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Tag: Jesus Follower
The Blessing of Hope
And hope does not put us to shame,
because God’s love has been poured
out into our hearts through the Holy
Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:5
In February of 2020, my beloved mother in law got some disturbing news. She possibly had uterine cancer. We all started praying and hoping for negative tests. But with each test, each imaging, we were disappointed. Our hopes for it being “just a thing” were dashed.
In my prayers I lifted her up to God as one of His very faithful daughters. And when the bad news came, I cried out to Him. It wasn’t fair. I couldn’t see why He would allow this to happen.
And as quickly as I cried out, He answered me. “I have a plan. You need to trust in me.” So, I rested my hope in patience and faith and the knowledge that God has been there for her in the past.
Such hope as is the fruit of faith, patience, and experience, namely, the full assurance of hope;
Benson Commentary on Romans 5:5
When I read the verse from today, I wondered about the word, “shame.” The clarification I found was that Christian hope will not disappoint or be deceptive. God has proven Himself over and over of His faithfulness. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Jews and Christians in Rome, reminds us that even before we were willing to worship God fully He sent His son to die for us. Think about that. We didn’t have to prove ourselves to Him first.
You see, at just the right time, when
we were still powerless, Christ died
for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone
die for a righteous person, though for a
good person someone might possibly dare
to die. But God demonstrates his own love
for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8
He goes on to say if God would do this for us, how much more can we expect? How much more hope can we put in the fact that God will take care of us?
As a maturing Christian this idea of “hope” has gone through a transition in my thinking. And where I started mirrors what so many non-believers struggle with when looking at Jesus followers. “If I pray and hope that someone is cured and they aren’t, doesn’t that mean God’s not listening (or doesn’t care or maybe the person doesn’t deserve it?).” But friends, God’s plans are so beyond our own!
I truly believe that God allows us to experience trials so that we can change our perspective of what living a “good life” in the world means. We, through our experiences, can offer hope to others that they can come out the other side with renewed faith. And He uses people around us to show His love during difficult times.
Every single apostle, every single lover of God in the Old Testament went through extremely difficult times. It was their hope they placed in Him that sustained them. And it was their experiences that help us to remember He loves us.
As for my mother in law? Praise God that through surgery and chemotherapy her cancer was eradicated. But the message I got from God was that even if she succumbed to cancer, He still had her safely in His arms. Because that is the greatest message of hope that Jesus gave us. We are saved from wrath. We are saved from the sins of this world. And we will find a loving home for us waiting at the end.
Are You Prepared?
Lesson #12: God’s kingdom will be established and we need to be prepared.
“But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;
it will be holy. Jacob will possess
his inheritance.”
Obadiah 1:17
My current BSG Bible study focuses solely on Easter and the days leading up to Jesus’ death. The other day we were asked to read Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, and Luke 22:19-20. And if you do, you’ll find almost the same words written in each about Jesus’ instructions to the disciples in His final hours. As Christians, we should be very familiar with what took place – the breaking of the bread and the pouring of the wine. What I love about actually studying the Bible is you see all the ancient links back and forth and the promises for the future, supported by those fulfilled promises.
While they were eating, Jesus took
bread, and when he had given thanks,
he broke it and gave it to his disciples,
saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, and when he had given
thanks, he gave it to them, saying,
“Drink from it, all of you. This is my
blood of the covenant, which is poured
out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
I tell you, I will not drink from this
fruit of the vine from now on until that
day when I drink it new with you in my
Father’s kingdom.”
Matthew 26:26-29
“When I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” Jesus is drinking from the traditional third cup of the Passover meal – the one representing the blood of an animal sacrificed for sins to be “passed over.” He establishes not only himself as the sacrifice for all eternity for our sins but then gives us the promise of reuniting with us.
“The kingdom of God has come near.
Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark 1:15
You’ll notice throughout the Bible that we humans are warned of how we should behave, what the punishment will be, and in the end those who believe will receive great reward. In the prophesy of Obadiah, the people of Edom received their warning of destruction because of pride, gloating, treachery, thievery, and violence. Yet, they did not listen.
“Just as you drank on my holy hill,
so all nations will drink continually;
they will drink and drink and be as
if they had never been.”
Obadiah 1:16
Obadiah warns the people that what they sought for so richly would be turned against them with voracity. Imagine now our current world. And imagine all the sins turned against us two-fold. The killing of millions of unborn children alone must make God so angry. I can only imagine that we would be struck barren and childless in an instant. And therefore, unable to continue creating new generations.
Thank God gives us the warnings. And in heeding them we can then receive the glorious inheritance.
“Before we can pray, “Lord, Thy Kingdom come,” we must be willing to pray, “My Kingdom go.”
Alan Redpath
Yes, our kingdoms. So many of us have built our own kingdoms on the hill – just like the people of Edom. We look down on our fellow man with a smugness that “we have it all under control.” Our bank accounts are satisfactory, our marriages are holding together, our homes protect us. And yet we are warned all this will be “stubble” (vs 18). How many of us live with the anticipation of “Thy Kingdom Come?”
Because it will come. You may be fortunate to be in a church where that is a focus of the teaching. Where you are tasked to constantly be in a mode of preparation. Where you are admonished to gather up as many people as possible for the kingdom. I have yet to be in such a church. And yet the entire Bible is a warning of the coming kingdom.
If this last year, during the great pandemic, has taught me anything is that our earthly time is limited and we are tasked with no more greater act than preparing our hearts and minds for the coming kingdom. Situations in which I find myself that are not godly become glaring reminders of the coming of Jesus.
Throughout this last year we kept hearing the teaching, “Faith over fear.” And yet fear held most of us captive. And fear of what? Death? If that was the case, as Christians we should have been at the front of the line shouting “hallelujah, our time has come!” The signs on our churches should have asked, “Are you ready?”
And what of that readiness and our own kingdoms?
The underlying foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possessions; not making decisions for Jesus, but having such a sense of absolute futility that we finally admit, “Lord, I cannot even begin to do it.” Then Jesus says, “Blessed are you…” (Matthew 5:11). This is the doorway to the kingdom, and yet it takes us so long to believe that we are actually poor! The knowledge of our own poverty is what brings us to the proper place where Jesus Christ accomplishes His work. Oswald Chambers
Oswald Chambers
God has issued His warnings. Just like with the people of Edom, He has called us to prepare for the onslaught of His power and might. He has promised us the inheritance of the kingdom. Are you in constant training? Are you ready to be called up in an instant? Which side of the battle lines will you be on?
A Tiny Message #8
“What more can David say to you?
For you know your servant,
Sovereign Lord."
2 Samuel 7:20
In one of my Bible studies last year I was asked the question, “What are you hiding from God?” During my group discussion we all, of course, laughed at the idea of hiding something from God. But in reality don’t we all do that? We think He won’t see us thinking bad thoughts about “that neighbor.” We think He won’t notice if we cut off that driver on the road — because we have someplace important to be. And He definitely won’t know that we posted that comment on Facebook.
But He does.
When I wanted to lose weight before my daughter’s wedding I decided to use a weight loss app called Noom. I had tried using other methods and just didn’t keep with the program. After a month I had already lost almost 10 pounds. After six months I had lost almost 30 pounds. I got close to my goal weight and quit using the app. And then the pandemic hit. I got bored and started snacking. I tried using other programs but wasn’t committed. And six months later I went back to Noom. This isn’t a sales pitch. It’s a realization of why I was more committed.
You see, on the Noom program you are assigned a coach. That coach can see if you are entering your daily weight, your meals, exercising and reading their articles. If you fall behind by a day or so your coach checks in and looks for ways to support you. I realized that “overwatch” aspect was keeping me on track. I knew someone was checking in on me. And that accountability was just what I needed.
But how often do we forget about our minute-by-minute accountability to God? We don’t know the day or hour Jesus will return. It could be as I write this post. How many of us see that day as “a far way off” and therefore think our daily thoughts and behavior just aren’t that big of a deal?
Jesus and the Holy Spirit are our life coaches. They check in with us through staying in His Word and close to them. What part of your life are you trying to hide from the Sovereign God today? Here’s a pro-tip, He sees it all.
Be A Heart Changer & Soul Saver
Life Lesson #9: Christians are in the job of changing hearts and saving souls.
Perhaps this is the reason he was
separated from you for a while,
so that you might have him back
forever, no longer as a slave but
more than a slave, a beloved
brother—especially to me but how
much more to you, both in the
flesh and in the Lord.
Philemon 1:15-16
When I was in college, I was approached by two missionaries on campus. I believed in God, to an extent, but didn’t know anything about Him or Jesus. I asked the typical questions – “Why does God allow bad things to happen to people” and “Why did He give us free will instead of just making us all good people?” I’m sorry to say they couldn’t give me even a best guess. I wonder if you were tasked with talking to a friend about Jesus would you be ready with passable answers to these questions?
I heard a talk by Joyce Meyer the other day where she took up the question of why evil things continuously happen in the world. She’s seen some pretty bad situations in all of her world-wide missionary work. She prayed this question one day. The answer she got back was, “I’m waiting on my people to obey me and take care of each other.”
The righteous know the rights of
the poor; the wicked have no such
understanding.
Proverb 29:7
I’m currently doing a study that takes me through the entire Bible. It’s fascinating to see in Leviticus how sin offerings are adjusted for the poor. Even thousands of years ago God was making sure the downtrodden were taken care of. But notice you won’t find in the Bible that the Israelites or Christians are told to take up arms to eliminate poverty. Verse after verse we are tasked to do one thing with the poor – to help them.
In Joppa there was a disciple named
Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas);
she was always doing good and
helping the poor.
Acts 9:36
As social justice issues go, the poor are always on the lips of “social justice warriors.” Their desire appears to be to eliminate poverty and all social injustice via legislation, protests or even through violence. But as Christians we are shown a different approach. Take the issue of slavery, as discussed in the letter from Paul to Philemon. The subject is the slave Onesimus. Notice in the introductory verse that Paul does not chastise or demand of Philemon the release of his slave. Paul, instead, appeals to faith principles. He reminds Philemon that as a faithful follower of Jesus our hearts and therefore, our minds are changed.
“To me, a follower of Jesus means a friend of man. A Christian is a philanthropist by profession, and generous by force of grace; wide as the reign of sorrow is the stretch of his love, and where he cannot help he pities still.”
Charles Spurgeon
By teaching slave owners about the power and love and salvation found in following Jesus, the disciples were slowly changing the hearts and then minds of people who, not only owned slaves, but behaved in any number of sinful ways. The new Christian is tasked with living in a new loving and giving nature.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
the new creation has come: The old
has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17
Had the disciples come into new cities preaching about abolishing slavery (let’s remember too that slavery in that time was mostly more like indentured servitude) they certainly would’ve been met with resistance. Slaves were costly commodities – just as they were in the early years of the United States. To preach that people had to give up much of their wealth in order to follow Jesus would not have been as successful as first telling of the Good News.
Last year, I watched as protests and violence broke out in cities across the United States by self-professed social justice warriors. To be honest, at times I wasn’t even sure what some of it was about. In Portland, Oregon, the young people rioting just seemed to hate everyone. It was a perfect time for the church to rise up and do what we should do best – show love and help change hearts. I hoped and prayed that in communities hit by violence that God’s people would come together and form prayer chains around the cities – enveloping it in God’s love. Instead, I watched as pastors led more protests and took to microphones and megaphones yelling about injustice, pointing fingers at different races.
“It is easier to make laws than to make Christians, but the business of the church is to produce Christians and everything else is a by-product of that new creation.”
Vance Havner
The people of Jesus’ time expected a Messiah to come and bring justice. They wanted punishment of those who had wronged them. They wanted to see governments and whole groups of people destroyed. But Jesus was not that kind of social justice warrior. From town-to-town He cared about one thing – changing people’s hearts. He did out-of-the-box things like sit with sinners, touch the leper, heal on the Sabbath, talk with the outcasts. He brought the bread of life and the refreshing water of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks
this water will be thirsty again, but
whoever drinks the water I give them
will never thirst. Indeed, the water
I give them will become in them a
spring of water welling up to eternal
life.”
John 4:13-14
How amazing would it have been if, when our churches closed down in March 2020, they instead remained open. Not just open but open 24 hours a day with a sign out on the street that said, “Need someone to talk to? We’re always open and ready to listen.” I know this idea is radical. And you’re probably thinking of all the reasons why your church can’t do this. But the work of Jesus and His apostles was radical. So is the work of every Christian you probably admire.
“Behave at them.”
Ken Blanchard
As Christians we are not tasked to be worldly “social justice warriors.” We are commissioned to be God’s soldiers. When we are tempted to join a protest march and carry a sign we should first think how we can directly help those for whom we are marching. God’s plan for the world will only be accomplished through our active showing of love, grace, charity, and forgiveness of others — while espousing His truth. The spreading of the message of Jesus brings the changes we so long for – maybe just not as fast as we like. He designed us this way.
I do get outraged by many things going on in the world. And then I remember to pray to God for peace in my heart so that I can listen for my marching orders. When I feel overwhelmed by the problems we face, I remember that God works out-of-the-box in radical ways. It’s up to me and it’s up to you to be in the heart changing business when God puts opportunities right in front of us. We will always find ourselves on the right side of “He who is most important” when we obey God.
The Apostle Paul worked on one rich, slave owner at a time. And over time, our Christian faith has led to a world-wide abolishment of sanctioned slavery. What small step can you do today to help change one heart?
Pilgrim Not Citizen
Lesson 5: Walk in Truth through obedience to God
It has given me great joy to
find some of your children walking
in the truth, just as the Father
commanded us.
2 John 1:4
I was reading a new book recently that said, “Today, America is rich but morally rotten. Our heads and our hands have outrun our hearts. We have gained the world but have lost our souls.” The author went on to describe the lawlessness and chaos that fetishism, polytheism and any number of ‘isms’ have wrought on our society. I looked back to the beginning of this little book to see when it was published – 1969.
I could take just about any paragraph from this book, “In Times Like These,” and you would surely think the author was writing about yesterday or today. The frightening results of our demand for “progress” in all parts of lives are prophetically found in this fascinating group of sermons by Vance Havner, a contemporary of Billy Graham.
“The time is short, and the fashion of this world is passing away”
Vance Havner
For the Christian, we are admonished to live as people set apart from the world. (Romans 12:2). And yet we have homogenized so much of what it means to be a Follower of Jesus. I heard a pastor once say, “The world doesn’t hate ‘nice’ people.” Think about that for a moment. So many of us want, as our goal, to be seen as ‘nice, Christians’ — certainly not ones that cause waves like Jesus did day in and day out.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers
and sisters, in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and pleasing to
God—this is your true and proper
worship.
Romans 12:1
My BSGs and I were finishing up a week of Bible study about what the church means to God and to us as Christians. We got into a discussion about how easy it is to be a Western-world Christian. And although we’ve seen that challenged over the last year, we still don’t face the threat of death when choosing to worship. Prison, maybe, but not death. (A little over a year ago I wouldn’t even have thought to write that last sentence).
At a church one of my Bible gals and I attended for many years, there was a pastor of Egyptian origin. He would tell us of the inherent dangers of even wearing a cross or holding a Bible while travelling in Cairo. He regaled us with stories of various mission trips back to his homeland fraught with intrigue. And after an hour listening to his sermon and beautiful music we would go back about our “other” lives – not having risked anything ourselves.
We are promised an everlasting life, through faith and obedience to God. The type of obedience John writes about in 2 John. “A walk in obedience to His commands.” Earlier, John tells us of Jesus’ prayer to His father on the eve of His death.
I have revealed you to those
whom you gave me out of the world.
They were yours; you gave them to
me and they have obeyed your word.
Now they know that everything you
have given me comes from you.
John 17:6-7
The “knowing” then requires the “obeying” – a living out of what God expects from us now that His Word has been revealed. But how many of us offer our entire lives over as a “living sacrifice?” One of my friends and I have this now running joke that we have our “faith life” but then we have our “real life.” Knowing that in God’s expectation those are to be one and the same.
“Devotion to Him (Jesus) must be so high and so deep and so intense that all other loyalties must seem in comparison as though they did not exist.”
Vance Havner
That takes obedience to a whole new level. I fear that modern Christians read this and immediately assume we must be the rich prince of whom Jesus asks to give up all his possessions in order to follow Him. (Matt 19:21-24) And in fact, many a breezy, occasional, Sunday-only Christian has misinterpreted that to be the case. But Jesus only ever asks us to give up what is separating us from Him. What idols have we placed in front of Him so that it blocks our view of Him or our ability to obey Him?
The world is full of gadgets and facilities that are not wrong unless we make them ends in themselves or turn them to evil uses.
Vance Havner
For some that idol is time. Or more specifically who or what gets our time. In the 2 John letter, John calls out the “lady chosen by God” for her love of God. And he knows of this love because of her obedience to the commandments. She walks in love of God. Even Satan knows God. But the chasm between the lady in John’s letter and Satan is her obedience. She most likely spent much of her day praying, guiding others to God, teaching her children about God, and working as God’s daughter.
“Christian love is not just some special emotion that makes us accept others. It’s an act of will – treating people the same way God treats you.”
Warren Wiersbe on 2 John
An act of will. That’s not some squishy, marshmallowey feeling. It means 1) knowing the will of God and 2) committing our entire body to obeying His commandments. It means living a life set apart from this world – and maybe even your current church or group of friends. It means being in danger of getting called “weird” or “freak.” It might even mean being labeled a “bigot” or “hatemonger.”
Some of you may recall seeing the storm that descended upon New Orleans Saints football quarterback Drew Brees when he joined Focus on the Families’ call to “bring your Bible to school day.” He was called all manner of hateful things and a call went out to shame and silence him. For promoting bringing a book to school.
The time is nearer now than ever before to awaken in obedience as Christians. I read a comment that the Bible is a disturbing book. It “bids us to stir up the gift of God.” We are admonished to “gird our loins (Luke 12:35),” disrupt our sleepy scheduled lives (Rom 13:11) and grasp the seriousness of our times. We are closer to the coming of Christ than yesterday. And it doesn’t take much to see how anarchy and apathy are playing a role in God’s timetable.
When I started fresh out of college at my new job, I was just barely 22 years old. I was given a lot of responsibility to set up a brand new marketing and public relations department. The corporate culture was very resistant to the new ideas I brought to the table. I was called all manner of terrible things. But I learned a valuable lesson. When the “big boss” has your back you can forge a path through any swamp, forest or desert. As Christians we have the mightiest “boss” of them all – God. We should walk in obedience to Him knowing that He has our back. We should walk in the knowledge that we are just passing through this world and will do so as God’s children. We should look forward to making a few waves, in Jesus’ name.
I’m in it (the world) but not of it; I’m a pilgrim and stranger; I’m not a citizen of old Babylon, I’m looking for another city.
Vance Havner
A Mirror for Jesus
Lesson 3: Imitate good, not evil
Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. 3 John 11
Occasionally in our lives we are asked to state who we consider to be our “hero or who we most admire.” According to the annual United States Gallup poll the incumbent president is usually top of mind when Americans name, without prompting, which man living anywhere in the world they admire most. In the 74 times Gallup has asked the open-ended most admired man question since 1946, the incumbent president has topped the list 60 times.
When you look at the list from 2020, four of the “most admired men alive today” are politicians, one is a government employee, two are businessmen, one is an athlete and two are religious leaders. Billy Graham is the all-time vote getter while he was still living with 61 appearances in the top 10 of this list. That fact made me feel slightly better.
Although as a society we seem to easily agree that most politicians are not typically ones to be trusted we, for some reason, continue to view them as someone to admire.
Growing up I would have done a “hard pass” on who to write down when asked this question. I lived a fairly sheltered life – not much TV, only one friend, my parents didn’t have many friends. And I wouldn’t have written my mom or dad on that list. At various times in my life I’ve thanked God for somehow keeping me on a halfway straight path due to limited guidance.
According to Forbes magazine these are the ten qualities people admire most in others:
- Humility
- The ability to learn
- Integrity
- Responsibility
- Resilience
- Compassion for others
- Respect for others
- Big visions
- Inspire others
- The ability to “reinvent themselves”
After reading this list, did anyone come to mind? I doubt that it was a politician. When I got married I finally met someone that does a pretty good job meeting the high standards of this list – my mother in law. I set upon a path of being more like her. Someone who is kind to everyone, offers a friendly “hello” at all times, thinks of and serves others, and is always looking on the bright side. While attempting to mirror her I realized I had, in fact, been imitating someone else all along. Someone who was inwardly focused, pessimistic, frequently angry, and had difficulty showing love.
At the end of John’s letter to the church elder Gaius, he warns us to be careful who we choose to imitate. He has made the case that another church leader, Diotrephes, while powerful and surely had a large following, was not up to the standards set by Jesus. He instead turns Gaius to another Christian brother, Demetrius.
Demetrius is well spoken of by
everyone—and even by the truth
itself. We also speak well of him,
and you know that our testimony
is true.
3 John 12
You notice it isn’t enough to have others speak well of someone. John reminds us that the “truth” must also be used as a measuring stick. There are many famous people on Gallup’s “most admired men alive” list. And many have well known, serious transgressions. Carelessness with the truth has been one of those. But because they are famous we humans tend to set many bad behaviors aside.
When I was coaching girls softball, I watched the habits and techniques of many of the successful coaches. I gleaned a lot of good coaching skills from them. But there wasn’t one, at the time, that I could name as most admirable. Many parents, on the other hand, admired those coaches because they won trophies. What they didn’t mind was the abusive behavior toward their young daughters. Unfortunately, throughout my years in youth, high school and collegiate sports I found this to be frequently the case. And parents expected other coaches to imitate this same behavior, thinking that was a winning formula.
Last year, my BSGs (Bible Study girls) embarked on a new study called “The Proverbs 31 Woman.” Now there’s a woman to admire! Here’s an excerpt from this long list of character traits to imitate:
She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. Proverb 31: 15-18
Each week we would take a verse and apply it to our lives. From our relationship with our husbands to our finances, our work ethic to our own health we were presented with a truly admirable touchstone for our lives. We cleaned out our closets and our minds. We took a hard look at our finances and our eating habits. We used God’s Word rather than the world of the flesh to imitate.
In our world today so many people are trying to imitate the latest Instagram influencer or sports figure. We see “success” or fame as proof they are worthy of imitation. We put people like Joanna Gaines or Elon Musk up high on our list. Meanwhile there are Jesus followers, who just do the good work day in and day out that truly deserve our imitation.
Join together in following my
example, brothers and sisters,
and just as you have us as a
model, keep your eyes on those
who live as we do.
Philippians 3:17
It might seem like it takes a real discerning, wise mind to know who to imitate. But we all truly know when we’ve met that “someone.” We just then need to measure that person against God’s truth. And yes, we all sin. We all have something to which we must repent to God. But I’d rather imitate a loving, self sacrificing person who doesn’t always use her time wisely than a person who causes chaos and destruction in her wake.
Take a moment today and evaluate the answer to the question, “Who do you most admire?” Be honest. It’s easy to throw off platitudes. No one else but God is listening. Until we can face the evil we are imitating we cannot fully become the mirrors for Jesus.
A Tiny Message #2
So, what do we do when a prominent member of our church or a Christian friend has fallen off Jesus’ path? First, let’s remember that every single person sitting in a church is actively sinning in one way or another. As Christians, we acknowledge that Jesus didn’t come to save us so we can keep on sinning. He came to create a new covenant – that by stating our faith in Him we are saved from eternal damnation from sin. And through that faith we are to work daily being the best example of His people as possible. (Eph. 4:22-24)
When the teachers of the law
who were Pharisees saw him eating
with the sinners and tax collectors,
they asked his disciples: “Why does
he eat with tax collectors and
sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus
said to them, “It is not the healthy
who need a doctor, but the sick. I
have not come to call the righteous,
but sinners.”
Mark 2:16-17
If it’s ok to say to a Christian friend who confesses their issues they have with pride that we love them, then it’s also ok to say to a church leader who has an extramarital affair that we love him as well. And just like our prideful friend, we are challenged to help that church leader find his way back into the truth of God’s Word.
Notice that Jesus says He came to be a doctor of sorts. He didn’t say He was just going to ignore sin and allow it to grow like a cancer. We should be surrounded with loving people who remind us of our place in the covenant with Jesus. We are our brother’s keeper.
Retire Our Gavels
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. Romans 14:10
A prayer to not be judgemental of others
Holy God, we live in a world that judges us on a photo that gets scrolled by in an instant, our decision at the ballot box, the type of car we drive, or even the color of our skin. I am guilty of making snap judgements about the people I encounter throughout my day. But in your world, LORD, we are all equally loved. I have discovered the uniqueness of your message through Jesus – that you are the father, king, counselor, protector of ALL people. You are at work in all of our lives, believer and non-believer. Through the life lessons of Jesus and the prompting of the Holy Spirit I will be the type of person who loves first, rather than judges first. I want to be loved and accepted for who I am uniquely made to be and I will see others in that same light. I pray this in your Son’s name, Amen
Recently, my BSGs were talking about why the world’s major religions continue to reject Jesus. We had a great discussion about the belief systems of Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Jews. It was great to see how knowledgeable the group was from either taking classes or reading up on the topic. What stood out to me is how much more restrictive these other religions truly are and how much work they require of their followers to attain their end goal. And when we start requiring people to work for their salvation it seems to inevitably lead to hierarchies or even caste-type systems.
You, then, why do you judge
your brother or sister? Or
why do you treat them with
contempt? For we will all
stand before God’s judgment
seat.
Galatians 6:10
Jesus swept this type of contempt away. In one painful death, we are all promised salvation through belief in Him. That’s it. No crazy ritual. No particular way we dress. No matter our family background. No matter our wealth or lack thereof. No matter our origin of birth. No need to pray at certain times a day looking in a certain direction. No flowers and incense placed for offering. Just, “I believe Jesus is God and my savior.”
What that one act does is it sets us all on even ground. Because one day, the truth is, we will all die. Our wealth, status, family tree, how many followers we have on Instagram will not matter one bit. Therefore, to God, it doesn’t matter right now. He cares about one thing and one thing only – the salvation of our soul.
So why do we feel the need to judge differently?
“Stop judging by mere appearances,
but instead judge correctly.”
John 7:24
Jesus made this statement in defense of healing people on the Sabbath. The crowd called him “demon-possessed.” He stated that if a boy can be circumcised under the Law on the Sabbath why did they judge Him so harshly for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? Jesus wasn’t doing the things the way the crowd demanded they be done so therefore He was a borderline lunatic or heretic.
When I embarked on what I called my “Sparkly New Life” a few years ago I realized my greatest issue at the time was my relentless judging of people based on “The Rules According to Kris.” It’s easy to get angry and frustrated when people don’t obey all your rules of life. The statement, “I hate people who….” Or “I hate it when…” easily rolled off my tongue.
I have noticed this, that when a man is full of the Holy Ghost, he is the very last man to be complaining of other people.
D.L. Moody
The topic of judgement has really got us Christians into hot water over the years. It seems our history of judging harshly while not loving others really turned people away. And now, we have flipped to not using judgement at all. All behavior seems to be accepted at a number of our large denominations. As a regular ole Christian, the topic of judgement has been difficult to define. I know I’m to love others but what does loving someone who is actively sinning against the Word look like?
James has two helpful hints on how to treat people:
- My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2:1
- My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. 5:19-20
In other words, treat the rich man and the poor man with the same respect. And when we see a fellow Christian on the wrong tract we are to, with the help of God, try and guide them back to the Word.
Notice there is a distinction between judging the behavior of our fellow Christians and those who don’t know the Word. It’s unkind and unhelpful to expect behaviors from people who either don’t know what they’re doing is wrong or just don’t believe in God and His consequences. But no matter the situation we are to act like Jesus – with lovingkindness. And for us non-perfect people, with the recognition that the log in our eye is our first priority.
I am so thankful for the grace that God affords me and the love He piles on me. The days I leave the house looking like I should never have left my bed. The days I can’t find my smile. For the days when my beat-up VW bug was my only transportation. For the days when I couldn’t afford the coolest jeans. For the days when my child was screaming bloody murder in the store and I couldn’t quiet her. All of it – my good side and my not so great side that I present to the world – God loves me no matter what. I want to be like that for others. A person who sees what God sees in others.
If you want this too, add the prayer to your daily prayer list and watch and see how God works in your life!
Wanted: God Expert
When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees. Deuteronomy 17:18-19
A prayer to be deeply knowledgeable about God’s Word
“Holy God, I confess that I have spent much of my Christian life hearing your Word and yet not absorbing and living out our Word. I’ve sat in your Holy presence at church and listened, then walked out of the doors and turned my thoughts solely on selfish and worldly pursuits. So I often, when I hear a conviction through your Word, I think of someone else who needs to hear the message – all the while it is me that needs to accept the correction. I allow my endless “to do lists” to take time away from learning more about you, from soaking my soul with your loving spirit. I allow my “study” of your Word to just be catchy verses that scroll by on social media. LORD, with your teaching and guidance I will proclaim that I am deeply knowledgeable about your character through your Word. I will be your faithful student. I lift this up in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
A year ago, my Bible Study Girls, as I call them, started meeting to study His Word. We couldn’t have ever predicted the tribulations our world went through just two months later. As the Covid pandemic swept through the world, we moved from study to study, different books of the Bible and different topics. We were committed to gleaning something about God’s character, something we could hold on to, from each study. And we discovered a lot about ourselves.
Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. Proverb 24:14
I finally became committed to setting aside Bible study time in the morning. I found just by starting my day with the Word of God rather than the news or Instagram, set my day on the right footing. But I want more. I want to know everything I can about the Holy Being who created not just me, but every single living thing on this planet – including the planet. I want to know what He expects of me and what I can expect of Him.
We spend a lot of our lives getting to know our family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Some of us even know a lot about people we will never meet like movie stars or famous authors. How about we make that same commitment to knowing God? We may think we know Him but I’d bet you’d be surprised by a thing or two by truly delving into His character.
I want to be a “God Expert.” I want to have His promises, His Word, His love for me imprinted on my heart and mind. I know that in knowing Him I will experience true joy and lasting peace.
If you want this too, add the prayer to your daily prayer list and watch and see how God works in your life!
emboldened.net 