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Time To Stop Assuming The Worst About Folks

“Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." - Luke 19:8

Zacchaeus was a tax collector in league with the occupying Roman army. This was not cool in the eyes of most citizens of Jerusalem. Zacchaeus was also very rich. Many tax collectors got rich from cheating people out of extra taxes and keeping the difference. So the assumption, was and is that Zacchaeus was a crook.

But I suggest to you that if Zacchaeus was willing to pay quadruple damages to anyone he cheated, he wasn’t a crook, or a thief, or cheat. And maybe he became a tax collector because he felt like it was better for honest and honorable people to serve in position than to have crooks and thieves do the job.

Like so many in the crowd we make all kinds of negative assumptions about people and their motivations based on our thoughts and perceptions not based on theirs. Zacchaeus’s sin was his lack of generosity. He had more than he needed and had failed to share. Oops. Probably a lot of us are guilty of that.

Time to stop assuming the worst about other folks, and time to start worrying about getting the boards in our own eyes before we worry about the spec in our neighbors.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

#60secondsofhope #inspiration #Devotion #love #faith #devotional #growth #gratitude #positivity #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #positivethinking #positiveattitude #positivemindset #dailymeditation #dailydevotional #dailydevotion #dailyinspiration #personalresponsibility #accountability #luke19

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How To Move From Strength To Strength

“My soul longs, indeed it faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.” - Psalm 84:2

Some of us are worn down and worn out. We are tired, and we are exhausted. We are disappointed. We are discouraged. We feel about ready to give in and give up. It feels like our souls are about to faint.

The writer of Psalm 84 knew exactly how we felt and gives us three pieces of advice:

1. “Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise” (verse4)- Center our hearts and minds in love and gratitude.
2. “Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.” (Verse 5)- We focus on our destination not our location. And trust God to give us the strength to make it through.
3. “As they go through the valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs…” (Verse 6)- We understand that we’re just passing through, but we nevertheless commit ourselves to making things better along our way.

When we live this way we go from “strength to strength” (verse 7) instead of crisis to crises. And we will experience the presence of God.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

#60secondsofhope #inspiration #Devotion #discipleship #faith #devotional #growth #gratitude #positivity #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #positivethinking #positiveattitude #positivemindset #Psalm84 #dailymeditation #dailydevotional #dailydevotion #dailyinspiration #selfhelp

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Give From Love And Gratitude Not Greed

Here’s a passage probably not many of us are familiar with:

“Give to the Most High as he has given to you and as generously as you can afford.

For the Lord is the one who repays, and he will repay you sevenfold.

Do not offer him a bribe, for he will not accept it,

and do not rely on a dishonest sacrifice, for the Lord is the judge, and with him there is no partiality.” - Sirach 35:12-15

The meaning here is similar to Luke 6:39 when Jesus reminds us that when we give, it is given unto us.

This passage also reminds us not to try and game the system. Do not to try to get over on God.

Honest sacrifices come from a place of love and gratitude, not greed. God only accepts our honest sacrifices.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

#60secondsofhope #inspiration #Devotion #love #gratitude #faith #growth #devotional #positivemindset #positiveattitude #positivethinking #positivity #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #dailyinspiration #dailydevotion #dailydevotional #dailymeditation #discipleship #Luke6 #Sirach35

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When We Are Overwhelmed By Evil

“When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions.” - Psalm 65:3

Many of us know that it is better to forgive. We know it’s better to let go of our anger and bitterness instead of holding onto them. But we are overwhelmed with our pain and can’t yet seem to let go.

Many of us know that we are not in the right places, doing the right things, with the right people. But we feel stuck, maybe even trapped. It’s what we know and we are afraid of all the unknowns.

Many of us keep falling into the same patterns of toxic relationships and toxic behaviors. We even begin to wonder if we ourselves are fundamentally broken.

When we find ourselves stuck in these hells, God is there with us (Psalm 139:8) - even if we are complicit in our being there.

When we are overwhelmed by evil, and find ourselves unable to follow up and follow through on our good intentions, God has compassion, mercy, and forgiveness for us, not condemnation.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

#60secondsofhope #inspiration #Devotion #love #faith #growth #devotional #positivemindset #positiveattitude #positivethinking #positivity #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #dailyinspiration #dailydevotion #dailydevotional #dailymeditation #discipleship #salvation #forgiveness #grace #psalm65

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Trust That Our Blessing Are Coming

“And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.” - Deuteronomy 28:2

Why does the world today look the way it looks? Why do we treat each other the way we do? Why do we fail so often to practice kindness and compassion? Why are we stingy with our neighbors instead of practicing generosity and hospitality?

I’m convinced that we treat each other poorly not because we are so hateful, but rather because we are so fearful. We fear scarcity. We fear that there is not enough to go around. We fear that we will be left out, left behind, left empty. We fear being vulnerable. So we do everything we can to protect ourselves even if it comes at the expense of someone else’s welfare and dignity.

The scriptures invite us to set aside our fears and invite us to live in faith. We are invited to trust that our blessings are coming if we will be faithful to live into the vision that Jesus and the prophets, and people of faith in every generation and in every land have described.

We will experience every blessing God has promised if we individually and collectively by faith live in hope and love rather than in fear.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

#60secondsofhope #inspiration #Devotion #love #faith #growth #devotional #positivemindset #positiveattitude #positivethinking #positivity #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #dailyinspiration #dailydevotion #dailydevotional #dailymeditation #discipleship #salvation #deliverance #redemption #restoration

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Trust That God Is For Everyone

“Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

Even on the male and female slaves, in those days I will pour out my spirit.” - Joel 2:28-29

God is pouring out God’s spirit on all flesh. And all means all. Regardless of our nationality, ethnicity, or race, regardless of our being young or old, regardless of our social class or economic status, regardless of our genders and identities, God is pouring God’s spirit into us.

Every person is a person of inherent dignity and worth because God has made us so. It is God’s desire that we should all thrive and flourish both as individuals, and as humanity. God wants us to love ourselves and each other with no exceptions and no exclusions.

It is time to trust that God is for everyone, ourselves and everyone else, and for those people over there- whoever they are. It is time to live our lives in light of this fundamental and central truth.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

#60secondsofhope #inspiration #Devotion #love #faith #growth #devotional #positivemindset #positiveattitude #positivethinking #positivity #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #dailyinspiration #dailydevotion #dailydevotional #dailymeditation #discipleship #salvation #deliverance #redemption #restoration

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Trust In God’s Abundance

“The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.” - Joel 2:24

I’m convinced that our lack of hospitality, our lack of generosity, our envy, jealousy are rooted in fear. Specifically we fear scarcity. We fear that’s there is not enough of whatever it is to go around. We fear that we will be left out.

A life of faith requires us to set aside these fears and trust In God’s goodness and provision. It allows us to be like the little boy who trusted the little bit of bread and fish he had to Jesus. Jesus made it more than enough.

A life of faith requires us to be like the windowed single mother who showed kindness to the prophet. She shared the little bit of bread and oil she had with the prophet, even though she didn’t think it would be enough. God made it enough.

Many of us around the world are facing difficulties and hard times. It’s tempting to allow these challenges to make us selfish and fearful. The scriptures remind us to be faithful while we wait for God’s provision. Trust in God’s abundance.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

#60secondsofhope #inspiration #Devotion #love #faith #growth #devotional #positivemindset #positiveattitude #positivethinking #positivity #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #dailyinspiration #dailydevotion #dailydevotional #dailymeditation #discipleship #hospitality #generousity

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What’s Going On? How Can We Help?

As part of my service on the Mennonite Mission Network Board of Directors, I recently had the opportunity to visit a community on the US southern border. We wanted to better understand what’s going on and how we and other people of good will can help.

I’m convinced that the answers we get depend on the questions we ask. In seeing the U.S.’s current response, there’s no doubt in my mind a primary question U.S. policy makers are asking is how do we discourage people from coming irregularly. This isn’t the right question.

Why are folks coming? I heard stories of people fleeing violence, domestic, gang, and political. I heard stories of people seeking economic opportunity, seeking a way feed their families. I heard stories of people seeking medical treatment and educational opportunities.

Loving our neighbors as ourselves requires us to ask different questions. How do we make as easy as possible for people seeking asylum to request asylum? What kinds of resources and services can we provide during their process and transition? How do we connect these folks with sponsors who will help? Can we do more to help people in their original home communities?

Among other things, the scriptures say that we must not mistreat or oppress an alien, because at some point our folks were aliens too. (Exodus 21:22) Right now U.S. policy is mistreating too many folk.

I’m Horace McMillon. This is 60 Seconds of Hope. Peace be with you.

#60secondsofhope #inspiration #Devotion #love #faith #growth #devotional #positivemindset #positiveattitude #positivethinking #positivity #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #dailyinspiration #dailydevotion #dailydevotional #dailymeditation #discipleship #Exodus22 #Leviticus19 #immigration

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