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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We're glad to

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Speaker 1: have you listening with us. Today's topic is on how

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Speaker 1: to grow spiritually with God and three questions that you

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Speaker 1: can use to grow. We'll return with the devotional after

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Speaker 1: a brief message from our sponsors. Three questions that cause

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Speaker 1: spiritual growth written and read by Kelly Blari. Or how

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Speaker 1: can you say to your brother, let me take the

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Speaker 1: speck out of your eye when there is a log

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Speaker 1: in your own eye? You hypocrite, First take the log

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Speaker 1: out of your own eye, and then you will see

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Speaker 1: clearly to take the spec out of your brother's. Matthew

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Speaker 1: seven three to five. I clenched my hands, clear as day.

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Speaker 1: The issue is him. He was being stubborn, He wasn't listening,

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Speaker 1: He wasn't being open to a different perspective. But was

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Speaker 1: I being open listening, hearing what he was saying? Not really.

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Speaker 1: Jesus addressed this sort of situation when he said, or

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Speaker 1: how can you say to your brother, let me take

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Speaker 1: the speck out of your eye when there is a

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Speaker 1: log in your own eye, You hypocrite, First take the

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Speaker 1: log out of your own eye, and then you will

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Speaker 1: see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

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Speaker 1: My husband and I have a phrase for this sort

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Speaker 1: of finger pointing. It's called you spot it, you got it,

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Speaker 1: Meaning if I spot my husband being stubborn, I likely

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Speaker 1: have stubbornness going on too. If I spot that he

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Speaker 1: isn't listening, I should wonder whether I've got earphones all

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Speaker 1: my ears. Also, if I spot an inn ability to

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Speaker 1: understand another perspective, I am wise to ask myself if

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Speaker 1: I've got that same inability to listen. We spot it,

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Speaker 1: we got it. When we consider that what we judge

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Speaker 1: in others may be what is lurking inside of us,

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Speaker 1: true spiritual growth happens, pride is healed, humility comes a

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Speaker 1: deeper need for God's surfaces. Blind spots are seen for

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Speaker 1: what they are. God's grace is absolutely required. What blind

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Speaker 1: spots may exist within you? Let's dive deeper. Three exploratory

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Speaker 1: questions to grow closer to God. Ask yourself, Number one,

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Speaker 1: what patterns follow me from relationship to relationship, job to job,

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Speaker 1: or situation to situation? How might I blame on people,

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Speaker 1: predicaments or pressures? Something God may want to heal within me?

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Speaker 1: Take a moment and reflect, Do not allow shame to

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Speaker 1: convict you. Instead, allow the hard reality of truth to

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Speaker 1: set you free to the life giving power of God

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Speaker 1: to help you pray, ask, seek the Lord, repent if needed?

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Speaker 1: Number two? How do I demand sympathy or grace from

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Speaker 1: others to justify where I am? Do I give others

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Speaker 1: the same sympathy and in grace that I expect from them?

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Speaker 1: Sometimes we have stories to keep us safe. We have

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Speaker 1: a long list of reasons why we do what we do.

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Speaker 1: We expect others to coddle us instead of realizing God

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Speaker 1: has more for us. Seeing the truth is what helps

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Speaker 1: us to better see relationships in the future. Number three,

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Speaker 1: who do I keep needed to forgive? How do I

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Speaker 1: gain personal sympathy by not forgiving them? If I have forgiven?

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Speaker 1: Have I asked God to forgive me for my bitterness

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Speaker 1: or resentment? And most of all, have I forgiven myself?

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Speaker 1: Often we forgive people but fail to ask God to

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Speaker 1: forgive us for anger, for bitterness, for thinking bad thoughts

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Speaker 1: of others? Have we done this? Also, the hardest person

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Speaker 1: to forgive is ourselves. Additionally, when we have forgiven but

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Speaker 1: it doesn't feel like we have, the issue is often

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Speaker 1: not that we haven't forgiven then because we are still angry.

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Speaker 1: The issue is often that we are still angry at ourselves.

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Speaker 1: Take a second and forgive yourself too. The bottom line,

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Speaker 1: to see the truth of what we haven't seen often

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Speaker 1: sets us free, and in this we grow intersecting faith

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Speaker 1: in life. What did these questions stir up in you?

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Speaker 1: How will you change as a result? What will it

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Speaker 1: look like to walk a new path? Thanks for listening

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Speaker 1: to today's devotional. If you liked what you heard today,

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Speaker 1: we want to make sure you know about our sister podcast,

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Speaker 1: and devotional each day, so your days begin in conversation

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Speaker 1: with God. If you're looking to grow in prayer or

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Speaker 1: start your day with your heart focused on the right things,

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