EXPAND TO READ: ROMANS 2 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 1-2): I do fail often with the whole topic of judging others. I do walk around with a rather judgmental mindset most of the time. Sometimes I even judge others so harshly that I criticize them harshly in the moment. I know I am not perfect, yet for some reason I feel the need to still judge others far more than I judge myself. Please forgive me for disobeying You, Father. You tell us not to judge others for their sin when we’re sinners as well. Why do I often feel that my sins are less than those of others, so I feel like I have the right to judge them. This is such a massively wrong way of thinking and I know I need to work on this. Help me, Father, with my judgmental ways. Help me to be more like the way You want me to be. Help me to worry about my self-judgment far more than my judgment towards others in my daily life, Father.
PROMISE (verse 11): The promise here is as simple as the verse itself (all of 6 words). In this verse, You promise us that there is no favoritism with God. Thank You so much for this, Father. Later in the Scripture You mention that being a “jew” is an inward state of the heart/spirit, not an outward physical presence. Thanks to this, we can rest assured that You do not favor those born in Jerusalem more than those not born there. Since You do not show favoritism, I can rest assured knowing that since I love You and Your Son in my heart that I am saved just as much as the next believer regardless of the mistakes I’ve made in this life.
ATTITUDE (verse 5): My hardness and unrepentant heart has brought me down a lot of dark and lonely paths in my life, Father. I have been stuck in a negative attitude for most of my adult life, unfortunately, which has led my heart to harden so much over the years. Please help me to have an attitude of joy and kindness in this life, Father, so that my heart softens, allowing Your joy and happiness to overcome the hardness and unrepentance that has plagued it for so long.
COMMAND (verse 29b): At the end of this version, You tell us that “man’s praise is not from men, but from God.” Although this could be seen as a promise or just general wisdom, I personally feel it as a command. Often throughout my life since coming to faith I have sought out the praise from others instead of from You. I have yearned for the praise of those around me instead of being fully satisfied with the praise that You offer me so often. Help me to be better at prioritizing Your praise over any earthly praise, Father. Remind me that Your praise is all that I need in this life no matter what I am doing. I do not need the praise of those around me to thrive or be happy if I am living in the praise You are offering to me for being a faithful servant to You.
EXAMPLE (verses 21-23): You give us an extremely powerful and convicting example to live by here, Father. Essentially You are telling us to “practice what we preach” like the singer Barry White sang to us many years ago. If we are telling others to do one thing, yet we are doing another, then we are dishonoring You. We must ensure we are putting into practice all the things we are preaching about You. If we do, then we are, in fact, practicing what we preach. Help me to be better, Father, at living in the way You want me to by doing what I say and not contradicting myself.
*DAILY NOTE: There are so many lessons to learn in this scripture. I need to work with You on softening my heart, so that I am no longer going down the dark paths of my past. I need to work on my unrighteous judgment of others, so that I do not dig myself into a deeper hole of unrighteousness. I need to work on doing things in this life for Your praise and not the praise of other sinners in this world. I need to be a better example of a Christ-follower in my actions, so that my family and those around me see me practicing what I preach. Thank You for so many lessons in this scripture, Father. Continue to work in me to heal me from my past, so that I no longer see myself walking the dark paths that my past has brought me to.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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