Sunday Meditation--Poison Ivy

A critical spirit is like poison ivy - it only takes a little contact to spread its poison. Do you know that people’s unfavorable, disparaging, disapproving, nit-picking, judgmental, unsympathetic, derogatory, and fault-finding attitudes can spread like gangrene? 

Be careful that you do not abort the dream or ministry that God has given you because of what others have to say or think; for when God measures a man, He puts the tape around the heart instead of the head.  1 Samuel 16:7b says …the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. 
Be more concerned with what God thinks of you rather than what people think about you.  You don’t need men’s approval because He doesn’t call the qualified, but He qualifies the call.  And whom he called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them he also glorified (Rom. 8:30).

God has called and equipped us as vessels to communicate His love and salvation to others.  Deuteronomy 31:6 says be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them:  for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 

2 Timothy 2:16  Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior.  (NLT)