Feb 16, 2017

A daily devotional through the recorded words Jesus spoke while He walked alongside us. Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com.

1. Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm your host Richard Agee.
2. When is the last time you criticized or made some cutting remark to about someone. Some rules are coming that might help you think twice about that before you do it again.
3. Scripture
   1. John 8:7
   2. Jesus: Let the first stone be thrown by the one among you who has not sinned.
4. Devotional
   1. In 1976, we still had those white-glove inspections in the Army. As a platoon leader, my platoon sergeant and I would go through the barracks and make inspections of the rooms to make sure everything was clean, neat, and orderly. We’d make sure the soldiers in the barracks had nothing there that wasn’t supposed to be there, like liquor or pets or anything else on the long list of things that soldiers couldn’t have in their rooms at the time.
      1. Wall lockers
      2. Cleanliness of room
      3. Inventory of furnishings and equipment
   2. Then I came home
      1. Shoes lined up, but next to the door, not in the closet
      2. Why is the car so dirty?
      3. Can’t find anything in the closet, so disorganized
   3. Hard to do those inspections knowing what my house looked like
      1. Let the first stone be thrown by the one among you who has not sinned.
      2. Hygiene, health of the command
      3. Order and discipline within the command
      4. Hypocritical
   4. How often do we criticize someone for the very thing we are guilty of doing?
      1. Psychiatrists and psychologists tell us we are quickest to criticize in the areas where we struggle most in our own lives
      2. Can be both hurtful to others, but helpful to us when we recognize when we are about to criticize someone
   5. Stop and ask seven questions before saying something critical to someone. I’m plagiarizing from a social media post that has made the circuit a few times, so I can’t tell you the author. Here they are.
      1. Do you have the pertinent facts?
      2. Does it need to be said?
      3. Why do I need to say this?
      4. Can I say it in a way that represents Christ?
      5. How could I be misunderstood?
      6. What motivates me for saying it?
      7. Can I wait until tomorrow to say it?
      8. After answering all these questions, you’ll probably find that you don’t need to say anything at all.
   6. One more thing to consider before we criticize or blame or accuse. Jesus said to all of us, “Let the first stone be cast by the one among you who has not sinned.” Any of us fit that category? I don’t think so.
5. If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don't, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for "A Little Walk with God."