What Are You Seeking?

Read: Deuteronomy 4: 29-31

“I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. - John 5:30

When I first gave my life to Christ, I kept forgetting that God has a perfect will for our lives. I went off on one detour after another, accomplishing good, but failing to walk in His will. Then I learned from Jesus’ example, and I started asking God to guide my steps moment by moment throughout the day. As I followed the leading of His Spirit, I found myself bearing much more spiritual fruit and feeling a deeper sense of fulfillment than ever before in my life.

 

As the years progressed, though, even after I did what I thought God gave me instructions to do, it did not turn out very well. I started to doubt that I ever even heard God’s voice. Therefore, I hesitated the next few times I felt the Spirit nudge me in a certain direction.

I withdrew from ministering to those He brought my way: I walked right past a person that He directed me to speak to, I ignored some sinful behavior in a friend that I knew would harm her, I smiled at an off-colored joke so I would not offend the teller. Eventually, I even rolled over in bed one more time instead of getting up early to read my Bible.

Thankfully, God got my attention. I learned that my murky vision was similar to the deep darkness just before the dawn. God had wanted me to obey Him regardless of the circumstances, the consequences and the outcome. He showed me that He gave me these barren times of ministry in order to strip me of self-reliance and self-sufficiency and to teach me to stop using my human reasoning.

He just wanted me to draw closer to Him, to wait on Him and to obey His Spirit’s leading each and every time. I tentatively resumed my ministry to others. As I kept my eyes on Him and not on the state of affairs or the outcome of my actions, light appeared on the horizon. This new dawning helped me to clearly see God’s purpose behind His directions, even if the outcome was not what I expected. What I eventually learned was that my only responsibility is to obey Him, regardless of how or even “if” the other person ever responded. 

Prayer:

Lord, teach me to walk worthy of Your calling and to patiently wait on You. Do not let me fall into the trap of limiting my obedience to You, because I am depending upon results that I can see and measure. Help me to be willing to offend a friend or to look silly to someone I would rather impress, in the process of obeying Your Spirit one moment at a time throughout the day.

Thought for the Day:

God opens doors for us that we could never even imagine.

To Judge or Not To Judge

Read: Job 34:5-11

"Brothers, if someone is overtaken by a fault, you who are spiritual should restore him gently" (Gal 6:1).

A person reprimanded me the other day for daring to say that I thought it was good to point out our blind spots to one another. He inferred that pointing out blind spots requires a judgment, and that we should leave that to the Lord. He implied that it is God’s duty to point out blind spots, because that was the most effective way to bring about change in someone’s life.

If this was true, then we would have no doctors or counselors in this world, and no teachers or overseers in the Body of Christ (Hebrews 13:17). There would be no older women teaching the younger (Titus 2:4). There would be no teaching and admonishing one another (Colossians 3:16). We would leave all the healing and instructing for God to do.

Many people quote the verse, “Judge not, lest you be judged (Matthew 7:1).” If they would continue reading, they would find, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”

These verses actually encourage us to correct one another. They tell us to “remove the speck from our brother's eye.” If you ever had a speck in your eye, you know how good it feels and how grateful you are when someone removes it for you. But first, these verses caution us to clean up our own act, before we start giving advice to other people. They also warn us that we will be judged by the same standards by which we judge others. This reminds me of what President Harry S. Truman gave as a warning, “If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen!” In this case, if you can't take advice, don’t give it; if you can’t handle correction, don’t provide it.

‎In Job 34:4 Elihu said, "Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good." I love to learn together what is true and right and pleasing to the Lord. I feel so blessed when someone “mothers” me, even when they “smother” me with words of instruction and correction. I usually respond with a sarcastic, “Yes, Mother!” Then, I always encourage them to keep it up, because I know they only speak to me like this because they genuinely care about me.

In Galations 6:1, Paul encourages us to point out our blind spots to one another, "Brothers, if someone is overtaken by a fault, you who are spiritual should restore him gently." That word “gently” is very important. Rather than beating people over the head with the Bible, we can ask them what their motivation is for their behavior, then instruct them using scriptural advice.

Sometimes, people misinterpret our words or actions and they falsely assume we have a faulty motivation for it. I do not mind someone pointing out my faults, but I despise being falsely accused. I already do so many things wrong that to be accused of what I did not do, only discourages me beyond hope! In Job 34:5-11, Job says the same thing. He points out that he is innocent, but he gets no justice. He tells the truth, but he is considered a liar. He informs us that the feeling of contempt for him among his family, friends and neighbors is as plentiful as water. Did you ever feel this way? Eternity will tell the whole truth about our life, unvarnished by what anyone else thinks about us.

In John 8:15-16, Jesus said that human beings judge by human standards. He made it clear that He passes judgment on no one; but if He does judge, His decisions are right, because He stands with the Father who sent Him. That is why it is so important for us to judge with righteous judgment, once our heart is pure and as tender as softened butter. God calls us to discern according to Biblical principles rather than to pass judgment according to our own prejudices or opinions.

Jesus says, “Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” He gives us an example here of how we should correct each other, by helping our brothers and sisters to stand in righteousness. Judging with derision and contempt, correcting with condescension and pride, or rejecting someone due to their choices in life is certainly wrong. On the other hand, discerning a fault and correcting, admonishing and encouraging one another is a noble effort. Timothy is another Biblical author that encourages us to correct one another. He simply advises us to use great patience and careful instruction with love when we do so (2 Timothy 4: 2).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Job concludes his speech in Job 34:5-11 by saying that You are our judge. You repay a man for what he has done and You bring upon us what our conduct deserves (Lamentations 3:39). We do not need to be concerned about another person’s opinion of us. You have mercy on whom You will have mercy, and compassion on whom You will have compassion (Exodus 33:19). I am so glad that we can rely on your grace, and that Your love covers a multitude of our sins (1 Peter 4:8).

Thought for the Day:

“Those who mind, don't matter; and those who matter, don't mind.” - Dr. Seuss

The Triple Treat

Read: Romans 5:8-10

"For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." - Romans 15:4

I am amazed at the extent of God's love for us. He not only made provision for our Salvation through Jesus Christ, He also gave us the Bible with detailed instructions on every aspect of life. He did not leave us defenseless to survive a lifetime of trials and tribulation. The Bible gives us wisdom to live victoriously, even in these perilous end times.

Events, which are chronicled in today's newspapers, are predicted in God's Word. We know exactly what will happen and what to expect according to God's timetable. God gave us a triple treat: His Son, His Word and also His Holy Spirit. When the headlines threaten to douse our faith with fear, these three lead us on to victory as they comfort us every moment of every day. (Isaiah 43:2)

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, remind us that You have everything under Your control. Nothing surprises You, because You set it all in motion before the foundation of the world.

Thought for the Day:

The darkest hour of the day is always followed by the dawn.