He Thought Of Everything!

Yes, God thought of everything...

 

Number one ~ God is infinite and His ways above our understanding. Therefore, overlooking or minimizing any scripture because in our comprehension or opinion it does not seem to fit, is unwise and will hinder our walk, not help it. However, setting it aside a while as you seek God and grow in your understanding of God's ways and how it fits, is wise!

 

 

Number two ~ God is thorough. He is complete in and of Himself, with no deficiencies. He created you in His image, and knows you better than you know yourself...therefore He knows your deficiencies and your needs very well. This is exactly why He wanted you to see for yourself how the Old Testament law worked, and the contrast between it and grace...so you would welcome God's grace with your whole heart! Now, won't you let Him teach you what His grace is truly all about?

 

 

 

Number three ~ God thought of everything when He created His plan for us ~ He left nothing undone! There are no contradictions, no left over pieces, and absolutely no pieces missing in His plan!

 

 

 

Have you ever put a large puzzle together and then stood way back to view it? Could you tell it was a puzzle? In my mind our lives seem like a large puzzle with many scattered pieces...and we finite humans can only see a small portion of it. 

 

 

 

 

However, when that day comes when we can stand with unveiled face and see the whole picture...it will be complete, smooth and clear, and there will be no lines, gaps or raw edges in it! It will look like it never started out as a puzzle at all!  THIS is how utterly thorough and amazing His plan is!

 

 

Number four ~ God is intimately acquainted with each person. He knows how many hairs are on your head! He is so near you that you have His undivided attention. In fact, this is why He has the ability to show you what exactly is going on even in the littlest hiding places inside your heart! He knows you very well! 

 

Matt. 10:30 Indeed, even the hairs on your head have been numbered!

Hebrews 4:12 "For God's Message is full of life and power, and is keener than the sharpest two-edged sword. It pierces even to the severance of soul from spirit, and penetrates between the joints and the marrow, and it can discern the secret thoughts and purposes of the heart."

 

Number five ~ God is love. He is not just a God who loves...He IS love. Love is to Him an essential part of being. This is why He commands that we love...and likewise that we emulate Him as His dear children...because He wants us to identify with Him and participate in His likeness.

 

 

 

He does not do this so as to put another law on us...He does so because He knows what will make us complete and give us joy!! This is why God says that when we give out love, we fulfill all the requirements of the law! Love completes us.

 

Love is not hard or burdensome...which is why it is more than compatable with grace. It is a joy and a blessing! The Pharisees and Experts in the Law of long ago and those of today want to have some religious control and keep you and I from the knowledge of God's love and grace that would set us free -- so, they are misrepresenting God! They lie!

 

 

Luke 11:46 "Yes," said Jesus, "what sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden.

 

Luke 11:52 "How terrible it will be for you experts in the Law! You have taken away the key to knowledge. You didn't go in yourselves, and you kept out those who were trying to go in."

 

 

Command means: to give what is deserved. God deserves our obediance 100%...and will completely back up His words with us in mind.

Demand means: to give what is not deserved. Therefore the Demander is usually harsh, and will back up his words but with himself in mind.

The command to love can be likened to a loving Father who brings home several very precious and personal gifts for each of his beloved children...then commands that they not hold back, but open and use them! Now, how would this be burdensome or difficult?? This is just like God insisting that I be blessed!

 

 

Luke 12; 32“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Now, sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

 

Acts 20:35 “And I have shown you everything, that it is necessary to labor and to take care of those who are weak and to remember the words of our Lord Jesus, who said, 'He who gives is more blessed than he who receives.'”

 

Do you believe the things God says? Can you plant your seed of faith in His command to love and be open for God to water it?

 

(click on image to enlarge)

1 Cor. 9:23 "I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."

 

 

 

1 John 5:3 "Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome".

 

 

Matthew 11:30 Jesus said, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

 

 

 

The command to love in not under the law. A law can be measured, therefore we can tell when a law hasn't been obeyed. But love is not and can not be under the law -- because love cannot be measured like a rule can! So, where ever you are in your loving efforts, is JUST fine and good!! WHY? Because when we share God's love in any measure, it spreads like leaven all on it's own, and has the same power to perfect God's love in us, as well as rid us of any fears we still have of condemnation.

 

 

 

Col. 1 10This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins. 11Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love each other. 12No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13We know that we live in him and he lives in us because he has given us his Spirit. 14We have seen and testify to the fact that the Father sent his Son as the Savior of the world.

 

15God lives in those who declare that Jesus is the Son of God, and they live in God. 16We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God's love live in God, and God lives in them. 17God's love has reached its goal in us. So we look ahead with confidence to the day of judgment. While we are in this world, we are exactly like him [with regard to love].

 

 

 

 

18No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn't have perfect love. 19We love because God loved us first. 20Whoever says, "I love God," but hates another believer is a liar. People who don't love other believers, whom they have seen, can't love God, whom they have not seen. 21Christ has given us this commandment: The person who loves God must also love other believers.

 

Love also creates intimacy with God.

 

John 14:21 Whoever knows and obeys my commandments is the person who loves me. Those who love me will have my Father's love, and I, too, will love them and show myself to them."

 

 

 

 

1 Thess. 5: 23 "May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." In the Greek 'blameless' means to be of mature stature in the things of grace - to the point where the believer has no need of or is not wanting of anymore grace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God's Faithfulness & Our Salvation

Our Salvation-

 

 

When God saves someone...they are saved. They are not halfway saved...no, completely saved! It would take very specific and rare circumstances for someone to lose their salvation! Yes, rare. God invested so much into our salvation...so do you think He would change His mind or let someone go so easily?? NO! We get shaken by happenstance, He does not. We change our mind on a whim, He does not. His mercies are new every morning...and this was spoken even before the New Covenant! 

 

Lamentations 3:22-24

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;b

his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

 

 

Rom. 8: 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

 

2 Cor. 3:9 If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!

 

Romans 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

 

 

2 Corinthians 5:21 God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

 

 

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New converts-

 

 

Some people however will either come forward at an alter call or pray a prayer to be saved under very emotional circumstances, and not truly receive Christ...not unlike someone who would say almost anything under feelings of compulsion or hopelessness.  So, in the following verses, when he was giving instructions about choosing Overseers, this is what he had in mind concerning new converts.  

 

 

As God knows if someone has truly accepted Him, but we do not, so it is important for us to take these precautions. Then the scriptures after that is the parable Jesus told about the same issue....that there will be some that have not received Christ even though they appeared to have done so at the beginning.

 

 

 

This is my personal belief -- since I believe God meets us where we are, I also think some people are still teetering when they pray...meaning they are still in the process of being saved...and any slight wind can cause them to be swept away.

 

 

1 Tim.3: 6Must not be a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. 7And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

 

 

 

 

Luke 8: 4While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up.

 

 

 

6Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

 

 

  

11“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.

 

 

 

14The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

 

 

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The one unforgivable sin-

 

 

 

Luke 12: 8"I tell you, everyone who confesses me before men, him will the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God; 9but he who denies me in the presence of men will be denied in the presence of the angels of God.

 

10Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, don't be anxious how or what you will answer, or what you will say; 12for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that same hour what you must say."

 

 

Against - eis (a preposition) – properly, into (unto) – literally, "motion into which" implying penetration ("unto," "union") to a particular purpose or result.

 

 

 

 

God in the flesh died for us and therefore paid an extremely heavy price...therefore He does not take it lightly when His Holy Spirit makes His home inside our heart and life. It would be compared to setting something priceless and sacred inside the finest gold...therefore a union He never, ever planned would ever be touched or removed!! Can you picture it?!  

 

 

 

 

 

We can get mad at God and even allow our human nature to run at the mouth or have temper tantrums! However, blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is very different...it is essentially tampering with that one union that God deems as the most sacred....because it is that one thing...the union between God and man...that He died for!!  It is deliberately taking action against the Holy Spirit...like, trying to extract something highly sacred and priceless from pure and fine gold -- and in so doing causing irrepairable damage.  

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

 

We are saved, and God is faithful to keep us that way. If we ever get even close (which is still far) to being close to the edge of losing our salvation...God is more than faithful then too.

 

1 Cor. 11:32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

 

Hebrews 12:7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

 

 

Rejoice!!

 

Everything IS New!!

Absolutely Everything!!

A re-posting to encourage your walk...

 

Please revisit as often as you need to, as there is much to take in...

 

 

Spiritual Abuse Study III - Also With Children

 

Below in 3 John 1:5-12 John writes Gaius about the abuse that is going on within the church. Can you pick out the things that are abusive or can easily lead to abuse?

 

5Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. 6They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. 7For they are traveling for the Lord,c and they accept nothing from people who are not believers.d 8So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.

 

 

9I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us. 10When I come, I will report some of the things he is doing and the evil accusations he is making against us. Not only does he refuse to welcome the traveling teachers, he also tells others not to help them. And when they do help, he puts them out of the church.

 

 

 

11Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God.e  12Everyone speaks highly of Demetrius, as does the truth itself. We ourselves can say the same for him, and you know we speak the truth.

 

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As you standby watching your children safely play, I would guess that you think about all the things you want most for them. Along with this you probably think about the things you can do to ensure...well, at least to the best of your ability...that their future is bright.

 

 

As you think about that, I submit that the one thing they need most is to see and experience integrity in you. I am not talking about perfection. No. As integrity doesn't mean that. It is simply respecting your child's personhood and being honest in your dealings with them and in life. ~ Saying what you mean, and then backing it up...so your kids learn what integrity truly is.

 

 

Most of us retain a strong sense of integrity that tells us not to steal or kill or set out to deliberately hurt people. However, the integrity that is being discussed here is perhaps an expanded view, and comes from a little bit different perspective. It is the integrity that your children need to see so as to know where to place their trust...and subsequently their lives!

 

To be more specific, when many of us were kids, we were emphatically reminded that we could trust people with uniforms, all adults, doctors, nurses, teachers, grandparents and of course one's own parents. Additionally, we were taught never to say no to an adult. No matter how we felt, we were also taught to finish everything on our plates because there were people starving in China!

 

 

So, a child was not taught to listen to their inside feelings of fullness, or their discomfort from eating too much. They were instead taught to listen primarily to an outside source - their parents.

 

Additionally, it was expected that we would hug visiting relatives and to sit on their laps whether we wanted to or not. We were also lead to believe that a smile, or being given candy meant the person was friendly...no matter what we felt about it.

 

 

Many children were often potty-trained quickly, as who wanted to put up with those cloth diapers! Therefore, the only control (personal boundaries) a child had over their own bodies was taken away at a very early age. (I was potty trained at the age of one year. My Aunt told my mother that it was silly to have to put up with it, so she put me on the potty chair and would not let me get up till I went)

 

 

However, the times we live in today are different in many ways. Whereas children were taught essentially not to listen to their own bodies/tummies and not to have much control over their own lives, children now need to be taught the opposite. They need to be encouraged to be very aware of themselves and how they are feeling in any given situation - and to be given some control and say over their own bodies.

 

 

Subsequently, we need to train them to trust only those who have modeled integrity and have earned their trust. This is different then teaching them to be afraid...this is teaching them to trust and not ignore that something is going on inside. It is teaching them to be OK with expressing their discomforts and their God given personal boundaries...which also begins to prepare them for a life of being able to discern between good and evil.

 

 

Please contact me for more information at com4tea@yahoo.com

 

Spiritual Abuse Study II

 

 

Wanting to stop murder and other actions that directly cause harm to others should be dealt with...and any good citizen would want some kind of involvement in trying to make this happen, along with creating a more peaceful society. However, God says that we are all sinners...and likewise. we are all equally free and responsible to make our own decisions between ourselves and God...which should give us perspective and make us humble.

 

 

But, many times zeal takes over, mixed with immaturity and lack of understanding -- which can be a dangerous combo because then these zealots often times begin to think their job is to police everyone else's lives. So, if this is not already happening by a Pastor or within a church body, then it usually will create some kind of a following without.

 

 

Romans 10:1Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

 

 

 

 

Proverbs 19:2
Even zeal is not good without knowledge, and the one who acts hastily sins.

 

 

If you think about it every single sin has a ripple effect. However, the majority of sin is deliberately aimed at affecting another person - gossip, rape, murder, hate, abuse, adultery, slander, incest, pedophilia, and etc. But, as it says in the following verse, sexual sin is aimed at oneself. (meaning; within consenting adults).

 

However, much of Christian society today give little attention to all these sins that are profoundly affecting others, and then in comparison are zealous in going after the sexual sins that mainly affects the persons engaged in them. - namely, homosexuality. 

 

 

1 Cor. 6:18
Run from sexual immorality! "Every sin a person can commit is outside the body." On the contrary, the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body.

 

Then this zeal often goes further and begins to create meddlers. Kind of like a 'Christian Police' of sorts...altho they may use titles that come from the OT and say that they are called by God to take that position. Once I said something in a comment made on a site such as this...a comment that they did not agree with, so their public response was that I was on 'thin ice' with God and that they did their job of telling me the truth so their hands are clean! Then their woeful exclamation at the end was how hard it is to be what they are!

 

1 Peter 4:15 None of you, however, should suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler.

 

Meddler- A busybody in other men's matters (ἀλλοτριοεπίσκοπος)

Only used once in the New Testament. Literally, the overseer of another's matters. One who usurps authority in matters not within his province - a meddler. It is placed in the same verse with very destructive sins. Compare Luke 12:13, Luke 12:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:11. It may refer to the officious interference of Christians in the affairs of their Gentile neighbors, through excess of zeal to conform them to what they considered to be the Christian standard. They felt like they had the authority to basically go behind the closed doors of certain sinners and point out their behaviors.

 

 

 

 

 

The OT law was very much like the police, as it's nose was everywhere, policing every move people made. However, it could only police behaviors...and did so without mercy. Yes, it's job was only punitive and to oversee the sinner, but without ever giving the hope of being able to live up to it! It was just like carrying around a curse!

 

Gal. 3:10
But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, "Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God's Book of the Law."

 

 

 

 

But now because of Christ's death and resurrection, we have the Holy Spirit that goes where the law could never go...right to the heart and the motives...then convicts, and very differently, and very personally! Why differently? Well, simply, how can we even compare a list of rules that can only be impersonal, with God's Spirit which is more than personal...and offers hope for a solid and lasting redemption no matter the sin! Now, this IS good news!

 

 

 

Yes, the gospel is simply the good news that Jesus came to seek and to save all sinners, and gave His life as solid proof...instead of seeking out reasons to condemn any of us!

 

 

Along with meddling, another overlooked sin is manipulation...because it can be the most subtle. This has become such a common practice that it has become socially acceptable, and most people do not even realize it's happening. No one can accept Christ for me, for instance...NO, I must choose.

 

 

 

However, manipulation goes about as though it can override this...as it differs from persuasion in that it tries to override a person’s God given right to choose. Manipulation causes someone to do something that they would not do under normal circumstances...therefore it is rebelling against God because it attempts to usurp not only a person's will, but also God's authority over that person(s). 

 

 

 

 

 

When guilt, fear, embarrassment, sympathy, and etc. are used to get people to do what they would not otherwise do, it is manipulation. "They made me feel guilty so I did what the other person wanted."

 

 

 

 

Even when someone deliberately uses another person’s compassionate heart as a means to manipulate them into complying with their will, it is manipulation...which in itself is also rebellious just like the sin of witchcraft, because it attempts to override God just like overt rebellion would.

 

 

 

1 Samuel 15:23
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.”

 

 

 

  

 

Even fear can be used to manipulate. This happens all too often in churches when ministers intentionally instill fear of hell or the tribulation into their congregation in order to manipulate them into reciting the sinners prayer, following church doctrine or attending church more regularly. Of course, hell and the tribulation are terrible things but the truth of these things should never be presented as the means to manipulate people.  

  Click here for - Spiritual Abuse Study III

 

 

Spiritual Abuse Study I

 

 

The church is probably the best place to successfully hide abuses...not only because many people can't believe that abuse could ever happen there (especially their own church), but because when we do something in the name of God...especially when there is enough truth added...people listen and submit.

 

 

It starts slowly, undetected. It could start with almost any doctrine...and then slowly it begins to distort that doctrine and then spreads like leaven in a lump of dough. Then it ultimately tears at the pure message of the Gospel. 

 

 

The biggest hold SA (spiritual abuse) has is that people have not been grounded in even the basic truths of the gospel. For instance, if someone asked you if you like or have ever seen Foyo Persimmons before...and you answer that you've never had one before and don't even know what they look like. They got ya!! Because it would be pretty easy to fo-yo now, wouldn't it?

 

 

 

They could fool you fairly easily. They could tell you about anything if enough of it sounded like the truth...or is mixed with truth. So, they go on and tell you that they only grow in China during the winter months so it is hard to find them at any stores around you. They could make jams and pies out of something else and tell you they were Foyo jams and pies...and you would probably believe anything about them UNLESS you decided to get to know Foyo Persimmons for yourself.

 

 

So you go out and find some, eat them, learn about them and make some desserts from them...and learn that almost everything they said was false. But you would have never known it unless you found out the complete truth for yourself. (I hope you do, they are yummy when still crunchy!) 

Eph. 5: 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

 

Circumspectly: taking into consideration all possible circumstances and consequences before acting. Looking at all possible angles and perspectives. (Not just believing because it sounds good.) 

 

 

So, what are the very basics of the gospel?? The word 'gospel' means Good News. Many people are preaching vehemently against sin...especially certain sins...with those sinners and their sins spread across a marque - while loudly lamenting how our country is going to hell for allowing these sins to go on...and call it the gospel. But I dare say that it is not.

 

 

Why is it not? Because Jesus was and is not fragmented. Meaning He is not going to say that He did not come to condemn the world, then turn around in another instance and act towards sinners as tho that is exactly why He came! His intents and His congruent actions were always directed at seeking people out for the purpose of showing God's profound love and salvation. Period. This IS why it was called the 'Good News'...because it WAS and is good news!

 

Luke 19:10
Indeed, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save people who are lost."

 

 

John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 

 

This is also why His ministry included confronting the spiritual abusers of the day - the Pharisees, to name one group. They worked hard at promoting themselves and making God appear to be a burdensome God that is very hard to please.

Pls see - http://nlt.scripturetext.com/matthew/16.htm

 

 

Then Jesus also dealt with anyone else that sought to distort and get in the way of the pure and simple truth of the Gospel.

 

1 John 5:3

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.

 

Please click here for - Spiritual Abuse Study II  

Judging - A Study

This post is for those who genuinely appreciate study, and love truth, whatever it turns out to be...I say this because if there is no other study I ever do after this one, I would say that this is among the top 5 of the most important...then you pick the other ones or none of them at all.

 

Anyway...you will see that God is very specific about judging and like anything else, leaves nothing out.

 

 

Romans 2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

 

From the original Greek this above verse starts out with, "That means..." which is the same thing as what most translations use - therefore. 'Therefore' means, for those of us that are not grammer students...therefore is saying that what you just read is there for what you are now about to read. SO, the 1st chapter was written FOR the following chapter -- the message is not complete without both chapters! 

 

 

 

 

But I notice that people who make it their job to judge don't see this...which I guess is par for the course. But when the 1st and 2nd chapters of Romans were written, chapter and verse was not a part of the writing, so they were written to create one thought...HOWEVER, if our heart desires truth above self-satisfaction, then we will find it...because you better believe God will grant it! The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. Therefore, if you are listening closely to the Holy Spirit, He'll give you what you need to know...and even more!

 

 

John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

Mark 4: 24 Then he added, "Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given--and you will receive even more.

 

 

 

Something else you'll notice, as you read through Romans 1, homosexuality is not the only sin it speaks of...in fact there are many more. Then immediately in Romans 2:1 it says at the end of that verse, "...because you, the judge, practice the very same things."

 

 

However, in my vast ;^) experience, because many people only see one particular sin in Romans 1, they also don't consider the end of this verse either. As this is saying that even though you and I, the readers, are pointing at certain sins and sinners - that we still practice the same things!

 

 

 

But, then most people in their minds think, "But, I'm NOT a homosexual!"...then they read on without seeing the sins they ARE committing!

 

 

 

Then as we read on in Romans 2 (below), God says that our assessment of those we are judging is not based on truth. As we cannot see the heart of the person(s) and do NOT know the real truth about their lives that have made them who they are...yet we still have set ourselves up as their accusers!

 

 

 

Then God goes on to say that our judging must mean we think that God should be showing wrath 'towards those sinners!' so we are despising the kindness and tolerance He is showing them, which also must mean we despise the kindness and tolerance He is showing us too!

 

 

Following this He goes on and says that our stubbornness and unrepentant heart towards judging others, is storing up wrath for ourselves...and we are actually self-seeking and rejecting truth!

 

 

 

John 7:24
Stop judging according to outward appearances; rather judge according to righteous judgment."

 

 

 

 

Righteous does not mean wrathful - it means correct! It means getting down to the real truth underneath it all...whatever that truth is! Why is this important? Because...it is never God's first thought to condemn. His first thought is always to save!

John 3:17

For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

 

 

John 12:47"As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.

 



 

Then He goes on to say that He shows no favoritism...meaning that even if we are not doing one of the sins, that whatever sin we are commiting will be judged in the same way as the one we are pointing out!



 

 

 

Romans 2: 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

 

 

5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”a 7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

 

 

 

 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11For God does not show favoritism.

 

 

Then in Matthew 7 Jesus tells us that if we do feel like we have to judge, then we WILL be judged in the same way. This is important to remember, because there are times to judge particular situations...however, if we remember at least this, then we'll stay humble and never have any real desire to judge...but much more so on obeying the New Commandment.

Matthew 7:2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

 

The following chapter speaks about not judging unbelievers (outsiders - because they don't have the Spirit in order to know or do any better), but how important it is to take care of what is going on in our own families and churches...because if you notice, the sins listed and mentioned are ones that are aimed at hurting and spreading to others. Greediness, idol worship, cheating, abusing and etc. However, God is not saying to be mean and kick them out. He is saying that they need to be confronted so it doesn't go on. They must deal with their sin or it will have to be done for them, for the sake of everyone else.

 

 

 

 

 

Correct judging is about setting boundaries...healthy, Christ-like boundaries. It is NOT about keeping sinners/unbelievers out of the church, no matter what sin they are involved in. It is also not about kicking believers out who sin either...as we all sin.  It's speaking about people who's sin is spreading and hurting others. People who are not dealing with their sins, but instead practicing and indulging in them.

 

 

 

Church is as a hospital...where sinners can go to find the great Physician and begin to get well. Therefore it is not at all intended as a place where the opposite would happen...where their infections infect others!

 

 

 

Pls see  -> http://nlt.scripturetext.com/1_corinthians/5.htm

 

 

This brings me to say that I have experienced first hand the abuse that is allowed to go on within churches. In the Sunday Schools themselves and then the homes of the members. But we are neglecting these people and instead using this time and energy to point at one or two other sins that are going on primarily outside the church! Which is keeping the people that should be coming to church, OUT of the church! This leads into the next studies...

Pls click on following URL--

*Start - Spiritual Abuse Study I*

 

 

The Masked Christian?

I remember what a Pastor once said, "We have to learn to be good at being wrong." David in the Psalms was called a man after God's own heart because he was good at being wrong.(Psalm 51) His fight to keep his sin from being exposed was fairly short lived, and then he was open and honest about his wrong doings...which makes me think he knew something about God that many of us don't. We hide and blame and get defensive...then argue and become self-righteous, all to cover up that we are insecure about the possibility that we may not be right. 

 

Our will is quite stubborn. There are people that remind me of a 2 year old child...as I've seen two year olds hold their breath till they literally pass out! I guess I would say that the typical 2 year old is the epitome of the human nature. Do you know of any perpetual '2 year olds'? 

 

We were born with a nature that at it's heart is self-centered. Therefore, because of pride, we have a hard time admitting that we are imperfect and very possibly wrong. This is however one of those things we must conquer in order to grow.

 

 

 

We have to take off the mask of pride, as it is imperative for us to humble ourselves and allow God to change the way we think, so we are OK with being an imperfect person in an imperfect body, among imperfect people in a world that is also imperfect...otherwise it will be very hard to embrace all of God's love (including loving God and neighbor as oneself), His ways and discipline...and therefore find any success in this Christian life. 

 

 

Another big reason we quickly put on our mask of pride, is shame. Just as Adam and Eve ran from God and hid themselves out of disgrace, this is why we try and put up our defenses as well. However, Jesus also bore our shame and then ignored it, and by His example we can count it as nil too. Take  time in Heb. 12-  http://nlt.scripturetext.com/hebrews/12.htm 

YES! We have His written word so we can feed on truth, the truth of God that sets us free. However, because we have a tendency to look at things very black and white as well as punitively because of the human nature we still battle with...we must read scripture in the light of Christ's life, grace and His Holy Spirit...other wise, we will have a tendency to read it as a rule book and feel condemned and shamed!