Fwd: Word For The Day - July 2, 2014

 

We are all a part of many groups: a family, community, town, nation, and so on.  By faith and action we can be part of a church.  We can discover our part where we worship when we look for what we can do or learn.  Jesus Christ the Lord of the Church, and the congregation that gathers with us are ready for each of us to learn and do our part.  God smiles in approval when we work in harmony using his gifts.

 

Have a safe and happy holiday weekend:)

 

 

 

 

 July 2, 2014

 

 

Looking Beyond

 

Read:   Matthew 7:1-5

Don't judge, and you won't be judged. Don't condemn, and you won't be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  - Luke 6:37

 

Audio:  Matthew 7

 

Bible In One Year:  Job 22-24; Acts 11

 

I work with a father-and-son maintenance team. The father is jovial and easygoing, always ready to carry out his maintenance duties with a smile. His son is the sullen, quiet, despondent type, and I admit that I have formed an unfavorable opinion of him. One day I was in the break room for lunch at the same time as his father. I asked how his son was doing.

 

He said, "Well, he's doing better." I asked, "What do you mean by 'better'?" He told me his son had lost his young wife to cancer about a year ago. They had been married only one year, and his son was having a hard time adjusting. The father's words made me realize how quickly and easily we can judge other people without knowing anything about them.

 

We sometimes even pass these opinions on without an iota of information about what these people might be going through. Everyone has a story, whether we know that story or not. Matthew 7:3 reminds me as a follower of Christ to look beyond outward appearances in my relationships with my family, my friends, and my acquaintances and to share God's love with everyone.

 

 

Jeannette

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.  Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway." ~ Mother Teresa