Be No Stumbling Block: Judging Others

Today's Scripture Reading:

For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God. Let us therefore, not judge one another any more: but rather judge this, that no man a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brothers way. Romans 14:11-13

If you have been with me for a long time, you will know that years ago I was in a church whose teachings were...somewhat extreme. My dad used to call it a "borderline cult." And after I finally left it, I came to agree with that. 

When I left, it was after some things had happened within the church itself that I found questionable, but leaders refused to speak of or explain, and did not want their people to discuss them. And we wee told not to and if we tried to, members were to dissociate with them. But for awhile, I questioned myself that having left, did I also lose my salvation. Which is a typical teaching in a churches or groups of people that in cults. They didn't really allude to it in this particular church, (at least not the I can remember) but, that I even wrestled with it in my mind, was plain crazy because I had been saved as a child, grew up and got away from the Lord at the time, and came back to him and knew with out a doubt that I loved him, he loved me and I was trying to do what he wanted me to do.

But there were those questions still.And that went on for a few months. But every morning in my devotions, I would read what God's word had to say to me. And one day, I opened it to Romans 14. And the whole thing stood out to me. As if you read up into the scripture before these, you will find that Paul, was writing to the early Christians,  about the subject of judging their fellow Christians. That was going on in the church I was in, and it came right down to doing that to me, as well. 

It came to me, that according to those scriptures, they had no right to judge me or anyone else. They had no clue to what I was going through at the time. And I have written before on some of that, so I won't go back to that this time. But my life had been a mess and I was struggling just to get through everyday. They knew of some of it, and just knowing what they did, they should have been ready to give me help with some counseling or whatever else they might have been appropriate. But, instead, I was alone and hurting. God was the only one I could really depend on and I know the one I should have only needed. But, I could have used someone that just could have said, "We are here for you." And I didn't get that. 

When I read that in verses 11-13, it was what freed me from the stuff that tied me to that church. The Holy Spirit had used it to show me that I wasn't lost. He still had me. And I had him. Praise the Lord!

But it hasn't ended there with me. I have learned in later years, how we should not judge anyone. Sometimes I forget, and complain. But it always comes back that I do not have that right because I do not know what most people have been through. Even in my own family. On them, I can take a good guess in most. Because I went through some of the same things with them in my youth. But as our lives went different ways, what had they continued to go through in their life, and what new things things had been added along that I cannot understand. And so, likewise with myself. 

We cannot fully know anyone circumstances, nor their heart. And so, we are not to judge them. And one reason along with the fact that we don't know what they have been through, is that Mathew 7:1-2 tells us not to judge because however we judge, we will be judged as well. 

So I do try to not judge others, and instead, offer my ear to listen, or advice (which is rare) or any help that I can give, that they may need.

And it frees me up to not having to think about the negative things that I would have, if I am always judging them. How about you? It is something to think about.

Thanks for coming by Friends. God bless your day!

Which is Better? Living in fear or Trusting in God?

   

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, , neither sorrow or crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things shall be passed away. Revelation 21:4

In light of all that is going on in the world today, yea even in our own lives be it some kind of sorrow, or pain of any kind, from emotional to physical-the promise for those that truly love God and have asked him into their lives-is one that we so look forward to, as our time ends on earth, or at the time when Jesus comes back for those that are still here at that time.

This virus that hit us in March has literally scared the begeebees out of many people. And it has hit some of my family that way. When I go to the grocery store, people are wearing masks so that they don't catch it from someone else. And yet they touch items in the store, not wearing gloves, thus contaminating their cars when they get in them. And the masks themselves do not really protect them if they don't properly take care of them. 

There were people that didn't and couldn't even enjoy the July 4th holiday like they have in other years, simply because they didn't want to be around people during that time, even with their own families. 

I am not saying that we should not be careful. Or that it doesn't exist. I am saying, that if we truly believe God's word, he will take care of us. We are not to live in fear because he doesn't give us a spirit of fear. Instead he has given us a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7. 

And so while we take precautions in anything we do, we should not fear or even dwell on what could happen, but trust in him. 

And remember that one day, when it all said and done, he will wipe the tears from our eyes, knowing that even so we were imperfect and we do worry at times, and we sometimes forget to trust in him, and there has been pain in our lives....

   ...he will wipe all that from us and we will have no more.

Hello Friends, what a promise that is! When we start worrying, or crying or are in bed because of any kind of pain, we can hold on to that promise and know that it will not last for ever and when God wipes those tears from our eyes, life for us will never be the same. Have a blessed day!

Lord, I just can't......

But I say unto you, love your enemies and bless them that curse yo, do good to those that hate you, and pray for them that spitefully use you and persecute you; That you may be the children of your Father in heaven, for he maketh  the sun to rise on evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the righteousness. Mathew 5:44-45

Most of us have had someone in our lives that we have had to forgive. (or for some, not) There have been many times that I have to continuously forgive over and over.  Maybe even over silly things.

But what about those that have really done us wrong. I mean really.really done us wrong. And what if that person or persons are someone in our family?

I have a close relative in mine (Pam/not her real name), that has been going through an ongoing problem with her daughter (Kim/not her real name).for several years. They used to be quite close. Until a few years ago. Pam purchased a home and because of certain circumstances, put Kim's name on the deed with her. After that at some point, Kim met a man who was into drugs and she moved him in without her mom's permission. It was agreed though that the mortgage payment each month would be split 3 ways and for a few months that worked. However, in time, he pretty much forced Pam out of her own home because of the way he treated her and she was not going to take it.  She tried getting him out by legal means, but here she is several years later,  he is still living in her home. Consequently, during that time, Kim who was already addicted to alcohol, started using street drugs along with him and eventually their share of the mortgage payment stopped going to Pam.

But she had had to get an apartment and could not afford to pay the whole mortgage payment, so she has tried everything she could to get them both evicted so she could sell the property. To no avail. And why should they? They were living there free. At least until the mortgage company forecloses on it.

I could go on and on about that situation, but you get the picture. Pam has come to hate the boyfriend and has a name she calls him instead of his real name. I won't give it here, but it pertains to drugs. So she hates him for getting Kim, with whom she had once had a good relationship with, into the street drugs. And she hates Kim for staying with him because now the property has moved towards foreclosure which will hurt Pam's credit. 

And I get how Pam feels about the whole thing, because she is 70 years old and single. It has been her livelihood at stake and her good credit possibly going down the tube.

But in her rants and ravings to me about it all, she tells me she not only hates them but she will never forgive them for doing to her what they have done.

So, what does that situation have to do with that scripture in Mathew 5?

Pam is a born again Christian. She has been in church most of her life and delights in helping other people and serving God. So why after all this time, does he not answer her cries of help and done something to take care of this so that she doesn't lose her good credit, or worse yet, her own relationship with her daughter? She knows it is his battle. She knows he has the whole picture. She knows that he will take care of it in his own timing.

But she wants all that NOW! She has gotten tired of waiting, and has become bitter and it comes out of her every time she talks to me about it. She says she is trusting him, but then goes back to ranting about them.

If I am good at anything, it is being a good listener for people that just need to talk to someone and/or vent their problems to. I have had my own times like that, and I know it is not good to bottle things up. And if I feel I have something to say to encourage the other person, I do that.

I love Pam. And I wish God would do something. But outside of his will, neither of us can do anything. 

I had tried quoting Mathew 6:14-15 to her, which tells us to forgive so that our Father will forgive us. But if we do not forgive others, he will not forgive us.

I cannot fathom what Pam is going through. But that scripture says it all for me. I do want to forgive others, no matter their offence to me, so that I can be forgiven by my Father.

So is Pam in danger of not being forgiven? I cannot answer that question. God knows her heart. He does have the whole picture and hopefully he will make it possible for her to be able to do that. I do know that forgiveness is often a process. That is something that I have learned at different times in my life. And no matter how she feels right now, he will answer her cries. But she can't manipulate him into doing it before he is ready. And sometimes I wonder if that isn't what she tries to do. Probably without even knowing she is doing it.

And I also wonder, isn't that what some of us do at times. Try to manipulate God, even when we are in pain about something? It is something to think about.

Thanks for coming today, Friends. Have a blessed day!

Old Age

Even to your old age, I am he; and even to hoar hairs (gray or white hair) will I carry you: I have made and I will bear; even I will carry and deliver you. Isiah 46:4

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I discovered the above promise this morning in my scripture reading. I probably have read it sometime in my life, but not recently and if I had at one time, I had not grasp it in my mind and heart,  much less remembered it.

But in my life, I have learned something important. God gives us what we need, when we need it. And that goes for this promises in his word.

It reminded me of that poem: Footprints in the Sand. If you have never read it, I encourage you to do so. Especially if you are going through some trial in your life. It tells of a man that had a dream, and he was walking on the beach with Jesus and saw their footprints in the sand.  He saw his life as it had passed before him. But then, he noticed that one set of prints disappeared at the saddest times of his life. And so he questioned the Lord as to why Jesus had left him during those troubled times. Jesus had told him that he loved him and would never leave him, and when he saw the single set of footprints, those were the times that Jesus had carried him.

Indeed. Jesus has promised us that he would never leave us. or forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

But sometimes, we feel like he has. Even in our old age, and when our hair is graying. He is there. We just have to remember that and get it into our hearts so that when we go through the bad times, we know he is, without a shadow of a doubt.

And then, when he is ready....

.....he will deliver us.

Why?

Because, he loves us!!

Thanks for coming friends. May our God who loves us, richly bless you on this day!

The Psalm Trees of our Lives

I have never lived in a state that had psalm trees. Not until recently, that is. I have adult children that have lived around them for years and there have been times that we have visited them. And I always sort of looked down upon the trees with distaste. There are so many here. Like jungles of them in places. And they can have long branches of leaves that get brown and not so pleasant to look at.

But this morning, and reading God's word, I came across the following, scripture.

The righteous shall flourish like the psalm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat flourishing; to show that the Lord is upright; he is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him. Psalm 92: 12-15

Groups of them, jungles of them, stand strong and tall along highways, streets, and in yards. And even when the hurricanes hit, many of them are bent over, but they have survived the tests of their lives. 

To say the least they are plentiful here. Whether we like them or not. 

But reading that scripture and thinking back to when riding along side them from our truck and seeing all of these trees, I remember the story of Jesus when he entered Jerusalem as King on Psalm Sunday riding a donkey and the people were cutting tree branches down to lay on the road before him. I have been in churches that have used psalm branches in their Easter Services in remembrance of that day so long ago. And even though I did not find scripture that actually said they were psalm branches, (that I can find), it did give new meaning to me as I saw the psalm trees used in Psalm 92. 

The righteous shall flourish like the psalm tree. Those that come and are planted into the house of God will flourish in his courts. They will bear fruit even in their old age to show that he is upright and because of his righteousness, so are those that are a part of him.

There is no weakness in those that trust in him. Oh, sometimes we feel we are weak when we go through difficult things. Like I did over the July 4th weekend. But, the truth is, I did not break. Like the psalm tree that stands and then gets hit by winds of a hurricane, does not break, I did not break during a very crazy weekend. And in fact, have not broken over the course of the not so easy years that I have been on this earth.

I pray that for myself, and you too, that when we stand before the Lord, we can stand tall and not be broken because we have endured this life and not let those things take us down in our own winds that have come along. And he can then say to us:

"Well done, good and faithful servant." Mathew 25:21

Not because of our own righteous, of which we have none, but of his righteousness that comes to those that are truly planted in his house. Bless God!

Have a blessed day, Friends!

Psalm 65:5-7

By awesome deeds in your righteousness, you will answer us. O God of our salvation. You who are the confidence of all of the ends of the earth. And the far off seas;  who established the mountains by his strength, being clothed with power, you will still the noise of the seas, the noise of the waves.  And the tumult of the people. 


Thanks for coming by today, friends. God bless you.

America

For the next few days with the approaching holiday, I may not be able to spend as much time here as I would like. But I will do something each day, even if it i short.

For today, I would just like to encourage you to thank God that he gave us this great country! The United States of America.  Yes, America, a place where there is violence, the government fighting amongst themselves, our rights slowly being taken away, and all this virus craziness....

....is still the very best place in the world to live.

And frankly friend, to those that disagree, well they have a right to do that.

But, to them, I would say, "If you don't agree with what I have said, then  you have a right to also go to some other country to live."

Because what we have here in America is still the very place we can be. And God, has given it to us to love. 

Thanks for coming today, Friends. God bless!