Judge not

So often in the church we hear the phrase 'judge not'. Of course we know this taken from the Sermon on the Mount, specifically Matthew 7. However, as is so often done in scripture, we leave most of the scripture out. Jesus actually says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Matthew 7:1-2, NIV) What Jesus is condemning here is the habit of criticizing others while ignoring our own faults. Immediately after saying don't judge, He says in the same way you judge, you will be judged. The implication there is that we are going to judged. Elsewhere in scripture we are specifically commanded to know them that labor among you. The only way you can do that is to judge. In fact, one of the gifts of the Spirit is the gift of discernment. So, where does this leave us? What are we to do? The answer is simple. God has made it clear to us that we are not to judge people; He is the righteous judge that will judge all of us. However, we are commanded to judge their fruit. So, simply put, we can and must judge people, especially those that claim to be Christians. It is our duty to have standards and know those that are called alongside of us in our walk with Christ. How do we do that without actually judging people? Again, the answer is simple. Do it with love. That's how the Scriptures can tell us to confront those that are involved in sin. We can stand against their actions, without ever judging the person. We are to look for the fruit of the Spirit in their lives and ministry and that is how we determine good fruit. So, in a world we continually hear 'judge not', I encourage you to judge. Just remember to do it with love and to judge fruit, people.

Thankfulness

It is amazing what an attitude of thankfulness can do in our lives. Earlier today, as I was washing a car in the 95+ degree heat, in a suit, I was bemoaning the fact that I am not fulltime at the church yet. And I was counting down the time until I am, boy was I. Grumpy customers yelling at you and washing cars in the heat (in a suit) for 48+ hours a week will get you to that point, trust me. In the middle of washing this car today, the Lord chastized me. "At least you have a job, at least you are able to work." He said to me. Because of the current economy and in light of my recent stroke, both of these statements hit home pretty hard. So, instead of counting down the days until I am full time at the church, instead of moaning about my jobs and the grumpy customers I deal with, I started thanking God for my job. I started thanking Him for healing me; thanking Him that I am able to work. And yes, I still washed cars in the heat in a suit, and yes, there were still some grumpy customers, but it's amazing how much better my day went when my attitude changed from complaining to one of thankfulness.

Black Hawk Down

Was thinking about the Battle of Mogadishu this morning. Most of us know this battle from the movie Black Hawk Down. After the 2nd black hawk crashed, Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart requested to be dropped at the site of the 2nd crash to try and secure it. Understand that the whole city of Mogadishu was hostile to the US and thousands of the city's residents were headed towards the crashed helicopter. Their requests were denied multiple times, but they persisted until they were allowed to be dropped off at the crash site. They understood that there was no guarantee of when or even if back up would show up. They understood that their were American pilots on the ground in harm's way and they said, 'I'll go'. We need Christians, soldiers in the Army of God that will say, "send me, I'll go. I'll stand in the gap, I'll build a hedge." It seems a shame to me that soldiers fighting for a temporal country have more gusto than those of fighting for an eternal kingdom. God give us some soldiers that will say, 'send me, I'll stand in the gap'.

Expecting the Impossible

In Genesis 24, when Abraham sent his servant back to his homeland to find a bride for Isaac, the servant was concerned as to how he would know which lady was to be the one. We can learn some things from the way he handled this situation. He did not form a committee, he didn't formulate a plan, he didn't take out an ad in the local paper. He simply prayed. We could take care of most of our problems in life, if we would handle them with prayer. But we can learn even more from this servant. He asked God to move on the right woman to do what no one in their right mind would do: get water not only for him, but for all 10 camels that he had with him. Archaeology tells us that the wells from that time and part of the world were typically at least 25 steps down a hole in the ground. Based on the size of the containers she could carry and how much water a camel would drink after a multi-day journey through the wilderness, it is safe to say she would have to make 50plus trips up and down those 25 steps. Like I said, he asked for something that no one in their right mind would do. But, this is the servant that saw a 90plus year old woman give birth to a son. He knew Jehovah and that Jehovah is a miracle-working God. We need to learn from this servant that not only should we be handling our problems with prayer, but that we should be asking God for the impossible. Basically, he was saying, Lord, I'm asking for something so impossible that if You don't do it, it can't be done. This is what Gabriel was trying to tell Mary when he told her she was going to have a son. She said that's impossible, I haven't been with a man. Gabriel said the Holy Ghost will come upon you. See, that is the difference in the impossible and the possible, between the natural and the supernatural. It is time that we as Christians stop expecting just the natural and the possible and start asking for and expecting the impossible and the supernatural. That's what God wants to give us. We need to say like Mary and say to the Lord, "Be it unto me, according to Thy word."

Doubting Thomas?

As I sit and watch The Bible on the history channel, I am thankful that a major network is showing this. There are, of course, a few errors and omissions, which is to be expected in a 10 hour miniseries, but they have done a pretty good job telling the story. One of the mistakes, was Thomas's confession when Jesus appeared to the disciples. I understand that they have to cut things out for the sake of time, so I can understand it been shown as happening during Christ's first appearance to the disciples. However, on the show, Thomas simply said "It is you." This shows his doubts turning to belief, but Thomas said so much more. John 20:28 tells us that Thomas said, "My Lord and my God." Peter had called Jesus 'the Christ, the son of the living God' when Jesus asked him who the disciples said he was, but this is the first recorded time that someone called Jesus God. What a great confession Thomas made that day. To this day, the term 'doubting Thomas' is used to describe anyone who has to 'see to believe'. But rather than remember Thomas's doubts, we should remember and echo his confession that day: "My Lord and my God."

Especially Peter

With Easter approaching, like most Christians I have been thinking about the resurrection recently. Some of my favorite words in the entire Bible were said that first Easter morning. In Mark 16 we are told about the women going to the tomb to anoint the Lord's body. We are all familiar with this story. They approach the tomb, wondering who is going to move the stone for them, when they see the angel. He tells them to go and tell the disciples that the Lord is risen. Verse 7 of Mark 16 says, "But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you." It's a small thing that most people probably look over and don't even notice, but it's there. He said "His disciples AND Peter". This is just a few hours after Peter denied him, so it would be easy to think that the angel was excluding Peter as one of His disciples. However, this is not at all what is being said. The ISV renders it this way, "His disciples-especially Peter- that Jesus is going..." Do you see how great these words are? He didn't mention any of the other disciples by name, not even John. Why? It's not because Peter was His favorite or because He was less concerned with the other disciples. It is because Peter is still in the midst of a cloud of guilt from His denial of Jesus just a few hours earlier. At this point, He feels not only guilt, but shame as well. He has done the one thing that he said he would not do. At the Last Supper, Jesus told the disciples that they would all deny Him, and Peter speaks up and says, "Not me. Even if everybody else does, I will never deny you." We know the story. Jesus tells Peter that before morning comes he will have denied him 3 times. The cock crowing that morning sounded to Peter like the words of Nathan the prophet to King David when he confronted him about his affair with Bathsheeba and the ensuing cover up. Nathan pointed at David and said "thou art the man". That's the same thing Peter was hearing when the cock crowed. He feels like a failure, a reject. It's in the midst of this setting that the angel tells the ladies to find the disciples and especially Peter. What a great story for anyone that feels the sting of guilt. And, if we are honest with ourselves, we have all been there. So, the next time you feel the sting of guilt, the shame of failure, remember what the angel said to the women on that first Easter morning, especially Peter. So, today let me remind you, when you fail, when you are burdened by guilt, Jesus is saying tell my disciples, especially you, that I am risen, that I am coming again.

Both American and Christian

Since the death of Usama Bin Laden there have been many celebrations across our country. Many Christians have questioned the idea of celebrating the death of even such a terrible man. And they are right to question this. As Christians we should never ever celebrate the death of a person who does not know the Lord. It is a tragic event when someone dies without the Lord. Just as we should celebrate with the angels anytime someone gets saved, we should mourn the death of someone who dies outside of the knowledge of Christ. However, I submit that the majority of celebration was not over the death of this man. It was rather a celebration of justice. It was a celebration of closure for the family members of over 3,000 dead Americans murdered on September 11, 2001. A celebration of the end of a tyrant. A celebration of the death of an enemy of Israel. It was a celebration of the fact that unlike Korea, unlike Vietnam, unlike Beruit, unlike Somalia the 2,340 deaths of coalition forces in Afghanistan were not in vain. It was, like the celebration of VE and VJ days at the end of World War II, not a celebration of one man's death, but rather of one country's ability to stay the course and bring justice to one of this century's greatest criminals. And that is worth celebrating, even as we mourn the death of another soul lost without Christ.