"Hey! You’re judging me! God said don't judge!" Have you ever heard these words before? What is up with these seemingly conflicting statements from God's Word? A) If your brother sins rebuke him. Verses B) Judge not least you be judged. Hmmmm... Catch 22. Maybe? Maybe not?
Jesus said, this is my commandment, Love one another as I have loved you. Could love be the answer to our dilemma? Well let's think about this... How does God love you? I don't know about you, but I don't know how many times God has come to me and said, "Ummm, James. You know that thing you did yesterday; you know how you treated your brother. (It's usually not yesterday; it’s usually what happened about three minutes ago, short leash and all.) Was that very loving of you?"
"Ahhhh well, Ummm God, you know, I wasn't up to my best not feeling well and all."
"So, if I have a bad day, I can treat you like you treated you brother, would you like me to treat you that way?"
"No, God. I'm sorry.”
“Now go back to him and apologize."
"Yes, Jesus."
"You know I love you?"
"Yes, God. I know you love me very much."
(The above was a fictitious conversation with God, but it very close to the reality of when his Spirit convicts me. I wouldn’t want to falsify a conversation with God. If you want a true conversation I had with God, go to http://www.xomba.com/vision_of_the_dance_by_james_wood )
I don't know about how God works in your life, but in mine he rebukes me of my sin, my lack of love, and then after I acknowledge my shortcomings, otherwise known as sin, he reassures his love for me and sends me out to deal with the consequences. One thing I have never seen God do is plaster my name all over the sky and tell the whole world, "Hey everyone, yoo hoo, all you people down there who don't think I exist, James sinned three minutes and twenty seven seconds ago. You know what he did, he was selfish and hated his brother in his heart and didn't show the wonders of my awesome love. You know I’ve loved him for all eternity, with a great and passionate love and he still doesn't represent me fully every moment of every second. What am I going to do with him?"
I don't know about you but God doesn't treat me that way. A few times in my past, when I wouldn't listen to him, because I knew I was falling short (otherwise known as walking in sin) he has sent a dear gentle brother or sister to come along side me and whisper in my ear. "Hey bro, the Lord wants me to tell you he loves you and misses you. You haven't come to him in a while and he knows your dealing with an issue that you and he knows about. He wants to let you know that you and he can work it out together. But, most of all he just want me to let you know he loves you and misses you."
How does God rebuke you?
In Revelation Jesus said,
Rev 3:19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.
It is his great love for us that he comes and says anything to us at all.
My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
Heb 12:6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”
Heb 12:7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
Heb 12:8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
Heb 12:9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
Heb 12:10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
Heb 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Pr 9:8 Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you.
Pr 9:9 Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.
Pr 27:5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
Is this how we can tell those who walk in wisdom, those who walk in love? Jesus said,
Lk 17:3 So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
Lk 17:4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
Mt 18:15 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
If your brother sins go to him privately and show him his fault, if he repents forgive him. But, you may also have this experience happen to you. You go to your brother to rebuke him and you find that you didn’t understand what he did at all.
Pr 18:17 The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him.
You may be the first to present you case to your brother about his sin and then he starts to question you about what you think you saw or what you think you heard. Then you say, “Ooops, I am so sorry. Will you forgive me. I repent for not having all the facts.” But, when you are presenting your case be gentle and non condemning. For,
Gal 6:1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
Gal 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Gal 6:3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
If you go to your brother, thinking you are something you may find out you are all wet. But, if your brother is loving he will forgive you and may even thank you for being concerned about him. He may even compliment you on your courage to even go up to him and inquire about it. So see,
Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
For, true wisdom is to walk in love. Those who truly love and want to be representatives of God's love know that if we are rebuked and shown where we are failing to represent God's Love, we are quick to repent and may yell, “Woo hoo! ”I get to repent, I get to look more like Jesus. Woo hoo! It’s pruning time. I get to bear more fruit for Jesus."
When you go to your brother, you want to make sure you listen,
Pr 18:13 He who answers before listening— that is his folly and his shame.
You see, because Jesus loved the Pharisees and the children of Israel he rebuked them. They tried to trap him but they always just got rebuked, because their hearts were evil or as I like to put it loveless.
So, when you go to your brother you need to make sure of a few major things; one, your walking in love towards your brother. The question I like to ask myself is: “Am I willing to physically die for my brother?” If not then I need to go into prayer repent and ask God to change my heart. And number two is are you are walking in the light and in love. For Jesus said,
Mt 7:3 “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?
Mt 7:4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
Mt 7:5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
So, we have to make sure we are walking in the light and our lives are correct. You may even want to go to someone who is spiritual and ask them about your spirituality. Do not go to them and ask them how you should rebuke so and so. “I didn’t say any names. All I did was mentioned he was male, over 6’ tall, green eyes, loves to sing real loud in the church and has a wife that is really short. I don’t know how he guessed I was talking about so and so; he’s only one person in our church of 30 people. I didn’t even mention his address, phone number or last name (sarcasm).”
The goal is to establish him back to his former glory, or former intimacy with God and leave it there. Jesus says if your brother repents forgive him. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Do you enjoy and appreciate God’s loving confidence? Does he take your sins and remove them as far as the east is from the west? As God loves you, love your brother. Now, if there are laws in your state or country that require you to report certain sins then by all means do what is right. Don’t worry, all authority is appointed by God, even the prison authorities.
We are commanded to love and rebuke; if your brother sins rebuke him. If your brother is a pastor or a spiritual authority the same rules apply. Is he your brother? Did Paul rebuke Peter in Galatians? Proverbs says, to rebuke a wise man and he will be wiser still. It does not add, unless he is a pastor. What is a Pastor, but a person who is given the call of leading the church. Is he above the spiritual callings of apostles, prophets, and evangelists? Did the prophets rebuke kings? Do pastors have more authority than King David had? Wasn’t he rebuked by Nathan the prophet? Now don’t go off half cocked and rebuke your pastor for all your Christian pet peeves. “Well, you see pastor, this guy on the internet said I could rebuke you all I want to.” Rebukes have to do with relationship and love. If you don’t have a relationship with someone or God doesn’t call you to specifically rebuke someone, then you need to check your heart. If you have never honored the person then something may be wrong with you. For, God loves us and honors us, and if you haven’t honored that person, then you may not be representing Jesus anyway, so your rebuke won’t do any spiritual good. Peter said honor the King. Weren’t the kings he was talking about killing Christians? Hmmm… I feel repentance coming on. How many of you have dishonored former Presidents? I know I sure have. God calls us to honor them. Doesn’t mean we agree with them or condone their sin. Yeah, I had to repent also. Woo hoo! We get to be more like Jesus!
Therefore, if our brother sins we need to check our lives. Are we walking in love? Are we willing to die for them? Are we willing to help carry their burdens? Will we listen? Will we be compassionate? Will we keep their confidence? Are there any planks in our own eyes? And do we really and truly care about them? Then, through prayer and gentleness we can go to our brother and say, “You know I love you brother, let’s go and get some coffee, somewhere quiet, and talk.
All Scripture were taken from:
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Pradis CD-ROM:
God bless.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Monday, October 27, 2008
Nick Vujicic
This guy is amazing. He has two Bachelor Degrees, can type 43 words a minute, he is a motivational speaker; travels around the world, and was born without arms or legs and has preached to millions.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Nature of the Morality Trap of Man
Four areas, “Man vs. Man,” “Man vs. Nature,” “Nature vs. Man,” and “Nature vs. Nature,” will be used in three different scenarios to show that man is different than the nature that surrounds him.
In the four different areas, the first constant, in the first scenario is killing. In "Man vs. Man;" if a man kills another man, society calls the perpetrator, “A Murderer," and the man who was murdered is called, “A Victim". In “Man vs. Nature;” If a man kills a lion, society calls the man, “A Mighty Hunter"', and the lion, “A Trophy". In “Nature vs. Man;” if a lion kills a man then the lion is called, “A Savage Beast" that needs to be destroyed, and the man, “A Victim". In “Nature vs. Nature;” If a lion kills a lion then nobody really cares, unless it is caught on film, then the TV people call it "Exciting," but the society (pride) of lions do not form a posse, go out and find the murdering lion, and put it to death. In this first scenario; if a man kills a man, he is given a negative name, if a man kills a lion, he is given a positive name, if a lion kills a man, the lion is given a negative name, and if a lion kills a lion, it does not matter to either men or lions.
In the second scenario the variable of the lion of nature changes to a kitten of nature. Then, as above, if a man kills a man, he is labeled a “Murderer.” If a man kills a kitten, then he is called an "Animal Abuser." If a kitten kills a man, then the kitten is called “Innocent” and the man is called "Unfortunate". If a kitten kills a kitten then it is called "sad."
In the third scenario, if we add a car to the variables then, as above, if a man kills a man purposely while driving a car, he is called a “Murderer.” If a man kills a kitten while driving a car then it is sad, but is usually called “The animal's fault.” The other two examples will not be put into this equation since kittens usually don’t drive cars.
In these three different scenarios of the four areas, there are different labels that are generally put onto the different beings that kill something else. Compare the labels in these different scenarios.
Man Vs Man
1. Man kills man = Murder
2. Man kills man = Murder
3. Man kills man with car = Murder
Man vs. Nature
1. Man kills lion = Mighty Hunter
2. Man kills kitten = Animal Abuser
3. Man kills kitten with car = The Animal's Fault
Nature vs. Man
1. Lion kills man = Savage Beast
2. Kitten kills man = Unfortunate
Nature vs. Nature
1. Lion kills lion = Exciting (if caught on film)
2. Kitten kills kitten = Sad
In these three scenarios, of the four areas; men make moral judgments, and put labels on other men and nature, according to the situation. Therefore men should be moral, for men make moral judgments on a myriad of areas.
You may agree with this theory or disagree with this theory, but, you are, by that very nature of agreeing or disagreeing, making a moral judgment on the truth or error of the theory, and so prove the theory’s point, that men make moral judgments on a myriad of areas including other men. So, if men make judgments of men's morality, do they not, by the very fact that they judge all things on its morality and worthiness, should not those same men be moral and worthy, since they make judgments on what is moral, and what is worthy? Men even go so far as to make judgments on what is moral. So therefore, men by the very fact of judging morality by their sense of morality, prove that morality is good and so judge themselves, because they judge morality, by their own sense of morality (right and wrong), by which they use as a standard to judge morality itself.
Therefore the wisdom of the ancient sages told us that we are vastly different than nature, for we have the ability to judge. They also told us, the supreme ideal is goodness, and we all prove this by our own judgments, which you continue to prove by your judgments of this article.
In the four different areas, the first constant, in the first scenario is killing. In "Man vs. Man;" if a man kills another man, society calls the perpetrator, “A Murderer," and the man who was murdered is called, “A Victim". In “Man vs. Nature;” If a man kills a lion, society calls the man, “A Mighty Hunter"', and the lion, “A Trophy". In “Nature vs. Man;” if a lion kills a man then the lion is called, “A Savage Beast" that needs to be destroyed, and the man, “A Victim". In “Nature vs. Nature;” If a lion kills a lion then nobody really cares, unless it is caught on film, then the TV people call it "Exciting," but the society (pride) of lions do not form a posse, go out and find the murdering lion, and put it to death. In this first scenario; if a man kills a man, he is given a negative name, if a man kills a lion, he is given a positive name, if a lion kills a man, the lion is given a negative name, and if a lion kills a lion, it does not matter to either men or lions.
In the second scenario the variable of the lion of nature changes to a kitten of nature. Then, as above, if a man kills a man, he is labeled a “Murderer.” If a man kills a kitten, then he is called an "Animal Abuser." If a kitten kills a man, then the kitten is called “Innocent” and the man is called "Unfortunate". If a kitten kills a kitten then it is called "sad."
In the third scenario, if we add a car to the variables then, as above, if a man kills a man purposely while driving a car, he is called a “Murderer.” If a man kills a kitten while driving a car then it is sad, but is usually called “The animal's fault.” The other two examples will not be put into this equation since kittens usually don’t drive cars.
In these three different scenarios of the four areas, there are different labels that are generally put onto the different beings that kill something else. Compare the labels in these different scenarios.
Man Vs Man
1. Man kills man = Murder
2. Man kills man = Murder
3. Man kills man with car = Murder
Man vs. Nature
1. Man kills lion = Mighty Hunter
2. Man kills kitten = Animal Abuser
3. Man kills kitten with car = The Animal's Fault
Nature vs. Man
1. Lion kills man = Savage Beast
2. Kitten kills man = Unfortunate
Nature vs. Nature
1. Lion kills lion = Exciting (if caught on film)
2. Kitten kills kitten = Sad
In these three scenarios, of the four areas; men make moral judgments, and put labels on other men and nature, according to the situation. Therefore men should be moral, for men make moral judgments on a myriad of areas.
You may agree with this theory or disagree with this theory, but, you are, by that very nature of agreeing or disagreeing, making a moral judgment on the truth or error of the theory, and so prove the theory’s point, that men make moral judgments on a myriad of areas including other men. So, if men make judgments of men's morality, do they not, by the very fact that they judge all things on its morality and worthiness, should not those same men be moral and worthy, since they make judgments on what is moral, and what is worthy? Men even go so far as to make judgments on what is moral. So therefore, men by the very fact of judging morality by their sense of morality, prove that morality is good and so judge themselves, because they judge morality, by their own sense of morality (right and wrong), by which they use as a standard to judge morality itself.
Therefore the wisdom of the ancient sages told us that we are vastly different than nature, for we have the ability to judge. They also told us, the supreme ideal is goodness, and we all prove this by our own judgments, which you continue to prove by your judgments of this article.
The Value of Value
In our throwaway society we deem many things as not valuable and these we throw away; from our newspapers, to our seniors, to our fetuses. When a part of society finds some use for something they begin to value it. Our concept of value is at the heart of this dilemma. What we do not value we throw away. We not only do this with things like trash and people, we also do it with ideas and relationships. What we value we take ownership of and it goes from being trash to being a treasure. A piece of furniture that has sat in an attic becomes valuable when we see monetary value in it, the same with our trash, our seniors and our fetuses. There is a big debate on using stem cells from fetuses, fetuses are now valuable, by one part of the society, because they have research value, yet these same fetuses have no value from another part of our society. Seniors have monetary value because there is a way to make money from them in nursing homes. We see over and over again ideas and paradigms in the media of how things are not valuable and we become programmed to not give trash a second thought. "Oh, that teenage mother is a drug addict." We label a child in desperate need as not valuable. We turn away from them as if they are a piece of trash, never giving them a second thought. What if we had the heart that we considered all things as valuable? What would our society become? What if we valued that which is valuable to someone else? What if we valued that which we had to destroy? What if we valued our public servants? What if our public servants valued even the worst of criminals? What if the warden and the person who threw the switch cried when they had to destroy a person for committing murder? We value fire, yet we take responsibility and keep it out of our forests on hot summer days. We are like a fire that keeps others warm, that gives light, and which also can destroy. When that fire begins to rampage through the forest we use all means to snuff it out, yet we still deem fire as valuable.
To value is to recognize something’s worth, to see its potential, to understand its purpose, to listen to it or them. To value is to esteem something, to give it honor, to think of it as a treasure. This is not only a mental ascension but a heart issue. The mind is the belief; the heart is the passion. The mind is the path; the heart is the force traveling down it. We love those who have a passion for life; they see great value in life. If you want passion and zest for life, value all things.
When we loose value for things we lose respect and honor for them. If all men are pigs and pigs are dishonorable then we have lost the value of half of society. If all people are scum then we eventually think of ourselves as valuable as scum, because we are people also. We as society are losing value for our seniors, we are losing value for poor, we are losing value for our youth, we are losing value for the handicapped, we are losing value for the opposite sex, The boundaries of value are encroaching in on us; we are conceived and we are of no value, we get older and are of no value. Society says if you are not of the right race you are of no value. We value the strong, yet someone is always stronger than us, in some way or another. We value those that are the same as us, yet we are all different. We devalue all who are different yet we are all created equal. As we devalue, so we devalue ourselves. As we value; we esteem ourselves as having value. For what we value we treasure, so the more we value the more treasures we have. Even our enemies have value because they make us stronger, as the old saying goes, "everything makes you stronger, as long as it doesn't kill you first." Even death can make us stronger, like the statement, "Do not make a martyr of him, or you'll never be able to defeat him." As we gain strength; we gain value. We never lose our intrinsic value, for we all have great potential to change the world.
We have a tendency to be taught what is right and wrong, and so we naturally gain the concept of this is better than that, this is more valuable than that. This has value and that does not. We condemn criminals and unilaterally dishonor them, yet criminals defeated the entire British army and established this great nation. Will history repeat itself? Will we attain to the value system of the British, of the 1700's, and condemn all without mercy and so start a revolution to defeat ourselves? When we value we bring life to that which is not, when we condemn we destroy ourselves. When all things are valuable; all things are under our influence. We love that which we value; we hate that which we do not value. Hate inspires a negative motivation to destroy. Hate breeds hate. Whites hate blacks, blacks hate Mexicans, and Mexicans hate whites, because no one sees the value in others. We generally see in our inner cities that there is more racism than in the country, it is like a cancer. We all wish to destroy cancer, yet the principle of cancer has a value in that it shows us that certain beliefs are like cancer. Cancer is a physical picture of a spiritual reality. Cancer is hard to detect and can spread rapidly. Cancer is the body attacking itself. Cancer can be formed from usage of stuff that is legal like smoking or as asbestos used to be. So, hatred, condemnation, looking down on others and being a racist are legal, yet are we creating an environment for cancer that will finally consume us? Will the cause and effects of nature come to teach us hard lessons? Will we continue to have less and less value for people and things and so die from our own hatreds?
All things have value, yet all things do not have to be treated equally. All things have value for all things are unique. All things have value for all things effect us. All things have value for in all things we can see the principles of this confusing life. All things have value for all things show us what we might want to or not want to become. All things have value because you are valuable, and all things are here for you and affect you.
Therefore, if we as a society begin again to value and hold all things as valuable we will give our country a chance to heal itself from its cancer. If we do not then we will inevitably give our country large doses of radiation and chemotherapy which will destroy the good cells with the bad. If that eventually doesn't stem the spread of our cancer then we as a country will die all because we lost value for the different parts of the body of our great nation and tried to throw them away. If we choose not to value our name will become the Divided States of America. If we value and honor others we strengthen others, if we devalue and dishonor others we weaken them. So, each of us has a personal choice in this free country of ours; we either value and live in peace in strength, or we dishonor and die in conflict and weakness. For, if we value then we have many treasures and these treasures become our teachers and strengths. If we dishonor then we think of them as trash and throw away that which is here to teach us.
To value is to recognize something’s worth, to see its potential, to understand its purpose, to listen to it or them. To value is to esteem something, to give it honor, to think of it as a treasure. This is not only a mental ascension but a heart issue. The mind is the belief; the heart is the passion. The mind is the path; the heart is the force traveling down it. We love those who have a passion for life; they see great value in life. If you want passion and zest for life, value all things.
When we loose value for things we lose respect and honor for them. If all men are pigs and pigs are dishonorable then we have lost the value of half of society. If all people are scum then we eventually think of ourselves as valuable as scum, because we are people also. We as society are losing value for our seniors, we are losing value for poor, we are losing value for our youth, we are losing value for the handicapped, we are losing value for the opposite sex, The boundaries of value are encroaching in on us; we are conceived and we are of no value, we get older and are of no value. Society says if you are not of the right race you are of no value. We value the strong, yet someone is always stronger than us, in some way or another. We value those that are the same as us, yet we are all different. We devalue all who are different yet we are all created equal. As we devalue, so we devalue ourselves. As we value; we esteem ourselves as having value. For what we value we treasure, so the more we value the more treasures we have. Even our enemies have value because they make us stronger, as the old saying goes, "everything makes you stronger, as long as it doesn't kill you first." Even death can make us stronger, like the statement, "Do not make a martyr of him, or you'll never be able to defeat him." As we gain strength; we gain value. We never lose our intrinsic value, for we all have great potential to change the world.
We have a tendency to be taught what is right and wrong, and so we naturally gain the concept of this is better than that, this is more valuable than that. This has value and that does not. We condemn criminals and unilaterally dishonor them, yet criminals defeated the entire British army and established this great nation. Will history repeat itself? Will we attain to the value system of the British, of the 1700's, and condemn all without mercy and so start a revolution to defeat ourselves? When we value we bring life to that which is not, when we condemn we destroy ourselves. When all things are valuable; all things are under our influence. We love that which we value; we hate that which we do not value. Hate inspires a negative motivation to destroy. Hate breeds hate. Whites hate blacks, blacks hate Mexicans, and Mexicans hate whites, because no one sees the value in others. We generally see in our inner cities that there is more racism than in the country, it is like a cancer. We all wish to destroy cancer, yet the principle of cancer has a value in that it shows us that certain beliefs are like cancer. Cancer is a physical picture of a spiritual reality. Cancer is hard to detect and can spread rapidly. Cancer is the body attacking itself. Cancer can be formed from usage of stuff that is legal like smoking or as asbestos used to be. So, hatred, condemnation, looking down on others and being a racist are legal, yet are we creating an environment for cancer that will finally consume us? Will the cause and effects of nature come to teach us hard lessons? Will we continue to have less and less value for people and things and so die from our own hatreds?
All things have value, yet all things do not have to be treated equally. All things have value for all things are unique. All things have value for all things effect us. All things have value for in all things we can see the principles of this confusing life. All things have value for all things show us what we might want to or not want to become. All things have value because you are valuable, and all things are here for you and affect you.
Therefore, if we as a society begin again to value and hold all things as valuable we will give our country a chance to heal itself from its cancer. If we do not then we will inevitably give our country large doses of radiation and chemotherapy which will destroy the good cells with the bad. If that eventually doesn't stem the spread of our cancer then we as a country will die all because we lost value for the different parts of the body of our great nation and tried to throw them away. If we choose not to value our name will become the Divided States of America. If we value and honor others we strengthen others, if we devalue and dishonor others we weaken them. So, each of us has a personal choice in this free country of ours; we either value and live in peace in strength, or we dishonor and die in conflict and weakness. For, if we value then we have many treasures and these treasures become our teachers and strengths. If we dishonor then we think of them as trash and throw away that which is here to teach us.
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Revival Hymn
This is an awesome video. Don't watch it unless you like getting wacked by God, in a good way. :)
The credit goes to 'benvezindie'
who posted this on youtube.
The credit goes to 'benvezindie'
who posted this on youtube.
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