All tagged Judgement
Are there those we know who were called by God, and stood before Jesus to profess their faith, just as we did, but have since fallen away? Well, how do we treat them? Do we shun them, look down on them, and make them to feel unwelcome in our midst? Do we judge them, and stand firmly between them and God at the moment they might desire to reconcile themselves? Do we feel that we are the guardians of the sanctuary, and defenders of God Himself? Woe to us who keeps one of God’s children from Him.
In scripture we find the concept of judging to be a hard one to grasp; on the one hand we are told to judge all things, and on the other we are told to judge not lest we be judged. Has this difficult question ever presented itself to you? Did you walk away perplexed, and without a good resolution?
When God called you to Himself, and introduced you to His Son Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit, did you feel inclined to consult with those around you regarding your acceptance of His invitation? Did you place your salvation, and future in the hands of those who hadn’t heard His call as you had, or did your spirit cry out “Here am I Lord!”, as you fell humbly before Him?
Do we judge others, and not allow them to approach us because we feel more holy than they are? Are we intolerant and use our faith as a tool of pride and arrogance against those who are yet to find the Lord, and who haven’t been introduced to the gospel, and begun to understand it? If this describes who we are then we should beware because we are not holy as we think, and like kindling that is stacked by the fire, we are destined to be burned.
Who is ultimately responsible for your salvation? Who do you look to to guide you through faith and into eternity with God? It is so easy to lean on our religion, look to our individual churches, or denominations, and even some trusted persons of faith, to provide us with the truth, but when it comes right down to our faith and salvation we alone have the responsibility for believing, and what we have faith in must be discerned, and determined by us. No other man except the risen Christ can bring us to God. No other spirit than the Holy Spirit can guide us.
In this day and age we talk a great deal about bullying. Being bullied by those around us can occur both physically and verbally, but verbal bullying cuts us much deeper. Jesus endured both kinds in His life, but predominately the verbal variety. So today, as we are made fun of, jeered, and cruelly denigrated, we should look to Jesus for our example of how to react to, and endure, such torture.
Are you content and happy whatever your circumstances are, and wherever in life you find yourself? Do you find yourself equally at ease in a shack or a mansion? Jesus could dine in fine houses, speak to high priests and magistrates, or He could sit with the common people of the world; even the thieves, and prostitutes. What He felt about Himself wasn’t predicated upon how the world viewed Him, but how His Father saw Him. Paul was the same, and we should be as well.
When Communion is offered in your church do you examine yourself to determine whether you are a believer before you participate? Do you look inward and find that you can take the bread, and the wine, while understanding it to be the body and blood of Christ... a reminder to you? There are those who believe that taking Communion improperly is an innocent attempt to go along with the crowd, while others view it to be sacrilege or sin, and there are even those who see it as a pretense designed to fool the Church. How do you approach Communion?
Do you stand at the ready, listening for God’s voice? Do you wait upon the Lord in this manner? We know instinctively that God is with us always, but sometimes we forget that He isn’t just there... He is also waiting to hear our voice. When we cry out to Him, when we joyfully sing to Him, when our pain and suffering leaves our throat in sorrowful moans... He waits on us. As we speak to Him in prayer He responds in Mercy, and yes, in judgement.
Jesus laid down his life for all of us collectively, but to a much finer point, he died for each of us individually. It is easy to disavow personal ownership in the ramifications of something when you are part of a crowd, but it becomes very clearly an individual matter when we form a personal attachment, or take a leadership role. Jesus died to save each of us individually, and we are each responsible for our own actions, and covenant with Him.
Do you fret over the condition of the country and this world? Do you wring your hands and cry out “Lord! Lord! Look at what is being done and the harm there is to your people!” Well if you do, then stop! Ours is to trust in Him who created all things, and to leave princes and principalities to He who established them. We are like the grasses that cover the earth. We may brown with drought, but we have faith in the showers. The trees will wither and die, but the grass returns with the rain, dark clouds and lightning are the harbinger of mercy.