I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2.
Do not criticize others. The spirit of criticism is eating away the very vitals of the people of God. We cannot afford to pile up rubbish. Heaven sees the work that is going on of piling up the rubbish of words. Suppose we decided not to add anything to this pile of heedless, vain, and foolish words? We have a most sacred, solemn work to do….
The piles of rubbish that have been accumulating need to be removed. How? Let us “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1). Cultivate personal piety. God would have us inquire, “Who hath known the mind of the Lord?” that He may instruct us, and that we may be able to say, “We have the mind of Christ.” Then all the rubbish of evil words will be removed. May the Lord imbue us with His Spirit, and touch our lips with a burning coal from the altar. Earnestly, vigilantly watching and waiting and working, we are to be “not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).
The church is the one object of Christ’s intense interest in this world, and for which He has unceasing care. This church is engaged in securing the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life to all who receive it. In every soul God looks for stable principles revealed in word and action. Then they will bring from the treasure house words weighted with the principles of eternal truth.
We have no time to praise the devil, no time nor voice to criticize. We are to show that the grace of Christ is abiding in our hearts. Its influence will be revealed, whatever company we are in, by words of deepest importance, involving consequences as enduring as eternity.
At this period of the earth’s history we cannot afford to weaken one another’s influence. The Christian warfare is close and severe. We have to meet and battle with unseen foes, and we must be in harmony with the heavenly agencies, who are seeking to cleanse us from the inclination to criticize our brethren, to pass judgment on them. The Lord desires us to stand under the yoke of Christ….
We are to believe and love the truth for Christ’s sake. We must rise higher and higher in purity [and] knowledge. We are Christ’s witnesses. Then let us not talk of difficulties or ponder over our trials, but come close to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith. By beholding Him, studying and talking of Him, we become transformed into His image.—Letter 119, August 13, 1899, to a husband-and-wife team working in the Southern States.
The Upward Look p. 239
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Prayer Requests
—-Please send up prayers for Kashene who’s in labour at this time, we need prayer. Arlene
—-Please pray for my son. He lost his job and has depression really bad. Pray for God to lead him to where he wants him, and he will follow. Debbie
—-David needs earnest prayers today. Buck
—-Please pray for Violet. She was in a lifeflight to ______ after an accident and lost all feeling. Please pray for the medical providers. Dan
—-My nurse who worked here @ the nursing home for 3 yrs… Her 2 yr old daughter passed away this morning after a drowning accident last night. We were jus tlkn about her yesterday & how excited she was about going swimming. I can’t even imagine! Please pray 4 this devastated mommy. Her name is Lindsey. Cara
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Dear Friends,
There are times when all seems lost, when the trials and troubles, the heartaches and heartbreaks overwhelm us to the very depths of our being. We feel as if our whole world is crashing in upon us. We feel overwhelmed and feel forsaken by God and man. The evil one whispers in our ear words of doubt and despair.
Aunt Allie wrote a poem regarding our attitude during the troubles that all endure.
Be Brave
Be brave, the sun will shine again
Although the rain-drops fall,
The bridge you fear before you,
You may not cross at all.
The robin sings the sweetest
And holds his head up high,
When the rain is falling fast
From out the leaden sky.
And when the darkness hovers near
He sings a song of praise,
You’ll hear him warble sweet and clear,
His merry roundelays.
It isn’t worth your while to sigh
When storm clouds gather near,
Just count your blessings, ev’ry one
And sing a song of cheer.
The darkest clouds will vanish
The sun will soon shine through
If, like the robin, you will sing
Then joy will come to you.
Often how we relate to our trials and troubles determine how long they last. We have the choice of learning the lesson God has for us in the trial or fighting against it and learning nothing. Paul urges, “despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” Heb 12:5-11
When under a weight of care, may we remember that God weighs each trial and allows only what we need to rid us of that which would shut us out of Heaven. May we cast all of our cares upon Him and leave them there. May we sing His praises both now and eternally is my prayer.
Rose
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rosesdevotional/~3/pm1SPibKKWI/remove-the-rubbish-of-criticism.html
