Pensive Mood

Today, I'm meditative. I see my own flaws of being judgmental and
critical. The Lord has convicted me that I want everyone to live up to
my standards. And if they don't, I want to cut them off. Not cool.

Judgmental--tending to judge or criticize the conduct of other people.
Critical; condemnatory; negative; disapproving; disparaging;
hypercritical.

Hypercritical--excessively critical; captious. Marked by a tendency to
find and call attention to errors and flaws.

I have to allow God to be God and other people--my husband, my
coworkers,... anybody--be themselves. They don't feel, think and
believe like me. And they don't necessarily have to. I'm not talking
about that tolerance stuff where folks are afraid to call a spade a
spade or a sin a sin. I'm talking about knowing what God says and
committing that thing to prayer, instead of me always confronting it.

Is that wrong? Is that a crime? No. I may be right, but I'm not God.
Doesn't God have the power to change people? Didn't He change me?
Isn't He the one who is still changing me; convicting me? Yes. Well
then. Why do I stand in God's way? Just some of my thoughts...

Thursday's Devotion

I didn't wake up early today. However, when I did get up at 5:15, I
came right to the presence of God.

Hypocrite--an actor; to play a part; to pretend; a person who
professes beliefs that he does not hold; a dissembler; a phony; a
pretender; a beguiler; a cheater; a deceiver; a trickster. Someone who
leads you to believe something that is not true. A person who is
inwardly evil, but outwardly professes to be virtuous.

Jeremiah 17:9
The place of hypocrisy is an easy place for any Christian or
nonChristian to get into. We must daily come to God for examination of
our hearts.

James 1:21-26

If I say, "I'm cool. I'm alright" but I'm really messed up on the
inside; or if I say, "I know I'm a mess" and don't do anything to
change it, this makes me a hypocrite.

Wednesday

I woke up at the same time—3:52 This morning. I had the day off, so I was excited that I could really take my time with the Lord! Chris and I had planned yesterday to start today praying together at 4:30 this morning.

We read Psalm 84 and Proverbs 8:34-36

He started reading a few verses from Proverbs 9, about wisdom building her house and preparing a feast for all to come and enjoy.

Of course, that lead us to the New Testament Scripture about the feast where the guests were busy, so the bridegroom invited people from the streets. We read the one in Matt 22:1-14.

This passage from the story took me for a loop.

" 11 “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it
that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. 13 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the
outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’"

I had never seen that part before. I was literally shaking. The Lord began to talk to me about preparation—it's an action word. The unprepared man went to hell.

As I began reading Matthew Henry's Precise Commentary, he put it this way—once again, I was floored.

"The case of hypocrites is represented by the guest that had not on a wedding-garment."
As confession went forth, we started talking about integrity. In order to be clean on both the inside and the outside, we must know that the Lord is looking and watching at all times. The Pastor might not be around; your husband; your wife; your parents; your best friend, etc. But the Father God is looking and nothing done in the dark will stay covered. It will be revealed.

Integrity—Character; who I am when no one is looking; honesty.