Get Out of Your Judgmental Rut!

The church today cries, "Don't judge! Don't judge!" more than at any other time in history. Why?
Is it because there is more open sin among professing Christians today more than at any other time in history, and no one wants their sin exposed? 

This trend is reinforced, no doubt, by those who make merchandise of the church (sadly, the church loves to have it so...after their own lust, they heap to themselves....

And as the watchmen warn, these clouds without water cry, "Don't Judge!" Wolves in sheep's clothing carefully train the sheep they are fleecing to believe that using Biblical discernment is being critical and judgmental. The fleeced sheep, who have rejected the covering of the Holy Spirit in exchange for the emperor's new clothes parrot their predators in crying, "Don't judge!"

We once had the unmitigated gall to tell a Christian "sister" that planning "Christian" sacred circle meetings around the cycles of the moon and honoring the four directions was occult activity--not Christian--and that circles most certainly are not sacred (she claimed that God lived in her because she, within her physical self, was a sacred circle). When she was informed that God lived only within those who belong to Jesus, this love-everybody-don't- judge-anybody, woman immediately turned ugly and said we needed to get out of our judgmental ruts.

This response is quite typical among the peace-peace-love-love-dont judge crowd. The arguments of ecumenical professing Christians are thin, worn, out of context and repetitious. Don't judge, Judge not that ye be not judged, he who is without sin, cast the first stone.... That's about it.

But, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are commanded by the scriptures to judge all things by the Word of God. We are commanded to deal with sin within our ranks both privately and publicly. This is not optional to the true Christian, and the protocol on how to go about this is clearly laid out in the scriptures. The warnings are there as well, on the importance of keeping our hearts right in the process.

Do ye not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?(1 Corinthians 6:2).

Blessed are ye when men shall hate you and when they shall separate you from their company... (Luke 6:22-23)

We Have No King but Caesar

But they cried, “Away with Him, crucify Him! ...and the Chief Priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!

That is the moment the Jews, as a whole, and just a few days after rightfully hailing Jesus as their Messiah and King, made the tragic decision to trade God’s best for Caesar’s best. And even though the crucifixion of our LORD was in the plan of God from before the foundation of the earth, those who participated in the deed were held personally responsible for their choices in the matter.

How often, on some level or another, do we do the same? How often do we reject the marvelous provision God has for us in every area of our lives by forgetting His precious promises and running to Caesar, first, before running to our Savior, who says He is our provider, our healer, our comforter, and our avenger?

Before visiting the food stamp office, are we on our knees, first, acknowledging our LORD as the real source of all our material provision, asking our LORD, who promises to bless our food and water (If we love and serve Him) to provide that need in His abundance?

Before turning to health care providers, are we first taking our requests for healing to our God who says that His words are life to us and health to all our flesh (if we attend to His words)?

These are conditional promises. Are we reading our Bibles daily to learn of these things and to feed our minds and spirits with the Word and will of God which alone tends to life?

Before seeking to psychologists or anti-anxiety meds for mental health and emotional comfort, are we first running to the one who gives the Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind... are we willing to forsake anger, bitterness, self-pity, and a host of other sins which all take their toll on our general outlook on life and mental health? Are we willing to believe the promise that all things work together for good to who love the LORD? Are we, first, running to the comforter Jesus promised will be with us forever?

Before engaging attorneys to convince judges to avenge us legally, are we first bombarding Heaven and the Righteous Judge, our father, with our requests for judgment, or, as the apostle admonished, are we willing be defrauded rather than to take fellow Christians to court over material things?

A well respected, 19th century, preacher once asked if the Bible text means everything it says, he concluded that it never means less than what it says but always means more than what we understand it to mean.

While reading our Bibles every day… always picking up today where we left off yesterday, let us meditate on these things and develop the habit of running to our King, first, before considering what Caesar has to offer.

Caesar has his limitations, our King has none.

The Secret of Spiritual Warfare

   Christians are always in a state of warfare [whether they realize it or not] with the enemy of our souls. The Bible tells us precisely who these enemies are and how to prevail over them. 
   We are given powerful weapons with which to wage spiritual warfare, but our weapons are very different from what one would expect a Christian soldier to need. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, that means they are not natural weapons. They are not weapons that can be manufactured through human invention. But the weapons God gives us are mighty through Him. They are powerful spiritual weapons that will pull down every stronghold the enemy may have in our lives.

   The only way to defeat powerful spiritual opponents (principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness... and spiritual wickedness....) is by putting on the whole armor of God.

   This is not optional. Christians must use every spiritual weapon at our disposal. The "whole" armor means wearing every piece of it... at all times.

   The defensive weapon of our warfare--our armor--consists of: Truth, Righteousness, always being prepared to share the Gospel of [man's] Peace [with God], Faith, and the helmet Salvation (deliverance).

   The only offensive weapon we are given is the spoken Word of God, utterance which must always be in line with the written Word of God, applied under the direct leading of the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus gave us a perfect example of this in Matthew chapter four, when he stuck stubbornly to his iteration and re-iteration of, "It is written...."

   The prophet Isaiah confirmed this when he wrote that those whose words did not line with what was already written had, "No light in them (Isaiah 8:20).

10: Finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might[1]

---

[1] This simple statement, frequently glossed over and even sometimes forgotten, in studies of spiritual warfare, is the nexus, the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega of the entire subject. It is so easy to fall into the deception of self-sufficiency, to confuse the power of our might with the power of His might. Yes, King David had physically mighty men in his army. Yes, Bathsheba wrote of valiant women in her letter to her son. We read about in Proverbs chapter 31. All Christians, both women and men, are commanded be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. A premiere example of how to do this, is found in the life of Moses. Moses was the most powerful man among all the Hebrews yet the most humble person on earth. When faced with the overthrow of his God-ordained government, Moses did not rally the armies, but rather fell on his face before God in intercession and prayer for a people who were condemning themselves. He knew that real victory entailed much more than mere physical victory over a physical enemy. Moses was raised a prince in Egypt. He was a physically powerful man trained in physical warfare. He was capable of fighting and single-handedly defeating multiple adversaries, simultaneously. Yet, when he became God’s man, we never again see even a hint of the masculine pride that had dominated his early life.

This is an excerpt from the Hungry Hearts Online Bible Commentary HHBC

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How Important are Our WORDS?

The words we speak are very important. It was words spoken from our hearts that first brought us into the kingdom of God (Romans 10:10,13).

What if our response to that all important invitation from God had been, "Oh, if it is God's will, he'll save me," or "Well, I can ask him to save me, and he'll answer my prayer, but sometimes he says no, so I can't say for sure whether he'll save me or not."

I can see many of you rising to your feet right now crying out, "No, no! The Word of God says he WILL save ALL who call on his name through belief in his risen son. So you can't possibly use this as a scenario. You've missed it badly!"

Well, doesn't the Word of God say he WILL do other things as well. So why can't we take him at his Word for more than salvation? Why must he stop there at keeping his Word?

Our words are very powerful. The fact that our initial access into the presence and power of God (by becoming his child) comes through heart-spoken Words is proof of that.

Our words affect those around us--either positively or negatively. They affect all of our relationships either positively or negatively. They affect us, and our mental, physical and spiritual health, either positively or negatively.

But there are those who will take the scriptural truth concerning the importance and power of our words, and twist it to suit their own self-centered, ungodly purposes.

There are those who read the scripture, that says Abraham "called those things that be not as though they were" and twist it into a useless denial of reality.

Abraham was absolutely right to call those things that be not as though they were, because he had God's promise, but there is certainly no record that he ever called those things that be as though they were not. Abraham never denied reality, and that is a subtle difference that many get confused about.

But it is true that the Word of God should always be in our mouth concerning any and all circumstances that may arise in our lives.

We are taught in scripture to "gird our loins with the TRUTH"—which is the Word of God—and it should be always be in our mouths as well as in our hearts.

Are you sick? What does the Word of God say? It says to go to the elders of the church, admit that you are sick and in need of prayer, and have them anoint you with oil and pray the prayer of faith over you.

What is the prayer of faith (faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God)? And what does the Word of God say? It says that God is our healer. It says that when we love him and are doers of the Word and not hearers only—it (his Word) is life to us and health to all our flesh (Proverbs 4:22). And I want to know that whoever is anointing me with oil and praying over me believes that—In fact, I don’t let just anyone pray for me with the laying on of hands.

These are just a few (of many) examples in scripture of what the Word of God says, about how to deal with whatever ails our bodies.

How about gossip? That involves words. Is it going to benefit us at all to go around "confessing" our healing while at other times we are indulging in the sin of gossip? Probably not.

The scriptures command us to let no corrupt communication come out of our mouths. Corrupt communication includes all ungodly speaking—not just cursing. Gossip is a sin. What is gossip? Gossip is discussing (without permission) the personal details of anyone's life who is not us.

The scriptures say our whole body can be defiled by what comes out of our mouths.

Scripture does teach that our physical health can be affected by our words—both positively and negatively. There is a very strong connection between the Spiritual and the physical.

Our words, actions, thoughts and attitudes all work together in affecting our physical bodies.

The scriptures say the curse causeless does not come (Proverbs 26:2). That is why it is so crucially important to acknowledge HIM in all our ways, so HE can direct our paths (proverbs 3:6 kjv).

It is doubtful that the majority of us are afflicted because we are so righteous that a "Job" situation is going on in our lives. But we cannot rule that possibility out, so we need be careful about passing judgment on anyone simply because they may be afflicted. But generally, that is not the case, and if obvious sin is present (all sin is not obvious to the casual observer), it is definitely a loving thing to confront it. Someone's physical life just might be saved. And wouldn't that be a good thing?

Jesus is the high priest of our profession (confession), and there is a reason for that piece of information being included in the Holy Scriptures. In light of that, is it a godly thing for our profession to be dismal, negative and unbelieving?

There is only one thing that limits God and that is unbelief: Psalms 78:40-41, How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert!

Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.

Matthew 13:58, 58: And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

And the scriptures do say, "From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks...."

Author and speaker, Jocelyn Andersen, is an eclectic Christian writer. She is a Bible teacher who writes about many subjects including Bible prophecy and equality of the sexes. She is best known for her advocacy in domestic violence awareness. Her book, Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence, has been a staple in the library of resources on that subject.  

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What's In It for Me?

Why are we Serving the Lord?

That's a good question for all Christians to ask ourselves from time to time.

In Malachi 3:14, we read about people being confronted with sinful, self centered motives for serving the Lord.

They are asking, "What "profit" is there in serving the Lord? It is clear that what they really care about is, "what's in it for me?"

In 2 Timothy 4:3, we read the apostle's warning to Timothy of the skewed motivations he will encounter in those who claim to follow Christ but in reality only follow their own lusts.

God's people would not be heaping teachers to themselves who lead them into deception, doctrines of devils, error, apostasy (and they are presently doing just that in record numbers), unless there was something in it for them.

Paul spoke of the time when many who profess Christ would cease to endure sound doctrine. Are we living in that time now?

Why are we serving Christ? Is it time to pray the prayer found in the Psalms, "Test my thoughts. Search my heart...?