To Judge or Not to Judge

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How many times have you heard someone say we are not to judge others? How many take offense when they are told they are doing something wrong? How many times have you heard, "Even Jesus didn't come to judge us!" Yet, how can we stay away from what is wrong, if we don't "judge" it as being so? What do we do about this dilemma?

It's true that Jesus didn't come to this world to judge us. He came to preach the kingdom of God and to bear witness to the truth. But have no doubt ... Jesus will some day be our Judge. God is not only a God of grace and mercy, but He is a just God as well. He has committed all judgment unto Jesus Christ, and He has appointed a day for the judgment of the world to take place.

This task of judgment belongs to Jesus ... it does not belong to us. The Bible strongly warns us against indulging in judgment of others. Matthew, chapter 7, talks to us about removing the beam in our own eye before we consider the "mote" (speck) in our brother's eye. It warns us not to judge others, that we might not be judged. And if that's not enough, Romans 2: 1-3 warns us that we condemn ourselves when we judge others!

However, while judgment is forbidden in Scripture, admonishment and reproof are actually encouraged in the Word of God. We are urged in Colossians 3: 16 to "teach and admonish each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs..." And the Bible goes beyond just advising and encouraging us to admonish each other. It implies that admonishment and reproof are our duties. II Timothy 4: 2 tells us to "...reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." And Titus 2: 15 tells us to "speak and exhort and rebuke with all authority."

So, where do we draw the line? Judgment is forbidden, but admonishment, reproof and rebuke are encouraged, and even commanded. Perhaps a good way to begin looking at this issue is to remind ourselves just what the whole point of reproof is all about. What is its purpose? And what is reproof supposed to accomplish?

Judgment carries with it the element of finality. Reproof, and even rebuking someone, carry an element of learning, repentance from sin, and restoration to unity. Is our intention to teach another? Do we want to correct them so that they may be brought back into the way of righteousness? Even in our sharp rebuke, is the soundness of the person's faith our motive? Godly reproof will help someone recover themselves out of the snare of the devil. And this recovery always brings honor.

We need to be sure about our own motives before reproving another.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?

Poverty Mentality

This morning a friend posed an interesting question concerning our human, natural instinct that circumvents "change" at all costs. Change is not easy for us, as she so eloquently put it.  Since this is a topic that I write about, I was interested in what she was saying, and I posted on her query. Also, since she is a nutritionist and very active in helping people overcome health issues, the subject naturally leaned in that direction as well.  I'm hoping that you benefit from the conversation below:

Angela: "Thinking about some lessons as of late about how we live in a spirit of poverty. Pondering this, this morning about how we let the spirit of poverty control us or make us believe wrong things about God's promise of His provisions. I'm not talking just finances either. Mulling over the spirit of poverty and how it can creep in and we can find ourselves impoverished: mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially and physically. How does it affect us? Are we sick/sickly/tired/run down because we believe our "condition" can never improve? Are we distant in our relationships because we have been hurt? Are we spiritually awake in our lives? Financially is there hope that things will change for us? Can and will God truly meet all of our needs?  Will our circumstances ever change?  Things to ponder in light of "He will supply ALL our needs" What do WE need to change in our belief patterns, faith patterns, emotional patterns, and behaviors? Can we begin to ACT as we should believe....that He WILL supply for all our needs.

"Jane, too often, I feel, or rather, believe, that it is our BELIEFS that keep us stuck in the poverty. Now, I'm not talking when $$ is TRULY so tight. I'm not trying to harass anyone here about just "get up and get yourself out of poverty. It's real, it exists. But I know you work very strongly with faith and belief patterns. I'd love if you could share some thoughts here......how CAN we begin to move in faith and belief and move towards actions of changing our lives and coming out of the different types of poverty in our lives. Will you share?"

Jane: "Sure, Angela. But as you have said, it's not just a matter of "get up and get yourself out" ... of anything, poverty mentality included. Believe it or not, this is what "Duct Tape for the Christian Mouth" is all about ... changing old, unproductive and/or inappropriate thought patterns and belief systems, habits and traditions.

"The REAL issue is to get back to the root cause of the belief. Are we believing something that is true, or not? If it's not truth, do we still want to hang onto that belief? Often when I'm asked this question, I compare it to hoeing weeds. I just can't wrap my brain around the principle of hoeing weeds! I do understand that we need to get rid of those weeds, or they will overtake our yards, and then some! But hoeing them only takes off the top of the weed. There's still a root system underneath the ground, and that root will grow thicker, fuller and bigger now that we have taken off its head ... and we'll have an even greater problem than we had before!

"The same is true with our beliefs, ideas, attitudes and habits. We must get back to the root cause. And then we must choose. Our choices are: 1) to still hang onto that old way of thinking, OR 2) to toss it out like yesterday's trash, and replace it with TRUTH!

"While this is not an easy process, especially since we are strong willed, independent and most often comfortable with what is familiar to us, it is possible. It depends on how bad we want it. How badly do we want change, even change for the better? What is priority in our lives, we will find time for. We will find a way.

"This is true not just with the poverty mentality that you're talking about, but it's true even with our health. I was literally forced into taking a step back and doing something on the offensive about my health. I've always wanted to "grow old gracefully." But there came an issue in my life (migraines) that caused me to re-work my thinking. At the same time I was developing migraines, I was also developing an allergy to drugs. While sitting in the allergist's office one day, I read a poster on his wall about the immune system. It fit right into my belief that God created our bodies to be healthy, and to ward off illnesses when they attack. And He gave us the "equipment" to do it. One of those things is our immune system. When the immune system has a glitch in it, that's when it loses it's ability to ward off that which would make us sick.

"Long story made short, I realized that I needed to take the pain medicines the doctor was prescribing, when the migraine hit. But I also realized that while those drugs were getting rid of the symptoms, they were doing nothing about getting rid of the root cause of those migraines. And just like those root systems that I talked about above, the root cause of the migraines needed to be dealt with. That's when I started going on the offensive with my health.

"And a change in my thinking processes and belief system was necessary to carry it out. Are nutritional supplements and foods expensive? Yes! But I'd much rather spend my money on supplements that KEEP me healthy, than on drugs to GET me healthy. It's taken a while to get to this place, but most times now I don't even have to medicate it when I get a headache!

"This principle of change is crucial to our lives! Freedom without responsibility equals chaos ... and chaos is what has happened in our minds and in our bodies of late. For more information on this subject, please see "Duct Tape for the Christian Mouth." 

Those are my thoughts, what are yours?

Tate Publishers, or wherever books are sold

 

 

 

Why Do People Falter?

Available at Tate Publishing

Interview question asked of me: "Why do you think so many people tend to falter in their beliefs when times get tough?"

My answer: 

God gave us 5 senses … hearing, sight, taste, touch and smell. He gave us those abilities so that we could stay in touch with the world which He created for us to live in.  He also gave us His Spirit, so that we could stay in touch with Heaven. He also had to create us with an awesome power, called the power of choice. (That’s another story for another writing! ;o}) In our self-willed, self-centered, independent nature, we have grown into a state of becoming more and more “dependent” upon our five senses, and less and less dependent on God’s Holy Spirit. What we can hear, see, taste, feel and smell has become more real to us than what cannot be detected by those five senses.  The world has become more and more dominant in our lives, than what comes after this fleshly life is over.  Worldly “reality,” instead of spiritual “truth.” That which we are used to depending upon (the world), fails us when traumas and tragedies strike because what has not been developed in our lives(spiritual relationship with God), is then not as obvious to be found when those hard times hit. It’s like exercise. Exercise strengthens the physical body, and then when that strength is needed, it has already been developed. Without even a moderate amount of movement (exercise), that strength would not be there when we need it. It’s the same way spiritually and emotionally.

Yet, there’s still something within each of us that’s crying out for the spiritual. We see it all over the place in this day and age, especially through the entertainment industry. There are more ghost chasing stories, more stories about mediums and the like, more stories about spiritual powers, on TV and in the movies today than ever before. The problem is that God (and we) has an enemy; he’s the father of lies. He’s the one who deceived Eve all the way back in the Garden of Eden so many years ago, and he’s still around today trying to deceive anyone who will listen. And through his deception, who God really is and what He will or won’t do, gets twisted in our minds and hearts. It’s so critical that we know where any spiritual “power” comes from, so that we do not fall into that deception. Because guess what? That deception will also fail us in times of need. 

God is the only One who sustains. I’m aware that many go through tough situations without the knowledge of His existence, but truthfully, I don’t know how they do it. Without Him and His real and active presence in my life, I would not be here writing these words. There’s absolutely nothing like a touch on your mind and/or heart by God when you’re at your deepest, darkest point. Circumstances may or may not change, but you surely will.

Survival of the Fittest; Surviving in this Financially-Driven Society

Surviving in this financially-driven society has become quite a feat. A long time ago, I made a conscious choice. I decided that I never wanted to be rich. I wanted to be able to "make it," ie: pay my bills, and have a little left over for the extras that I'd like to do or have. But I didn't want to be wealthy. The reason? Because I wanted to be liked or not liked, as the case may be, for who I was ... not for what I had.

There's a story told in Luke 15: 11 - 32, about a young man who was disheartened with his life at home. We don’t know the details of this young man’s growing up years or the reasons behind his displeasure and malcontent. We don’t know what type of personality his family members had or what type of personality he had. But because of what happened next, we do have a basic understanding of his family’s financial status. The young man wanted to leave home, so he went to his father and asked him for his inheritance. His father, operating out of wisdom that we are hard-pressed to understand until later on in the story, went along with his son’s request. The son then took that inheritance, left the “confines” of his home and family, and went to a faraway place.

It wasn’t long before the son was in trouble. He spent all his money on riotous living, and while he did so, he was deluged with friends. But soon the inheritance was gone, and because of that, his so-called "friends" left him as well. It so happened at about that same time, that the land he was living in began to experience a disastrous famine. Food was scarce. This prodigal son had no money left,  and no friends around to help him. So he was forced to seek employment. A neighborly citizen of the land hired him and sent him out to feed his pigs. The prodigal son, who once lived “high on the hog,” was now reduced to feeding them.

There have been times in my life when I regretted making that earlier decision about my finances ... especially because it turned out to be exactly what happened in my life. The good part is that I have been blessed with friends. True friends. Real friends. Friends who have been with me through thick and thin. Friends who cared enough to care for me, and care about me. Friends who have not hesitated to confront me when I needed it, and friends who have had enough courage and compassion to put their arm around my shoulder when I needed comfort. And ... friends who have not run in the opposite direction because I had financial needs.

The seemingly not-so-good part is that I've lived most of my life from paycheck to paycheck. Those of you who are struggling in this current recession, understand what that means. There have been many times when I have wondered whether we were going to make it or not. This concern was exacerbated greatly because I have an inbred craving to get my bills paid on time, to keep my good credit standing, and to get out of debt. It was tough when the money ran out before the month did. But somehow we always had a roof over our heads, food on the table and clothes on our backs.

Because of the famine in the land, there soon came a time when there was not much for that young lad to eat. Eventually, he became so hungry that he considered eating the food he was giving to the pigs. Later, we will go on with the end of the story. But for now let’s examine just what it was that put this young man … and us … into the position of having to eat from a pigsty.

There is a saying in this world, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” It seems like somebody else always has “it” better. They have more fun than we do … or more money … or more laughs … or a bigger house … or a better car. Their kids behave better than ours … everybody likes them better … or they go on more vacations. They’ve got it easy, we’ve got it tough. Life is just passing us by. It seems like many people are discontent with their lives, just like that prodigal son. With the entrance of sin into the world, our relationship and communion with God was severed. We became separated from our Heavenly Father. At this occurrence, a vacuum was created — a hole, if you will – in our beings. We were no longer complete and whole; we were apart from the presence of God. So our self-nature filled in the gap. Instead of God being the center of our beings, self took the place. And with self on the throne, down we went.

The prodigal son’s experience personifies what we all go through. Self-nature becomes dominant, and selfishness is the outcome. Just as this young man, we want our part … and we want it now! The sensual lifestyle looks good, but we are blind to the realization that all that glitters is not gold. Focusing on the fleshly desires, our spiritual lives have become impoverished. When that happens, we generally hit the bottom of the barrel in self-degradation, humiliation, corruption, and disgrace. We have become “starved.” We have become blind to the truth that this fleshly life is but a wisp, a vapor that vanishes away after a short period of time. We have forgotten that soon we will be facing eternity, for our spirits will live on forever. This self-degradation … this separation … is something we may or may not even realize, depending upon whether our face is literally in the “pigsty,” or the stigma is spiritual and character related. In either case, we’ve all been there.

All that may look pretty bleak to you, but there is hope! As he came face-to-face with the food in that pigsty, a realization came to the prodigal son … the realization of what he had left behind. His father had servants, and they were eating better than him! He was dying of starvation, yet his very own father could restore him to life. All he had to do was go home! Once this unmistakable insight hit him, he immediately knew what he had to do. He decided that he would go to his father and admit his sin. The lad knew that because of his sin he was no longer worthy to be thought of as a son. So he would ask his dad to hire him on as one of the servants! Food, clothing, and shelter would once again be his, not to mention the fact that his life would be spared.

The prodigal son had an awakening, an awareness and conscious knowledge of his fragile position in life. He also had a revelation about what he needed to do in order for his life to be spared. One more thing he had at that point, which he did not realize that he possessed the moment before, was a choice. He knew where he was and knew what he had to do to get out of the mess he was in. Now he had a choice; he could do what was necessary (repent and go home), or abstain from action and stay like he was.

I've been faced with that same choice. While I've never had my face literally in a pigsty (thank God!), I've had to change the way I was doing things; change the way I handled my finances. Change details such as the way I grocery shopped, or the amount of clothes or household items I bought. Change the amount of cable channels I have had. But through the years, we've always had a roof over our heads, food on our table and clothes on our backs.  Looking back at some of those times in my life, I have no idea how we made it through those financial droughts. Well, yes I do. It was a God thing for sure.

I've also had to repent many times for my lack of trust and for my worrying. And I've had to get some priorities straight. Sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees ... and my financial life was like that. Now I've lived long enough to be able to look back on some things. And I can tell you in all honesty that it's God who sustains me. God is real, He's alive and He's a good God. And He cares about His children ... even their financial states.  We have all been separated from Him, as was the prodigal son separated from his father.  But we, too, have the same choice in life. We can repent and return to the Father. And place even our finances in His most capable hands, using wisdom from His Word to conduct our financial matters. And when we do, we will be among the "fittest."

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Your Heart is NOT Your Friend!

There came an issue of grief at one point in my life. I did the best I could to override the pain with prayer and reading and quoting comforting Scriptures. As I battled, a simple yet very profound thought came to me that I believe might help others as well. That morning I discovered that my heart is not my friend. Now, I know that sounds strange. But just for a minute, try to follow me in this: my heart wants to remember and feel the pain of child rebellion, my own as well as my children's. My heart almost constantly remembers and feels the pain of widowhood and having been alone for so many years. Always at the wrong moment, my heart slams me with the pain of rejection and betrayal. And we could go on and on. My heart is not my friend. No friend wants you to remain captive and enslaved to painful experiences.

            The question is why? Why do our hearts want to remember and feel such hurt? And the answer is…so it will never happen again! It’s the heart’s defense mechanism, so to speak, to remember everything that went sour in our lives so that we won’t fall into that same trap again. Remember this? Remember that? Remember how it felt? Our hearts don’t want to be hurt anymore, so they throw up walls of protection against being hurt again. We could give these walls names…anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, fear, to mention just a few. These things stand in defense of our hurting hearts, making certain that we “never do that again!” One thing about those walls, though: they may protect the pain that our hearts hold so that we won’t be hurt again, but guess what else they do? They also provide a barrier against God’s blessings and keep them from getting in! This setup that our emotions have developed keeps us focused upon self, and the end result is that we become unable to receive God’s promises and blessings.

            I’m not the only one this happens to. More than likely, you have experienced something similar as well. Later that evening, I received a phone call from a friend who was also going through a hard time. As he spoke, I was praying, asking God for wisdom. When my friend asked, I explained what was happening to him was that his life was being “tilled up” right then. Before you can plant seeds, the soil needs to be prepared. It’s the same with us, especially emotionally. When God is about to bring new things into our lives or head our lives in a new direction, our emotions and thought processes need to be tilled up so we can get rid of the old and replace it with the new. You see, while my heart is not my friend, God is. He’s your friend as well. God does not want us to remain captive to those negative emotions that are so painful. He wants us to live by the grace and power of His Holy Spirit. He wants us to walk (live) by the Spirit, not the flesh. “Walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,” He tells us in Romans 8:1-2. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

            God wants us to be more than conquerors. Why? Because as much as He loves us (and it can’t be emphasized enough here that Jesus loves each and every one of us, as individuals), there is something else just as important. There is a common good, or goal, as well. A purpose for being, if you will, which includes many more than just one individual. When we are in pain, it’s that pain we tend to concentrate on. Self becomes our focus. God wants…God needs…me (and you) to get past focusing on self and start focusing on the very important purpose for which He created us in the first place! Whether we realize it or not, God created everyone for a reason. You and I were each created for a purpose, and we have a mission to accomplish. Whatever that mission is for you, it’s an important assignment that no one else on earth can fulfill quite like you can. Focusing on the negative keeps self on the throne. Being stuck on self keeps us far removed from the goal, assignment, and purpose for which God created us. It keeps us far removed from others. The flip side of the coin is that focusing on our purpose for living keeps us focused on others. In focusing on others, our own pain subsides. There is no room left in our hearts for it.

            The greatest spiritual battle ever occurred in the garden of Gethsemane approximately two thousand years ago. On that evening, one Man, Jesus Christ, was on His knees before His Father, asking that this cup (this dreadful horror that Jesus knew He was about to experience) be taken from Him. Jesus didn’t want to suffer any more than we do. But He knew what was happening. He knew the purpose for which He was brought to earth to be born of woman and take on the form and flesh of man. He knew there was a great task at hand—salvation for all mankind—and He knew what had to be done in order to accomplish it. He didn’t want to suffer, but the bottom line for Him was that He wanted His Father’s will to be accomplished more than His own.

            Therein lies the heart of spiritual warfare. Trusting that the Father knows all that’s happening, that He’s in control of it all, and wanting His will to be done even when it doesn’t line up with our own. Even when it seems like the darkness of the night will never give way to the light of the dawn. Because there’s a greater good at stake. Jesus struggled so much with what He knew was coming…the suffering He was to endure…that He shed great drops of blood. Yet he relented. He submitted to His Father’s will. It is because of His great sacrifice that you and I can have times of refreshing. Our greatest spiritual warfare battles will follow in His footsteps. They will not occur on a battlefield; they will take place on our knees. And what will be happening is that we will be overthrowing the reign that self once had over us, so that others can take its place. That’s when we will amazingly discover that the greatest spiritual warfare battles are followed by the greatest times of refreshing. 

These are my thoughts ... what are yours?  

Tate Publishers