A Judgmental World

"Judge a tree from it's fruit, not from it's leaves." (Unknown)

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:3,5)

We live in a very diverse world that is ever changing. There are so many rare and unique individuals who have different gifts and talents, so why is it so easy to fall into a trap of judging and criticizing our friends, family, co-workers, and others that cross our paths? How easy it is to focus on other peoples faults while excusing our own! We are all flawed people, and people with flaws have no right to judge other people's flaws. I am certainly remorseful of having attacked people's differences and failures, and work very hard to focus on their values and genuineness. Rather than having a holier-than-thou attitude, we need to examine our own conduct and judge ourselves first. Criticism can be unfair and unjust, and it is just the opposite of being gracious. By illustrating our character with integrity, reaching out with love, generosity, and kindness to others, we can build our loved ones up rather than tearing them down.

"Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way." (Roman's 14:13)

I strive to constantly monitor the effects that my behavior has on others, and to be sensitive to their needs. The right way to interact with others is to be aware of one another; aware and considerate of their flaws and mistakes. Because even when people make mistakes, we can still see the best in them, love them, and care for them. It is not in our Christian "job description" to pass judgment on others, that's God's territory! "It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord." (Romans 12:19) Only God truly knows a persons heart, and He is the only judge! God's justice is always fair and He has perfect timing. His judgment is unique to the individual, not based on a formula.

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." Mother Teresa

"Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited." (Romans 12:16)

We should offer ourselves and be quick to respond to the diverse environment we live in. We don't know what challenges God has given someone, so how can anyone judge someone else unless they've arrived in the same place and life circumstances as they have? Judging is selfish and a sign of our self-righteousness; it is self serving and shows no taste. And God isn't so easily fooled; He sees right through us! And I'm pretty sure that God is judging us too!

He Groans With Us

Many people are challenged and want to know why God would allow pointless evil and suffering to exist; who are angry and distrusting in Him, because they have experienced heartache, tragedy, and illness. And I see for many of them, this destroys their faith, and they reject God because of the cruelty, sorrow, and pain they have endured. They groan through all of the turmoil they have encountered, and are pessimistic of the days to come. But when life is going our way, and when it is carefree and great, we often forget about God which is not pleasing to Him! He wants us to worship Him, with thanksgiving, in the good times and the bad. When we suffer is when we should turn to Him and trust faithfully. 

"Jesus promised His followers that another being would come to be with them in their struggles-a comforter, a teacher, and advocate. He promised His Holy Spirit. Not only does the spirit convict us of sin and teach truth, He endures our suffering with us. He has been "called alongside" to help us endure." (Swindoll)

   

"I believe that all suffering is at least potential good; an opportunity for good. It's up to our free will to actualize that potential. Not all of us benefit from suffering and learn from it because that's up to us; it's up to our free will. And not only can we make the decision about how we are going to react to the suffering but God says I will help you in the process." (Unknown)

We have probably all felt that God has let us down at one time or another, but I don't believe that God rejoices about the bad things that have happened. It becomes much too easy to blame and abandon God during these times of conflict. However, with every disappointment, give it time and trust that God will sanctify you in your deepest distress. God disciplines us just as we discipline our own children (for our own good!), so that we might learn and take the right path in life, and place our trust and faith in Him.

"In short, the problem of tragedy, suffering, and injustice is a problem for everyone. It is at least as big a problem for non-belief in God as for belief. It is therefore a mistake, though an understandable one, to think that if you abandon belief it somehow makes the problem of evil easier to handle." (Keller) 

Nothing we suffer can compare to the great price that Jesus paid to save us. I trust He has a plan for each and every one of us, and that we can't possibly come up with a better idea than the one already conceived in God's heart and mind! His plan may take more time than we expect...we need to have confidence in God's perfect timing and wisdom. I look forward to and wait for God to free the world from evil, sickness, and suffering to the new heaven and earth that God has promised. There is hope for future glory!

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. In the same way the spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." (Romans 8:18,26)

"God can use pain and suffering to attract us to the greatest joy in life, which is an intimate relationship with God that will continue in heaven where we'll spend eternity with Him. And the truth is, it's worth any price if it means coming to know God in that way. (Strobel) 

Eternal Life

He came. He taught. He healed. He saved. He forgave. He was crucified. He was resurrected. It is complete!!

Through His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, and for those who believe in Him, gave us eternal life in Christ Jesus. This eternal life is not an extension of our life on earth, but a promise that we will live life forever in eternity! For those of us who believe, what wonderful assurance we have! Christ died for us and as we pursue an intimate relationship with Him; we experience a love unlike any other.

The Life Application Bible says in Ephesians: "The presence of the Holy Spirit in us demonstrates the genuineness of our faith, proves that we are God's children, and secures eternal life for us. His power works in us to transform us now, and what we experience now is a taste of the total change we will experience in eternity."

"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." (John 11:25)

As Christians we still sin, but because God gave us new birth, we know exactly where we stand. Eternal life begins when we trust Christ and join God's family; Jesus is the truth we have been seeking all along. Regardless of the trials we face in this life, we can live with the expectation of eternal life, and living with Christ forever.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (l Peter 1:3)

How blessed we are! We have been given a brand new life with a future in heaven. We must choose to be all that Christ Jesus saved us for and wants us to be. With our trust in Him we can walk in newness of life and let go of our past. Because our hope is in Christ we can look forward to a fuller and more meaningful life, and move into a life of faith and obedience. 


"I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. (Philippians 3:10-12)

Internal Struggle

"I do not understand myself at all. For I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it! Instead I do everything I hate! I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can't help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things." (Romans 7:14-17-Life Application) 

Swindoll writes "Once someone has received God's grace through faith, the holy spirit takes up residence in that believer. And so begins the internal struggle. The flesh continues to serve sin, while the spirit serves righteousness."

Although I challenge myself on a daily basis to get through an entire day without doing, thinking, or saying something in which I know is not pleasing to God, I realize the battle is real! I am however aware that sin is not my master, and it isn't a lifestyle I chose. Jesus promises to forgive me, and I know His promise is true. We are all trapped in flesh, and even though we have been saved, our new nature is in constant conflict with our old nature in search of pleasing God.

"You know how it works. You constantly vow, "I'm gonna break the habit this time," but in your own power, you can't do it. You fail again and again. Then you get in a cycle of guilt and shame-beating yourself up over it, vowing to try harder next time, and when you fail again, you sink even lower, feeling a great weight of condemnation heaped upon you. (John Burke) 

"For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." (Gal 5:17-NIV)

The Life Application Bible explains that "This describes the experience of all Christians struggling against sin or trying to please God by keeping rules and laws without the Spirit's help. We must never underestimate the power of sin and attempt to fight it in our own strength. Satan is a crafty tempter, and we have an amazing ability to make excuses instead of trying to overcome sin with our own human willpower. We must take hold of God's provision for victory over sin; the Holy Spirit who lives within us and gives us power. And when we fall He lovingly reaches out to help us."

"Spiritual character is developed by responding to God, which is influenced by habits, which get formed by practices, which emerge from beliefs. So the key to deep character development is to interrupt those autopilot responses with new beliefs and practices, so we can respond to the spirit and allow God to grow us up in that area" (John Burke)  


We all live in a constant state of conflict, and I know that God doesn't approve of all that He sees in me, but He stays with me right or wrong until I get things sorted out. I have discovered that the more I struggle, the more I become stronger spiritually. I'm determined to continue to hang on and fully rely on God's grace and mercies, and praise Him for this temporary internal struggle. Sin is stronger than I am, and without God's help I am unable to defend myself against it's attack!

Giving More

"We have different gifts according to the grace given to us; let us do it cheerfully." (Romans 12)

I often ask myself, and seek God in prayer on "exactly what are my gifts? What more should/can I be doing?" I don't want to neglect my service to God, and want to live up to my responsibility as a Christian to give all of myself as I can. I believe that God has blessed me with many gifts that I haven't even discovered yet, and I pray that I will operate up to the level of His calling. I know that God has something bigger and greater in mind and that He has a purpose for my life.

As John Burke writes in Soul Revolution "I have learned that if we are truly willing to respond, the Greatest mind in the universe has a plan to use willing people to do His work in this world. He wants to include you in His dream for humanity. All you have to do is stay connected, willing, and responsive, and you and your friends will be amazed at what God will do through you. According to God, the path to true wealth is counterintuitive. It's not by worrying or hoarding more, but by trusting and giving more."

"May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and glory forever." (Hebrews 13)

Many times I am over anxious and find myself involved in a service that is not gratifying and doesn't give me inner peace. I have to ask myself is this right for me; am I doing this for God or myself. I believe that it is important to seek God in prayer, listen, and wait patiently for His response, then look at my God-given spiritual gifts, my personality, and my leadership style to be able to passionately serve and follow God's will.


"Now there are different kinds of gifts, but the same spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. All of these are the work of one and the same spirit, and He gives them to each one, just as He determines". (1 Corinthians 12)


I am so driven to give more, and continue to passionately search and pray for  unique gifts that drive and motivate me so that I can share and contribute to my church and meet the needs of others. I am somewhat of an over achiever, and tend to take on more than I can handle which leads to stress and anxiety. I must be willing to trust Him to lead me to the resources that will enable me to develop and make an impact on peoples lives.


John Burke also writes "The implications are clear. God had given all of us different amounts. He wants us to use it to provide for ourselves, even to enjoy it, but He also expects us to invest it to further His business here on earth. Its not all for us. He wants us to use our creative capacities to make it multiply for good-to leverage it for His kingdom-building enterprise on earth."

Guilt or Grace

I have always been a very independent person growing up, and had to rely on my own choices and decisions. So I often push back feelings of shame or guilt when I have sinned or made a poor decision which may directly hurt another individual or myself because I try and justify in my heart that what I have said or done was right. Whenever I reach this crossroad in life and open my heart to wait to hear God's voice, I understand which direction to take and I can move forward with feelings of confidence, contentment, and gratitude. It motivates my response to a situation in a more positive and graceful manner. But when I take matters into my own hands, or rush through a decision without praying and grasping God's wisdom first, the outcome is one that does not give me peace, and I know that I am not being trustworthy.


As Charles Swindoll wrote, "You can stop hiding, stand before Him, acknowledge your sin, admit you are helpless to please Him on your own, and receive His free gift of grace. His gift is free, extended by grace and received through faith. So, the choice is yours. Guilt or grace?" 

My willingness to stop and choose God's way instead of my own, provides me with a heart and nature of character pleasing to Him, and my feeling of self is gratified.  And although I know I will continue to make wrong decisions (and when I do), I want to be guided by God's grace rather than guilt so that I can move forward in a positive reconciliation of the matter. I can choose to walk away from God's direction, and struggle all my life, or let Him nurture me into the very person I am intended to be. 

"What we need is a relational atmosphere of grace and truth, where we are not condemned even in failure. This kind of relationship continually inspires us to deepen our moment-by-moment dependence on God, rather than causing us to fix it for ourselves. It's only through our connection with God that we receive the power to genuinely change." "We all developed the habit of living mostly on our own, disconnected from God in a fallen world. We respond to this inherited tendency of humanity to go our own way instead of God's way." (Burke) 

I am growing and maturing to persevere and seek God's wisdom and understanding, and to bear my responsibility for an offense or wrongdoing, so that I may be remorseful and aware of my having done something shameful. I will choose grace over guilt to guide and shape my character. 

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the Glory of God. " (Romans 5:1-2)

Joyful Confidence

We live with joyful confidence in the assured expectation that Christ will one day set all things right. It's the joy of knowing that we have been renewed and that we are in the process of becoming more like Jesus. It's the kind of joy we experience when things are going well and we can anticipate His coming again without unpleasant circumstances to distract us. (Swindoll) 

 

It's been a challenging week for me not only being away from family, friends, and fellowship while opening a new store, additionally I have been sick all week! And although I am always so optimistic and excited to travel, meet new people, and just be amidst the excitement of a new store opening, I am the worst "sick" person ever; I am not happy having "down time"! I often struggle pulling close to, and focusing on God when I don't feel well, when I KNOW that He has planned my days for a reason...in this case, to rest and slow down. So, this week I have taken pleasure and been thankful to God for peace and rest in my spare time. I remind myself that it is not my agenda, but HIS!  I want to believe that I can live through sickness and through health, happiness or sorrow, or any pressures and anxiety that I may have~with joyful confidence~ knowing and anticipating, with appreciation, what He has planned for me. I must be inspired to deepen my relationship and dependence on God instead of relying on myself to figure it all out.

"The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:28-31)

"In order to soar, we have to face an adversity or challenge that is coming at us threatening to knock us down. Only then, through His power and might, can we rise and soar above our problems. When we feel overwhelmed and inadequate we have the greatest potential to soar, for when we are weak HE IS STRONG." (Tupyi) 

I am thankful for a week in which I have (really focused on!) concentrating on God's will for me, not being "self centered or self righteous" but experiencing joyful confidence that this is just what I needed! I look forward to returning home in anticipation of reuniting with my family and friends. I appreciate the peace that God has given me, and will make it my priority to accept good days and bad, praising God for the strength He has given me.......

"Mature believers experience a kind of joy that transcends all other considerations because it is anchored in their "peace with God," their reconciled relationship with the Almighty. They live with joyful confidence despite the afflictions of a fallen world, despite the physical consequences of past sin, even despite their failure to live as they ought." (Swindoll)