What Jesus Did! - Looking in the Mirror First

"Why do you notice the small piece of dust that is in your brother's eye, but you don't notice the big piece of wood that is in your own eye? Why do you say to your brother, 'Let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye'?

Look at yourself first! You still have that big piece of wood in your own eye. You are a hypocrite. First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your brother's eye. - Matthew 7:3-5 (ERV)

THOUGHT:

Jesus reminds us that we often pass judgment on others to keep from examining ourselves. This is wrong. In fact, it is obnoxiously and hypocritically wrong in God’s eyes. Before we start removing someone else's sawdust, we had better get our own blinding 2x4 plank out of our way. It's ridiculous for us to spend so much time finding all the little things that are wrong with others while we ignore our own huge problems. Let's address our own problems, weaknesses, sins, and inconsistencies before we start trying to "fix" anybody else!

PRAYER:

Almighty and compassionate Father, you have been so patient and kind with me. You provided Jesus as the sacrifice that purifies me from my sin. You sent your Spirit to help complete your work of maturing me. Please bless me as I try to be honest with my own failures, sins, and shortcomings. I don't want to let Satan use discouragement from my failures to embarrass or alienate me from you or your people.

But Father, neither do I want to pretend they are not there and leave them un-addressed by your grace and at odds with your righteousness. Please work in me your holy will and produce in me your holy character and not find the faults of others to keep from dealing with my own. In the holy name of your Messiah and my Savior, Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Related Scriptures:

So do you think that you can judge those other people? You are wrong. You too are guilty of sin. You judge those people, but you do the same bad things they do. So when you judge them, you are really judging yourself guilty. God judges the people that do those wrong things.

And we know that God's judgment is right. You also judge the people that do those wrong things. But you do those wrong things too. So surely you understand that God will judge you. You will not be able to escape. God has been very kind to you. And he has been patient with you. God has been waiting for you to change. But you think nothing of his kindness. Maybe you don't understand that God is kind to you so that you will change your hearts and lives. - Romans 2:1-4

"I will tell you the kind of special day I want--a day to make people free. I want a day that you take the burdens off people. I want a day when you make the troubled people free. I want a day when you take the burdens from their shoulders. I want you to share your food with the hungry people. I want you to find poor people that don't have homes, and I want you to bring them into your own homes. When you see a man that has no clothes--give him your clothes!

Don't hide {from helping those people}; they are just like you." If you do these things, your light will begin shining like the light of dawn. Then your wounds will heal. Your "Goodness" (God) will walk in front of you, and the Glory of the Lord will come following behind you. Then you will call to the Lord, and the Lord will answer you. You will shout to the Lord, and he will say, "Here I am." You should stop making troubles and burdens for people. You should stop using bitter words and blaming people for things. - Isaiah 58:6-9

Brothers and sisters, a person in your group might do something wrong. You people who are spiritual should go to the person who is sinning. You should help to make him right again. You should do this in a gentle way. But be careful! You might be tempted to sin, too. Help each other with your troubles. When you do this, you truly obey the law of Christ.

If a person thinks that he is important when he is really not important, he is only fooling himself. A person should not compare himself with other people. Each person should judge his own actions. Then he can be proud for what he himself has done. Each person must accept his own responsibility. - Galatians 6:1-5

What Jesus Did! - Good Eyes

"How you look at other people makes you the kind of person you are. If you look at people and want to help them, you will be full of light (goodness). But if you look at people in a selfish way, you will be full of darkness (evil). And if the only light you have is really darkness, then you have the worst kind of darkness.
- Matthew 6:22-23 (ERV)

THOUGHT:

In baseball, having a "good eye" means that the batter doesn't swing at bad pitches, only "hittable" strikes. In life, having a good eye means that our hearts focus on the right things, or better yet, the Right One, rather than letting our eyes wander over and covet many things that can't buy them happiness. We refuse to swing at any of Satan's "unhittable" pitches!

Focusing our spiritual sight, our lives, on the wrong things always leads to ultimate unhappiness and destruction. That kind of sight is never satisfied with what it has; it has an insatiable appetite to possess, acquire, and achieve more. Such an attitude ultimately robs life of joy and replaces the Father and his Kingdom with trinkets and temporary toys.

PRAYER:

O precious Holy Father, help me keep my sight focused on what is good. I want to focus on you, your grace, and your Kingdom. You alone have the meaning of life. Fill me with your light. In the name of your Son and my Savior I pray. Amen.

Related Scriptures:

I pray that God will open your minds to see his truth. Then you will know the hope that God has chosen us to have. You will know that the blessings God has promised his holy people are rich and glorious. - Ephesians 1:18

"Write this to the angel of the church in Philadelphia: "The One who is holy and true is saying these words to you. He holds the key of David. When he opens something, it cannot be closed. And when he closes something, it cannot be opened. - Revelation 3:7

Some of the Pharisees were near Jesus. They heard Jesus say this. They asked, "What? Are you saying that we are blind too?" Jesus said, "If you were really blind (without understanding), you would not be guilty of sin. But you say that you see (know what you are doing). So you are guilty." - John 9:40-41

What Jesus Did? for Feb. 24

Adultery!

"You have heard that it was said, 'Don't do the sin of adultery.' But I tell you that if a person looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, then that person has already done that sin with the woman in his mind. - Matthew 5:27-28 (ERV)

THOUGHT:
In an era where adultery is considered acceptable, or at least something to be ignored, Jesus' standard of an inner-driven righteousness that transcends the call of the Law to be sexually pure seems extreme. But adultery in practice begins with adultery in the heart. More than just a look, lust is a look to have and possess. That kind of lust has already moved the heart into action to betray a holy covenant between God, a husband, and a wife. This betrayal is wrong. We must not hide behind righteous exteriors when our interior world is rotting with evil. We must deal with this lust or it will consume us.

PRAYER:
O Lord God Almighty, create in me a clean heart. I want to be more like you in my character: pure, resisting things that are evil, and faithful, honoring my commitment to you and to others. Please forgive me in my times of weakness and mold me into your holy servant to be used for your glory. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Related Scriptures:

"You must not do the sin of adultery. "You must not want to take your neighbor's house. You must not want his wife. And you must not want his men and women servants, or his cattle, or his donkeys. You must not want to take anything that belongs to another person!" - Exodus 20:14,17

These false teachers have made many people suffer. So they themselves will suffer. That is their pay for what they have done. These false teachers think it is fun to do evil things openly {where all people can see}. They enjoy the evil things that please them. So they are like dirty spots and stains among you--{they bring shame to you} in the meals that you eat together. Every time they look at a woman they want her. These false teachers are always sinning this way. They lead weaker people into the trap {of sin}. They have taught themselves well to be greedy. They are under a curse. - 2 Peter 2:13-14

Marriage should be honored by all people. And every marriage should be kept pure between only two people. God will judge guilty those people who do sexual sins and adultery. - Hebrews 13:4

Nu te uita prea mult la tine insuti in Dumnezeu - uita-te la Dumnezeu Insusi!

O multime de religii si de culte se concentreaza asupra cultivarii de sine si rezultatul este aparitia unei mari multimi de oameni doritori, dar frustrati, inaltati pentru moment, dar schiopatand tot restul vietii. De ce? Pentru ca exista o lege, formulata de Domnul Isus, care spune ca daca te concentrezi asupra ta insuti, este absolut sigur ca te vei pierde. "Oricine cauta sa-si scape viata " - concentrandu-se asupra ei, iubind-o si cultivand-o - " si-o va pierde".

Cand Petru s-a uitat la sine si la valurile din jurul sau, a inceput sa se scufunde. Numai atunci cand s-a uitat tinta la Isus, a fost in stare sa umble pe ape. Uita-te la tine insuti sau la cei din jurul tau si te vei scufunda; uita-te la Isus, si veu umbla pe apa sau pe orice altceva. Asa cum a zis cineva: "Porunceste-ti "Saliveaza!" si , dupa toate probabilitatile, vei constata ca nu salivezi - dimpotriva, exista toate sansele ca ti se va usca gura. Dar gandeste-te la o mancare delicioasa si atunci, fara sa zici nimic iti va lasa gura apa." Nu trebuie sa te gandesti la tine insuti, nici macar ca sa te "cultivi", dar gandeste-te la Isus si atunci tu vei fi cultivat. Uita-te la tine in Dumnezeu, dar priveste tinta numai la Dumnezeu.

Aceasta lege, ca numai pierzandu-ti viata o gasesti, poate fi observata pretutindeni in natura. Isus a zis: "Uitati-va la crini, cum cresc ei?" Fiind constienti de sine si ajutandu-se sa creasca si sa arate frumos? Nu, ei se uita la soare si concentrandu-se asupra soarelui, cresc si devin un miracol de frumusete. Cultul frumusetii si scolile de autoformare se autodistrug, pentru ca se zdrobesc de stanca legii lui Isus ca viata se castiga numai pierzand-o.

Singurii oameni frumosi sunt aceia care se pierd pe ei insisi intr-o mare Cauza: si ei devin frumosi datorita faptului ca au ochii atintiti in permanenta la Frumusete.

Singurii oameni fermecatori sunt aceia care te farmeca spre idealuri inalte si devin fermecatori numai in masura in care se pierd in tine si in in altii.

Prayer:
O , Dumnezeule, nu mai indraznesc sa -mi atintesc privirile asupra-mi, nici chiar cand sunt in Tine. Dar mi le atintesc asupra Ta si acolo ma regasesc. Daca-mi atintesc privirile asupra TA, cresc - daca ma preocup de mine insumi, ma degradez. Asa ca acum imi voi focaliza privirile asupra Ta. Acum incep sa inteleg ce ai vrut sa spui prin cuvintele: "Daca ochiul este bun, tot trupul este in lumina". Intreaga mea fiinta este plina de lumina. Iti multumesc, TATA. Amin!

("Viata din abundenta" , E. Stanely Jones)