Judge Not

It seems everywhere I turn, I’m seeing the “don’t judge me” mantra among Christians and sinners alike. Let me toss out a few things worth considering.

1.      A judgement that someone or something is good, right, just, or righteous is still a judgment. When someone stands in a courtroom and a verdict of “innocent” is handed down, they have been judged just as much as if the verdict had been “guilty.” But you don’t ever see anyone upset about being judged to be “right.”

2.      Stating that something is sin based on the Word of God is not the speaker judging anyone doing that thing. It’s stating what the Word says. If you are doing something the Word says is wrong and hearing that bothers you, that’s called “conviction” and you should be thankful for it instead of starting the “don’t judge me” chant to make yourself feel better. 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

3.      Everyone’s favorite “don’t judge” passage is Matthew 7:1-5. So, let’s look at that. First, it says “Judge not that ye be not judged FOR, with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Or, as the NLT finishes the last part of that: “The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” In other words, before you judge, make sure you realize others will judge you by the same measuring stick. If you are going to use the Word of God as the standard, PLEASE judge me – I need all the help I can get making sure I have everything square before I stand before God for the final judgment.

4.      1 John 4:1 commands us to try the spirits to see if they be of God. In other words, JUDGE the spirits and make sure it’s the real thing.

5.      Matthew 7:15 warns us to beware of false prophets that come in sheep’s clothing. How are we are supposed to determine that they are false prophets if we don’t examine what they preach, compare it to the Word of God, and judge it to be false? Also, if they are coming in sheep’s clothing, not shepherd’s clothing, you might consider that some of these false prophets are other “saints” sitting on the pew with you fussing about how “it doesn’t take all that” to get to heaven, or your good friend agreeing with what you want to do, rather than preachers. We need to beware of EVERY voice, even those we like.

6.      Romans 16:17-18 tells us to “mark” those who cause offense or teach false doctrine and avoid them because they are not serving God and are deceiving people. How do I know who to “mark”? I look at their words and their actions and I judge them based on the Word of God. The Bible doesn’t say to smile and go along with them to be kind – it says to avoid them and admit they are not serving God.

7.      2 Timothy 3 tells us that there will be people who have a certain amount of Godliness, but they don’t have the power and we are to turn away from them. Once again – we have to make a judgement in order to turn away!

8.      Galatians 6:1 instructs us to restore someone caught in a transgression (sin) in gentleness. But for me to choose to restore someone, I have to judge their actions sinful. With that said, the phrase “restore him in GENTLENESS” is part of that verse. You can be direct and still be gentle, but being gentle is not optional.

9.      1 Corinthian 2:15 says a spiritual person judges all things.

10. 1 Peter 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

 

We have no choice but to make judgements if we are going to serve God. When you see scriptures about NOT judging, it is inevitably in the context of not judging UNTIL you have checked your own heart (Matthew 7:3-5; Romans 2:1-3), not judging someone based on anything other than the Word of God (Matthew 7:1-2; John 7:24), or not judging someone for something that is a personal conviction or an opinion (Romans 14:1-13).

One final thought – I wonder if some people don’t realize that a “righteous” judgment in the house of God very well might be what helps them see their mistake so that they are judged righteous by Christ in the final judgement. I would far rather someone help me find the problems now while I have time to correct them.

John 12:48 But all who reject me and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken.

Revelation 20:11-12 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Stop Being So Quiet!

 1 Corinthians 14: 15-17

What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.

In this passage, Paul is in the midst of a lesson about speaking in tongues and he is explaining that speaking in tongues within a church service serves both to edify the individual and to edify the entire body. He states emphatically that when he is in church, he will pray in tongues and in his known language, and he will sing both in tongues and his known language because both have value to the body. Then he asks a question. Let me put it in my words: “If you only praise God in tongues, how will the people around you in church say, ‘amen’ and be built up by your praise, even though you are giving thanks to God well?”

Wait! What??? I thought the people around me weren’t supposed to be listening to what I say to God! Why do they care what language I give thanks in?

Guess again! Paul made it abundantly clear that part of the goal of corporate worship is not just to praise God, but to do so in a way that other people around us CAN HEAR, because listening to others give thanks to God builds them up. Scripture commands us to praise God with singing, clapping, dancing, shouting, playing instruments, and much more. Praise is typically either visible or audible. 1 Corinthians 14:16 explains why – because praise should not only serve as an expression of our thanks to God, it should also encourage the people around us as they witness it.

I know some of us are naturally louder and some are quieter, but we need to stop being afraid for others to hear us! Stop being afraid to be demonstrative. Stop intentionally being so quiet! When you muffle your praise, you are depriving the body of strength! Don’t worry about if you are saying it just right – praise from your heart will not only please God, it will encourage everyone else around you.

The Folly of the Simple

 Proverbs 14:18a The simple inherit folly…

We read Proverbs 14 during a recent Wednesday night Bible study and verse 18 jumped off the page at me, specifically the first half. This verse has a very strong spiritual application. I looked up a few Biblical definitions to help put it into context and this is the summary I ended up with:

A simple person is undiscerning and too easily impressionable. In other words – they don’t hold to an absolute truth based on God’s Word. They can be swayed by others into things that are false. Folly in the Biblical sense is spiritual or moral failure, or choosing to behave like there is no God.

In other words, if we don’t put forth the time and energy to study and become rock solid in what the Word of God really says, and hold fast to that truth, we are guaranteed to end up walking away from God.

God was gracious enough to give us a complete instruction book – full of not only advice and good ideas, but also commandments and absolutes if we intend to go to Heaven. And in that Book, He told us part of what He expects is that we will study it, learn what He REQUIRES of us, OBEY what He has said, and share it with others. He also told us clearly to SHUN things that are go against what is in His instruction Book. It is not rude, judgmental, narrow minded, prideful, or any of a number of other things to look at behaviors, beliefs, and teachings and say, firmly and without apology that is WRONG when they don’t line up with God’s Book.

We can’t afford to be complacent, listen to teachers/preachers who don’t believe or obey Biblical truth, or go along with things that the Bible says are sin. If we do, we aren’t just “risking” a problem – we “inherit” it. Inherit means, “promised possession derived from a covenant relationship.” That means it is absolutely guaranteed that we will face spiritual or moral failure if we choose to approach truth in a relaxed manner.

(For the record, yes, I do realize this passage has more than one application. With that said, from a spiritual standpoint, I believe this summary to be accurate and true to the text.)

Lessons from Mary and Martha

I have heard many lessons about Mary and Martha, the sisters who, along with their brother, Lazarus, were friends of Jesus. He visited in their home, He raised Lazarus from the dead, and He sat and just talked to them. We have 3 stories in Scripture that I can think of involving these two ladies: Mary and Martha when Jesus came to visit and Mary sat listening while Martha was busy serving, the day Lazarus died, and Mary washing Jesus’ feet with her hair.

Many of us know the story in which Jesus and His disciples stop in to visit in the home of Mary and Martha. Scripture tells us that Mary sat at the feet of Jesus just listening to Him talk while Martha was “cumbered about” with serving. Martha got frustrated and demanded that Jesus tell Mary to help her, but Jesus told her that Mary was doing the only thing that really mattered, and He wouldn’t take that away from her.

I have heard many “takes” on this passage – opinions about Mary and Martha’s respective spiritual status, intentions, etc. We aren’t told a lot of the details, so the passage lends itself to a certain amount of harmless speculation, and in the process, there are many lessons we can learn from these two sisters and their interaction with Jesus. With that said…let me share my latest thoughts about Mary and Martha.

When we have guests in our home, I rarely “rest.” Even when I am sitting, my mind is usually still partly preoccupied with “serving.” I’m watching the clock to make sure I start the next meal on time to have it ready to eat when everyone is hungry. Often, I have forgotten something I need from the store and I am looking for the least obtrusive time to go get what I need without making a meal or dessert late. I’m dreading washing the dishes because I have cooked and cleaned until my feet are killing me, but I will need clean dishes for the next meal…and on and on. I don’t mind this aspect of being a hostess – I enjoy caring for guests. But it’s definitely a time of “doing,” not “resting.” And more often than not, I don’t sit much at all. I am usually cooking, prepping the next meal, or cleaning up the last one. I always encourage our guests to relax, and if there is a lady, I make sure she knows she is welcome to either sit in the kitchen and visit with me or sit in a more comfortable chair in the living room. The open floor plan in our home allows me to listen to the conversations in the living room, and even participate in them with a comment from time to time. It’s certainly not like just sitting down for a nice visit with nothing to do, but it’s also not unpleasant.

I wonder if Martha was “visiting” with Jesus and his disciples the way I often visit with guests in our home. She heard most of what Jesus was saying, she may have even tossed in a random comment from time to time. She was enjoying having them there. She may have settled into a chair for a few minutes here and there and listened more attentively, but part of her mind was on the next task to be done as she rested her feet. Jesus told Martha that there was only one really important thing to be done – listen to Him. I wonder if Martha had asked Jesus and His disciples if they were hungry, or when they would like to eat. Or if she simply made a plan as the hostess and began carrying it out.

I learned years ago that I have a tendency to walk into the presence of God in “serve” mode. I do this as a pastor’s wife now, but in years gone by I have done it as a musician, a sign language interpreter, a youth minister, and in various other capacities. I have been busy leading up to service time – the printer is not intuitive and the children’s minister needed a couple extra copies, but when I went to make them, ink cartridges needed replacing. Another sister needed to sort through something that happened this week, so we talked a bit to help her get it into perspective. I am leading worship, but my voice behaves very differently depending on time of day, allergies, etc., so, it works best to find keys right before others arrive at church. Our saints are wonderful to drop by and do random tasks around the church to help keep it clean, but there is usually something nobody got to that week that I need to pitch in and take care of. Someone was sick and that left another saint without a ride to church so I have been either arranging a ride or going to pick someone up. And the list goes on. The time leading up to church services is HECTIC. Add to that, the days prior have been busy. As is often the case for many of us, we have a full plate, but we are also “squishy” and therefore also get used to “plug holes.” We pitch in and make things happen for family, friends, coworkers, others in the Church…and most of those things are good and healthy. But it means we walk into church already fairly “high strung.” And then there is the service itself. I am keeping an eye on the visitor to make sure they are made comfortable and welcome, while also keeping in mind that Sis. Susie had a hard week and probably needs me to find an appropriate time during the service to go pray with her and be an encouragement. Someone has gone to the altar and we don’t let anyone pray alone in our church, so I join them and begin praying with them, or I’m leading worship and I’m constantly seeking direction for when to change songs, what to change to, etc. I hear the service, I get a blessing, and I learn something from the Word that I can apply and work on in the coming week.  But ultimately, what that looks like is Martha, sitting perched on the edge of a chair for a few minutes listening while her mind is partially busy with things that still need to be done.

I have been there, enjoyed being there, and gotten benefit from being there…but, I haven’t been Mary. Mary wasn’t perched on a chair ready to jump up at a moments’ notice. She was sitting on the floor at the feet of God, and nothing else mattered to her but absorbing everything He had to say. It didn’t matter if He said something encouraging or something that would cause conviction – she was just there to soak it all in without distraction.

I’m going to say something some of you may disagree with – but I don’t think it’s always wrong to be Martha, hearing and interested, but also ready to jump and serve on a moment’s notice. Yes, I believe we should spend some time putting the week behind us and even the busy-ness from before service aside and refocusing. But there are needs within a service to minister one to another, lead in various capacities, and be used of God. There is work to be done in the House of God in each service, and it’s not wrong to do those things. But there are also times when it’s time to land at the feet of Jesus and just not care about anything else. Maybe we need to ask Jesus, “Is this a service where I need to be focused on serving others or is today a service where I need to just sit down here at your feet and let you pour into me?”

I do not resent the work I do in the Kingdom, I do not resent the busy chaos that goes with ministry, and I do not resent the necessity of making pouring into others my top priority. But I have learned that every now and then, I have to sit at the feet of Jesus and not move. Not jump when I see an empty tissue box. Not go pray for someone I know needs encouragement. Not fill in on the drums because the drummer left and went to pray. I will be honest, that takes a while to be able to do that. Often, I have to grit my teeth and force myself to sit still for quite some time as I SLOWLY shift from “high strung” servant mode to quiet, focused, and receptive to the voice of my Savior. But, oh how I love those times! It matters not at all to me if He chooses to take me apart piece by piece, clean the pieces and put me back together, or if it’s a day of building me up and giving encouragement, or if it’s a time for Him to give me a direct rebuke and redirection. I don’t care WHAT He does – I just need to be safely in His hands, completely and without reserve. I will go back to serving soon enough, but every now and then, just let me crash at His feet and stay there until He has finished with everything He wants to say.

Learning to Love the "Uncomfortable Zone"

I have learned in serving God that one of the keys is becoming comfortable being uncomfortable.  I know, I know, that sounds like an oxymoron.  But hear me out.

Consider with me a few examples from scripture.  The disciples are in a boat and a storm is raging around them.  Amidst the worry about the storm, they see a figure walking on the water!  It’s storming, so they are already in danger, and now there is a man walking on water towards them.  That is just plain SPOOKY!!!  We laugh when they thought it was a ghost because we have the whole book with the end of the story, but they didn’t have that.  For all they knew, it was death coming to claim them!  At that moment, they were distinctly UNCOMFORTABLE.

Now let’s move along and talk about a blind man. I’m going to nickname him “Tom” for ease of reference.  Tom has been sitting begging for years, unable to see, and in those days, there were not ADA compliant buildings, computers that talked and read things for you, or seeing eye dogs.  That’s not an enviable position to be in under any circumstances.  Life is already hard, and then this man Jesus comes along.  Envision him listening as Jesus explains to the crowd that he was born blind for the glory of God and wondering exactly what glory God was getting out of his malady.  Then, a sound different than the din of voices catches his attention.  Remember, being blind, Tom’s hearing would have been impeccable.  Imagine his thoughts and emotions as he hears the distinctive sound of spitting, and then feels something wet and gooey being wiped on his eyes!  Friends, that had to be UNCOMFORTABLE!

Or, picture being James and John, the sons of Zebedee.  It’s just a normal work day for the boys and their dad, and kind of a boring one.  Instead of being out on the water with the wind in their hair fishing, they were stuck sitting and mending nets.  But it was part of the job and the guys passed the time, maybe telling fishing tales about the one that got away as they worked.  Suddenly, this stranger walks up and introduces himself as Jesus and tells James and John He wants them to leave the family fishing business and follow him.  Can you imagine?  Something tells them this is the opportunity of a lifetime and a burning inside pushes them to accept and follow the man.  But to do so is to leave the financial security of the family fishing business and the comforts of a “normal” life.  And to make matters worse, Zebedee is sitting there amidst the nets spluttering about this being an irresponsible and foolish idea and surely they aren’t actually going to consider it are they???  A decision must be made on the spot – to follow Christ or not.  That was an UNCOMFORTABLE position to be in!

Or how about the Day of Pentecost?  Those gathered in the upper room have just received the Holy Ghost and others, hearing the commotion have gathered and begun to ask questions.  Peter starts to preach and tells them that with wicked hands they had murdered the Lord of Glory!  That’s a rough accusation, and what made it worse was when he said it, they realized he was right!  Peter’s words suddenly felt like a knife stabbing them in the heart as they were faced with the reality that they had willingly and knowingly killed, not just an innocent man, but God in flesh!  That was an UNCOMFORTABLE moment!

Move forward in time with me and walk with Peter and John toward the temple at the hour of prayer.  They see a man they had seen many times before.  The poor bloke was lame and had been since birth, left with no way to make a living besides begging at the gate.  Peter and John don’t have any money, and they see this man and feel bad for him.  What a difficult life he was living!  But suddenly, God nudges Peter’s heart and tells him, “You tell him to stand up and walk in my name!”  Imagine being Peter at that moment.  If he does it and nothing happens, he’s going to embarrass himself and the lame man and he’s probably going to make the lame man very angry, especially since he has no money to make up for making a spectacle of him!  Peter now has to decide if he heard from God and has the faith to follow through, or if that was just a stray thought.  If I were in Peter’s shoes, that would have been a horribly UNCOMFORTABLE moment!

Now, as Paul Harvey used to say, let’s look at “the rest of the story!”  Get back on the boat with the disciples and the “ghost” walking across the water.  That uncomfortable moment suddenly becomes an opportunity for Peter to experience an incredible miracle of walking on water with Jesus (which included some additional uncomfortable moments) and then Jesus got in the boat, calmed the storm and got them safely back to shore.  They learned the critical lesson that Jesus will always come through as savior and protector, but they had to be uncomfortable first. 

Now, let’s revisit Tom, the blind man.  Slimy spit stuff on his eyes – an uncomfortable moment – led to him receiving his sight!  He can see, he can work a job, he can get married and have a family and provide for them…  He just got handed the fullness of LIFE in one moment when, instead of stopping Jesus and saying, “Hold up, Bro!  I just heard you spitting on the ground and now you’re reaching for my face…what exactly do you plan to do here?” he stood still and let God make him uncomfortable long enough to work a miracle for him.

James and John made the difficult decision to follow this man.  The Bible doesn’t tell us if it caused a family rift, or what plans they had for their own futures they may have given up because of their choice.  It tells us only that there were given the incredible opportunity to spend 3 years walking and talking with God in the flesh.  They saw miracles, heard Him teach with their own ears, and got to be part of the foundation of the Church! 

Stand with those on the Day of Pentecost and hear Peter’s sermon.  They had to choose to stand there and face the horribly uncomfortable conviction and all of the emotions that went with it, or get angry, tell themselves Peter was delusional and storm off.  By forcing themselves to stay there, accept their own guilt, and experience true sorrow, they received forgiveness and the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost!  What a lovely trade for a half hour of being uncomfortable!

And finally, walk along with Peter and John as they follow the formerly lame man who is happily dancing a jig all the way into the temple, praising God and rejoicing.  Surely, Peter must have been thankful he chose the awkwardness of telling a crippled guy to get up and walk over the security and comfort of just avoiding eye contact and walking past when he felt that nudging of the Spirit to act.

Roller coasters are a major attraction at theme parks around the world.  Why?  Because they create the feeling of hair-raising danger with insane heights, flips, spins, and sometimes even riding backwards all with the safety and security of knowing you will come through the ride alive.  It’s an adrenaline rush like few others!  People pay lots of money and then wait in line for hours to get on a roller coaster and ride it, grinning all the way, because they trust the engineers and safety inspectors who designed and maintain the ride.  Living for God is not all that different in some regards.  If you do it right, God will repeatedly put you in situations that will scare you to death.  But if you will learn to trust Him, you will eventually develop the confidence that regardless of how dangerous the next “corkscrew” looks, the God who designed this ride intends for you to walk off at the end safe and sound.  If you stick it out and let Him put you in those “uncomfortable” situations often enough, you will get so accustomed to it that you not only ride the ride with a big grin on your face, you start asking Him to do it again!  (And for those of you thinking, “yeah, and I don’t ride roller coasters in the natural either” … He can find a Scrambler or Kiddie Coaster for you while you develop some confidence!)

“God, I want to see You work miracles and I want to be the instrument that You use to make it happen!  Need to make me uncomfortable?  No problem.  My palms may be sweaty, my stomach may be in knots, but I want to see the Glory of God!!! 

I’ll go tell that person about the God who can heal them and offer to pray for them on the spot.

I’ll walk on the platform and sing with my voice squeaking and knees knocking if that’s what it takes to see the Presence of God sweep through the house in stunning waves of glory.

Need to convict me of some things and make me see my own faults and errors?  Send me a preacher and let him preach to me!  I’ll fall in an altar and repent when he’s done, because I want everything You have for me! 

Need me to walk away from my own plans for life and the future I had mapped out?  You have an imagination bigger and better than mine.  I’ll gladly trade my plans for Yours because I have no doubt Your ideas are better. 

I may think mud made from spit is a disgusting approach, but if that’s how You want to go about giving me the miracle I so desperately need, bring on the spit!”

 

 

I'll Remain Still

I recently heard a song by Clint Brown and a few lines caught my attention. “I lay down my will…I’ll remain still in your hand…Lord, I will follow…” The next morning, God stopped me with a question:  how often do I miss His conviction because I rush past it instead of remaining still in His hand? 

My intent is never to rebel or refuse to let God deal with me, but so often, I rush past things without examining them.  I assume something isn’t applicable to my situation after a quick “glance” when careful examination would say otherwise. Or, I just don’t slow down and search my heart as I encounter His Word.  Some topics are so “routine” that it’s easy to stop being careful with them. And some things I consciously or unconsciously don’t want to deal with. In all cases, it’s far easier to keep moving (singing the next song in worship service, writing down the next point in my sermon notes during the preaching, or moving on to running the next errand or washing the next dish in my daily life) without ever making myself stop and remain still in His hand while He examines, convicts and gives direction. I want to follow – but to successfully surrender my will and follow, I have to make stopping and remaining still a regular part of my daily life.

Provoke One Another

Hebrews 10:24 - And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

I will never forget sitting at the piano as the pastor was preparing to close out that service.  I was a mediocre musician at best, with a lot of insecurities that further limited my skills. I was playing the piano because the church had only one piano player and she was struggling spiritually.  As the evangelist’s wife, I offered to step in and give her a break during altar services for the duration of the revival. The pastor was a guitarist, so he understood music and the challenge of being a musician. As he was winding down, he turned to me and asked, “Do you know XYZ song?” I smiled and said, “I’ve never played it.” And began scooting off the piano bench so my musically talented husband could take over. The pastor stopped me with a look and a very softly spoken, “You CAN play this.” Nobody in the congregation would have picked up on what had just happened, but I knew better than to argue.  I meekly sank back onto the piano bench, nodded when he named a key, and began to play.  To my surprise, he was right – I could play it – and did so without missing a chord.

There are some things we do easily on our own.  Other things, we struggle with.  That’s why Hebrews tells us to provoke one another. When we hear “good works” we automatically assume that being provoked should be easy because it is a good thing, but the reality is, if it was something we WANTED to do, nobody would have to provoke us.  Too often, it’s a good work that we feel inadequate for or intimidated by. That’s why a certain amount of submission is required. Ephesians 5:21 says, “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” When one of our brothers or sisters begins to provoke us to a good work, we have to submit to being pushed in the right direction, even when it’s outside our comfort zone.

The pastor of the church provoked me to a good work that day.  I didn’t argue, I didn’t fuss at him later for scaring me, and I didn’t pretend to misunderstand and let my husband play anyway – I allowed myself to be provoked. That would be one of MANY times I quietly allowed myself to be made very uncomfortable at a piano because the minister in charge of a service understood my insecurities and decided to push me past them. They understood, better than I did, that if they could provoke me to good works one song at a time, eventually, I would overcome some of those fears and be a more usable tool in the hand of God when it came to facilitating worship in the congregation.

What are your spiritual leaders or brothers and sisters in Christ trying to provoke you to? Are you submitting to their attempts to provoke you?