The Difference Between a Critical and Merciful Heart By Dr. Bob Snyder

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Do you lean towards critical or merciful?

How can you tell if you have a critical heart or a merciful heart?

Jesus reminds me that I often pass judgment on others and avoid examining myself.

I plead guilty!

Ruminating over the minor issues in others is much easier and perversely “satisfying” than dealing with the issues in my own life. Discernment is always important, but not when clothed in a critical spirit.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus leaves no room for criticism as He opens up the glaring failings of my own heart in saying that if I have thought it, I have done it. Jesus wants to cultivate in me a merciful heart instead of a critical one. Will I open my heart to let Him dig up stones and pull weeds?

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?

~ Matthew 7:3, NIV

Will you join me in letting Him do this work of cultivating a merciful heart?

Dear Jesus,

I open my heart to You. Show me the plank in my eye and then help me remove it.

Sharing the journey with you.

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Dr. Bob Snyder is the Founder of IHS Global. Today this ministry serves 30,000+ indigenous Christian healthcare workers who are equipped as witnesses to their patients at the bedsides and clinics where they work, in 110 countries on six continents.

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We invite you to download this beautiful devotional | journal, Come Walk with Me, by Dr. Bob Snyder and Tyler Hallman. May it be a blessing to you on your journey with Jesus.

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