The Measure You Use

Jesus said: Don’t judge others, and God won’t judge you. Don’t be hard on others, and God won’t be hard on you. Forgive others, and God will forgive you. If you give to others, you will be given a full amount in return. It will be packed down, shaken together, and spilling over into your lap. The way you treat others is the way you will be treated. – Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭37‬-38 ‭CEV‬‬

“Give and it will be given to you,” sounds like what you expect to hear when they pass the collection plate. But Jesus is having a conversation about how to treat others, and how we want God to treat us.

Jesus is telling us that what we give, whether it’s judgement, condemnation, or forgiveness, is coming right back at us!

Do we want to be measured with harshness for our mistakes and flaws? No, of course not! So we need to be very mindful of how we look at others.

We want God to shower us with His grace, so we can’t give our forgiveness sparingly.

We love when God shows us His blessings, so we can’t be picky about our acts of service, or stingy with our kindness.

The MESSAGE version sums this up so well…

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.” – Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭37‬-‭38‬ ‭MSG‬‬

“Giving, not getting, is the way.” ♥️

Give your time.

Give your patience.

Give your affection.

Give your gentleness.

Give compassion.

Give grace.

Give a little bit of joy.

You will never go wrong if you give these things.

And give these things FROM YOUR HEART.

Dear Jesus, I hear what you’re speaking, and I want to give like You do. I want to give with my heart wide open. Jesus, as I step out into the world today, help me stay mindful of the impact that my words and actions can have on those around me. Help me keep my spirit light, my mood positive, and my words kind. Remind me that I must show the same respect, the same grace, to everyone I encounter – friends and enemies alike.

Amen

Don’t Be Troubled

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” – John‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Stop allowing yourself to become upset by people and by circumstances.

Jesus gave us a gift. The gift of peace of mind and peace of heart.

We can embrace this gift and choose every day to move around and carry this peace with us wherever we go and through whatever we encounter.

If we choose to stay focused on Our Lord and the gift that He has provided, we live in contentment, regardless of our situation. We don’t need to feel annoyed, bothered, or troubled.

We can allow our circumstances to shift our mindset, or we can cause our mindset to change our circumstances.

Dear Jesus, I am so grateful for Your gift of peace. This is a blessing that is so underrated in the world of nonstop busyness and constant stimulation by our surroundings in the world that we live in today.

Lord, sometimes I forget that this peace is available. When I feel anxiety, worry, and fear creeping in, please remind me that I have a choice to make. I can focus on You and Your words: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid,” or I can focus on my troubles and stay stuck in the pit of uneasiness and panic that I have fallen into.

Lord, I choose Your peace. Every chance I get, I’ll hold on to this wonderful gift. Amen

Heart and Soul

Put your heart and soul into every activity you do, as though you are doing it for the Lord himself and not merely for others. – Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭23‬ ‭TPT‬‬

This verse applies to more than our career.

We have to apply this principle to all that we do.

Our relationships,

our health,

our acts of service,

taking care of the home that The Lord has blessed us with.

All of these things are from God, and the bottom line is – we ARE working for Him in all things. When we work wholeheartedly to nurture the things He has provided, we are not just “clocking in.” When we go through each day with a willing and grateful heart, we are not just “doing our job.” Our efforts and our attitudes should reflect the pleasure of serving our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Dear Jesus, I pray that I serve you well today, with a heart full of thankfulness, no matter what circumstances I face. I woke up today, so I know You have a job for me to do! What an honor to be able to serve you today and every day. Lord, I know that to serve you, I must serve others. Help me do so with a heart full of loving kindness and a smile on my face. If I come across a difficult personality or a task that I wouldn’t normally look forward to, keep me focused on You instead, so that I may find the good in the situation.

Amen

Be Positive

“With tender humility and quiet patience, always demonstrate gentleness and generous love toward one another, especially toward those who may try your patience.” – Ephesians‬ ‭4:2‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Lord,

I just wanted to start by saying Thank You for providing me with something today…

something that I didn’t have yesterday,

and something that I hope I will have a little more of tomorrow. Optimism is not something that comes naturally to me, but I’m trying, Lord. I’m trying to leave hurtful experiences and struggles in the past.

Lord, pour your positivity into me and help me face every situation with love and kindness.

No matter WHAT I face.

No matter WHO I face.

Soften my guarded heart so that my words come from a gentle and affectionate spirit.

Lord, cloud my judging eyes and give me a clear vision of your peace and love. Let me see the world through eyes of compassion and grace, not through eyes that are wary due to scars from the past.

Amen

Choosing Joy

“Everything seems to go wrong when you feel weak and depressed. But when you choose to be cheerful, every day will bring you more and more joy and fullness.”

Proverbs 15:15 TPT

Some of the things that steal our joy are the circumstances we face in everyday life. But what about when all is calm and we are just WORRYING about the next disaster? These worries, doubts, and negative thoughts steal our joy one little nugget at a time. Before we know it, a beautiful day can turn into an imaginary catastrophe.  

“The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?”

Psalms 27:1 NLT

Why SHOULD I worry? I have The Lord on MY SIDE!  If we take comfort in knowing that He is beside us in every battle, then why spend our time worrying when we are in between battles?

God wants us to be FILLED with joy!

“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”

John 15:11 NLT

Through His love for us, He wants us to experience so much joy that it overflows us and spreads to others as we show God’s love to them. 

If we are too busy living in the negatives of our lives, we are not living the joy-filled life that He intended for us. 

We may not be able to share His message effectively.  

We may miss an opportunity to help those that He wants us to help. 

We might not be there to encourage our friends when they need our support. 

We may be failing to serve our purpose. 

We don’t have to pretend that our lives are perfect. We don’t have to hide our struggles. But we should be reflecting His light and revealing His joy in the midst of these struggles. 

We can’t dwell on the bad things that have happened to us in the past. We can’t let our worries linger. 

Choosing to live with the stress and the worry weighing us down is the SELF-focused choice. 

If we find ourselves focused on OURselves and OUR problems, we can be certain of one thing – we are not focused on Him. 

If experiencing joy is limited to times when everything that you’d hoped for is going exactly as YOU planned, then you have got to adjust your definition of what joy is and where it comes from. 

We can’t always control our circumstances, but we can control our attitude. We CAN choose joy. 

We start by:

– Choosing HOPE over worry

– Choosing FAITH over fear

– Choosing GRATITUDE for what He has blessed us with over grief for what we have lost 

– Choosing SURRENDER over control 

Dear Heavenly Father, I just want to start my day by praising Your name and thanking You for all of the blessings that You have brought to my life. I want to embrace the joy that You provide. Let it flow through me to everyone I encounter today. Amen

Bad Attitude

Have you ever found evidence that your child has disobeyed? As soon as you see what they’ve done, you call out to them. When they timidly approach, you ask them… “What happened to my antique lamp?”
They know they broke it.
You know they broke it.
They know that you know that they broke it.
So you are hoping, wishing, and praying that they tell you the truth.
Because you want them to be honest.
You want them to be sorry.
You want to forgive them.
But if they are tempted to lie, or act like they don’t know what you’re talking about, they must suffer the wrath of Mom! “Go to your room! You are GROUNDED! No TV or phone for a week!!”

In Genesis 4:9, God knew that Cain had killed Abel, but he wants to hear what Cain has to say.

“I donʼt know,” he replied. “Am I my brotherʼs keeper?”

Cain’s response to God was rebellious and disrespectful. God gave him a chance to confess, and Cain defied him. God had had enough. Cain was cursed and banished, destined to be a homeless wanderer. Did Cain beg for mercy or forgiveness? Did he apologize or express remorse? No. He considered the punishment too much to bear, and he was afraid he would be killed because of it.

Sooooo…let me get this straight.
– Cain caused the original conflict by being selfish.
– Cain became jealous of his brother because Abel was accepted, while Cain was not.
– Cain ignored God’s warning.
– Cain lashed out at his own brother.
– Cain lied to God and became defiant when confronted.
– Cain complained that his punishment was too harsh.
Cain sounds like a teenager with a bad attitude.
And just like a mother dealing with an insolent teen, who has the power to make you angry and break your heart at the same time, God sent Cain away. Even though he followed through on his punishment, he also showed his unending love and forgiving grace by protecting him from being harmed by others.

It hurts God to see us sin. He loves us and He forgives, but He wants us to be humble. He wants us to come to Him and confess. And he wants us to ask for that forgiveness.

How many times has your bad attitude pulled you farther away from God? Emotions are one thing, but how you choose to deal with those emotions are up to you. Whatever the circumstance, don’t let your bad attitude escalate the situation. Things will not improve and you won’t be satisfied with the outcome. Turn to God for help in resolving the situation. Remember Psalm 51:10 –

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

When I am in the middle of a bad day, and I don’t like the direction my attitude is taking, I will pray:
Dear God, I am feeling overwhelmed by my emotions in the situations I am facing right now! Please help me to control my attitude so that I don’t lash out at those around me. Please help me find a way to deal with what is happening in a calm and loving way.

Amen