THE BEAM IN MY EYE

THE LORD IS SO MERCIFUL AND GOOD
Matthew 7:3,4

I thank God for the Holy Spirit.
I love my church family and I thank God for helping them to be sensitive to the leading and guiding of Holy Spirit.

The Lord is dealing with me.
I mean He is really dealing with me.

I encourage you to read daily devotionals and truly meditate the scriptures in those devotions.

Holy Spirit is so right on time.
The definition of perfect in the bible means mature.
It doesn't mean that you never get angry, it doesn't mean that because you have come to Christ that you don't make mistakes.
You get angry but you don't let the sun go down on your anger and you don't sin in anger.
You don't lie because you are angry.
There is a righteous anger and it stems from witnessing injustice and unrighteousness.

Everyone doesn't get angry at unrighteousness.
But for those who do, being reminded that all things will work out for the good to those who have been called according to Gods purpose and plan helps us to press on.

It means that we press on living up to the knowledge that we have already attained.

You know that if you do what God told you to do it will work out.

Mature means forgetting the past and moving forward.
This is what perfection in Christ means.

The phrase "nobodies perfect" is not an excuse for poor behavior or laziness.
People do not have to be perfect because you can't be, they should desire to grow up though.
I want to get better, I don't want to stay the same.

The devil brings condemnation, and condemnation robs you.
The Holy Spirit brings conviction and correction and the correction of God adds to you.

I'm not a people watcher, I don't sit and watch people.
I don't have time for that because it's a distraction.
Some folks do this for a living, they observe people.
Some folks do it for free and it is time lost because the mirror should be turned towards their lovely face.

So I have turned the mirror towards my lovely face today.
Luke 6:41,42

I don't know about you but I have enough issues of my own that I don't need to examine your every move. I am busy in the Word pulling this beam out of my own eye.
I work in a stressful field and lately that stress has been increasing.

I recently requested a copy of my personnel files and my manager thought that I wanted them because I was looking for another job.
I wanted them so that I could look back and see where I may be missing it in my performance so that I could work on improving.

Yes, just because we proclaim Jesus doesn't mean that we think we have arrived, we work on improving our selves.

People do over think things.
Everyone really believes that you think like they do.
I keep trying to explain that I am not everybody else, this mind is being renovated.
You can't read me, you can know me by my conversation.
But people rarely listen to what you say, they hear what they want to hear, which is their way of thinking.

Change is not something that just automatically happens over time or with reprimand.
Change doesn't happen because you wish it would.
Change begins with a decision on each individuals part with action behind it.
There has to be a willing determination in the heart of the ones who desire change.

Not everyone believes that they need to change.
Well I do believe I need to change.

We can't make other people change but we can actively work on changing our selves.
I'm not talking liposuction and face lifts either.
I'm talking change of the heart.

My issue and my fault which I need praying folks to pray for me about is: I want to make folks change, I am not God.
James 5:16

Yes, I actually know this.
I know that I am not Jesus.
I am made in His image and likeness, filled with His Spirit and His Word but I am not God.
I am of God and I love God but I am not creator.
And He has told me time and time again to deal with me and other folks issues will not become my issues.

I'm still learning and growing, haven't arrived yet, but I ain't sitting down either.
And change is usually inspired in the hearts of others by an event or encouragement.
The Lord is dealing with me.

The Lord showed me something so strong in a live illustration yesterday when I left work.

I had a very long stressful day at work( no excuse for not reflecting Christ) and it's like I worked my self into a tizzy.
I have had many days when I got slammed with patients and it worked out.
I was born for adversity.
Yesterday was different, the carnal came out(sowing to the flesh) because my focus was on something else other than the Word that I have already attained.

I really wanted to go at the end of the day, I did not want to stay over and I ended up staying late to talk with my manager about my attitude and when that was done, the Lord held me even longer.
Learn from this.

As I was leaving the hospital I ran into an old acquaintance who knew a couple of folks on the campus.
She heard that I was saved and she wanted me to meet some guy who was a minister.

When she took me over to this guy, I know him in passing and never in any conversation had I ever heard any thing that could remotely identify him as a minister of the gospel.

He's always talking and nothing that he says ever lines up with identifying him as a man of God.
So I thought, a minister of what?

I smiled and shook hands with him and we were like "yeah I have seen you before."
All of a sudden he started to talk like Al Sharpton or somebody, I didn't get a word in because he was too busy preaching.
I had heard him talk off and on for a couple of years and never had I heard anything remotely close to what he was saying with her standing there come out of his mouth before.
OK
I am not saying this to judge him, because we are not judges in that since but we are called to recognize.
Amen.
So we talk for a minute and we eventually go our separate ways because she is there to pick someone up who was being discharged.

He disturbed me more than ministered to me.
Remember the Lord is dealing with LOLITA.

So I start off in a rush again to leave the building and as strong as I can hear my own voice the Lord asks: "WHAT ARE YOU A MINISTER OF?"
SHUT MY MOUTH!
I had to sit down and just shut up for a minute.

I don't know if you know it or not but if you are In Christ and He is in you, you are an administrator of something.
Reflecting Him.

You may not be what they call "full time ministry" on somebodies church payroll.
But this life In Christ Jesus is "Full Time"

I get 24 hours each day and so do the Pastors, Apostles, Evangelists, Prophets and Teachers.
I don't get 47 hours in a day and they get 12, we all get 24 to serve the Lord and be righteous.

As I'm sitting on a bench in the back of the hospital meditating this question,the Lord is basically putting me in check about how I did not reflect Him with my attitude in this crunch of patients today.

Not to condemn me but to teach me so that I could recognize, make the adjustment and improve.
Amen.
My Father corrects me because He loves me.

As I sit asking for His forgiveness and receiving it, NOT FALLING INTO SOME PITTY PARTY AND WHY IS LIFE SO UNFAIR FOR ME, a patient of mines from about 2 months ago walks past.
I was so happy to see him because he was in a bad shape, but God is so good and this man is healed and back to work.

I said, "Hey!"
He said "Hey!"

And he came up to me and said " You remember me?"
I said, "I sure do!", I remember folks by their case and this brother was a serious one.
He was not a minister, he hasn't taken any bible classes, and he actually had some other personal challenges, not dressed in a suit, quoting scripture and sounding like MLK.

He walked up to me thanking God and I began to thank God with him.
The Lord just started talking to him through me and told him don't ever give up on God, hold onto your healing because God loves you and he has a big plan for your life because he doesn't give up on us, and he was meek and received those words with gladness.

He spoke gratitude into my life and this humble man spoke louder to me in his low voice than the "minister" with the booming voice.

We shook hands and parted ways.
My brother with the challenges ministered to me.

And the Lord showed me something about my own attitude.
This is not an act.
I started my day out focused on getting out of that building from the time I walked into it.
I hadn't thought that the Lord would use me to speak to anyone at the moment that I wanted to be were I wanted to be.

He told me to be in the place where He wanted me to be and He would pour out of His Spirit upon me.
And all I could think about was rushing past the mark.
Holy Spirit.

JESUS!

You recognize a woman or man of God by the fruit of their lips wherever they are.
This is so that you are able to make a decision about what your relationship will be with them.

Not just a few a words that they utter, but what is their general outlook on the things and ways of God?
Are they willing to listen, yield, commit, obey?
You have to spend time in conversation with them to know this.
Are the ways of God outdated to them?
Do they believe that it don't take all of that?
Do they say one thing in your face and then another thing behind your back?

Spend some time with your self this week.
Examine your attitude and your methods, be real, I am.
Integrity does not sprout up overnight and true integrity comes from one place.

THE BEAM IN MY EYE
HE IS STILL SPEAKING TO OUR THINKING

Philippians 3:12-15 NIV
LOVE Y'ALL