Dear Ones,
Hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed the warm weather as it is rainy and cool now. This morning I did food prep and shopped at Aldi’s and went to my exercise class. Early tomorrow morning we are going to Bemidji as I am having Mohs surgery on my nose for skin cancer. I know I will look like Bozo for a while!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Oh, how easy it is to judge others! Sometimes the Lord just lets us see how wrong we are in our judgmental conclusions when we should be extending His grace and love. Yesterday afternoon when Al and I were going for our walk on the Paul Bunyan trail, we came upon a couple that we have seen several times and often exchange conversation together. He is very talkative and we noticed she hardly ever said a word as it would be hard to break in on her hubby. We thought maybe she was just painfully shy, although she was a Doctor and would have to deal with patients. He walked somewhat ahead of her and Al and I were thinking that this man needs to be more caring for his wife and well you can guess the train of our thoughts. But then on this Sunday, he had some Finnish words for Al and a Finnish joke so I asked his wife what nationality she was and she made some motions but couldn’t answer me. That’s when her hubby said she had memory problems and we suddenly knew we had judged this man, without having any idea what he was going through caring for his wife. He drove 6 miles most days to take her for a walk and he was probably hungry for conversation with others. We had been so wrong and needed forgiveness. Jesus was very clear when He spoke that we are not to judge others for good reason; none of us know the whole picture of someone else’s life and who are we that don’t have as many faults ourselves. He said in Luke 6:36-37 (God’s Word), “Be merciful, just as our Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” The Message translation says we shouldn’t jump on people’s failures or criticize their faults unless we want the same treatment. We are all saved only by his grace and receive what we don’t deserve. We are to be channels of grace to others and show compassion not criticism.
Challenge for today: Be an exemplar of God’s grace and reach out in love to others without judging.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy
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