Reprint Compliments of
Men At The Cross By Joe White

Today's Scripture: Matthew 7: 1-5
Judging Others

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Old "Log Eye", according to Paul Aldrich, is a funny ol' critter. He roams around in every home, every church, every business, every human mind. He's sort of a weird looking dude because he has a magnifying glass in front of one eye, a big bowed-up log in the other eye and a sharp pointy finger always sticking out into somebody else's faults. The first word out of his mouth is always "you".

Man, I fight with log eye in my own mind every day. The big chump! He makes me critical of my wife and kids in a way that I want to take the log out and hit him with it! One time when one of my boys was young, I was "rantin' and ravin'" about something (hillbilly term for overly critical and overly vocal) and my sweet wife stopped me dead in my tracks. "Honey," she said to me, "your son sees himself in your eyes." Oooo, that hurt. But, she was right! "Log Eye" was ruling my life that day!

Billy Sprague, after a short year or two of marriage, told me that, "the adjustment phase of marriage is over as soon as both parties give up on trying to change each other."

Funny thing about pointing your finger at someone ... when you do it, there are always three fingers pointing right back at you.

As parents, we have to teach principles and we have to correct Biblically incorrect behavior, but for all members of a family, the motto I like is:

"Catch each other in the act of doing something good and tell 'em about it."

QUESTIONS:
What do you do when you tend to become critical of each other?
What is a blind spot? Why are logs so hard to see?
How can this family kick ol' "Log Eye" out of the family circle?

LIFELINE:
"Log Eye" has no place in this home!

Reprint Compliments of Men At The Cross By Joe White

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Matthew 6: 22-24, 33: Treasures in Heaven

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,© your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.


"Seeing is believing.".

"A picture is worth 1000 words."

"What you see is what you get."

"It was love at first sight."

"I can't get my eyes off of you."

The picture window into the very core of your mind and heart is your eye. Jesus is very clear when He says back in Matthew 5, "And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." (Mat 5:29 NASB) Now He underlines it and puts it into bold, neon letters -- good eyes send you to the heights of Heaven. Bad eyes send you to the depths of darkness.

What are you focusing on today? USA Today reported a survey of over 500,000 fourth graders who said "TV prompts them the most" to try drugs and alcohol. It isn't any wonder when you consider that the average TV viewer (16,000 hours of TV between age of 6 and 16) will see 100,000 beer commercials by age 18 and 14,000 sexual references and innuendoes per year.

Meanwhile, Isaiah says, "Turn to Me, and be saved..." (Isa 45:22 NASB) Paul, knowing where true mental peace and happiness lies urges us to, "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." (Col 3:2 NASB).

The song says, "I only have eyes for you." God would love that said about Him because He knows that if you seek Him first, everything (that's good) will be yours.

QUESTIONS:
1. What makes the eyes the most powerful part of the human body?
2. What can we do in this family to establish an environment for good eyes and good minds?
3. What goals am I willing to set personally to develop eyes for God?

LIFELINE:
The family is the place to seek Him .

Reprint Compliments of Men At The Cross By Joe White

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Matthew 6:19-21: Treasures in Heaven

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Sunday was the greatest day for me! I got to do what I absolutely treasure the most. First I got to have a whole day off to play. I've always loved weekends. (Never got over that one!) Then I got to cook homemade blueberry cinnamon muffins for my 17-year-old boy, Brady and chocolate, chocolate chip muffins for my 14-year-old son, Cooper. (Yes, I ate one of each.) After a fantastic breakfast devotional together, we went to our little country church as a family and sang those super old hymns I used to sing with my daddy when I was a pip squeak. After church, I was the lucky one who played catch with the football and hit golf balls with my boys. Then I was lucky enough to get to ice the cake with a phone call from my two girls who were in college. If that wasn't enough, I was fortunate enough to hold my precious wife's hand as we prayed together to consummate the day before bed.

I have always treasured those times with my God, my wife and my kids. You can take everything else I own. Burn down my house, steal my car, (oh yeah, please leave my Labrador Retriever), leave my treasures and life will still be a "10" for me.

When I was a kid, my mom used to lead me on these incredible treasure hunts for my birthday present. They were as creative as the genius inside my dear mom's head. I have loved treasure hunts since I can remember. The prize at the end is great, but the hunt is always the best part.

Last night, a dear, family friend told me a sad story; his 18-year-old daughter began to treasure a misled boy more than she treasured her family or God. Now she's confused, becoming bulimic and her whole world is falling apart.

Men can treasure expensive toys, power, and position. Women can treasure houses, careers, cars, and jewelry. Kids can treasure music, cars, and sex.

God says, "Treasure me."

QUESTIONS:
1. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." What is Jesus talking to you about when He says that today?
2. Why is it so hard to treasure what really matters more than the stuff that clutters our lives?
3. What do you really want to treasure more today? How can you put reality into that dream?

LIFELINE:
Pray together for real treasures today.

Reprint Compliments of Men At The Cross By Joe White

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Matthew 5: 33-37: Oaths

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

My oldest brother Bob, at 6'3" tall and 210 pounds of solid muscle, is a man's man to the core of his heart. He's a successful dentist, avid bird dog trainer, and skilled outdoorsman. He's always been one of my heroes.

Thirty years ago, Bob married the first girl he ever loved. He said "yes" to the preacher on that wedding date and gave his word that he'd give Mary Evelyn his life no matter what. Two summers ago, Mary Evelyn's kidneys quit. Her blood poisoned her (according to the charts) to the point of death. She needed a donor kidney immediately to stay alive. No kidney that matched her biological chemistry was available. Immediately, brother Bob volunteered his. He was tested for compatibility and, amazingly enough, his matched perfectly.

In a love-story-of-love-stories surgical procedure, the doctors opened Bob up from his belly button to his back bone, took three ribs and the kidney, placed the kidney into his bride's abdomen, and hooked-up the tubes and vessels. The next day, she was alive and well. She feels like a million bucks. He feels pain every day, but just smiles and shrugs it off as a small expression of his love for his "wife of a lifetime".

Jesus said, "let your yes be a yes". Presidential politics, television drama, talk shows, MTV and a lot of our daily conversation makes you wonder if there's any truth left in the world.

Brother Bob showed me that a man keeps his word



QUESTIONS:
1. When is it hardest for you to be honest?
2. Why is a person's yes the most important word in his/her life?
3. How can you build better trust today?

LIFELINE:
The home is where honesty is forged like steel.

Reprint Compliments of Men At The Cross By Joe White

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Matthew 4: 18-19: Jesus Calls His First Disciples

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

My gran'ma was 100 years old when the curtain between this life on earth and eternal life with Jesus was raised and her new heavenly theater became her home. I always called her "Pardner" because she let me know in clear terms that she wasn't old enough to be my gran'ma.

Pardner taught me to fish when I was a young lad. We caught more fish together in my growing-up days than I could ever begin to count. The memories of our days together on the little Texas lake she lived on are among some of the best pages in the scrapbook of my mind.

During the last few years of Pardner's life, she was confined to a wheelchair, but her big caring smile and the twinkle of love in her big brown eyes never dimmed. Just before her 100th birthday, I took her fishing and she caught a beautiful rainbow trout in the Ozark Mountain lake that runs in front of my house. Her 100th birthday party was the greatest, as I'm sure you can imagine. Everybody that loved her was there. The guests were numerous! As I walked in the door to wish her Happy Birthday, she was nibbling on some chocolate birthday cake. Her eyes caught me as I entered the room and she never looked away until I knelt down by her side.

"Joe Boy," she said sincerely, "take me fishing." (Only Pardner called me Joe Boy!).

"Aw Pardner, I can't take you fishing today," I responded lovingly. "This is your 100th birthday and everybody is here to see you."

Her eyes narrowed in Gran'ma style sternness, "Joe Boy, if you love me, you'll take me fishing."

"If you love me, you'll take me fishing."

In 25 years when I think of Pardner, I'll remember those, her last, words to me with fondness and remorse. I wish I'd taken more time to do just that



QUESTIONS:
1. When Jesus wants to take you "fishing for men", what does He want you to do?
2. How do you think the disciples perceived Jesus' invitation there on the shore of the Sea of Galilee?
3. Their trade was fishing. Yours is basketball, school, cheerleading, band, business, home, family. How would He phrase His wish for you to witness for Him in the "field of play" that you identify with?

LIFELINE:
How can home be the first and last place we witness for Christ each day?