"Hey, Stop Judging Me"

“Hey! Stop judging me!” How many times have you heard someone…or perhaps you have said this yourself? After all they are taken from Jesus’ words and we need to obey our Lord, but are we really not to judge? 

Actually we are to judge and we do judge on a daily basis. “Is that person telling the truth? “ “Should I trust them with a confidence?” “Do I want my daughter dating that guy?” “Should I walk through that area after dark?” These are only a few samples of the many decisions we make on a daily basis, but the whole truth is that we must and do judge others….not to condemn them, but to be discerning. For example, Jesus Himself tells us to “beware of false prophets” (Matthew 24). How will we beware if we don’t judge? And Paul says that we should judge those in the church and will be judging angels! 

Yes, we are to judge and must judge, but with humility and wisdom.  Luke 6:37, 1 Corinthians 5:3, 6:1-6     

(Repost from 8.9.16)

Comments

What's Going On: Understanding the Time We Live In

“Father, Father, We don't need to escalate; You see, war is not the answer, For only love can conquer hate; You know we've got to find a way, To bring some lovin' here today. What’s going on, what’s going on?” Some of you may recognize these lyrics sung by the late Marvin Gaye. Yeah, what’s going on is right! Just as Marvin’s generation struggled to make sense of their world, we are struggling today to make sense of ours. Many are wondering if that is even possible, but let me assure you it is--but only if you have developed a Biblical World View. I must warn you, if your World View has been shaped by the world’s academia, the major news media, celebrities, or just the voice of the majority, you will not understand “what’s going on”. In fact, you will probably think I am nuts, but that’s alright with me. As the Apostle Paul stated, “I am a fool for Christ.” But as the late John Wimber, (Of The Righteous Brothers and The Vineyard fame) used to ask, “I a

Raising Kids, Manners, and The Golden Rule

So, what do Manners and The Golden Rule have to do with raising kids past and present? There really is a very important connection. If we want to see children today grow into upstanding adults who do well in life, we really need to be diligent in teaching them manners and also The Golden Rule -- wouldn’t you agree? Let’s first look at what is known as the Golden Rule. In Jesus’ teaching found in Matthew 7:12, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyone was aware of and practiced this in everything? Well, it is not something that comes automatically to people, especially children! So you might be wondering, how do we put this into practice? Glad you asked. Here’s how we can start. Begin by teaching your children good manners-- yes, I said GOOD MANNERS. Why good manners? Because good manners are really the essence of the Golden Rule, which is treating ot

The Lord's Prayer Part 1: Our Father Who Is In Heaven, Hallowed (Or Holy) Is Your Name

As we begin praying we are instructed to follow this format. The first is really revolutionary because as a disciple, that means we have surrendered and repented of our sin to Christ. We have received His forgiveness, His Spirit and are now “born again”. We are now given the privilege of calling God our Father. Romans 8:15 says we have been given a Spirit of adoption, that is adopted into His family and we cry out “Abba! Father!” Abba means father/daddy…Wow that is wonderful! Notice that we pray to Our Father, the One who is in Heaven and Whose name is Holy! He is our Father in Heaven, which distinguishes Him from all other so called gods, since all other “gods” and objects are created and are part of a created world or a created realm. Only our Father is the transcendent Creator. We are not to pray to statues, idols, objects including beads or crucifixes, people, deceased or living saints, angels, or even Jesus’ earthly mother Mary. No! Jesus Himself i

Thoughts from Gary

Search This Blog