Skip to main content

Tuesday... Easy to give but hard to get.


Tuesday... Easy to give but hard to get. It really is.

It is so easy for us to give criticism but so hard to get but it can be so good for us.

I know, there are alot of things in life that are good for us but we don't like them. As a kid, I didn't like spinach but through the years I have learned to like it because it is good for me. There are many things that I used to not like but do now but I'm not sure criticism is one of them.

The writer of Proverbs 29:1 says, "Whoever stubbornly refuse to accept criticism will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery." The Message puts it this way, "For people who hate discipline and only get more stubborn, there'll come a day when life tumbles in and they break, but by then it will be too late."

Pride has a way of ruining us and holding us back from maturity. But wisdom goes a long way. Have you ever thought that there is a nugget of truth in each criticism? All we need to do is dig through all the other parts and find the truth and then accept it and learn from it.

Now could it be there are portions of the Bible that we don't really want to wade through because they show where we are wrong? But that is where the growth comes in. 

The Amplified Bible says, "He who hardens his neck and refuses instruction after being often reproved (corrected, criticized), will suddenly be broken beyond repair."

I don;'t like to be criticized. I am old, experienced, I read the Bible everyday and I write a blog but I still need to see in my life where I need to change, I need to grow. But pride even at my age gets in the way. 

O God. May we see that there are messengers out there whom you have brought across our paths to show us where we need to change. It may be our wife or our husband or even our children. Or that person who it seems is always striving to bring us down. Maybe you are using them to make us to be more like Christ. So may we let your Spirit lead us to what we need to hear and we need to change. I really do need You! 

Maybe we need to pray a prayer of honesty with a desire to grow closer to what He wants us to be. Thank You, Father for this word from Your Word today. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday... It is so worth it. It really is!

Tuesday... It is so worth it. It really is! Look at this, Proverbs 5:21-23 (CEV) says, "The Lord sees everything, and he watches us closely. Sinners are trapped and caught by their own evil deeds. They get lost and die because of their foolishness and lack of self-control." That is true of so many. Now look at this, Luke 15:1-7 says, "Tax collectors and sinners were all crowding around to listen to Jesus. So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses started grumbling, 'This man is friendly with sinners. He even eats with them.' Then Jesus told them this story: If any of you has 100 sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won't you leave the 99 in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? And when you find it, you will put it on your shoulder and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbors and say, 'Let's celebrate! I've found my lost sheep.' Jesus said, 'In the same way there is mo...

Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do

Psalm 8:3-4 (NLT), "When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars you set in place - what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?" Friday... Yes, we need them. We really do. No, not the fact that I can go out my front door and look out at night at the marvels of the sky. I can do that and it is amazing and it takes my breath away each time I see it. Yes, that is a fact but the reality of who did that and the wisdom and the faith that I have to believe that and to marvel that the one who did that cares about me makes such a difference in how I live my life. Yes, God really does. That is so wonderful for us to believe. And that is why faith and wisdom are so important. Now whatever belief you have at how that marvel happened must also be believed through faith. And the sad thing to me is that more and more people have been taught that there is no God and therefore he did not have a h...

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together!

Monday... Three ifs and two thens. They go together! They really do. And this is what caught my attention this morning as I was reading Proverbs 2. Verse 1 (NRSVUE) says, "My child, if you accept my words and treasure my commands within you." Verse 3 (NIV), "Indeed i f you call  out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, Verse 4, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, Verse 5, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." And verses 9-11, " Then you will understand what is right and just and fair - every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you." There will always be some effort we must do, some ifs for the thens to be realized in our lives. So many of us want to understand without the ifs. But the thens are so worth, so very worth the effort. Verses 5-6 in the Ampli...