Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged

Dan Betzer, Author, cbn.com

CBN.com — One of our besetting sins is our judgment of one another. This despite the fact that our Master, Jesus Christ, has commanded us not to be judgmental.

So often our ideas about others are based on totally false assumptions or erroneous presentations by others about the person or persons in question. We often go through life thinking conclusions that have little or no basis in reality.

Case in point: I recently met a person whom I have heard vilified by many professing followers of Christ. Well, the person I met – and the person I had heard about turned out to be two completely different persons.

This individual was kind, soft-spoken, brilliant, and a follower of Christ. Wow, were my sources ever wrong! Therefore my perceptions were mistaken. How sad it would have been to have lived my whole life believing the false reports.

Remember, Israel had to stay in the wilderness for forty years after believing false reports from ten of the twelve spies sent into the Promised Land. It is somehow in our nature more acceptable to believe bad reports than good ones.

Scripture commands us in Philippians 4:8 to do this:

“Fill your minds, on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious, the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”

Outward appearances are a poor criteria upon which to make conclusions about anyone. And other testimonies can be false as well. Judge not that ye be not judged! These are strong words and a powerful commandment from our Lord, one that He expects to be followed. Oh, and one thing more: bearing a false witness about someone else is also a sin.

Prayer and Faithfulness

By: LuAnn K. Edwards, cbn.com

Many years ago, my husband Kenn partnered with two other men in a farming business. We knew Clyde was a trustworthy man; we attended the same church. Sam, a local businessman, put up most of the money. We agreed the three men held equal responsibility should the business go broke. I wasn’t sure we could trust Sam.

Within two years, the business dissolved. The main reason was Clyde. He misrepresented himself and the product he endorsed. He skipped town, and to my knowledge, he never paid his debt. So much for thinking he was trustworthy.

How would we pay Sam back? We were a young family with two small children. We calculated 20 years of payments. Bankruptcy was a choice, but after praying, we sensed that God wanted us to pay our debt.

The Lord soon provided Kenn with a new job, and we paid Sam $2,000 per year. After two years, I prayed, “Lord, You know our faithfulness and how we have continued to pay Sam back. We have not cut back on our giving to the church or Your work. At the end of five years, I pray Sam will forgive the remainder of our debt.” Most days I prayed this prayer. I asked the Lord to give Kenn boldness to talk with Sam and ask him to write the balance off after we paid him back $10,000.

That didn’t happen. After three more years of continuous prayer and asking the Lord for this specific need, we received a letter in the mail from Sam. The letter stated, “Thank you for not forgetting about our business venture that did not do very well or your obligation to the note. I do not feel you owe me any more money. Please consider your portion of the note ‘Paid in Full.’” We paid $9,500 of our debt. The Lord answered my prayer $500 early, and Kenn didn’t have to ask Sam to forgive our loan. God moved upon his heart without our interference. Sam, the person I didn’t trust, turned out to be a generous and forgiving man.

This experience taught me two things. First, I learned that persistent prayer works, and God doesn’t always answer the way we pray. He often answers better.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 NIV

The second thing I learned is that we please God with our faithfulness. We continued to pay our debt to Sam and give our tithe and offerings to our church and the Lord’s work.

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” 2 Corinthians 9:6 NIV

I believe God granted us a wonderful blessing through persistent prayer and our faithfulness in giving.

Are you persistent with your prayers and faithful in your giving to the Lord’s work?

A Day to Honor Life

By: Beth Patch, cbn.com

Memorial Day – to some it’s merely the beginning of summer and to others it’s a solemn day to remember those who have passed from this life. However, to the war veteran and to the families of fallen soldiers, Memorial Day carries significance so deep that words cannot express their hearts.

When we look into the eyes of those who still mourn these once vibrant men and women, we often sense their loneliness and pain. We hear them choke back tears as they simply say the ranks and names of their military brothers and sisters at a Memorial Day service. White gloves, dress uniforms, rigid posture, and perfectly precisioned salutes represent the reverence and respect flowing from within. Those who have been personally affected by war understand and appreciate this day of remembrance.

What should we say to those who sincerely honor this day? “Happy Memorial Day” doesn’t seem fitting. “I’m sorry for your loss” may be closer to appropriate. What would the fallen soldier want from their comrades and the rest of the country on this day?

In an often quoted Memorial Day speech given in 1884 by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., the speaker ended his address with these words, “Our dead brothers still live for us, and bid us think of life, not death — of life to which in their youth they lent the passion and joy of the spring. As I listen, the great chorus of life and joy begins again, and amid the awful orchestra of seen and unseen powers and destinies of good and evil our trumpets sound once more a note of daring, hope, and will.”

The American soldier who gave his or her life for U.S. citizens to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness won’t be telling us how to observe the holiday. But I believe that Holmes’ proposition to “think of life, not death” would honor the fallen soldier. Their sacrifice follows the example of Jesus Christ laying down His life for our freedom. It’s selfless love for others – not so others can mourn forever, but live!

“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.” 1 John 3:16

Notice that in scripture and in military service, the willingness to give up one’s life is not dependent on the worthiness of the people who benefit from the honorable act. In a perfect world, all who receive freedom and grace would be worthy of such a sacrifice and full of gratitude. But that’s not the way it is anywhere on Earth or in Heaven.

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:8

We are blessed to be living in a free society. May we honor our American soldiers for the liberty we have in this country. May we also give thanks to Almighty God for the freedom we have to spend eternity with Him because of His gift of forgiveness through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

A Life of Sacrifice

From: Crosswalk.com

 Weekly Overview:

The Christian life is meant to be marked by simplicity. Jesus summed up our purpose with two statements: love God and love people. But in our humanity we have made complex what God designed to be peaceful, purposeful, and simple. A. W. Tozer remarks in The Pursuit of God, “Every age has its own characteristics. Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all. If we would find God amid all the religious externals, we must first determine to find Him, and then proceed in the way of simplicity.” May we discover the peace and joy that come from pursuing a simple Christianity this week.

Scripture:“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” – Luke 9:23

Devotional:

Living for our own gain adds stress, pressure, and chaos to life, successfully robbing us of all the transcendent peace available through sacrificial living. We were never created to be our own provider or sustainer. We were never meant to develop our own source of joy and purpose. The only place we will find lasting peace is in complete surrender to God’s intention for us: a life of total sacrifice.

Jesus was our perfect model. He did everything according to the perfect and pleasing will of the Father. And Jesus said in Luke 9:23-25, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” Jesus makes it clear that sacrifice is the gateway to finding the life God intends for us. It’s the pathway that leads to the perfect will of our heavenly Father.

If you’re like me, living life sacrificially initially sounds terrible and unattainable. It feels impossible based on past experiences and present selfish desires. But, we need to take time to know the God to whom we are sacrificing our lives. We need to renew our mind to the perfect love of Jesus who would lay down his own life for us before ever asking us to follow in his footsteps. The life God intends for you is better than anything you could discover on your own. If he’s asking you to live sacrificially it must be wholly and perfectly for your benefit.

We are not sacrificing our own wills, plans, and dreams to a God who has less satisfying plans for our lives. We are not surrendering a happier, better life for something less, boring, or meaningless. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” God has plans greater than we could ever ask or imagine in store for us if we will lay down our dreams to make space for his. He has inexpressible joy for us if we will exchange what has made us temporarily happy for his dreams and visions that are full of purpose, meaning, and adventure.

Jesus willingly laid down his life and received everything he had dreamed of: restored relationship with you. What’s waiting for you on the other side of sacrifice today? Find out as you engage in the act of surrender during guided prayer.

Are Your Lights On

By: Pat Young, cbn.com

I know most of us or perhaps all of us at one time in our lives have experienced the lights going out, whether in our homes, or in a place of business, school or church. Some of you may have experienced having your lights turned off because you forgot to pay your light bill, or just could not afford to pay the bill on time. I have experienced my lights going out several times through circumstances I had no control over. Usually a storm or an accident in the neighborhood causes it. Then “out go the lights.”

Well, we know when the lights are out we are in darkness. We cannot see a thing. If we are not familiar with the surroundings, we are not able to even feel our way around to get to flash lights, candles, matches, or whatever we need. So it’s a bad situation to be in — DARKNESS.

Now, when things are functioning properly, we go home, turn on the light switch and we have light. We see everything. Sometimes things we don’t want to see! Furniture needs dusting, floors need cleaning, and the list goes on. But it is still good to have light.

Before we gave our lives to Christ we were lost in darkness. Someone had to come along with his or her light shining bright, and tell us how to come out of darkness and into Christ’s marvelous light.

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Jesus paid the price for all of us in full. He died on the cross and rose again. When we accept Christ in our lives our lights never have to go out. No matter what circumstances come our way, we never have to worry about paying our bill on time. It’s been paid in full forever.

Without lights you’re walking around in darkness, trying to make it, or trying to find your way. But you need the light of Christ. No one living in darkness will ever find their way without it. Like the saying “there’s a light at the end of the tunnel”, Jesus is that light at the end of everyone’s tunnel.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8).

No matter what problems arise, we can still let our lights shine. When people treat you bad — let your light shine. When sickness comes upon you — let your light shine. If money runs out — let your light shine. We choose daily whom we will serve. Let us choose to serve Christ and let our lights shine BRIGHT!

Rivers of Living Water

By: Gordon Robertson, cbn.com

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” John 7:37

While facing some challenges recently, I read Isaiah’s account of King Hezekiah’s problems—and mine suddenly seemed small. God saw him through, and He will see us through as well. Hebrews 10:23 assures us,

“He who promised is faithful.”

Hezekiah is known for preparing Jerusalem for a siege by carving a long tunnel from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam. Rabbis said the pool’s water was the purest on the planet because Mount Zion is its source.

Every year during the Feast of Tabernacles, water was taken from the Pool of Siloam in golden pitchers and carried up to the Temple in a huge procession. People sang the Song of Ascent, silver trumpets were blown on the Temple steps, and the entire city was lit up with torches. It was called the most joyous time in Jerusalem when the water was poured out on the altar as an offering to the Most Holy God. This is described in Isaiah 12:3:

“Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

It is also part of Isaiah’s prophecy about the Messianic age:

“Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. … Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you—the sure mercies of David” (Isaiah 55:1-3).

The first covenant had a price; the new covenant is without price. It also comes with the sure mercies of David—and the Son of David is Jesus. Even so, we must hear it, incline our ear, and come to Him.

In John 7:37-38, Jesus cried out at the water celebration during the Feast of Tabernacles:

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

So if you’re facing problems and feeling overwhelmed, come to Him. He is your source. He will supply your need, and out of your innermost being will flow rivers of living water. God bless you.