Excellence or Defeated?

There is a difference between those who want to stretch us to excellence versus those who want to see us defeated.  Do not let imaginations define people; let God,  His words, and fruits define them. We all can do better if we allow God to fine-tune our thinking; sometimes, God even uses other people to help renew our minds (smile).

Matthew 7:16–18 (ESV)16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

1 John 3:7–10 (ESV)7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Romans 12:2 (ESV)2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Proverbs 27:17 (ESV)17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.