Discipling the Undisciplined no. 24

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye” (Matthew 7:1-5). Remember, “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors”(Matthew 6:12)? And remember, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:44-45)? And how about even, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7)? Nope. I would rather do my best to justify that what I am doing is not judgment BUT something else. Maybe my judgment is righteous? Maybe judgment is there to correct sinners? Maybe my judgment is there to rescue folks from damnation? Nope. My judgment is always to create the other, the out group, the one that is lesser. My judgment is always to elevate myself and place a pedestal beneath me. “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; because the day of their calamity is at hand, their doom comes swiftly” (Deuteronomy 32:35). That wasn’t me talking in that quote, that was God.

It can be so easy to pass judgment on who is a sinner, a heretic, a nonChristian, when everything you do makes you saved. BUT nothing I do EVER makes me saved. God saves me through His grace. NOTHING I DO EVER MAKES ME NOT A SINNER. The only thing that ever justifies me before God, the only thing that ever makes me righteous, the only thing that ever makes me better, is God’s mercy and grace. And it makes me no better than anyone else because He gives His mercy and grace to everyone. All people are given His grace. That is kind of what it is all about. Nothing I do makes me worthy of grace and mercy. It’s a gift from Him. Nothing I do can repay Him for the gift because it is a gift. And whenever I feel myself thinking I am better at being a Christian, better at my study, better at my prayer, better at my routine, better at understanding God, I have to remember that none of that matters in salvation. God allows me to live the life He has set before me to serve Him. I need to not get things twisted and think that God owes me anything. I owe Him everything. And gratitude for that situation should humble my perspective on everything else.

And that is why I don’t like to say I am saved because I am not saved yet. I am working out my salvation. I am following Him. Just like everyone else, I am not deserving of salvation. BUT, just like everyone else, it is not up to me. Salvation is in God’s control. So, whenever I want to think that my calling makes me better, that my understanding makes me better, that my church attendance makes me better, that what I do makes me better, that what I don’t do makes me better . . . The only thing that makes me better is Him.

Grace and Shalom to your home. 

#DisciplingTheUndisciplined #ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #SeekFirstTheKingdom #ServeOneAnotherInLove #NotMyWayYHWH

Discipling the Undisciplined no. 9

“You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). 

“You shall not murder” (Deuteronomy 5:17).

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire” (Matthew 5:21-22). Before I move on in the Sermon on the Mount, I just want to make what Jesus said clear and show that it is directly related to the law given by Moses. There are no ifs, buts, or coconuts anywhere in there given by either God or Jesus because that begins to be what folks like to do . . . start with their behavior and then work an excuse back that God and Jesus did not mean exactly what they said. So, that is kind of where we have to really make a decision. That is really our choice. I have to decide whether I accept what God said no matter what I have been told, taught, and learned on my own. And that is one of the true challenges of reading, studying, and meditating on The Bible and trying to know God better. The challenge is to what we think we know. And it can be difficult to change. It takes a lot of courage to say I was wrong about this idea and I need to make some changes. 

I grew up in churches that talked more about America than the Kingdom of God. I still attend churches that talk more about America than the Kingdom of God. And living in a disjointed country that wants to constantly cancel folks for thinking differently, I am more than a little concerned whenever I speak up about that problem. When I mention that maybe the church shouldn’t have an American skycloth in the building, folks look at me like I just arrived on the planet. When I emphasize that we are ambassadors for His Kingdom and not citizens of any nation, I get met with the compromise of dual citizenship. When I talk about the idea that Jesus didn’t command an army or tell us to join one, I get glares and disdain from veterans in the church. And if I mention that we shouldn’t murder people, sometimes it feels like I am introducing an idea never before heard. But, I assure you, those verses are there and the model of Jesus in His life, death, and resurrection reveal to me how important it is to die for what you believe. So, I don’t appreciate the ridicule and the questioning and even the disdain and anger BUT I get it. Nobody likes to think they need to change their mind.

I sure didn’t want to change my mind about God. When I started this journey nearly four years ago, I was just looking to get healthier. I was tired of being garbage. So, I started out getting myself physically and mentally well. I made a lot of changes to my body and my mind and then it happened. God started scraping away. I started getting healthy and He started working on me as a soul. I wasn’t looking for God. I was content in just working out a secular philosophy on things. It was good enough for me until it wasn’t. Then I moved forward, all in, on looking at exactly what The Bible said and exactly what I had been told. I had a rather schizophrenic view of God and Jesus and the Spirit. I needed to get that aligned. God is all about unity and community. So, I wanted to get aligned with Him and went out into His community with a lot of reservations. And, let me tell you, I was right to be afraid of Christians because a lot of them are scary. Say one thing to which they do not agree and you are a heretic and burning in hell forever. And if I wasn’t committed to a relationship with God, maybe the KJV only folks would have turned me away. If I wasn’t committed to a relationship with God, maybe any of the folks that accused me of having a squishy faith would have turned me away. If I wasn’t committed to a relationship with God, then maybe the folks that got angry with me about questioning whether what they believed was really aligning with Jesus and His life would have turned me away. BUT I am still here although I never wanted to be here. I wasn’t looking for this. I think that speaks volumes. None of them have turned me away from knowing Him.

So, I am not going to endorse murder by any name or for any reason. I trust Him. He kind of has this whole thing planned out. So, am I going to rely on my plans? I can easily see that what I planned out didn’t go that way then and isn’t going to go my way ever. Life is going to go the way He planned. So, I might as well just listen.

#DisciplingTheUndisciplined #ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #SeekFirstTheKingdom #ServeOneAnotherInLove #NotMyWayYHWH