Matthew 7:2-5 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
A dear friend recently sent us this funny story and we couldn’t help but share it with you.
One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast upon her brunette head. She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, “Mom, why are some of your hairs white?”
“Well”, her mother replied, “every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white.”
The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then said, “Momma, how come all of Grandma’s hairs are white?”
A funny story, yes — but isn’t it true that we’re always looking for someone to blame for our imperfections? The Lord warned us about the danger of pointing out the faults of others. He said that people with planks in their eyes should not attempt to remove specks out of other people’s eyes. Somehow, we lose sight of this so quickly! We are all still growing. None of us has arrived! We need to be aware of how the enemy tries to ensnare us in this way.
I don’t know about you but I tend to agree with the person who said “The only person I want removing splinters out of my eyes is someone with a clear vision and a gentle touch!”
Let’s ask the Lord to help us to see the ways we’ve been judgmental and become people with clear vision and a gentle touch! We should be building up one another and encouraging eachother so that the work of the Lord may go forward and we may rejoice together in the blessing!
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
An elderly woman returned to her home from an evening of Church services when she was startled by an intruder. She had caught a man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables. “Stop!” she yelled, “Acts 2:38!” (Repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven).
The burglar stopped dead in his tracks and froze while the woman calmly called the police and explained the situation. As the officer was cuffing him, he asked the burglar, “Just out of curiosity, why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell a scripture at you.” “Scripture?!” gasped the burglar. “She said she had an ax… and two 38’s!!”
It’s a funny joke, yes, but on a serious note — I think we often underestimate the power of the Word of God! We have the source so very close — its right at our fingertips and should be right on our lips! Yet, we neglect to declare it over our circumstances, that we may see the victory!
Let’s make it a point to start spending regular time in the Word, learning it and speaking it over our lives again and again! We need to be a walking testimony of His power and victory — there is so much work to be done!
James 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
How do you get a one-armed blonde out of a tree? Wave.
Ok, I have to admit — it made me chuckle too. But blonde jokes, “name your ethnic group of choice” jokes — let’s be honest — it is our human nature to put others down. There’s something about it that makes us feel better about ourselves on some level.
Harmless? I’m not sure.
We need to develop eyes to see people the way God sees them. We need to be a people who build each other up – not tear each other down!
Let’s ask the Lord to reveal if there is something in us that feels the need to put others down in order to elevate ourselves. We have the opportunity to change lives for the better with our words, sometimes even just a smile! And there’s so much work to be done!
James 1:22-25 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
An old mountaineer and his wife who were sitting in front of the fireplace one evening just whiling away the time. After a long silence, the wife said: “Jed, I think it’s raining. Get up and to outside and see.” The old mountaineer continued to gaze into the fire for a second, sighed, then said, “Aw, Ma, why don’t we just call in the dog and see if he’s wet.”
Uggghhh! We’re so lazy sometimes! One thing that has really been on our hearts recently is doing more doing and less talking about doing! God wants us to be doers not talkers.
God has a specific purpose for our lives at such a time as this. Let’s start giving Him our all. There’s so much work to be done!
Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
My wife came across a joke that’ll surely make you ladies laugh out loud — and you men too– that is, if you know what’s good for you, lol!
A small-town couple was celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and their long, loving relationship had long been the talk of the town. For this special occasion, a local newspaper reporter paid them a visit to inquire as to the secret of their happy marriage.
“Well,” explained the husband, “it really all goes back to our honeymoon. We visited the Grand Canyon and took a trip down to the bottom of the canyon by pack mule. We hadn’t gone too far when my wife’s mule stumbled. My wife quietly said ‘That’s once.’ We proceeded a little farther when the mule stumbled again. Once more my wife quietly spoke: ‘That’s twice.’ We hadn’t gone a half-mile when the mule stumbled a third time. My wife promptly removed a revolver from her purse, hopped down off the beast, and shot the mule dead. I began to protest over her treatment of the mule when she looked at me and quietly said, ‘That’s once.”’
I hope you liked that. Now, I’ve heard that children laugh 300 to 400 times a day while we adults laugh only a mere 15! Believe it or not, experts say that laughing aids digestion, lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones, increases muscle flexion, boosts the immune system, triggers the release of endorphins which are the body’s natural painkillers, heals broken relationships and produces a general sense of well-being!
Let’s not take everything so very seriously! Let’s start laughing at ourselves a little, and laughing at our enemy’s attempts to keep us burdened and oppressed! God has our victory –always! And there’s so much work to be done!
Increase
Decrease