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Prayer: When Contempt Creeps In

Faithful God,

Search us again.

Show us where dismissal has settled into something deeper —

where frustration has become superiority,

where disagreement has turned into contempt.

Forgive us for the moments we have written someone off.

Forgive us for deciding they were not worth patience,

not worth listening to,

not worth grace.

Keep our hearts from hardening.

When we are tempted to reduce someone

to their most broken moment

or their most wounded thought,

interrupt us.

Remind us that no one is disposable.

No one is beyond redemption.

No one is outside Your care.

Soften what has grown hard in us.

Break up the soil where contempt has taken root.

Form in us a love that refuses to dehumanize.

Teach us to disagree without dishonoring.

Teach us to stand firm without becoming cruel.

And when we are tempted to assume we have arrived,

remind us gently:

We, too, are not finished yet.

Amen.

#Prayer #KingdomOfHeaven #Matthew5 #LoveGrowsStrong #60secondsofhope #dailyprayer #EveningPrayer #sermononthemount #humility #postivemindset #discipleship #Devotion #inspiration #dailyinspiration

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When Dismissal Hardens Into Contempt

“…and anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” — Matthew 5:22

If Raca is dismissal,

“You fool” is dismissal that has hardened into contempt.

In Scripture, a fool is not simply uninformed.

It is someone judged morally empty.

Dismissal shrugs.

Contempt condemns.

Dismissal keeps distance.

Contempt closes the heart.

And once contempt settles in,

we begin to justify harm.

We stop seeing the image of God reflected in them.

That is why Jesus warns us.

Contempt does not stay small.

It corrodes the soul.

It spreads.

It becomes deadly.

The Kingdom of Heaven cannot grow in hardened soil.

It grows where love grows strong.

Before dismissal becomes contempt,

before contempt becomes cruelty,

remember:

We, too, are not finished yet.

I’m Horace McMillon.

This is 60 Seconds of Hope.

Peace be with you.

#60SecondsOfHope #Matthew5 #KingdomLiving #TruthInLove #FormedInLove

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A Prayer Against Dismissiveness

Loving God,

Search our hearts.

Show us where we have dismissed others —

where we have rolled our eyes,

reduced someone to a label,

or treated their concerns as unworthy of attention.

Forgive us for the ways we shrink people

with our words,

our tone,

or our silence.

When frustration tempts us to brush someone aside,

slow us down.

When impatience rises,

steady us.

Teach us to see fully.

Remind us that every person we encounter

bears Your image.

Guard us from the small habits

that grow into hardened hearts.

Form in us a posture of attentiveness.

Give us the courage to listen.

Give us the humility to learn.

Let Your Kingdom take root in us —

not through dismissal,

but through love learning to see.

Amen.

#Prayer #SermonOnTheMount #Matthew5 #KingdomLiving #60secondsofhope #EveningPrayer #dailyprayer #dailyinspiration #postivemindset #prayer #loveyourneighbor #love #spiritualgrowth

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Raca: The Danger of Dismissiveness

“Anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court…” — Matthew 5:22

Most of us would never take a life.

But Jesus says something just as serious begins much earlier.

Raca was an insult meaning “empty-headed.” Worthless. Beneath consideration.

It wasn’t violent anger.

It was dismissal.

And dismissal is dangerous.

When we roll our eyes…

when we reduce someone to a stereotype…

when we treat their concerns as noise…

We begin shrinking their humanity.

In doing so we begin shrinking ours.

Contempt does not appear overnight.

It grows from repeated dismissal.

Jesus challenges the mindset that makes violence possible.

The Kingdom of Heaven cannot grow where we discount and dismiss each other.

It takes root when we remember:

Every person bears the image of God.

I’m Horace McMillon.

This is 60 Seconds of Hope.

Peace be with you.

#60SecondsOfHope #SermonOnTheMount #Matthew5 #KingdomLiving #TruthInLove

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Prayer — Take the First Step

Loving God,

Before we bring You words,

before we offer You worship,

search our relationships.

If we have wounded someone,

give us the humility to acknowledge it.

If repair is possible,

give us the courage to pursue it.

Guard us from carrying guilt that is not ours.

Guard us from pride that refuses to apologize.

Teach us that reconciliation is not weakness —

it is worship.

As this week begins,

help us take responsibility where we can,

seek peace where it is possible,

and trust You with what we cannot control.

Give us grace

to take the first step.

Amen.

#Prayer

#Reconciliation

#Peacemaking

#KingdomLiving

#60secondsofhope #dailyprayer #EveningPrayer #inspiration #discipleship #reconciliation #Devotion #devotional #discipleship #sermononthemount

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Reconciliation Is Worship

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you… first go and be reconciled to them.” — Matthew 5:23–24

We usually focus on who has offended us.

Who owes us an apology.

But Jesus shifts our focus.

Before we bring our offering,

before we perform our worship,

we examine our relationships.

Not whether someone has wronged us —

but whether we have wronged someone else.

The offering God desires most from us

is not ritual.

It is reconciliation.

This doesn’t mean we accept harm.

It doesn’t mean we carry what isn’t ours.

But it does mean we take initiative where repair is possible.

In the Kingdom of Heaven, reconciliation is worship.

Take the first step.

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

#Reconciliation

#SermonOnTheMount

#KingdomLiving

#MondayReflection

#60secondsofhope #worship #spiritualgrowth #personalgrowth #postivemindset #inspiration #devotional #Devotion #discipleship #love

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Prayer: Steady in Love

Loving God,

We confess how quickly we defend ourselves.

We want to be respected.

We want to be seen.

We want to be honored.

And when we feel slighted,

something in us rises up.

Form us into people whose identity is secure in Your love.

When we are insulted,

steady us.

When we are misunderstood,

ground us.

When we are tempted to strike back,

remind us who we are.

Teach us the strength that does not retaliate.

Teach us the courage that does not escalate.

Teach us the dignity that rests in belonging to You.

May the truth of Your unending love define us more than the opinions of others.

Free us from the cycle of revenge.

Make us instruments of peace.

Amen.

#Prayer #ChristianFormation #Peacemaking #CommunityOfHope #60secondsofhope

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Reflection: A Verse Few People Believe

“But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” — Matthew 5:39

There are verses we underline.

And there are verses we quietly hope no one takes seriously.

Most of us say we take Scripture seriously — some even literally.

But this one?

We’re not so sure.

A slap in the ancient world was not primarily about pain.

It was about insult.

It was about honor.

It was about humiliation.

And we do not like to be dishonored.

History — and even our own neighborhoods — tell the story.

There are graves filled because someone would not absorb an insult.

Jesus is not asking us to pretend harm is harmless.

He is not calling us to enable abuse.

He is speaking about retaliation — about the reflex to strike back in order to restore our pride.

When our sense of worth is fragile, we defend it at all costs.

But when our identity is rooted in the unending love of God —

when our honor comes from belonging to God —

we do not have to prove ourselves.

We can refuse the cycle.

Turning the other cheek is not weakness.

It is strength that refuses to be baited.

It is dignity that cannot be stolen.

It is freedom from the need to win.

The truth of God’s love steadies us.

And when that love defines us,

no insult has the final word.

I’m Horace McMillon.

This is 60 Seconds of Hope.

Peace be with you.

#60SecondsOfHope #SermonOnTheMount #NonRetaliation #TruthInLove #SpiritualFormation

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