~ Don't Judge Me ~ Understanding What That Means

How silly are we to think that we can behave like heathens and God won't see it.

What are we thinking anyway? Out of sight, out of mind? That must be it. 

We seem to forget just how very sovereign He is, that He sees every single one of us and knows exactly what we are up to. He knows precisely where we are, who we are with, what we are doing and He even listens in on our conversations. Because He is everywhere, the very idea that we can keep Him out of anyplace is just a joke. He’s Right there, wanting to be recalled, waiting to be invited, even though it is ALL His and no invitation is ever necessary. 

He has given us clear direction on how we are supposed to handle any situation we come up against in His word and His pride swells when He sees His lambs reading it, deciphering it and putting it to good use.
On the other hand, there must be moments when even God gets frustrated with our lack of desire to seek that wisdom out, seek Him out and be obedient. I know He gets frustrated with me, and I press in daily. Reading His word, feeding myself only good things and trying to live up to the directions in Psalm 100

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise! 

Give thanks to him; bless his name!"            
                        
So even on those days when we loose sight of those instructions; and get frustrated with situations involving our jobs, families, friends and total strangers, and even on those busy or preoccupied days when we forget to seek Him first when something happens, and we mess things up and cry out for Him to "Please, Fix It", although we are forgetting to enter His gates with thanksgiving, enter His courts with Praise and Bless His Holy name, 

He is still listening, watching and demonsrating a patience like no other. Even when we have forgotten  that all the answers to any situation are right there in His Word and we lose our tempers or patience or whatever it is and we get frustrated and sometimes even angry with people and say the wrong things, do the wrong things and make messes we don't have the power to undo. Then we go running to Him to solve our problems for us. If only we would have just listened, if only we had pressed in and behaved according to His instruction. But he forgives us, because he loves us that much and more. 

Funny thing about God is that those, are His most amazing moments, the moments when He can step in and change everything just like that! He knows us and He loves us and He uses those situations to strengthen us and change us. He asks that we do our part to help or asks us to be still and get out of His way (and believe me when we don't be still, we do get in His way with our clumsy attempts to fix things on our own.)

 I have personally earned this badge.

He pointed out to me one occasion, the significance of being honest and direct when someone hurts you...


Tell them what they did that hurt you...work it out, He whispered (Matthew 18:15)

It became apparent to me real fast that I was attempting to do something that was not welcome, but I didn't give up...how can God be wrong? He can't. 

He's never wrong. His wisdom and promises to us are never to be forgotten, yet somehow I was made to feel that I did something very wrong.

I prayed about it, talked it through with my pastor and then the other day, I was reading some things in my Facebook feed when a small passage jumped out at me. It was a brief entry written by a member of our local area prayer team. 

It read like this...

Even Today.......When a Believer in Jesus is Offended or hurt by someone, sees something they are doing wrong, and responds by speaking out against them and even prays that way against that person - It is Witchcraft, it is Even Christian Witchcraft. It matters not if the person who offended you is a Christian or an unbeliever. We are commanded by the Word of God to Bless those who Curse us.

I commented on the post: What about Matthew 18:15? 

Within a few minutes, the prayer warrior replied:

 "That's the error most of us make. 

 - We don't go to people and point out their offense, instead, we rant and rave and curse them to others. The scripture reads, "If your brother, (or sister) sins against you, go and show him his faults in private; if he listens you have won your brother. 16. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.

 I replied: But people don’t like it when you go to them and point out their offense. It makes them mad. Even when it is done out of love and kindness, even when you pour your heart out with all sincerity, and even when you have prayed about it and God gives you the words to say. It is still resented, and they are the ones who get bent out of shape and they are in fact the ones who do all the ranting and raving, and -they-accuse-you-of-judging-them. 

   

It happens all the time in our Politically Correct Society. 

His response was this: "Then all we can do is Bless them and Pray for them and for their deliverance and sometimes we need to pray that our own eyes are opened so we ourselves are not deceived." (Galatians 6:1)

This got me thinking about my own situation, and about a similar yet entirely different scripture, also in Matthew, which related in many ways.

I compared them trying to understand how they could be so easily misunderstood, so easily taken out of context. But people do it, in fact... 


Matthew 7:1 has become the go to scripture for anyone who believes that by receiving Grace from God they have the license to sin. The people who subscribe to that way of thinking, believe that because Grace is enough, they can sin and they are covered. They can do anything they feel like doing and because of that God given Grace, they believe they can do no wrong. 

Woe to those who believe in that fashion, how mistaken they are! 

The Grace of God is indeed sufficient for us, but it doesn't give us the right to sin... period. When those with this attitude are approached concerning any offense, they become defensive and angry and they say things like "Don't judge me," "You have no right to judge me" or "Only God has a right to judge me"  They believe that they have the free rein to carry on with their sin, without ever having to answer for it, or stop it OR until God himself points it out to them. What they fail to understand is this...

No one, besides God, has the right to judge their salvation, but you can and should be judging their sin. 


I love the way the Message Bible explains this concept. 

A Simple Guide for Behavior

Matthew 7 1-5 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

TRY THIS INSTEAD:  

Work It Out Between You

Matthew 18: 15-17 “If a fellow believer hurts you,

go and tell him—work it out between the two of you.

If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church. If he won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start all over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love.

It is sad that these scriptures can be so confusing. 

So confusing to some, that they chose to do what is comfortable and lazy instead of being convicted by them and trying to honor Him and do as He requests. 

Oh, that's right... we are only human! 

And being human means we all sin. 

However, being Christian means we help each other with that sin.

Being Christian means we all make mistakes, it's what we do about them that counts


We don't gossip (casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true) to others about what someone did to us that hurt us, instead we go directly to them. And we never, ever, ever tell anyone they will go to Hell for anything they do. No exceptions to that rule! Only God can judge our salvation! 


But we can and should kindly, gently, and with the most loving of intentions tell our brothers what they did that hurt us, or what they are doing to hurt themselves or someone they love. Can you imagine how many marriages and other relationships this would save if things were handled this way? 

AND if we are at the receiving end of this, we must always thank them and Praise God that our brother or sister cares enough about us to want us to be Holy.

.

Faith, " A Belief Not Based on Proof

The Dictionary defines Faith as ‘A belief not based on proof’. The word Faith is used nearly 450 times in the Bible, that alone should encourage us to have it - live it - and be in it.

A friend of mine, who is studying to be a Prison Chaplin, recently asked me what one personal characteristic I would like to strengthen. He then shared with me that he wanted to work on his patience, which struck me kind of odd as this man is very quiet, very polite and one of the most patient people that I know. I reflected on both his question and my own patience or lack thereof.
Although I am quite a ways away from possessing the patience I would like to have, God gives me grace. He always forgives us. Always. Something we struggle to do for one another. 

Can you think of a time, or times when you were judged or not forgiven by a friend, family member or employer? Maybe you said something you shouldn't have or forgot something important or maybe you don't even know what you did. God doesn't ever do that. He gives us Grace because Grace is something which is not a created substance of any kind, but it is instead, love and mercy given to us because He desires that we have it, not because of anything we do to deserve it or not deserve it. How wonderful is Our God to love us that much? We sin daily, He forgives, it’s just that simple. Can you imagine what life would be like if we treated one another like that? 
Wow! 

I began thinking about how very blessed we all are to be showered with this gift of Grace from Our Heavenly Father and then I reflected on how in the world I could ever loose faith in our great God. Loose enough faith to believe for even one moment that He has forgotten His promises to me, or for me to question His timing. And I knew what I wanted to work on, my faith.
I want to have Mustard Seed Size Faith, or as close to it as I cqn possibly come up with. 

Matthew 17:19-20 the disciples asked Jesus why they couldn't cast out a demon that was possessing a child and ...

He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have the faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to the mountain, 'Move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." 

It is kind of embarrassing when you stop and think about it, after all...a mustard seed is so tiny.

One would think we could all manage to squeak out that much faith, right? But, since I don't see any mountains moving around, so my guess is that collectively, our Faith is pretty far from the Faith Jesus spoke of that day so long ago. 


So, what can we do to change that?  We can start by being truly thankful for everything; everything we have, everything we value in our lives, and everything we go through. Not just the wonderful things, not just the things that bring us joy, but the things that bring us heartache as well. Not allowing the devil to steal your joy by convincing you that your past makes you unworthy of God’s promises, or you are a failure in any aspect of your life! 

Your not a failure as a student, or as an employer, your not a failure as a husband or wife or a failure as a parent. Ask Him to guide you, ask Him to change you...He loves the challenge! He is mighty and powerful and capable of fixing us in any and all areas.

The thing that makes all of the depression, sadness and heartache go away is PRAISE! We Must Praise Him for anything and everything that happens in our lives.  On the happy days or the bluest of the blue, all situations, both good and bad with this realization in mind.  

All Things work together for the good of those who love God, for them who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 

You see, nothing is impossible for God. The idea of anything being impossible comes from within us each time we measure God by the limitations of our own unbelief. He wants us to stretch that belief even if it makes us uncomfortable. He, in turn, gives us the fruits of His Spirit which Paul described

Galatians 5:22--23 But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts ( Fruit of the Spirit) into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard..things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. 

We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. 

Francis Chan said, "God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through."  

If people would only work on developing that kind of faith, they would know that He has everything under control. Just kick back and be patient and have faith.  With that kind of faith, patience would never present a problem. We would have faith in Him answering all of our prayers and we would understand clearly that everything happens in His time, not ours. 

One good exercise, if you don't already do so, is tithing. People make excuses, they say that they can't afford it. Once you start giving the full 10% of every single financial gain your home receives, you will discover that you can't afford to. God is so wonderful, He rewards us for our faithfulness in ways I can't begin to tell you. The way I view it is that it is His money, to begin with, he is just allowing me to use it. So with that in mind, I write a check and give Him his 10% right off of the top and then the rest is mine to do with what I will.  He makes it work out. 


Chan suggests that we pray big because that pleases God; ask Him for things that may even seem far-fetched, remembering that nothing is too far fetched for our God! 
People think there are no longer any miracles; that's just silly. Of course, there are miracles!

People also think that God doesn't answer their prayers, that's silly too. Of course, he answers prayers. He does these things in His time, not ours and never without that five letter word... F-A-I-T-H.

I bet you have had miracles in your life, moments when God could have easily taken you home, but he didn’t, it wasn’t your time, I know I have. God has plans for us. 

One such miracle happened to me the beginning of the summer after my junior year in high school. Although I wasn’t a senior yet, I went to the senior class parties out in the woods with some people I knew from school. The girl who was driving that day had to go back to town early because she was scheduled to work the next morning. 
I can remember that I was having a good time and I was really disappointed when it came time to leave. For some reason, I was very anxious and I was so desperate to stay that I even considered staying alone. I knew others that I could ride home with would be coming along soon. Finally when I couldn't drag my feet anylonger, I got into her car. Just as we turned the corner to get on the highway home, the friends I was waiting for arrived, and they certainly didn’t have to twist my arm to get me to stay. 

That night I violated code #6 in my Mother’s Rule book of Etiquette, which stated clearly that I was:  Always leave with the one who brought you. I believe as I got older, that rule went by the wayside. It may have been because of that night. It wasn’t until the next afternoon that I found out that breaking that rule may have saved my life. A mutual friend called and told me that within a few minutes after I got out of the car I Was supposed to ride home in, the driver lost control of her car and rolled her car. The driver was ejected from the car and suffered a broken neck, another passenger was also severely injured and there was one death. The driver was very fortunate, she lived.

When she was finally able to have visitors, I went to the hospital to see her. As I stood there, by her bedside in a room full of machines giving her breath and nourishment, I realized that by the grace of God, it could have been me. That thought overtook me and minutes later, in the elevator I fainted for the one and only time in my life.    

 I think about that day often and each time I do, I feel so blessed and thankful to be alive, thankful that I had listened to His promptings instead of worrying about Rule #6. God was with me then and I have since learned that He is with me all of the time. He has plans for each and every one of us, all we need to do is have faith and be patient. He loves us so much. He challenges us to have patience and faith in His timing without having as much as a momentary doubt in our mind and He hasn't failed me yet. 

That's the stuff  that Mustard Seed Faith is made of.

Spititual Warfare ~When the Devil Attacks~

I woke in a cold sweat, gripped with fear. 

It  was early Spring, and the furnace was running so my bedroom should have been nice and warm, but instead it was  ice cold. 

I could tell, even in the dark that the door 

to my bedroom; which was always left 

open, was closed. I turned on the light, 

and got up and very carefully opened 

the door and checked my apartment out. 

The door was locked and things looked ok 

so I returned to bed where I propped 

myself up with a second pillow, grabbed 

my Bible and began to pray, however, 

the stream of ineffective and garbled 

words  that fell from my lips 

accomplished nothing...  

Suddenly I remembered, Psalm 100:4 "Enter his gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise." 

 

“Thank you Heavenly Father for my life, Praise you Father for all of my blessings, todays, and yesterdays, and the ones I’m not even aware of. Thank you for my life and the lives of my children. Thank you for my church family and all of my friends...”

As I praised Him, the warmth to the room returned, and a gentle comforting feeling fell over me as  I drifted back to sleep....

Many Christians are not aware of the powerful, unseen evil that lurks about trying to steal their joy. Instead of realizing what it truly is, they place the blame for their misfortune on others and seek a glass of wine, sleeping pill, or the comfort of anyone but Jesus. When they do that they are in fact handing the devil a victory, and who wants to do that? 

Unfortunately, the closer we draw near to God, the greater threat we oppose to Satan.

Satan has strategies in place to take us out if we’re not prepared! He targets us through open doors into our hearts and souls. Doors we may not even realize were left open. He attacks our minds where our thoughts are formed, and our thoughts control our heart. The things the mind attends to it considers, and what the mind does not attend to it dismisses. 

The word Heart can be found eight hundred and sixty two times in the ESV version of the  Bible. Two hundred of those times it pertains to our thoughts, as it is through our thoughts that we communicate with the Holy Spirit. It is with our mind that we form our opinions, social attitudes, values, and our self esteem. Our self esteem, be it very high, or very low, attracts Spiritual Attacks. If it is too high, we are typically overly arrogant or too proud. If it’s too low, we border on self pity which is akin to selfishness.

The opinion we have of ourselves affects our actions, achievements, and how we relate to our family, friends, and co-workers, but most importantly, it affects how we relate to God.

Satan wants to control our thoughts, and he works overtime to get it done, using any sin we commit or have ever committed to accomplish it. He works hard to dig up our past and use it against us. He tries to convince us that our former life style was much better than anything Jesus could ever possibly provide for us. He brings to mind our failures; lost jobs, broken marriages, mistakes we made while raising our children or anything we are ashamed of.. He works on us, promoting feelings of guilt, and shame, whatever it takes to convince us that we’re not worthy of God’s love.

Two of his more well known victims was Adam and Eve. He convinced Eve that God was lying to both she and Adam, and that his promises to them were nothing short of lies  that would come back void. 

After she was convinced, she easily encouraged  Adam to sin along with her. When God discovered them naked, and asked Adam how they knew they were naked, Adam was quick to throw Eve under the bus. It made them doubt Gods love for them and ruined their lives, which was exactly his plan.  

Satan slips in through doors to our minds that we leave ajar. Doors can be something as simple as a lie we tell, or something we spend time doing, that we really shouldn't do: reading listening to, or watching things that are not of God, things we should flee from.  I’m fond of saying, “What goes in is what come’s out.” Doors can be opened if we look at someone lustfully, or spend time with a friend or co worker who’s lifestyle is not Godly. I’ve heard it referred to as illegal entry, which is truly what it is. But God allows it to a degree because guilt in small doses makes us aware of our transgressions, grows us up, and draws us closer to him. 

Satan May not have access to our will, but our minds are an open target. Once he’s captured our minds and hearts he convinces us that we are worthless in Gods eyes. Why would God have great plans for the life of a nobody...a sinner? He just wouldn’t. These thoughts many refer to as ‘stinkin thinkin’ keep us so beaten down that we feel totally undeserving of anything Godly and good, including  Including better jobs, decent friends and the future of hope God promised us.

This is why It is so important that we establish a close relationship with the Holy Spirit. 

Talk to him throughout the day, every day! Ask him what he wants you to do to help yourself and better your life. Believe me when I tell you, God has wonderful plans for each of us. He wants us to fulfill those plans so we flourish and He receives the glory! He gave us each skill sets; one a florist, one a cook, one a mechanic, one with mad math skills, one a doctor, one a missionary, one a teacher, one a pastor...the list is endless! If you are in a job you’re not enjoying, or only doing for the money, ask him what He wants you to be doing. I believe that whatever it is, is something you already enjoy. 

He loves us so very much. “"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7:7-8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Don’t ever be afraid to ask him to help you.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11-13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Once we feel crappy about our selves, even when we try to climb out of our pit, he brings along his buddy, the Spirit of Offense. He takes delight in making us feel inferior, even when there’s absolutely no reason for it. We should we shy from good job opportunities, quality men and women to date or spend time with?  Why in the world would we allow any old voice in our head to convince us that we’re not welcome at certain places that we would enjoy or would be beneficial to us. He uses the thoughtless comments of unsuspecting people to hurt our feelings. With that in mind, we can fully understand that although it is God's nature to influence us with the truth, it is the devils nature to influence us with lies. And he is ruthless, He uses anyone he can find to get those lies inside of our minds and hearts because once He gets us to believe the lies, we will never discover God's will for our lives. As humans, we have a tendency to blame others, decide they are rude to us, or they hurt our feelings, we rarely take the time to consider who or what is the true influencing factor, instead we go with what we believe is the obvious. 

“Attempting to defeat the enemy by wrestling with people could be likened to trying to destroy a tree by picking all of the fruit.” Lisa Bevere

Satan is out to destroy, and the more he destroys, the happier he is. He doesn’t care one iota about us, his battle is with God.  He stops at nothing, or no one, including Jesus himself.
‭
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, "'He will command his angels concerning you,' and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.” Matthew‬ ‭4:1-11‬ ‭ESV‬

Jesus was able to outsmart him because He Loved and understood His Fathers words and He believed and memorized them. He spent many hours meditating over them and those words equipped Him to do His fathers work. This serves as an example to all of us to press into God's word. In  2 Corinthians 10, Paul explains the importance of our having the ability to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exulted itself against the knowledge of God and bring captivity to the obedience of Christ.

However, Satan doesn't just attack our mind, he attacks our bodies as well by encouraging sins of the flesh. Our bodies are living temples where the Holy Spirit resides. He does whatever he can to remind us of any and all guilty pleasures, or sins of the flesh. Paul reminds us that our bodies house the Holy Spirit. 

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:19-20‬ ‭ESV‬

 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Romans‬ ‭6:12-14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Because Satan knows each of us very well, he holds the keys to each of us, he knows both our past and our future, so he knows who, how and when to target us individually. 

“ I believe that the spiritual attacks on your life have much more to do with who you might be in your future than who you have been in the past.”

Lisa Bevere- from Girls with Swords. Why women need to fight Spiritual Battles

It is very important that we know in our hearts that God's grace is sufficient. He is our creator and he adores us. You can always count on him and be thankful for his goodness. Doing so fills our hearts with thankfulness, which makes praise easier, even in the most difficult of circumstances. Spend time in His word. 
There are a few really great apps for your  phone or tablet that makes reading or listening to the Bible easy. I personally love ‘You Version’. You Version has several versions of the Bible available to read or listen to, as well hundreds of different reading plans, videos, graphic scripture posts and more. It’s pretty amazing. Plus, because it is an app for your phone or tablet, it makes it so convenient to dive into The Word every day, anyplace. 

Another important thing to do is to ask Him to change you, and take away your low self esteem or that prideful nature that Satan loves to dine on and replace those or any rough qualities with some he wants you to have. Tell Him that you want to be more like Him and less like who you once were. He will be delighted to comply. 
When feelings of self doubt creep in; and they will, when Satan rips your carpet of self esteem right out from underneath your feet, when you wake up in a cold sweat with his ugly hands gripping your throat or when you feel for even a split second that you are not worthy of every last detail of the plan God has for your life start praising! 
PRAISE GOD!  Thank Him for every single blessing in your life from your running water and flushing toilet  to your last bag of rice. From your broken fingernail or skinned knee to your loss of job or disease...He will hear you and He will recognize your voice and He will be there to help and love you through it. Soon you will be a light, and nothing can turn out the light on the inside!

Pastor Jim Staley said, “ The enemy doesn’t like the light for it dispels the darkness. We are on one side, and he is on the other. He’s deceiving us that he’s not even there. If he can infiltrate our bodies, he can infiltrate our friends, our churches, and our work places with out us even knowing. He can’t touch us physically, but our free will allows us to be used.” When we form a strong bond with Christ, and become a light, we can smile and know that Satan may have tried to steal our joy, but God will guide us through it, because our lives are is none of his business. 

LS Revised 11-2019, 10-2020