No right to judge

No right to judge
The Psalmist writes,
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-16
What this portion of scripture tells me is that God knows you intimately. God knows you right down to the DNA level. He knows exactly why you are the way you are. That is why only He can judge you. That is why Jesus tells us,
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”  Matthew 7:1
We as mere mortals cannot judge another person especially when it comes to where they will spend eternity, simply because we do not know why a person is as the way they are.
That being said Jesus warned.
“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1,2.
The apostle Paul said,
"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you." 1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
As Christians. As believers in Christ Jesus we have no right to judge those outside the church. Even when we judge those inside the church it should only be to tell whether or not they are presenting the gospel of Christ correctly.
Where an individual spends eternity is entirely up to God.
Tony Campolo the American Evangelist said,
“We ought to get out of the judging business. We should leave it up to God to determine who belongs in one arena or another when it comes to eternity. What we are obligated to do is to tell people about Jesus, and that's what I do.” Tony Campolo
Do you?
Please think about it.

Within you

Within you,
In the Gospel of Luke we read,
“Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,' or ‘There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."Luke 17:20,21.
Now while I firmly believe Jesus will come to this earth one day to judge the world and to rule the nations of the world. I also believe what Jesus said here.
“...the kingdom of God is within you.”
The apostle Paul writing
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  2 Corinthians 5:17.
If our commitment to Christ Jesus is true then we do become a new creation. We look at people from the point of view of Christ Jesus. The apostle Paul writes,
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.” 2 Corinthians 5:16.
The apostle John writes,
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1John 4:7-10.
It is my belief if someone is a believer in Christ Jesus they will show what the apostle Paul calls the fruit of the spirt. Paul writing,
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  Galatians 5:22,23 
So my question to you the reader. If you claim to be a true follower of Christ Jesus are you exhibiting the fruits of the spirit? Are you truly showing unconditional love to those around you?
Please think about it.

Why take human form?

Why take on human form?

The apostle John’s gospel states,

“In the beginning was the Word, 

and the Word was with God, 

and the Word was God.  

He was with God in the beginning. 

Through him all things were made; 

without him nothing was made that has been made.  

In him was life, 

and that life was the light of men....

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. 

We have seen his glory, 

the glory of the One and Only,

 who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ” 

                                                                  John 1:1-4,14.

One of the things Christians get asked is “why would God take on human form?” I think the answer is simple. To remove all possible excuses an individual may have when he stands before God on judgement day.
Charles Spurgeon said,

“A Jesus who never wept 

could never wipe away my tears.” 

                                               Charles H. Spurgeon.

In becoming flesh in the form of Jesus, God can honestly say I know what it is to be human.
Yes God is almighty and all knowing. Never the less there is just the possibility that on judgement day individuals could use the argument that “because God is all knowing and all powerful He can’t truly understand what it is not to be all powerful. What it is to be human.”
In coming to earth in the form of a man and experiencing what life is from the standpoint of a human being, God can honestly say I know what it is to be human.
I understand what it is to experience the day to day things, the sun and rain on my face. To smell the dust in the air. The smell of wheat growing in a field. I know what it is like to be an infant who’s family had to flee their home and become political refugees in Egypt. I know what is like to grow up as an infant. I was a teenager. I studied the scriptures. Sat with learned men.
I experienced everything from the joy of being at a wedding to enjoying the company of friends and family. I performed good deeds and did the miraculous. I even spoke of how to get to heaven.
That being said, I also know what it was like to be persecuted, put on trial for a crime I didn’t commit. To be beaten inhumanely, and put to death on a cross for mere political expediency.
In becoming human God eliminated any possible excuse an individual can give for not believing in Him.
Please think about it.

On Abortion

On Abortion

The Psalmist writes,

“For you created my inmost being; 

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

                                                           Psalm 139:13

The other day I listened to my little granddaughter Faith’s heartbeat. It was on a microchip inside a stuffed elephant belonging to my grandson Faith’s two year old big brother. The reason Faith’s heartbeat is in the elephant is because it was recorded during an ultrasound. You see Faith is still in my daughter in laws womb.
Hearing Faith’s heartbeat reminded me of the words from Psalm 139 that states,

“For you created my inmost being; 

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

                                                                  Psalm 139:13,14a

As I have said in previous blogs this portion of psalms tells us that God knew us from the inception of our lives. In our mothers womb. God knows why we are the way we are. He knows our DNA.
From this portion of scripture I also realize that we are alive in our mothers womb. We are a person in the same way we are outside the womb. Thus my belief abortion is wrong.
That being said I do believe a woman has the right to decide what she does with her own body.
At the same time a woman is also given a special responsibility by God to protect the child that is growing in her womb in the same way she would protect a child outside the womb.
There is almost no need for an unwanted pregnancy other than one caused by rape. Even then there is nothing wrong with bringing the pregnancy to full term and if the mother wishes having the child adopted. Allowing some good coming out of a traumatic experience. That good being a life that has unlimited potential.
That being said I believe the African proverb 

“It takes a village to raise a child”. 

     Which to my way of thinking means everyone especially our elected officials have an obligation to help both the child and his or her mother.
Governments can help by making birth control freely available.
One statistic I found, a US study, in 2012  of more than 9,000 women found that when women got no-cost birth control, the number of unplanned pregnancies and abortions fell by between 62 and 78 percent.
Abstinence-only approaches, do not work.
I think especially if one claims to be a Christian a follower of Christ Jesus. We should bring our children up with our moral values of no sex before marriage. Which in a perfect world should be enough to ensure unwanted pregnancies. However we do not live in a perfect world.  There are children even in Christian homes that will engage in sexual behaviour.
That’s why I believe even in a Christian home we have a moral responsibility to speak openly with our children about sex. To tell our children that we would rather them abstain but if they do not, various forms of contraception are available.
Additionally we should not heap condemnation on our children, or for that matter anyone, for having sex or for that matter getting pregnant outside of marriage. All sins are forgivable.
We need to remember the words of James the half brother of Jesus who said,

“Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,  

because judgment without mercy 

will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. 

Mercy triumphs over judgment!” 

                                                James 2:12,13.

At the same time we need to remember the words of Jesus who said,

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” 

                                                                              Matthew 5:7.

Which brings me to the picture at the top of this blog called “Memorial for Unborn Children”, by Martin Hudacek a sculpture from Slovakia. It depicts the anguish that some women can feel after having an abortion and the healing God can bring.
It to me illustrates that Christians should be there for any woman who has gone through with an abortion.
We should be there showing the Love of God remembering the words of Jesus who said,

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, 

and with the measure you use, 

it will be measured to you.” 

                               Matthew 7:1,2 

Please think about it.

God knows so keep to the script

God Knows so keep to the script

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
                                                                       Psalm 139:13-16.
The other day I listened to some very judgmental people speaking against the Gay, Lesbian, community. I heard condemning statements like “homosexuals are going to roast in hell.”
Later I listened to people condemning the Muslim community.
What bothered me more than anything was these people claimed to be Christian. If they were it was be the slimmest of margins. From their actions I did not see these people showing love for one’s neighbour.
Jesus when asked,
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  
This is the first and greatest commandment.  
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
                                                                                            Matthew 22:37-40.
The apostle Paul speaking to Christians said,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” 
                                                                                                1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
We as Christians have no right to judge of condemn anyone outside the Christian faith community.
Jesus told Christians,
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
                                                                             Matthew 28:18-20.
We as Christians will not win one person for Christ if we are judging them and yelling at them they are going to roast in hell.
Only God has the right to judge people because only God knows what is inside a person.
At the beginning of this article I quoted Psalm 139:13-16 that stated,
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
                                                                      Psalm 139:13-16.
God and only God knows what makes up a person be they Gay or strait. He knows why they follow other faiths. God knows all.
That is why He and only he has the right to Judge anyone.
My suggestion to anyone who claims to be Christian is stick to the script. Jesus gave to all who believe in Him. To reach out to the whole world in Love.
Let God through the Holy Spirit convict men of any sin they have in their lives and that goes for Christians and non-Christians alike.
Jesus said,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” 
            Matthew 10:16
Or as the New King James puts it “harmless as doves”
For it is only when we are considered harmless and non threatening that we can truly have open and free dialogue with others that will reach people for Christ.
Think about it.