTEMBER 14

MATTHEW 7:3_And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

If your heart dwells on the truth of God’s love and mercy, you will understand you were saved while you were a sinner. That can be a beam—if you do not understand you are as guilty a sinner as anyone on the face of the earth. The only reason you find any freedom is because Christ paid your debt—with His life. 

As you grow in faith begin to dwell on who you are in Jesus. It truly is amazing!

John 8:32 (KJV) “And ye shall know the truth [Jesus], and the truth shall make you free.”

Romans 8:37 (KJV) “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him [Jesus] that loved us.”

Philippians 4:13 (KJV) “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Mark 11:23 (KJV) “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.”

Matthew 19:26 (KJV) “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’”

To hold someone accountable does not mean you stand in judgment of them—it means you love them.

To judge someone as unworthy of mercy is to see a mote, and call it a beam.

PRAYER

God of the Impossible, I want Your kind of mercy—that loves and saves. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.   

Christ’s love can save me—from anything!

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A Changed Man

SEPTEMBER 13

MATTHEW 7:3_And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Had the wicked servant dwelt on the unbelievable mercy rendered to him by the king, he would have bestowed mercy on his fellow servant. However, non-believers can’t be expected to respond to life as believers. That’s why there is such a need for salty-lit-up disciples—lifestyles that shine to draw captives to freedom—a lighthouse to a ship lost in a raging storm.

Light sends a ray of hope. Once the ship makes it to the safety of the harbor, it is time to preserve it with the salt of mercy which flows from unconditional love.

In the case of the apostle Paul, the light that shone on him blinded him. When he was healed, and his sight restored three days later, he was a changed man. The light blinded him to the hate that his hard heart had toward Jesus’ followers. It also blinded him to the lies (that Jesus was demonic and his followers would be the destruction of the Jewish religion) with which the devil deceived him.

The light set Paul free to become the Jesus follower who wrote a large portion of the New Testament. 

He was salty and lit-up!

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I want Your kind of light—that blinds, but heals. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.   

Christ’s light can blind me—It can also heal me!

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At the End of the Day

DECEMBER 4

MATTHEW 7:23_ye that work iniquity.

The word iniquity can be translated as lawlessness.

We could study all six hundred plus laws—eventually they fit into one set.

 Matthew 22:36-40 (KJV), “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Galatians 5:13-14 (KJV) “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”  

When it’s all said and done, at the end of the day, life boils down to whether we loved God and His people. If we lived life contrary to that we are workers of iniquity. Jesus not only will not know us, but ask us to leave His presence.

When we stand before the Day of Judgment we want to rejoice in God’s incomparable mercy. We want to remain in His presence, to live in the kingdom of heaven, and continue to love God and His people.

We want to praise our friend, Jesus, who made the way.

PRAYER

Good Shepherd, Praise You that I can live with You forever! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.             

Christ made the way to live forever in Heaven—I will!

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Wise Judgment

SEPTEMBER 6

MATTHEW 7:2_For with what judgment ye judge…

Ephesians 6:1-4 (KJV), “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”

There is night and day difference in the discipline of a child by spanking, and child abuse. To abuse a child verbally and physically and call it discipline shows a lack of judgment. Discipline administered with hot tempered anger causes more damage than it ever will cause good.

 “4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”   

Some Christians believe in spanking young children, and others do not. The core is to help children grow to become responsible and discerning. Placing boundaries, and enforcing them (otherwise they are futile), is the best way to guide little ones. When boundaries are crossed there has to be some type of discipline.   

Today’s verse focuses on using wise judgment, because how you judge is how you will be judged. Wise judgment will always be founded upon love.  Firmness laced with some calmness administers discipline in a positive way.

Anger and name calling destroy obedience and respect—not wise judgment.

PRAYER

Loving Father, Help me know my judgment will come back to me.  In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                   

 Christ teaches wise judgment—He teaches me to obey!

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Under His Shelter

AUGUST 28

MATTHEW 6:33_ and all these things shall be added unto you.

What are all these things? Jesus has taken time to list the needs of food and clothes. But isn’t something missing? What about shelter? Do you find it odd shelter is not mentioned?

The more you study the Bible you will find God often mentions Himself as our shelter: a refuge, under His shelter.

Psalm 91:1 (KJV) “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

To dwell with God in your heart is shelter.

I believe far more than food and shelter shall be added unto you. First and foremost is love. This is not just about God’s love for you. The ability to give and receive love is a powerful gift from God to you.

Broken homes and divided families would be a minimum if believers latched on to their God-given ability to give love. And allowed themselves to receive love.

When you make God your shelter and trust Him with food and clothes, you can trust Him to add all these things unto you!

PRAYER

Holy God, Help me trust You with everything in my life. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ provides ALL needs—I will trust Him!