SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/19/2021 2:06 PM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 “The
Right Balance”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
7:5b-6
Message of the verses: “first take the log
out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of
your brother’s eye. 6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your
pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and
tear you to pieces.”
I
think that it is good for me to remind all who read this is that the Sermon on
the Mount is talking to kingdom citizens, the person who is poor in spirit,
humble, and who hungers and thirsts for God’s righteousness as seen in Matt.
5:3, and 5:6. This will be the person
who first of all sees and mourns over his own sin as seen in Matt. 5:4.
MacArthur
writes “Jesus here gives the corrective to the wrong kind of judgment by
showing the right balance of humility and conviction, poverty of spirit and
power in the Spirit. The Lord’s command
is ‘First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to
take the speck out of your brother’s eye.’
First of all we confess our sin—often the sin of self-righteousness and
of a condemning spirit toward others—and ask for God’s cleansing. When our own sin is cleansed, when the ‘log’
is taken out of our ‘own eye,’ then we will see our brother’s sin clearly
ourselves. We will see God as the only
Judge, others as needy sinners who are just like ourselves. We will see our ‘brother’ as a brother, on
our own level and with our own frailties and needs.”
Let
us look at Psalm 51verses 10, and 12-13 so we can see the right balance of
humility and also helpfulness. “10 Create
in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 12 Restore
to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I
will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.” We know that this psalm that David wrote was
one of two psalms he wrote after his sin with Bathsheba and her husband
Uriah. There is another story that fits
in here and that is the story told by the gospel writer Dr. Luke. In the 22nd chapter we read that
Jesus tells Peter that Satan has desired to sift him (Peter) like wheat. Jesus told Peter that after he had recovered
from his moral defection, he could then “strengthen [his] brothers” (Luke
22:32). One of the things that I like
about that story is that when a person is sifted like wheat then what is left
is the wheat as the chaff is blow all away.
Paul advises us in Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in
any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of
gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be
tempted.” What we can see here is that all
confrontation of sin in others must be done out of meekness, not pride. We cannot think that we are better that others
for we are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God. With that said we cannot play the role of
supervisor as if we were exempt from the same standards we demand of
others. First we must not play the
hypocrite as we blame others while we excuse ourselves.
We
have some pretty heavy stuff here, at least for me, and so we will stop here
and Lord willing pick it up again tomorrow.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I am a retired supervisor and sometimes I
live that way at home and around others, which is sinful, but I, through the
help of the Spirit of God am learning.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to pray for revival in myself,
family, Sunday school class, and our country, and then Lord willing, around the
world.
1/19/2021 2:29 PM
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