Thursday, July 23, 2009

Do Not Pass Judgement

I feel like Christians are the most judgmental people. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't quick to judge. I think that the stronger you grow in your faith, the easier it becomes to be judgmental. It says repeatedly in the Bible not to judge others; Matthew 7, Romans 2, Luke 6. Its easy for someone to say they dont judge, but it is rarely true. If some guy approaches you asking for change, you are quick to judge and say he is just using the money to buy alcohol, which he might be but we dont know that for sure. In high school its easy to judge people on things like what they wear,who they date, and what they say, but once you get older those things start to matter less, however that doesnt mean that people quit judging. A majority of the time, a lot of Christians develop this mindset that they are better than non Christians or even better than other Christians that are not as strong in their faith. But the truth is that only God can judge us. That statement is used so much, but I think people rarely take into consideration what it actually means. It is impossible for us to know every situation that other people are in, so it can not be fair to judge on basis of what we perceive. God know everything about each one of us, after all he is our creator. If we think about him being our creator; he is the potter I am the clay, we are each a masterpiece. Created in a specific way for a different purpose. "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" (Matt 7:3) We are not perfect, so we have no right to judge others. if we see someone slipping in their faith, we should not be quick to judge, we should help them or at the very least pray for them. Its easy to be quick to judge someone else, and miss the faults in ourselves. Stacie Orrico has a song called "instead" and it really helps me remember to put myself in someone else's place before I judge them. Im a work in progress. :)

Stacie Orrico "Instead"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlhC6M9EM0E

Friday, July 10, 2009

Oh Summer.

Im following in Corey's footsteps and am getting one of these things to use as a tool of ministry. I think it is very important to talk about things you learn, but with school and a million other things going on, its hard to find that time. Well last night kind of inspired me to create my blog. You see, sometimes God uses the most unexpected people in your life. More than anything else, I absolutely love when I reconcile with someone that I have had drama with in the past. It's such a blessing to me when I can forget things that happened in the past, and help someone with the trials and tribulations they are going through. Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to deal with. I was reading through some quotes and one of them said "most people come to forgive, but not to be forgiven." This really caught my attention because most of the time we don't consider that we need forgiveness. However, chances are, that when someone hurts you....you say bad things about what they did, and how you dont like them, so on and so on. But that in itself is not only hurting them, its also hurting you. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:37 (NIV). It is so easy to concentrate on other people, and not on ourselves. Forgiveness takes courage. Most of the time, we let anger instead of love control our emotions. If someone hurts us, why not tell them? Maybe in some way, you have hurt them also? We are very prideful people and we do not like to admit we are wrong. Forgiveness isnt a one way thing. Forgive and YOU will be forgiven. If God is willing to forgive us of our sins, what gives us the right to hold someone else's sins against them? I think the strongest person is the one who can forgive the person who has hurt them the most. If I had a challenge for everyone, I would challenge them to start praying for the people who they dont like, or the ones that have hurt them. I honestly believe that this is one of the biggest tests of faith, but also one of the most rewarding.
Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Ephesians 4:29