"And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” "
II Kings 5: 13 (New King James Version)
Naaman was the commander of the army of the king of Syria but he was a leper. Now in his house they had a young girl from Israel who used to work for them and she said to Naaman's wife that if only Naaman would meet the prophet in Samaria then he would be healed from his leprosy. So the king of Syria sent a letter to the king of Israel that he was sending Naaman to be healed. We read in verses 7,8 "And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.” So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” "
Now Naaman went with his horses and chariot and stood at the door of Elisha's house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him and said “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” (v10) .Sounds so simple right ? But Naaman was furious ! He said "“Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” " (v11)
Naaman could not get used to the fact that something as simple as this could heal him. He expected Elisha to come out and wave his hand over the place as he called upon the name of the Lord. Instead Elisha is asking him to wash himself in river Jordan seven times. And he starts refering to other rivers that are better .And the servants said to him "My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” "
Sometimes we are like Naaman.... If we are asked to do something big like go for a ralley or work for 24hours straight we would do it... But when asked to do something as simple as spend an hour in quiet time in His presence in prayer that we cannot do . Organize a meeting yes we can , spend time with His word daily - no we cant ! Funny isnt it ? The servants of Naaman said so well that "How much more then , when he says to you , 'Wash and be clean'?"
We read in verse 14 "So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean"
Isnt that amazing ! How many times do we forget that its not by our works but by His grace we are saved. Its not about what we do ...Its all about Him. We need to surrender ourselves to Him . Its all very simple... We dont have to do something spectacular or sacrificial to get God's attention or forgiveness. We dont have to climb up mountains...we dont have to beat ourselves up .... All we need to do is go to Him and pour out our heart to Him. Its as simple as that . Good works do not save us. Only His grace saves us.
If its something big how much efforts do we take.... How much more should we strive towards spending time in the presence of the Lord daily ? How much more should we strive towards spending time with His Holy word daily ? How much More !
God Bless
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Little becomes a lot when its in His hands
"“There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” "
John 6 : 9 (New King James Version)
But what are they among so many ??
Here is the scenario...there are five thousand men and there are also women and children gathered and they are hungry. And the Lord looks to the disciples and asks them what is to be done and tells them to give the people something to eat. And we read in verses 7-9, "Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”"
Lets look at things from the boy's view . He had five barley loaves and two small fish . Thats just a little...the disciples also said "but what are they among so many ?" Knowing well that the need at hand was so much more, the boy still gave all that he had. He did not think "anyway its not gonna make a difference ...might as well keep it with me"... He gave all what he had ! And we all know what happened ... The Lord took it and blessed it . And it fed not just the entire multitude that was gathered there but they collected twelve baskets full !! Its not what we have that matters...Its that we give the Lord all that we are , all that we have...And in HIS HANDS He blesses it and uses it for His glory.
Were you thinking if that few minutes if you prayed, that one email, that one SMS, the few rupees/dollars that you gave would it make a difference ?? The point is that when you give all that you have and lift it up to the Lord, in His hands little becomes a lot ! It feeds the multitude to a point that there is abundance ! Dont let the devil tell you that what you do doesnt make a difference. If you are giving all what you have to the Lord, then for sure the Lord will bless it and use it for His glory.Give all that you are and all that you have to Him .
Here is another view... from the disciples... A lad gave all what he had, just five loaves of bread and two fish and they had marked it as being insignificant . They did the calculations as per the world and said even if they bought two hundred denarii of bread then too it would not suffice even if they gave everyone just a little !. Sometimes even though the Lord has done wonders in our lives, when a problem comes up we forget what the Lord has done and start thinking and rationalizing and begin saying "There is just a little but what good is that when the need is sooooooo many " . We forget how awesome our God is ... There are so many times when people might come up with a suggestion and we immediately criticize and say "What difference will that make ? Do you think by praying a half hour more it will make a difference ? Do you think by giving one biscuit packet to a kid you will change the world ???" We forget how even the smallest things when in the hands of the Lord can make the biggest of differences.
Lets give the Lord all that we have ...Because its not what we have or what we are that makes a difference...No no no... Its what He will do when its in His hands that makes all the difference. Let us pray that the Lord will give us a spirit of humility , that we may not belittle what people do for the glory of God. But that we may lift it into His hands...Because the Lord will use it as a blessing for not just the multitudes but for us too... The Lord said gather up the fragments that remain and the disciples took twelve baskets full !!! Our Lord is so amazing ...His thoughts are so much higher than ours.... He sees things that our minds cannot even begin to comprehend.
God Bless
John 6 : 9 (New King James Version)
But what are they among so many ??
Here is the scenario...there are five thousand men and there are also women and children gathered and they are hungry. And the Lord looks to the disciples and asks them what is to be done and tells them to give the people something to eat. And we read in verses 7-9, "Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”"
Lets look at things from the boy's view . He had five barley loaves and two small fish . Thats just a little...the disciples also said "but what are they among so many ?" Knowing well that the need at hand was so much more, the boy still gave all that he had. He did not think "anyway its not gonna make a difference ...might as well keep it with me"... He gave all what he had ! And we all know what happened ... The Lord took it and blessed it . And it fed not just the entire multitude that was gathered there but they collected twelve baskets full !! Its not what we have that matters...Its that we give the Lord all that we are , all that we have...And in HIS HANDS He blesses it and uses it for His glory.
Were you thinking if that few minutes if you prayed, that one email, that one SMS, the few rupees/dollars that you gave would it make a difference ?? The point is that when you give all that you have and lift it up to the Lord, in His hands little becomes a lot ! It feeds the multitude to a point that there is abundance ! Dont let the devil tell you that what you do doesnt make a difference. If you are giving all what you have to the Lord, then for sure the Lord will bless it and use it for His glory.Give all that you are and all that you have to Him .
Here is another view... from the disciples... A lad gave all what he had, just five loaves of bread and two fish and they had marked it as being insignificant . They did the calculations as per the world and said even if they bought two hundred denarii of bread then too it would not suffice even if they gave everyone just a little !. Sometimes even though the Lord has done wonders in our lives, when a problem comes up we forget what the Lord has done and start thinking and rationalizing and begin saying "There is just a little but what good is that when the need is sooooooo many " . We forget how awesome our God is ... There are so many times when people might come up with a suggestion and we immediately criticize and say "What difference will that make ? Do you think by praying a half hour more it will make a difference ? Do you think by giving one biscuit packet to a kid you will change the world ???" We forget how even the smallest things when in the hands of the Lord can make the biggest of differences.
Lets give the Lord all that we have ...Because its not what we have or what we are that makes a difference...No no no... Its what He will do when its in His hands that makes all the difference. Let us pray that the Lord will give us a spirit of humility , that we may not belittle what people do for the glory of God. But that we may lift it into His hands...Because the Lord will use it as a blessing for not just the multitudes but for us too... The Lord said gather up the fragments that remain and the disciples took twelve baskets full !!! Our Lord is so amazing ...His thoughts are so much higher than ours.... He sees things that our minds cannot even begin to comprehend.
God Bless
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Its simple in the sight of the Lord !
"And this is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD;He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand."
II Kings 3 :18 (New King James Version)
Here is a little background to this verse... Jehoram the King of Israel wanted to go into battle with the king of Moab.And so Jehoram king of Israel along with the King of Judah and the King of Edom went by the way of the wilderness of Edom and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. Jehoram had decided that they were doomed and would surely fall into the hands of the king of Moab...The King of Judah said , "“Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?” "
How many times have we done that ? We do things as we like and when we find ourselves in a tough spot we think "Oh oh !! I should have sought the Lord ! I should have sought His will ! "
Now as we keep reading we see that one of the servants of the king of Israel spoke of Elisha. And in verses 16-18 we read what Elisha said , " And he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ And this is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand."
Our God is forever faithful and o so awesome ! He said that there would be no wind nor would there be any rain but yet the ditches that they made would be filled with water ! And not just a little ...But sufficient for all of them and their cattle and their animals to drink !! Wow ! And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord !!
Its a simple matter in the sight of the Lord ! How many times do we worry ourselves and go all crazy and cranky when all we need to do is seek God and seek His Holy will. We need to remind ourselves "Its a simple matter in the sight of the Lord !" :-) We sometimes think we can do things on our own but then when things go wrong we fall at His feet and He says "Its simple !Just do as I say and watch what I do !!"
You know what happened ? We read in verse 20 "Now it happened in the morning, when the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water."
Now the Lord also told them that He would deliver the Moabites into their hand. Now the Moabites had heard that the kings were coming up to fight against them and so they gathered up everyone and were all ready at the border. We read in verse 22 -23 "Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood. And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!” "
Can you imagine that ? The same water .... When the Moabites saw it , it seemed like blood for them and they thought that the kings had fought amongst themselves and had killed each other. So when they came to camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked them.
How awesome is our God ! We need to seek His will at every step and trust in Him completely...never on our own strength or our own understanding .
God Bless
II Kings 3 :18 (New King James Version)
Here is a little background to this verse... Jehoram the King of Israel wanted to go into battle with the king of Moab.And so Jehoram king of Israel along with the King of Judah and the King of Edom went by the way of the wilderness of Edom and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. Jehoram had decided that they were doomed and would surely fall into the hands of the king of Moab...The King of Judah said , "“Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?” "
How many times have we done that ? We do things as we like and when we find ourselves in a tough spot we think "Oh oh !! I should have sought the Lord ! I should have sought His will ! "
Now as we keep reading we see that one of the servants of the king of Israel spoke of Elisha. And in verses 16-18 we read what Elisha said , " And he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ And this is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand."
Our God is forever faithful and o so awesome ! He said that there would be no wind nor would there be any rain but yet the ditches that they made would be filled with water ! And not just a little ...But sufficient for all of them and their cattle and their animals to drink !! Wow ! And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord !!
Its a simple matter in the sight of the Lord ! How many times do we worry ourselves and go all crazy and cranky when all we need to do is seek God and seek His Holy will. We need to remind ourselves "Its a simple matter in the sight of the Lord !" :-) We sometimes think we can do things on our own but then when things go wrong we fall at His feet and He says "Its simple !Just do as I say and watch what I do !!"
You know what happened ? We read in verse 20 "Now it happened in the morning, when the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water."
Now the Lord also told them that He would deliver the Moabites into their hand. Now the Moabites had heard that the kings were coming up to fight against them and so they gathered up everyone and were all ready at the border. We read in verse 22 -23 "Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood. And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!” "
Can you imagine that ? The same water .... When the Moabites saw it , it seemed like blood for them and they thought that the kings had fought amongst themselves and had killed each other. So when they came to camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked them.
How awesome is our God ! We need to seek His will at every step and trust in Him completely...never on our own strength or our own understanding .
God Bless
Monday, May 25, 2009
Any Good Thing
"The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing"
Psalm 34 : 10 (New King James Version)
'any good thing'.... How many of us know whats good for us ? I dont know which company or which job is good for me ...I dont know which is the place that will be good for me ....
During my college days I suffered with severe pain in my right arm that required me to take physiotherapy for three years. I never understood at that point in time why did God permit it, but as the years passed by I saw His glory revealed in my life. It was a stage of pruning and at the end of it I did begin to bear more fruit . It was 'good'...it was for His Glory ... It was for my spiritual growth ... For sure with my o so limited mind I would have never thought this as good. My first job that I joined after graduation ...I never wanted to be in the software industry...No way would I have thought it as good...But wow the Lord has worked wonders in my life ... Its been such a blessing in that company for the glory of God ... Its always always been for His glory.
So many times we think 'good' means lots of money, good health and worldly happiness . But thats not it ! God knows whats good for us... And its always for the glory of His name. We just need to keep seeking Him ! Seeking His will ! And we will not lack any GOOD thing ! Im not saying we need to be poor and without a good job...No no no... The Bible says in Matthew 6 : 31-33 "“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
We need to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else that we need God will provide.And as we seek the Lord we will not lack any good thing.
I pray that we will grow in the Lord and walk as per His Holy will . We read in 1 John 2:15-17 "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever"
God Bless
But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing"
Psalm 34 : 10 (New King James Version)
'any good thing'.... How many of us know whats good for us ? I dont know which company or which job is good for me ...I dont know which is the place that will be good for me ....
During my college days I suffered with severe pain in my right arm that required me to take physiotherapy for three years. I never understood at that point in time why did God permit it, but as the years passed by I saw His glory revealed in my life. It was a stage of pruning and at the end of it I did begin to bear more fruit . It was 'good'...it was for His Glory ... It was for my spiritual growth ... For sure with my o so limited mind I would have never thought this as good. My first job that I joined after graduation ...I never wanted to be in the software industry...No way would I have thought it as good...But wow the Lord has worked wonders in my life ... Its been such a blessing in that company for the glory of God ... Its always always been for His glory.
So many times we think 'good' means lots of money, good health and worldly happiness . But thats not it ! God knows whats good for us... And its always for the glory of His name. We just need to keep seeking Him ! Seeking His will ! And we will not lack any GOOD thing ! Im not saying we need to be poor and without a good job...No no no... The Bible says in Matthew 6 : 31-33 "“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
We need to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else that we need God will provide.And as we seek the Lord we will not lack any good thing.
I pray that we will grow in the Lord and walk as per His Holy will . We read in 1 John 2:15-17 "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever"
God Bless
Thursday, May 21, 2009
On what is our mind set upon ?
"You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You."
Isaiah 26:3 (New King James Version)
The days that I havent spent time in prayers are the days that I am soooo susceptible to becoming cranky or losing my peace of mind.
Have you ever noticed the big difference in yourself when you have started off the day with the word of God and with prayers ? And do you remember yourself on the days you just woke up and rushed through the day forgetting about God ?
I remember someone once well said Prayer is not about trying to change the mind of God...Its to change our mind in accordance to the will of God ! Someone once said a similar thing about fasting ...He said "Fasting does not change God ...It changes us !"
And thats so true...The more we spend time with the Lord, the more we take our focus off things of the world and set our mind on Him its soo wonderful. I love this verse..when we say we trust in the Lord that means our mind is stayed on Him. We cant say we trust in the Lord and be so caught up in the things of the world and be busy making our own plans and all.... When we trust in the Lord we give Him our everything...and our mind is stayed on Him and the Lord will keep us in perfect peace.
We read in Colossians 3 : 1-2 "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth"
This is something which the Lord has laid upon my heart to share this morning ... Sometimes our very focus of prayer gets so shifted to things of the world that we forget about things of God. In the half hour or one hour we spend praying , a lot of us end up praying "Bless me , bless my family...take care of my job , take care of my finances, take care of my health ....." and we spend no time in praying for the salvations of others, for our spiritual growth , for the gifts of the Holy Spirit , to be used more and more for His glory , for the churches, the pastors, missionaries, seeking His Holy will and not just telling Him what we want,......
Dont get me wrong ...Im not saying dont pray for your job and for your family and loved ones....No no no ...All Im saying is we need to be careful that our focus does not get shifted from things above to things of this earth solely.
God Bless
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You."
Isaiah 26:3 (New King James Version)
The days that I havent spent time in prayers are the days that I am soooo susceptible to becoming cranky or losing my peace of mind.
Have you ever noticed the big difference in yourself when you have started off the day with the word of God and with prayers ? And do you remember yourself on the days you just woke up and rushed through the day forgetting about God ?
I remember someone once well said Prayer is not about trying to change the mind of God...Its to change our mind in accordance to the will of God ! Someone once said a similar thing about fasting ...He said "Fasting does not change God ...It changes us !"
And thats so true...The more we spend time with the Lord, the more we take our focus off things of the world and set our mind on Him its soo wonderful. I love this verse..when we say we trust in the Lord that means our mind is stayed on Him. We cant say we trust in the Lord and be so caught up in the things of the world and be busy making our own plans and all.... When we trust in the Lord we give Him our everything...and our mind is stayed on Him and the Lord will keep us in perfect peace.
We read in Colossians 3 : 1-2 "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth"
This is something which the Lord has laid upon my heart to share this morning ... Sometimes our very focus of prayer gets so shifted to things of the world that we forget about things of God. In the half hour or one hour we spend praying , a lot of us end up praying "Bless me , bless my family...take care of my job , take care of my finances, take care of my health ....." and we spend no time in praying for the salvations of others, for our spiritual growth , for the gifts of the Holy Spirit , to be used more and more for His glory , for the churches, the pastors, missionaries, seeking His Holy will and not just telling Him what we want,......
Dont get me wrong ...Im not saying dont pray for your job and for your family and loved ones....No no no ...All Im saying is we need to be careful that our focus does not get shifted from things above to things of this earth solely.
God Bless
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
His direction ! Never our understanding
"So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.” "
II Samuel 5 : 19 (New King James Version)
"I know whats the right thing to do !! " ... Im sure all of us have said this at some point in time of our lives. Some of us have said it more often than others :-)
A little background to the verse ...The Philistines had heard that David was anointed King of Israel and so they went to search for him...they went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. Now David sought the Lord's direction...He did not want to lean on his own understanding ... And as we read in verse 19 "And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”"
Here is the best part...There are many of us who seek the Lord only the first time we are attempting something...After that we think "Oh I know how this will turn out" or "I know what is to be done for this kind of situation"...or "This is how the Lord directed me last time so I will do the same thing this time also "..... No no no ....
As we continue reading till the end of the chaper we find that David went to Baal Perazim and defeated the Philistines there. Now in verse 22 we read that "Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim" David could have gone and battled it out again ,but No what did David do ? He sought the direction of the Lord again ! How wonderful it is to seek the Lord at every step .
We read in verses 23-25 "Therefore David inquired of the LORD, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” And David did so, as the LORD commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer"
Wow ! Isnt that so amazing !! Our God is an awesome God !!
May we lean not on our own understanding but seek His will and His direction at every step .
God Bless
II Samuel 5 : 19 (New King James Version)
"I know whats the right thing to do !! " ... Im sure all of us have said this at some point in time of our lives. Some of us have said it more often than others :-)
A little background to the verse ...The Philistines had heard that David was anointed King of Israel and so they went to search for him...they went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. Now David sought the Lord's direction...He did not want to lean on his own understanding ... And as we read in verse 19 "And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.”"
Here is the best part...There are many of us who seek the Lord only the first time we are attempting something...After that we think "Oh I know how this will turn out" or "I know what is to be done for this kind of situation"...or "This is how the Lord directed me last time so I will do the same thing this time also "..... No no no ....
As we continue reading till the end of the chaper we find that David went to Baal Perazim and defeated the Philistines there. Now in verse 22 we read that "Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim" David could have gone and battled it out again ,but No what did David do ? He sought the direction of the Lord again ! How wonderful it is to seek the Lord at every step .
We read in verses 23-25 "Therefore David inquired of the LORD, and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” And David did so, as the LORD commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer"
Wow ! Isnt that so amazing !! Our God is an awesome God !!
May we lean not on our own understanding but seek His will and His direction at every step .
God Bless
Speck Vs Plank
"And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
Matthew 7 : 3-5 (New King James Version)
Sometimes a lot of us are really quick to judge ! Sometimes we have such preconceived notions that it tends to blind us . I remember as a teen, whenever a person got up to preach the first thing that I would do is find every fault possible with his/her message. It was like I would listen to the message just to find out points that I could disagree with. And in doing so I would never give ear to what the person was trying to say in the first place. So at the end my takeaway would be a big ZERO...Just a heart full of criticism !
Dont get me wrong ,,,Im not saying blindly listen to what the preacher preaches...No ... But the Lord knows our hearts... Are we going with a judgmental spirit or are we going with a spirit of humility .How many of us pray for the sunday services that we attend on saturday night or during the week....? I hear of so many people who complain about whats wrong with the churches today...But how many of us get down on our knees and pray for it daily ? Its so easy to criticize !
There are so many flaws in me...So many that only the Lord knows... He knows my every thought .... Lets take for example I lie and I see another believer who drinks... Can I say I am better than him ? Do I have the right to look down on him ? No ! But I do have to pray for myself to remove lying lips from His Holy temple....To pray for my fellow believer and to tell him and remind him what he is doing is not right ....But I do not have the right to think that I am better than him.
Our God is so awesome ! I love the way He says 'speck' in our brother's eye but a 'plank' in ours. Sometimes we can be such hypocrites.
I pray that we will surrender completely to the Lord and have Him remove and purge away anything that is not of Him and that we will have a spirit of humility.
God Bless
Matthew 7 : 3-5 (New King James Version)
Sometimes a lot of us are really quick to judge ! Sometimes we have such preconceived notions that it tends to blind us . I remember as a teen, whenever a person got up to preach the first thing that I would do is find every fault possible with his/her message. It was like I would listen to the message just to find out points that I could disagree with. And in doing so I would never give ear to what the person was trying to say in the first place. So at the end my takeaway would be a big ZERO...Just a heart full of criticism !
Dont get me wrong ,,,Im not saying blindly listen to what the preacher preaches...No ... But the Lord knows our hearts... Are we going with a judgmental spirit or are we going with a spirit of humility .How many of us pray for the sunday services that we attend on saturday night or during the week....? I hear of so many people who complain about whats wrong with the churches today...But how many of us get down on our knees and pray for it daily ? Its so easy to criticize !
There are so many flaws in me...So many that only the Lord knows... He knows my every thought .... Lets take for example I lie and I see another believer who drinks... Can I say I am better than him ? Do I have the right to look down on him ? No ! But I do have to pray for myself to remove lying lips from His Holy temple....To pray for my fellow believer and to tell him and remind him what he is doing is not right ....But I do not have the right to think that I am better than him.
Our God is so awesome ! I love the way He says 'speck' in our brother's eye but a 'plank' in ours. Sometimes we can be such hypocrites.
I pray that we will surrender completely to the Lord and have Him remove and purge away anything that is not of Him and that we will have a spirit of humility.
God Bless
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