Apart from God we can do nothing of lasting value. Sure we can do nice things for people, and possibly accomplish something that people will remember for years and even centuries. The question is, will what we do have eternal value?
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15:5
Without the Holy Spirit guiding, directing, and empowering, nothing we do matters for the kingdom of heaven. When we don't know Jesus, we don't know real purpose. I know for me, before receiving Jesus, when I did something charitable I didn't even really know WHY I was doing it other than it made me and someone else feel good. I didn't see long-term implications or deep purpose, because there really wasn't any......for me. I did nothing in the name of Jesus or for the sake of the kingdom. It was all to make me feel good, temporarily. I wasn't storing up treasure in heaven. I was battling boredom or just trying to feel good about myself. No deep purpose there. It's a whole different story when I'm doing something in the name of Jesus. When I'm being His love here on earth, His hands and feet. I'm storing up treasure in heaven and making an eternal difference in someone's life, a difference that effects that person's eternity! Whoa! That's some deep purpose! That can't happen though, without the Holy Spirit working in, through, and around me and whatever situation He has led me to. Whatever situation He leads YOU to will have eternal implications and be of infinite value. Toss aside the things of no value and follow Christ to deep purpose. Amen!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Mindfulness
Who am I that the Creator of the universe would be mindful of me? The KJV uses the word "mindful" in Psalm 8:4. The dictionary definition of mindful is: "attentive, aware, or careful of". Almighty God is not only aware of me, but He pays attention to me. What an awesome thought, and one that begs a question. Do I pay as much attention to Him as He does to me? I would venture to say......."no". He knows how many hairs are on my head. I don't even know if He HAS hair. I would guess He doesn't since He's a spiritual being, but maybe there's spiritual hair. I don't know and that looks like too deep a well for right now. The point is, I could probably stand to pay a little more attention to my Heavenly Father. I get so caught up in the busyness of the day and all the "things" I want to accomplish, that I can sometimes go all day without thinking about Him. Does He go that long without thinking of me? I wonder. The Word tells me in Isaiah that I am etched on the palm of His hand. It would be hard to go for long without noticing something etched upon the palm of your hand. I think that God is much more attentive to me than I am to Him and I'd like to change that.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your mindfulness of me; Your love, Your grace, and Your mercy. Father, may I be as attentive to You as You are to me. Give me a heavenly mindset, Lord. I desire for You to be my focus because when that happens, everything else in my life will fall into place like it's supposed to, and I want that. I want Your plans and purposes for my life, to Your glory and the furtherance of the kingdom. In the name of my ever-present Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen!
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your mindfulness of me; Your love, Your grace, and Your mercy. Father, may I be as attentive to You as You are to me. Give me a heavenly mindset, Lord. I desire for You to be my focus because when that happens, everything else in my life will fall into place like it's supposed to, and I want that. I want Your plans and purposes for my life, to Your glory and the furtherance of the kingdom. In the name of my ever-present Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Control Freak = Less Joy
Why are so many of us without joy? Not just those who don't know Jesus, but many believers are seriously lacking in the joy department. I think it's because we have such a hard time relinquishing control. We are juggling so many different things in our lives and we have to have our hand in everything. We feel that if we're not worrying we're not doing a good enough job. If things get out of control we're somehow a failure. If everything is not accomplished to perfection and on time, there will be disaster. Really? Is it really the end of the world? Think through the worse case scenario all the way to it's possible conclusion. Would it really be the end of the world? Even if it meant the end of life as you know it, would it really be that bad? Maybe life as you know it is not the best life for you. Maybe it's not the life God intends for you. Psalm 5:11 says, "..let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy". Part of taking refuge in God is casting our cares on Him (1Peter 5:7) and being anxious for nothing (Philippians 4:6). We do our best, of course, without worrying and being anxious. Without thinking everything has to be perfect. We do our best and give God the rest. Rely on Him to pick up the slack for our imperfection and trust that the situation will turn out according to His will. He is, after all, The Blessed Controller of all things. So, let Him have control, take refuge in Him, and sing for joy that you don't have to be perfect.
Father, thank You that You are in control and I don't have to be. Help me to always do my best and work as unto You without the stress and strain of trying to be perfect or create perfection. You're the only one who has any rights to perfection anyway. So, have Your way, Father. I cast my cares upon You and choose to be anxious for nothing. I choose the joy of Your shelter today and I thank You for it in the peaceful name of Jesus, Amen!
Father, thank You that You are in control and I don't have to be. Help me to always do my best and work as unto You without the stress and strain of trying to be perfect or create perfection. You're the only one who has any rights to perfection anyway. So, have Your way, Father. I cast my cares upon You and choose to be anxious for nothing. I choose the joy of Your shelter today and I thank You for it in the peaceful name of Jesus, Amen!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Solid as The Rock
As I was praying this morning, I asked the Lord to make us all (all His children) as solid as The Rock we stand upon. I had been thinking earlier about all the things I say I want to do and never do. All the changes I talk about making, but never make. It's all just talk and no action. I don't want to be like that. I want to worship God in spirit and in truth. I don't think it honors God to just talk about being a better person or to just talk about doing something better. I don't want to just be a hearer (or a talker), I want to be a doer.
I'm supposed to be a representation of Christ here on earth, His ambassador. I represent the kingdom. What does it say about the kingdom when I'm lazy, or I constantly procrastinate.......or say I'm going to do something and don't do it. I don't believe that's a good or accurate representation. Jesus was not lazy and He was a man of His word. The kingdom is not a place of chaos and double-mindedness. The Word specifically speaks against those things. I realize I'm not Jesus and I have limitations, and I also realize that the Spirit of the living God dwells within me and provides me with everything I need to live a godly life. Faithfulness and self-control are two things that come standard with the Holy Spirit. All I have to do is use them. Like the stereo in my car, if I never turn it on it will never play music, but it's there. The potential and the capability are all there waiting to be utilized. There's really no excuse, no legitimate excuse anyway, as to why I can't be more God-honoring in the way I live my life. I need to be honest and not say I'll do something if I know I can't or won't really do it. That's pretty simple, really. The trick is to actually do what I honestly say I will do. Rebuke the spirit of laziness, take captive the thoughts of procrastination ("Oh, I can do that later.") and be a woman of integrity. Excellence and integrity are characteristics of Jesus. That's the kind of person I want to be, a person of excellence and integrity. Solid as a rock....The Rock upon which I stand. For His glory, Amen!
I'm supposed to be a representation of Christ here on earth, His ambassador. I represent the kingdom. What does it say about the kingdom when I'm lazy, or I constantly procrastinate.......or say I'm going to do something and don't do it. I don't believe that's a good or accurate representation. Jesus was not lazy and He was a man of His word. The kingdom is not a place of chaos and double-mindedness. The Word specifically speaks against those things. I realize I'm not Jesus and I have limitations, and I also realize that the Spirit of the living God dwells within me and provides me with everything I need to live a godly life. Faithfulness and self-control are two things that come standard with the Holy Spirit. All I have to do is use them. Like the stereo in my car, if I never turn it on it will never play music, but it's there. The potential and the capability are all there waiting to be utilized. There's really no excuse, no legitimate excuse anyway, as to why I can't be more God-honoring in the way I live my life. I need to be honest and not say I'll do something if I know I can't or won't really do it. That's pretty simple, really. The trick is to actually do what I honestly say I will do. Rebuke the spirit of laziness, take captive the thoughts of procrastination ("Oh, I can do that later.") and be a woman of integrity. Excellence and integrity are characteristics of Jesus. That's the kind of person I want to be, a person of excellence and integrity. Solid as a rock....The Rock upon which I stand. For His glory, Amen!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
God Is SOOOO Good!
God is SOOOOOO good!! I just want to shout it from the rooftops!! He has done so much IN me, THROUGH me, and FOR me....and my family. I was driving home from church this morning with tears of thankfulness in my eyes for all He's done. My husband and I have gone through some very tough times these past few years, and in the process we've made a mess of some things. A few months ago, we sought to clean up the mess. We repented before God and asked for His help, even though we didn't deserve it. The mess was created in disobedience, so the last we thing we deserved was God's help. I am so thankful that He is a gracious and merciful God. We are about to come out the other end of the tunnel and it's all due to His help. If not for His love and blessing, we'd be in the tunnel cleaning up for years. He has been so awesome!!
Another area in which God has so blessed me personally is with my children. I homeschooled my two youngest for five years, and for their whole lives I have poured myself into them. I believed my first calling was to raise godly men and I took that calling seriously. I did all I knew how to do to raise them up in the way they should go. I went through a season this past year in which I basically had a pity party. I felt as though all my efforts were somewhat meaningless because they didn't seem to mean anything to my boys. They didn't even remember half the things we did together while we were home schooling and that hurt. It mostly hurt because those were some of the best memories of my life with them. I was trying to create great memories for them, and they didn't even remember! It turns out that that's okay. A strong foundation was built in them and that's what's really important. I spent all those years reading Scripture to them, teaching them worship songs, helping them memorize the ten commandments, and praying, praying, praying (we did some reading, writing, and rithmetic too). :-) They're teenagers now and attend public school, and I am so proud of them! They bless my heart every day. Today at church I received a sweet confirmation that what I had done was good, and I reaped some reward. As I knelt at the altar praying and worshipping this morning, my youngest "man of God" came and knelt beside me, put his arms around me and prayed for me in the Spirit. I could hear his sweet prayer language like a beautiful song. What more could a mother's heart possibly ask for? It was one of the sweetest moments of my life and I don't think I'll ever forget it. Something really beautiful about that moment was the fact that this son was the one I had been concerned about when he was younger. I geared up to do double-duty on my knees when he hit puberty, and all glory to God, this one is a man after God's own heart and what a blessing he is!
God's faithfulness to me has never failed. Although there have been times of testing, and times of refining and character building that I did not always enjoy, I have enjoyed the benefits. The time when you are freshly out of the fire and you get to see some of the purpose for the trials is just one of the best times in life....every time it happens. I think if we hang on to the memory of what that is like, we can use it to help us get through the next fire. I say "next" because I believe we will continue to be refined until the day we pass into eternity. From fire to fire, our faith is being perfected, as well as from glory to glory. The fire makes the glory all that much sweeter, as God becomes sweeter the more you know Him, as you draw nearer to Him during the fire. It all works together, and it's a glorious working. Only God could orchestrate such perfection. God is SOOOOO good!
Another area in which God has so blessed me personally is with my children. I homeschooled my two youngest for five years, and for their whole lives I have poured myself into them. I believed my first calling was to raise godly men and I took that calling seriously. I did all I knew how to do to raise them up in the way they should go. I went through a season this past year in which I basically had a pity party. I felt as though all my efforts were somewhat meaningless because they didn't seem to mean anything to my boys. They didn't even remember half the things we did together while we were home schooling and that hurt. It mostly hurt because those were some of the best memories of my life with them. I was trying to create great memories for them, and they didn't even remember! It turns out that that's okay. A strong foundation was built in them and that's what's really important. I spent all those years reading Scripture to them, teaching them worship songs, helping them memorize the ten commandments, and praying, praying, praying (we did some reading, writing, and rithmetic too). :-) They're teenagers now and attend public school, and I am so proud of them! They bless my heart every day. Today at church I received a sweet confirmation that what I had done was good, and I reaped some reward. As I knelt at the altar praying and worshipping this morning, my youngest "man of God" came and knelt beside me, put his arms around me and prayed for me in the Spirit. I could hear his sweet prayer language like a beautiful song. What more could a mother's heart possibly ask for? It was one of the sweetest moments of my life and I don't think I'll ever forget it. Something really beautiful about that moment was the fact that this son was the one I had been concerned about when he was younger. I geared up to do double-duty on my knees when he hit puberty, and all glory to God, this one is a man after God's own heart and what a blessing he is!
God's faithfulness to me has never failed. Although there have been times of testing, and times of refining and character building that I did not always enjoy, I have enjoyed the benefits. The time when you are freshly out of the fire and you get to see some of the purpose for the trials is just one of the best times in life....every time it happens. I think if we hang on to the memory of what that is like, we can use it to help us get through the next fire. I say "next" because I believe we will continue to be refined until the day we pass into eternity. From fire to fire, our faith is being perfected, as well as from glory to glory. The fire makes the glory all that much sweeter, as God becomes sweeter the more you know Him, as you draw nearer to Him during the fire. It all works together, and it's a glorious working. Only God could orchestrate such perfection. God is SOOOOO good!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Letting Go
I know you've heard this a thousand times and it may sound like a cliche', but it is just simply the truth. God is amazing! The way He orchestrates things in my life and puts just the right people in my path at just the right time (or leaves me standing alone when I need to just be with Him) is perfect. The Bible tells us that God's ways are not our ways, and that seems to me to be such an understatement. His ways are mind-blowing! My tiny little brain cannot wrap around some of the things He does. For example, four years ago He gave me scripture that He has only recently fully explained to me. Also four years ago, He took me away from things and people that were precious to me, and I began the journey of a lifetime.
I was born in sunny southern California. I consider California my home state...I AM a California girl. I spent a lot of my young adulthood in the sand and surf of Huntington Beach, body surfing with a seashell tied around my ankle with a little strip of leather (an anklet my brother fashioned for me). I worked a job at night and beach bummed during the day. I've spent most of my life living in California except for a few stints in Texas where my dad is from. I met my husband in northern California, my children were all born in California. Mine and my husband's favorite spots were Lake Tahoe, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel, Yosemite...some of the most beautiful places on earth, in my opinion, and they were right in our backyard. Yes, I said "were". My husband and I now reside in central Texas after God relocated us almost exactly four years ago. It was sad. The saddest part of this story though, is how long I've spent mourning the loss of my life there. God told me, before we left California, that He was doing a new thing and would I not see it? I THOUGHT I wanted to see it. It turns out I didn't. He said He wanted to take me to the next level, and I THOUGHT I was ready for it. It turns out I wasn't. It turns out I followed Jesus right into the desert, and I wandered that desert for almost four years. I searched and searched for water, whining and crying the whole time, "Lord, why did you take me away from what I was doing and all my friends and family? I was finally happy, Lord!" Kinda pathetic, huh? I can say that now, but I was too deep in it back then to see anything but my circumstances. Things were not going as I had hoped in any area of my life. I was angry, sad, frustrated, confused, anxious....with spots of forced faith and optimism. I KNEW God had a plan for my life, I just had no idea anymore what that plan was, and I was not happy not knowing. I made half-hearted attempts at friendships and putting down roots, all the while secretly hoping we'd go back to California any day. Every so often, my husband and I would look at each other and one or both of us would say, "Can we go back now?" I was reminded more than once of the Israelites whining to go back to Egypt. I knew I needed to let go of the former things, and press forward, but I just couldn't seem to actually do it for any length of time. I was spiritually dry, emotionally frustrated, and physically depressed. I was in a very sad state. I kept trying to just cling to God, but most of the time it was just a matter of doing what I knew in my head to do and my heart wasn't in it like it had been before. The relocation had thrown me for a loop, totally and completely. I was in a tail spin and didn't know how to stop it.
Then one day I noticed the spinning was starting to slow down a little. God gave me a word through our pastor that opened my eyes, and began to minister to my dry spirit. I realized that God had truly not forgotten me. I realized that He HAD sent me to this desert to die, but to die to myself so that He could take me to the next level. Part of our pastor's message recently was entitled "Booted and Broken". That was us. We had been booted out of California and broken so that we could be revived, restored, and renewed (made even better). The next level is here in Texas and there had to be a breaking down so there could be a rebuilding. I now attend a wonderful church full of wonderful sisters-in-Christ, but I couldn't fully reach out to those women because I was still holding on to California.....until this past weekend.
This weekend I attended my first women's retreat in four years. My last one was in California. It was a very interesting experience, emotionally. When I first arrived I found myself resisting the whole thing. I missed my former pastor's wife and the way she did things....all the retreats I'd been to in the past. I wanted to be with my sisters from New Life. As I sat in the gorgeous living room of the mini mansion where we were to have this retreat, I suddenly wanted to cry and go home. I felt like a big old baby. I didn't want to be a downer to the other women and I knew if I could just get alone for a few minutes I could gather myself. I asked our hostess for a place to be alone and she directed me to one of the bedrooms. As soon as I closed the door behind me I dropped to the floor and sobbed. I'm not sure how long I was there, but after a good deal of praying and crying, I finally felt in control of my emotions. I joined the other ladies who were mingling and getting ready for things to begin. I wasn't out of the bedroom more than five minutes when one of the women asked me if she could pray with me. Apparently, one of the pastors wives had seen me slipping away and asked this sweet sister to go and pray with me. It was the beginning of a weekend full of wonderful works of the Spirit. My presence at this retreat was most assuredly a divine appointment. The first night there, the Lord showed me that I was still resisting fellowship with the women of this church because I was still holding on to California and a warped sense of loyalty to my friends there. Even though I thought I was letting go and reaching out, I really wasn't. Not completely. So all that weekend, the Lord and I worked on letting go of the past and moving forward in His plan for me. We worked on letting go of the need for the approval of man, and embracing the joy of the Lord. He led me to the most uninhibited worship I've ever experienced right where other people could see, and I didn't care! It was awesome; so freeing and so fun! I made some new best friends and heard some great words of teaching. For the first time in four years, I feel truly excited about the future, even if it means the rest of it is going to be here in Texas. I have finally let go of my wonderful life in California, and put both feet on Texas soil. My friends in California will always be my friends, no matter where we are and the Lord has brought me more wonderful, sweet friends here in Texas. He just keeps blessing me and expanding my tent pegs, and I finally see that.
Letting go has not been easy. It's been a process full of pain, heartache, confusion, frustration, anger.....I could go on with the list. I've never been one to turn on a dime. I'm slow at everything, especially when it comes to adjusting to major life changes. That's the way God made me though, and He always sees me through no matter how long it takes. He's patient with me, and I am so thankful for that. Letting go has been a great lesson in trusting God and having faith in what I know He has said regardless of what things look like. The process of letting go has led me to a place of deeper intimacy with God, and a clearer understanding of His joy. Letting go has not been easy, but it has freed my hands to receive the rest of what God has for me. I can now truly say with no hint of sadness, "I eagerly anticipate what You have for me, Father!" Amen!
I was born in sunny southern California. I consider California my home state...I AM a California girl. I spent a lot of my young adulthood in the sand and surf of Huntington Beach, body surfing with a seashell tied around my ankle with a little strip of leather (an anklet my brother fashioned for me). I worked a job at night and beach bummed during the day. I've spent most of my life living in California except for a few stints in Texas where my dad is from. I met my husband in northern California, my children were all born in California. Mine and my husband's favorite spots were Lake Tahoe, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel, Yosemite...some of the most beautiful places on earth, in my opinion, and they were right in our backyard. Yes, I said "were". My husband and I now reside in central Texas after God relocated us almost exactly four years ago. It was sad. The saddest part of this story though, is how long I've spent mourning the loss of my life there. God told me, before we left California, that He was doing a new thing and would I not see it? I THOUGHT I wanted to see it. It turns out I didn't. He said He wanted to take me to the next level, and I THOUGHT I was ready for it. It turns out I wasn't. It turns out I followed Jesus right into the desert, and I wandered that desert for almost four years. I searched and searched for water, whining and crying the whole time, "Lord, why did you take me away from what I was doing and all my friends and family? I was finally happy, Lord!" Kinda pathetic, huh? I can say that now, but I was too deep in it back then to see anything but my circumstances. Things were not going as I had hoped in any area of my life. I was angry, sad, frustrated, confused, anxious....with spots of forced faith and optimism. I KNEW God had a plan for my life, I just had no idea anymore what that plan was, and I was not happy not knowing. I made half-hearted attempts at friendships and putting down roots, all the while secretly hoping we'd go back to California any day. Every so often, my husband and I would look at each other and one or both of us would say, "Can we go back now?" I was reminded more than once of the Israelites whining to go back to Egypt. I knew I needed to let go of the former things, and press forward, but I just couldn't seem to actually do it for any length of time. I was spiritually dry, emotionally frustrated, and physically depressed. I was in a very sad state. I kept trying to just cling to God, but most of the time it was just a matter of doing what I knew in my head to do and my heart wasn't in it like it had been before. The relocation had thrown me for a loop, totally and completely. I was in a tail spin and didn't know how to stop it.
Then one day I noticed the spinning was starting to slow down a little. God gave me a word through our pastor that opened my eyes, and began to minister to my dry spirit. I realized that God had truly not forgotten me. I realized that He HAD sent me to this desert to die, but to die to myself so that He could take me to the next level. Part of our pastor's message recently was entitled "Booted and Broken". That was us. We had been booted out of California and broken so that we could be revived, restored, and renewed (made even better). The next level is here in Texas and there had to be a breaking down so there could be a rebuilding. I now attend a wonderful church full of wonderful sisters-in-Christ, but I couldn't fully reach out to those women because I was still holding on to California.....until this past weekend.
This weekend I attended my first women's retreat in four years. My last one was in California. It was a very interesting experience, emotionally. When I first arrived I found myself resisting the whole thing. I missed my former pastor's wife and the way she did things....all the retreats I'd been to in the past. I wanted to be with my sisters from New Life. As I sat in the gorgeous living room of the mini mansion where we were to have this retreat, I suddenly wanted to cry and go home. I felt like a big old baby. I didn't want to be a downer to the other women and I knew if I could just get alone for a few minutes I could gather myself. I asked our hostess for a place to be alone and she directed me to one of the bedrooms. As soon as I closed the door behind me I dropped to the floor and sobbed. I'm not sure how long I was there, but after a good deal of praying and crying, I finally felt in control of my emotions. I joined the other ladies who were mingling and getting ready for things to begin. I wasn't out of the bedroom more than five minutes when one of the women asked me if she could pray with me. Apparently, one of the pastors wives had seen me slipping away and asked this sweet sister to go and pray with me. It was the beginning of a weekend full of wonderful works of the Spirit. My presence at this retreat was most assuredly a divine appointment. The first night there, the Lord showed me that I was still resisting fellowship with the women of this church because I was still holding on to California and a warped sense of loyalty to my friends there. Even though I thought I was letting go and reaching out, I really wasn't. Not completely. So all that weekend, the Lord and I worked on letting go of the past and moving forward in His plan for me. We worked on letting go of the need for the approval of man, and embracing the joy of the Lord. He led me to the most uninhibited worship I've ever experienced right where other people could see, and I didn't care! It was awesome; so freeing and so fun! I made some new best friends and heard some great words of teaching. For the first time in four years, I feel truly excited about the future, even if it means the rest of it is going to be here in Texas. I have finally let go of my wonderful life in California, and put both feet on Texas soil. My friends in California will always be my friends, no matter where we are and the Lord has brought me more wonderful, sweet friends here in Texas. He just keeps blessing me and expanding my tent pegs, and I finally see that.
Letting go has not been easy. It's been a process full of pain, heartache, confusion, frustration, anger.....I could go on with the list. I've never been one to turn on a dime. I'm slow at everything, especially when it comes to adjusting to major life changes. That's the way God made me though, and He always sees me through no matter how long it takes. He's patient with me, and I am so thankful for that. Letting go has been a great lesson in trusting God and having faith in what I know He has said regardless of what things look like. The process of letting go has led me to a place of deeper intimacy with God, and a clearer understanding of His joy. Letting go has not been easy, but it has freed my hands to receive the rest of what God has for me. I can now truly say with no hint of sadness, "I eagerly anticipate what You have for me, Father!" Amen!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Judging and Judgment
An interesting issue among Christians is the issue of judging. It's been my experience that there's some confusion there. A matter of semantics, perhaps. The following is my understanding of the subject. Take what you will from it. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will indeed lead us into all truth with clear understanding. Amen!
The first verse that comes to mind when I think of "judging" is Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that you be not judged." This is the verse everyone spouts when they don't want to be judged, or they want to make sure YOU are not being judgmental toward someone else. The original Greek word for "judge" in that verse is "krino", and it means "to try, condemn, punish: -avenge, conclude, condemn, damn,......" (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible). In this sense of the word, it is absolutely correct that you should not be judgmental. It is not our job as Christians to condemn or punish. That is strictly God's domain. Then we look at I Corinthians 2:15 which tells us, "But he who is spiritual judges all things......". The original Greek there is "anakrino", which means to scrutinize, i.e. investigate, interrogate, determine, discern. (Strong's) We make judgments all day long. We judge whether to turn right or left, whether the tuna salad looks good or the pastrami for lunch, whether the actions of a person cause us to trust them or to be uneasy with them. Large, small, and in between - we make judgments every day all day long. As Christians we are to judge the sin among us. I Corinthians 5:11 tells us, "But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner - not even to eat with such a person." Galatians 6:1, "Brethren if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted." We have to use our God-given ability to judge sin according to His Word. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,"-2 Timothy 3:16
How can we correct our brethren if we do not judge when they're falling into sin? We're not to condemn or punish. Our job is to "scrutinize, determine, discern" that there is sin that needs to be dealt with and deal with it "in a spirit of gentleness". Krino judging is God's job. Akrino judging is our job. Same English word, different biblical (Greek) words/meanings. So, before you recite Matthew 7:1 next time, consider what kind of judging is being exercised. Is the person playing Holy Spirit, or are they doing their duty as a brother or sister-in-Christ in a spirit of gentleness? We are not called to condemn (judge), but we ARE called to discern and determine (judge) sin in our lives as well as the lives of our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
The first verse that comes to mind when I think of "judging" is Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that you be not judged." This is the verse everyone spouts when they don't want to be judged, or they want to make sure YOU are not being judgmental toward someone else. The original Greek word for "judge" in that verse is "krino", and it means "to try, condemn, punish: -avenge, conclude, condemn, damn,......" (Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible). In this sense of the word, it is absolutely correct that you should not be judgmental. It is not our job as Christians to condemn or punish. That is strictly God's domain. Then we look at I Corinthians 2:15 which tells us, "But he who is spiritual judges all things......". The original Greek there is "anakrino", which means to scrutinize, i.e. investigate, interrogate, determine, discern. (Strong's) We make judgments all day long. We judge whether to turn right or left, whether the tuna salad looks good or the pastrami for lunch, whether the actions of a person cause us to trust them or to be uneasy with them. Large, small, and in between - we make judgments every day all day long. As Christians we are to judge the sin among us. I Corinthians 5:11 tells us, "But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner - not even to eat with such a person." Galatians 6:1, "Brethren if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted." We have to use our God-given ability to judge sin according to His Word. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,"-2 Timothy 3:16
How can we correct our brethren if we do not judge when they're falling into sin? We're not to condemn or punish. Our job is to "scrutinize, determine, discern" that there is sin that needs to be dealt with and deal with it "in a spirit of gentleness". Krino judging is God's job. Akrino judging is our job. Same English word, different biblical (Greek) words/meanings. So, before you recite Matthew 7:1 next time, consider what kind of judging is being exercised. Is the person playing Holy Spirit, or are they doing their duty as a brother or sister-in-Christ in a spirit of gentleness? We are not called to condemn (judge), but we ARE called to discern and determine (judge) sin in our lives as well as the lives of our brothers and sisters in the Lord.
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