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Glory Seed Devotionals, 2015: Year of Promise
Reminiscing…
I don’t know if you know this or not but Gary, with my permission wrote a book about our conversations at the Silver Birch Mall and this morning I was reminiscing about them and come across the following conversation. I have to chuckle as I remember going home and confronting my wife a second time and for three days I had a steady diet of eating crow after realizing God loves everyone.
“God hates me,” he (that’s me Crusty he’s talking about) blurted out with tears running down his checks, “My wife and I had a fight. I called her a heathen. I told her she wouldn’t be one if she’d do more praying. She called me a hypocrite and told me God doesn’t love hypocrites. I got madder than ever and stomped out of the house." He wiped the tears from his eyes and fell silent again.
“God does love you,” I said calmly.
“No, he doesn’t! I looked up what a hypocrite is. Do you know what a hypocrite is?” He asked.
“Basically a hypocrite is someone who says one thing and does something else,” I replied.
“That’s me! Crusty the Christian, the big clown, the hypocrite, the slob. Don’t tell me God loves someone like that!”
“I thought you knew the scriptures Crusty?” I asked.
“I not only know‘em, I live’em!” he replied.
“You remember a man named Peter?”
“Yup, he’s the dude that walked on water.”
“He’s also one of the biggest hypocrites in the bible!”
“Was not!”
“Was to!”
“Was not!”
“He said he’d die for Jesus, then denied him three times what does that make him?” I smugly answered.
“A hypocrite?” he shyly replied.
“It does in my book. But, it also says something else,” I said, looking him in the eyes.
Interrupting me, “It’s says that Jesus loves me even if I am a hypocrite,” he said smiling again, “See, I was right my wife is a heathen even if I am a hypocrite, And, Jesus loves hypocrites, but he definitely does not love heathens. Wait until I get home!”
“Whoa! Down boy!” I exclaimed. “There’s one more thing Jesus said you need to remember.”
“What’s that?”
“Jesus said not to judge another until we first judge ourselves…”
"Don't go any farther," he interrupted me. "I've judged myself as a forgiven hypocrite and my wife as a non forgiven heathen. Gotta go tell her to get down on her knees and beg God for forgiveness."
"Be sure you wish you wife a happy Valentine's Day!" I called out in a loud voice.
"Yeah, yeah," I heard him call back.
Watching him almost run away I bowed my head and silently prayed, "Lord, Jesus, how did I make such a mess of that?"
Standing to leave I thought I heard a voice say, "I'm wondering too."
That was a whole lot of years ago and it was one of those times when I learned the hard way that God loves everyone unconditionally but it is also uncompromising.
Walk in the Light with Jesus and you’ll never get lost!
PEACE be unto you!
Crusty T. Christian, the First
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Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 LEB)
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 LEB)
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Amen Crusty.
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