March 14 “JUDGE NOT!” Matthew 7:3-5
Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5)
How easy it is to point out the shortcomings of our fellow travelers, while never recognizing our limitations and failings! Yesterday, a child asked me why a particular individual was acting the way that they were, and I had to say that “they don’t see their mistakes, just yours!” He responded, “That’s not right!” Sadly, this young child is right, it is not right, yet every one of us has been guilty, and may be guilty right this minute! A large part of our responsibilities, as a Born-Again Believer, is to “Get Along” with Fellow Believers, and with other people, in general! Are we quick to judge others? Are we ready to “Change” them so that they look like us? Matthew 7:1-2 declares that we should… “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” When we judge others, we open ourselves up to being judged by those same standards, and most of us can’t stand up under those standards! Focus on Jesus! Focus on your growing relationship with Him! As you continue to grow, pray, believe, serve faithfully, and recognize your weaknesses and plead the Blood of Jesus for strength and for clarity and for the abilities to view our neighbor as ourselves and to ask God to make them in His Will and Way, then we will be less likely to judge and more likely to pray for them, love them and to encourage them! I know that not all will embrace this fact of life, yet if just one will focus on Jesus and encourage just one soul to come to Jesus, then all is worth the effort! “Please Lord, cause me to be an encourager, not a stumbling block for a lost soul!” Your attitude, your salvation, your service is entirely up to you, but as for me, I choose to serve God, embrace His Forgiveness, and to extend that message to all that will listen! Please Lord, make my words, actions, attitude and witness pleasing in Your Sight! REPENT… TO GOD BE THE GLORY! Stay Strong, Stay Focused… THE BEST IS YET TO BE!