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Pray for Them!

SEPTEMBER 20

MATTHEW 7:5_Thou hypocrite…

Here’s the question: Did Jesus condone adultery by saving the woman? Did He let her get by (meaning no judgment or accountability) with adultery?

Getting by with something is not really what Jesus is about. Surely by now you know what Jesus is about: freedom! To get by with something will not free you from repeating it. 

If you are truly allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you on the path to freedom and you stumble, don’t be discouraged—you will be freed. Proverbs 24:16 (KJV), “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief [Hebrew translation is: evil].”

The difference in the one who rises, and the one who falls deeper, is that heart condition: the ability to see all sin is against God and the desire to be changed by His grace. There is a word for this condition—repent: to sincerely and deeply grieve over your path and strongly desire to change directions.   

The Bible teaches to pray for those in authority—all forms of authority. There is a need for authorities to be filled with the Holy Spirit and be receptive to the Spirit’s leading.

You want your authorities to have wise judgment concerning you.

Pray for them! 

I haven’t answered those first two questions yet—stay with me!

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, Fill all those in my authority with Your Holy Spirit. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.   

Christ knows my heart condition—He will reveal it!

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There Has to Be a Standard

SEPTEMBER 19

MATTHEW 7:4_and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

Generally, you think you’re always right. When caught in the wrong you cry, “Foul!” or, “Stop judging me!” What’s in your heart? “It’s only wrong in your eyes. As long as I feel it’s right for me, then it’s right! Don’t judge me!” 

There has to be a standard for right and wrong, otherwise life is total chaos. If you find God’s standards to be judgmental, the devil agrees—“Those standards really don’t apply to you. After all, Jesus didn’t judge the woman caught in adultery. He let her get by, why shouldn’t you?“

John 8 (KJV): “3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, ‘Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?’ 6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him … 7 He [Jesus] … said unto them, ‘He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her’ … 10 When Jesus … saw none but the woman, he said unto her, ‘Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?’ 11 She said, ‘No man, Lord.’  And Jesus said unto her, ‘Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.’”

Don’t miss tomorrow!

PRAYER

Holy Jesus, Help me build my life on Your standards. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.   

 Christ sets standards for life—He helps me follow them!

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A Big Stick

SEPTEMBER 18

MATTHEW 7:4_and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

According to Zechariah 2:8 (KJV), God considers Israel the apple of His eye, “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me [an angel] unto the nations which spoiled you [Israel]: for he that toucheth you [Israel] toucheth the apple of his [God’s] eye.”

Paul saw Israel and the Jews as the apple of God’s eye. He saw Christians as a blot in God’s eye. He could not see the true blot—his own sect, the Pharisees.

God saw the fervor with which Paul attacked Christians. And because God sees the heart, it was clear Paul’s fervor came from love and devotion to God. It was that love and devotion which caused God to choose Paul (not the other way around) to become a two-fold fixer for His beloved Israel.

God used Paul’s great zeal to publicly proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. This cleared away the beam from the eyes of any Pharisee with a true heart for God. God also used Paul’s zeal to bring salvation to the Gentiles. The Messiah died for the Gentiles as well as the Jews.

Because Paul was so far off the path, God used a big stick (discipline) to straighten him out.

Then God used Paul in an amazing way.    

PRAYER

Holy God, Please use my zeal to share Your truth. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.   

Christ chooses to use me in the world—I will let Him!

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The Point Is …

SEPTEMBER 17

MATTHEW 7:4_and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

Let’s begin to dig to the core of this whole judgment thing.

In the Apostle Paul’s view, he was doing God’s work when he persecuted and condemned Christians. He considered Jesus and His teachings to be far too radical for the Jewish religion. After all, they had the laws God gave Moses. To turn some of the laws upside down as Jesus did, had to be from the devil.

Jesus proclaiming He and the Father as one was blasphemy—to Paul. Merriam-Webster defines blasphemy as, the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God. Paul, a Pharisee, believed Jesus-followers should be annihilated.

The point is: Paul, especially as a Pharisee, should have recognized who Jesus was. It is understandable that Paul could have seen Jesus’ radical teachings as destructive to the Law— thus the mote. But it was Paul’s own beam which blinded him to belief in the physical presence of the Messiah. 

Paul was a fixer. Taking out Jesus-followers was his way to fix. Paul was also a disciplinarian, and his form of discipline on Jesus-followers was both brutal and deadly.

But God saw something in Paul that people did not see …

PRAYER

Messiah, Please don’t let my beams blind me to truth. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.   

Christ wants me to have 20/20 vision—In the truth!

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Tough Love

SEPTEMBER 16

MATTHEW 7:4_Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, let me pull out the mote out of thine eye…

There are times when disciplinary action is the best solution. Hebrews 12:6 (KJV), “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”  

Notice: God equates punishment with love.  Why? Because if I see you heading over a cliff I’ll knock you down if I have to, in order to save your life. It would not matter if I had warned you many times a cliff was ahead. It would not matter if there were warning signs posted along the way. If you have a problem with rebellion, you are blind—not physically, but spiritually.

Proverbs 3:12 (KJV) follows the same love theme, “For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” This is what is known as tough love.

Love is motivated by what is best for the other person, regardless of what it may cost me. The Lord always administers discipline with love, but it doesn’t always feel that way. I’m sure the apostle Paul being blinded, half out of his mind, and unable to eat for three days, felt far from loved. He did not know if he would ever see again.

I’m sure he felt judged.   

PRAYER

Holy Redeemer, Help me know Your discipline comes from love. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.   

Christ loves enough to discipline—He loves me!