Hi, this is Joel in Victoria. Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry.

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Well, God bless you. Always a joy to come into your homes. We love you and we pray for you every single day. If you're in our area, hope you'll stop by and be a part of one of our services.

I promise you, we'll make you feel right at home. Thanks so much for tuning in and thank you again for coming out.

I like to start with something funny each week and I heard about this airplane that was about to crash.

Had four passengers but only three parachutes. The first passenger said, I'm a leading heart surgeon. My patients need me.

He took the first parachute and jumped. The second passenger said, I'm a rocket scientist. One of the smartest men alive my country needs me.

He took the second parachute and jumped. The third passenger was Pope John Paul. He said to the fourth passenger, a ten-year-old boy scout.

Son, I'm old and frail. I don't have a lot of time left. Go ahead and take this last parachute.

The ten-year-old boy scout said, sir, don't worry about it. There are still two parachutes left. You see, the smartest men alive just jumped out with my backpack.

Hold up your bivoules. Say it like you mean it. This is my bivoules. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do.

Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you.

I want to talk to you today about seeing people through your eyes of love. Too often we judge people without knowing their story.

We haven't walked in their shoes. We don't know the struggles they've been through. We don't know how they were raised.

We don't know the challenges that they're facing right now. All we know is he sure is unfriendly. She shouldn't wear that.

He's got hang up and I don't know why they act that way. The truth is there's a reason people are the way they are.

If we took time to know their story, we would be much more forgiving. If we understood the battles they fought, the pain they've endured, the people that have done them wrong, we would give them a lot more mercy.

We wouldn't be critical because they went through a divorce or they've got an addiction or they were unfriendly and didn't speak to me.

You don't know what's going on behind the scenes. You don't know that the stress that they're under. For too long we've seen people through eyes of judgment. My challenge is let's start seeing people through our eyes of love.

Instead of being critical and writing them off, take time to get to know them. Find out what they're all about. God puts people in our lives not to judge but so that we can help bring healing.

Every time you show mercy, every time you overlook a fault, when you give people the benefit of the doubt, you're bringing hope, healing, restoration to that person.

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