JUDGING OTHERS HURTS US

WHEN THE SPIRIT CONVICTS

NOTICE WHEN your spiritual life is getting out of balance. The thing is quite painful when your spiritual life is out of whack and God reveals it to you. God gets your attention. Then He shows you where you are acting like a hypocrite. The sting of that knowledge awakens you to the inner damage it is causing to your spirit. The way you react to this knowledge shows you your heart.

It reveals what matters to you. 

Though it may take some time, once we know there is a problem, our inner person is motivated to face this error and deal with it. People and circumstances can easily get us off track enough to where we don't see the error of our ways. Something comes up and we begin to notice that we're off-kilter, which arrests our attention.

We start to pay attention.

The Holy Spirit reveals this to us, gently but firmly. Should we ignore the Spirit's prompting, further distancing from God will be the result. Darkness may come in. The joy in our hearts most likely will lessen. Frustration and discouragement builds as greater levels of bitterness and resentment increases. This deflates us as it hardens our spiritual awareness. 

We have stalled out. 

This can go on for quite some time, but it doesn't have to. You can blame God for your problems, for the spiritual distancing, lethargy, and dispiriting deadness. That's not the truth, and definitely not where the problem originated. It's not really God's problem.

This is our problem.

I recently had one of those situations. My self-righteous side passed judgment on an elderly woman who was out of line. She was using the force of her will to dominate another elderly person. She was behaving improperly, but so was I when I criticized her to someone else. The Spirit of God took me to task. That night, I knew in my heart that what I had said about her should not have been said.

I felt the pain of it in my heart. 

A deep sadness came over me. I acknowledged, apologized, and sorrowed. I sensed a great need to pray spiritual life for the woman I had criticized. She needs a relationship with Jesus. I now did what I should have done in the first place. She needs love and she needs tenderness. I had been offended by her words and actions. I felt justified in speaking about her "without mercy." That is not God's way, and it shouldn't be my way either. 

I took it up with my heavenly Father. 

After I confessed to God and asked Him to help me, the light came in. This activated compassion in me. God is love. God calls us to love the difficult people in our lives. His conviction of our wrong-mindedness about a person or thing causes a stop. We know we have to put a lid on it. We are compelled to extend grace to that person.

We follow God's leading. 

The "stop" effects a re-thinking of the thing in light of the Spirit of God. We are given the ability to make right, to turn in a new direction, and to seek His face. The darkness leaves and the light comes on. Pride leaves and a humble spirit is released. Joy returns, re-imagined and reawakened.

God is at work in us. He is bringing many sons and daughters to glory. We get to be a part of what He is doing.

Praises.

. . .

Photo by Ben White, Unsplash 

 

WE ALL NEED GOD'S LOVE

God's Love Is What We Need

Love is where peace is found. Love is the greatest equalizer. Love demonstrates peace when it is lived in its purest state. Love's peace is something anyone can experience.

Love is tested and tried. Love does the right thing in the right way. Christ is our best example of this. Christ shares His love with us. His helps us love others with pure, tender love. Rigid religion is not what Christ offers His children. He is gentle and kind.

God's love embraces all people. God's love is life-giving. His love touches people from every walk of life. Those who fully respond to God's love are dramatically changed. Love enters one's soul as the Spirit of God reveals godly truth. The more you seek God, the more your spirit enlivens.

God's love shows. A true believer will demonstrate God's love to others. It is seen in their acts of mercy, love, kindness, justice, honesty, and fairness. The heart is changed. It springs to life. It opens up to the sunshine of godly love.

A loving heart acts in love. Loving well is seen in this biblical admonition: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32) Love desires right relationship and gives from out of its self. 

Love is kind, good, and caring. Here is one place where Jesus taught this concept:

 An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” (Luke 10)

We are God's children. Father God cares for His children. We, in turn, love Him back.

As Joseph Girzone says it, "[God] created us to become His children. He placed us in the midst of a magnificent creation and asks only that we love Him and love and respect other human creatures, and treat all His creatures with respect and gratitude.” 

God's love is supernatural. It is beyond our human ability to manufacture godly love. God is the giver of supernatural, godly love. Christians should be known by their love. God gives them His love. When Christians are not loving and known by their love, there's something not quite right in their spirituality. Those who give God their life experience God transforming them in almost every aspect of their being. 

But we do struggle at times. That is why we call our Christian life a spiritual journey. Every step we take is an opportunity to get closer to God. It is also a process of yielding our stuff to Him. We stumble when we come to areas that trip us up or set us back. This is a frequent occurrence. Instead of pretending everything is okay, this is when we learn to trust in God to carry us through, which He does when we step out of the way and yield our will to His will.

Today is the day. Let God transform the inner you. Let Christ's love enter and make you anew. Embrace God's love with your whole heart. God will forgive, change, and heal you. You are precious to God. I know, it's not that easy, but it's worth it.

Give every circumstance to God. I suggest you pray over every decision you make. I suggest you quit trying so hard and let God do the leading and providing. You show up and move forward. There's relief in this. I'm still learning how to do this. God's love carries me through.

I see God everywhere.

* * * 

Photo by Johua Hoehne , Unsplash

 

BE THE AUTHENTIC YOU

 

DARE TO BE the REAL YOU

 

 

YES, YOU CAN BE YOU

Who am I? What was I meant to be? It has taken years for me to figure this out because of its many facets. I am a contemplative, listener, encourager. I want to help people find their own path to light, spirituality, and life. I see people's wounds and also the good that is resident in them.

Be the real you. I battle with wanting to be liked vs being my real self. Writings and conversations tell your truth. One of Cec Murphey's maxims states it well, "I’d rather be disliked for who I am than to be admired for who I’m not." That's the authentic self; the kind of person I strive to be. 

Spread your wings. Dare to be what you were meant to be. Dreams can allure as they engage the heart and soul. It is in the being, though, rather than the dreaming, that makes life sing in its originality. Who were you meant to be? Who are you? Answer the question. It's a hard one.

I was depleted. My joy, in the tank. My liveliness, waning. My energy, in need of a reboot. I cried out to God, "Help me!" The next morning, I felt revived, energetic. Halfway through the day, I thought about my increased happiness. What's come over me? Then I remembered my prayer from the day before. My prayer had been answered. God was helping me.

Sometimes we need a break. Today I took off a day from busyness to read for pleasure. Just what I needed. I'd been worn out from the emotions that come with changing dynamics. I read about angels in everyday life. Very intriguing. I have experienced the unusual and could identify with some of the stories.

Keep these words from Philippians in mind:

 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” -Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

That’s right on the money. God says to come to Him, to place our trust in Him. He is the giver of peace who guards our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. What a beautiful promise. There’s our part, and there’s God’s part.

APPLICATION

This isn’t about others; it is about you. Be confident. Place your trust in God. Listen to Him. Allow Him access. Trust Him with your real self. Be the person God made you to be. Don't try to be like someone else, be uniquely you. Seek God to help you understand this.

• Memorize and recite often: Philippians 4:6-7
•  Tell God of your need
• Give praise and thanksgiving

In Christ, you can do this.

I wish you well on your spiritual journey. 

***

Photo by Baard Hansen, Unsplash

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WHEN GOD OPENS DOORS

 SPIRITUAL DESTINY & YOU

"I am a little pencil in God’s hands." -Mother Teresa

YOUR JOURNEY

ADULT LIFE IS a mind game. You choose your destiny by how you choose to deal with your past, present, and future. Healthy or unhealthy, you hold the keys to your path. Happy or unhappy, it is up to you. You owe it to yourself to deal with your stuff and move forward. You can do this.

Inner-directedness means we are guided by our own personal beliefs, God's Spirit within us, and the right thing to do in the circumstance. We do not worry about what other people think since our motivation is to walk in the Spirit. This frees us from needing others to direct us.

A living faith opens doors into greater, broader realms of newness and joy. Living faith is known through the Spirit of God. It is manufactured through His enabling, enlivening, holy, supernatural Presence. The evidence of this inner liveliness is seen in an individual's words, actions and at times by a glowing radiance.Their visage is soft, not hard.

 YOU + GOD

Looking forward, then moving forward, meeting new challenges as they come, wave after wave, provides energy with synergy that makes a huge difference in your outlook and bearing as a believer. You look to God. God infuses you with the strength you need. He helps grow you as a person and fills your days with His grace. 

"My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence."  Acts 2:26-28

 THE SECRET

God gives us what we need when we need it. You are on a spiritual journey that will change you. It will change how you think, how you respond, what you do, and what matters in life. There's always something more to learn as you move forward to meet the next thing. Though it won't be easy, you can do this. Here's the secret; keep your eyes on Christ.

APPLICATION

1. Start each day by thanking God for it.
2. Ask God to direct your day.
3. Talk to God throughout your day.

Do this and your days take on new meaning and greater purpose. You become a blessing to others. You are strengthened during challenges. You learn to trust God in everything. Your faith expands commensurate with your depth of trust in God. God is your silent partner.

God bless you.

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Meditation 3

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