Who Am I To Criticize? Luke 6.37

Who Am I To Criticize? Luke 6.37

Jesus said, "Don't judge, lest you be judged." I have dis-obeyed this so much! We in America hear criticisms¹ of Politicians, preachers, and even lay our own out against those we love the most. I am learning to take the corrections that I need, and lay aside the ones that are not going to help me follow the truth. I have wrongly re-acted so much to these false and destructive voices my whole life.

Few months ago I heard and also read just now again, a bible institute teacher sharing the following text and basic truths I need to remember;

"Nobody likes to be corrected. You see, there are different kinds of correction² or criticism. There is corrective criticism and there is malicious criticism and there is constructive criticism and there is destructive criticism. So you need to figure out which type of criticism it is." In Job 5:17 he says: "Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole."

"This means when God corrects you it is not going to feel very good, but there are people who do not have the same good intentions for you that God does. There are people who like to correct others and that type of correction becomes destructive correction. It comes from malicious people who are not only there to tell you your faults and blemishes, but they want to put you down. They want to put you away and castigate you and marginalize you. They want to be little you and do these evil things against you and those people are not there to build you up."³

I thank God for his gentle Holy Spirit conviction⁴ of my faults, weaknesses, and even out right disobediences. He is so wise in HIS ways of correcting me. Jesus said in Luke's Gospel, "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven" Is it not my place to condemn someone. Especially my own family members. It is written, “There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” ⁵ May we each be able to see our brother, sister, neighbor in a different light. Jesus was able to look into the eyes of a sinner and say, “I don't condemn you either”. With compelling love he says, “ go and sin no more.” May we have faith to be able to say “ Father, forgive them, they don't know what they are doing”, if someone is torturing or even executing us. G.W.

1 Criticism - to consider the merits and demerits of and judge accordingly to blame, to condemn

2 Correction - to criticize sharply : reprimand #2 - something substituted in place of what is wrong

3 Quoted from BLBI.org Servant Leadership – Lesson 20 Exhortation to Maturity, Part I by Pancho Juarez

4 Conviction - the act of convincing some one of error or of compellin gthe admission of a truth

5 James 4:12 NKJV

A New Tee Shirt Luke 12:11,12

A New Tee Shirt Luke 12:11,12

This summer a friend of ours came up with a good tee shirt idea, kind of like WWJD "What Would Jesus Do?" This shirt says, "Ask me about Jesus." The point to the message on the front of the shirt is to allow someone to tell other of their faith in Jesus.

Not all of us ready to be that bold. There are very few of us that are as emphatic as the African American Preacher Dr. S.M. Lockridge. In his message, " That's my King" he describes very thoroughly his Savior, Lord. His all in all. One can appreciate good enthusiasm. This type of Charisma is displayed by many when they follow their sports team.

The truth is we are all called to take the witness stand, and it should be a sober, humbling approach that we take when we are testifying for, or against, the man Jesus, Son of Joseph, from Nazareth.

This is the one who is declared by his Disciples today to be the promised Hebrew Messiah, God in the flesh. The one whom time and Calendars still acknowledge, even when science and schools are denying who he really us. Even when popular scholars are distorting him for who is really is and even what he said he was. The references that we make to B.C. and A.D. declare him as factual and historical. Have you ever read the Jewish historian Josephus?

The scriptures declare that we will all bow our knees one day, and confess that He ( Jesus of Nazareth) is Lord.

Right now, while it is called "today" we can call upon him to be our savior, but also choose to confess and obey him as our Lord.

In doing that we have a position to maintain, daily, and that is to take up our cross and follow him. It sounds like a lot of work and sacrifice, but HE is worthy of such an effort. It's kind of like me being able to pay $100 for the average NFL ticket. Would it be foolish to just let it sit on the dresser, or maybe even post it on the wall and not attend the game? Paying for a plane ticket, or spending the time and $ for gas and the drive to see our local team, "The Seahawks", or my current fav. "The Broncos" would be part of the commitment that I should follow through on, true?

Its my choice, even if the ticket was given to me free. Free, just like Christ's' redemption on the cross, given to "whosoever" will believe, so they will not perish. I can just leave that ticket laying there and look at it, toss it, or idolize it on the wall, like a WWJD icon. Should I try to placate my broken relationship with the Almighty by plagiarizing redemption, salvation, and restoration of relationship as a son with a Father, with mere religious jargon? It would be better hitch hike to Seattle a few days ahead of date on it, doing "what ever it takes" to get there and use my "free ticket" for what it was intended for.

Another part of the response that we can make to Jesus is to confess him before others. Jesus said it plain and clear:

"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. - Matthew 10:32-33 KJV

I heard of a woman who was able to make use of an opportunity to be a witness in her community. During the time period that she lived, it would have been unthinkable for a woman to accomplish what she did with a public impact like this:

Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. - John 11:45 KJV

Apparently, according to this reference, Jesus did not stick around after raising Lazarus from the dead, therefore the Jews came to Mary for the report of what Jesus had done. She conveyed what had happened or more importantly she confessed who Jesus was, and they went their way and told the Pharisees what she had testified of.

The new tee shirt that Marianne bought me has made me think of the strategy Jesus gives us as disciples when we are called to the witness stand, whether it be in our home, out on the street, or in a real court.

"When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say." Luke 12: 11,12 NIV

Martha, like Mary had taken to heart what Jesus had told her about that one needful thing. She got the point of "religion" It is not only about service, and accomplishments. It is about relationship, and that starts with acknowledging who the other person really is.

John 11:27b records what Mary and Lazarus' sister, Martha, declared in public:

"Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

She faced excommunication¹ from her religion in making a public statement like that. We think, well it's a no brainier, that any one seeing Jesus face to face like that would be able to know him rightly and boldly declare him to others. But how many of us have denied him at work to keep our position? How many times have avoided the questionable subject of my personal faith with relatives? There is help to be able to say the right words at the right time, if we will approach the throne of grace² and ask for it in our hearts.

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always ready to a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;" 1 Peter 3:15 NKJV

May we be ready for those divine appointments like Phillip had. May we be able to hear that still small voice, even if it just says to take a certain road or approach a stranger like he did. Jesus will give is the words to say! Especially if we are bold enough to wear a shirt, "just asking for it" G.W.

1 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. - John 9:22 KJV

2 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrew 4:16

Grace Is Not A Mystery Titus 2.11

Grace Is Not A Mystery Titus 2.11

It was a warm summer morning back in 1979. At 18 yrs of age I had already lost my license. As I was hitchhiking into town and noticed a car coming back and turning around to pick me up. It was Randy, a friend I had known in high school. Was he coming back to give me a ride because he knew me, or what had prompted him to turn around after passing a hitchhiker by? Well, first of all, who hitch hikes into town? I had studied the fine art of traveling across country by thumb for a couple years now, and no one gets a ride into town. The best place to catch a ride is just on the edge of town going out. Secondly, Randy had not seen me in three years.

The last time we talked he had come to my mothers home to see why I had dropped out of the Christian youth group where we had met. He smelled smoke and kept saying it looks like it was coming up from under the couch. I said, " no, there is nothing there," until it became visible and he looked under to discover my smoldering cigarette. That terminated our visit, as he left feeling very uncomfortable.

It had been three years of sex, and drugs, and rock and roll partying for me and now one of those Christians I knew from School days is picking me up. "This must some kind of sign," I thought to myself. "Did you pick me up because you knew me?" I asked as I got in the car. For a couple weeks I had been clean from using drugs and drinking. I had gone deeper into T.M. and Soul travel. For several days I had been seeking "truth" at an abandoned non-functioning commune farm a friend of mine knew about. What had gotten me to stop the drugs was a three day LSD trip that yielded nothing for me, and only destruction and pain for others that I was partying with. I was hungering for some thing that would last. Some thing real. What had really happened is I saw a young man, some one with a future, stick his hand right into a bon fire. Because of the drugs we were all on he did not perceive the pain to follow, but I will never forget his screaming. It was time for me to to find some thing better than all the trouble I kept getting into with the law. At that point I was able to quit going out and looking for the high, but was not able to quit smoking tobacco. As I stepped off that curb on July 13th 1979 I was about to experience grace, like never before. I had a variety philosophies and knew I needed some thing out side of my own powers, but up to that moment I had not given thought of going to Jesus for the help I knew I needed.

As a child, who Jesus had been was clearly taught to me. My parents would pray with me at bedtime, say a prayer at mealtimes, and read to me from a devotional book called "little visits with God." Through the traditions of the protestant church and at Sunday school I learned the basic bible stories of Christs' birth, life, death, and resurrection. Then one day, when I was about eight, I was playing in the back yard when a phenomena occurred. The sky was over cast, but out in the middle of the neighbors large field a light beam shone down though the dark grey clouds. I ran in to the kitchen and said, "mommy look, what is it?" My mother said, " Maybe its the coming of the Lord." I listened but did not understand, and then I went on back out to play. I never gave that experience any more thought until I was converted.

A couple of other experiences I had were with the Sunday school teacher at the local community church. My Dad would take me there on the Sundays that my Mom had to work. This lady was known for sharing the "good news" with every one. Even my foster brother who had returned from Viet Nam told of how had been cornered in her back yard for what seemed like hours as she compelled him to "accept Jesus in his heart." My invitation came to go into the closet at the end of a Sunday school class. I did so, by my own choice. On a following Sunday I chose to go into the same closet and pray again, trying to get what ever it was she was offering.

Once again, at 14 I had more encounters that were invitations to give my life to God. When an African American Evangelist held a meeting at the fairgrounds in our Nebraska town, another foster brother and I went into a side room after the service for counseling and prayer. The next morning I remember looking at the booklets that I was given and they were like a tech manual for equipment that I knew nothing about. About a year later I got invited by a fellow shop class student to a picnic. I did not know it at the time, but he had mustered all the courage he could to be able to ask me if I wanted to go. No one knew how tore up I was about our family life at home being broken and about to end in divorce. When the an invitation was given at the end of the outdoor meeting I fled forward and cried with pain for the Savior that I was hearing about. For that summer I hung out with a lot of the kids that revolved around a Saturday night bible study for youth. It was only a message that I retained as long as I was looking at it. It reached my mind but not my heart. The one relationship that I needed the most was not there. Eventually, when school started up and I tried and failed at sports, I started working part time and hanging with the wrong crowd. The summer friends slipped into the past and my search for a new identity began.

One night we were partying and I felt like I was going to overdose. I cried out to God and pled with him that if he would save me I would serve him. I did not forget my promise the next morning but neither did I seek him out. As I went on my way in life, chasing girls, wrecking cars, and landing in jail 3 times, my misery deepened. Finally, late one night I called a pastor that my Mom knew. This man had taken me to lunch once while I was in high school. He was trying in a very nice way to challenge me to commit my life 100% to God. Now here I was calling him out of the blue, and telling him I was ready to sign a contract with God. He said, "Greg, sleep on it and call me again tomorrow." Well, tomorrow never came. I spaced out his open invitation once again. He was testing me, and I was still was not ready. In the moment of crisis I was crying out for help to get relief from my troubles, but I had not been sincerely ready to submit to Jesus' authority.

Now I am riding in the car with Randy, who had been in and out of the air force, gotten married, and was living a "normal' life. He bought me a cup of coffee. He did not say much, I did most of the talking. I realized this was my day to be a disciple of Jesus, he was just marveling. I was asking him to take me back to the park where I had once prayed for a Savior in my life. Now I was praying for a Savior to keep me from the wrath that I deserved for my sins, not just save me from the troubles and hurts that had offended me. Now I wanted to know what it meant to let Jesus be Lord and have complete control of my life. Jesus was revealed to me in a new way. Has this grace been made known to you? Here is what it taught me. "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age," Titus 2:11,12

I did not become instantly perfect. But I was delivered from smoking. I was never tempted to use drugs again. A grace came over me in the area of morality. A significant sign of a converted person is their choice to change friends. I brought some friends with me over from the dark side and we started walking in the light together. Others that I tried to help, or old friends that I went to see just did not feel right to be around. Another old friend just showed up at my house one day, and said," what do I need to do, I want to be saved, and I heard that you have changed, Greg." The next Sunday a few of us "long hairs" we went into the little country church to listen to that preacher friend my mom knew. It was not about "going to church" for me. The desire to hear God's word and be able to converse with him was so strong. I was learning new songs and loved to sing to God. Reading the bible and attending bible studies was a big help in getting to know who God is, and how I should be living.

It took almost a year to pay my debts and restitution's. When I was released from probation, I took to the road again, heading out west. There was something about the adventure of hitching. It was not just about getting to the destination, it was about the places your find and people you meet along the way. The next year, while hitching a ride, I met my wife to be. Her and her cousin picked me up. Like many other Christians I met in the early days of my walk, there was a common joy we shared. The joy of our salvation.

30 yrs later Marianne and I are on the same road together. It is a narrow path following Jesus. She has been raising 9 children and taken in a few extras from time to time. After 32 years of following Jesus I have learned that there is a ditch on each side that I can easily fall into. One side is called religion where one can be stuck in pride and play acting, which the bible calls hypocrisy. A ditch on the other side is something I can fall back into if I let the cares of this life, or the pleasures of sin tempt me back into old ways again. There is grace freely flowing from the throne of God and I need it like never before. May we each learn to humble ourselves and receive it abundantly. G.W.