Mobility

I was watching a video last night and the Scripture reference was the following.

In the wilderness prepare  the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
⁴ Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
⁵ And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. - Isaiah 40:3-5

Now the speaker in the video was referring to the Essenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls.  He was speaking to this group of Jews who moved into a remote desert location near the Dead Sea and had an obvious difficult life in the desert, but they did so as a part of their beliefs (we would call that downward mobility today).  He was describing how they found water and channeled it to their city and how they focused their culture on knowing the Word of God as the center of their existence.  It was all interesting although I don't think I have the same passion for this sect of Jews as he does.  But his question was this, if finding God and being close to God were to require that we live a more difficult and simple life, would we be willing to do it?  .... Yikes! ... In other words, if we lived much more frugal and didn't have to work so much to live so we could spend more time in direct study of God's Word and its application, are we willing to do that?  Well? (I know, it's a deep subject.)

Rare, today or in any time, is the family or person who will pass up a prominent career to be a missionary.  I think of the Womble's in Russia.  Two electrical engineers degreed from Georgia Tech.  Their support is mainly from well-to-do engineers in the Atlanta area that they went to school with!  Or the Bundy's, Brett has a degree in Pre-Med and surely would be earning a good salary in that profession.  Our society would call that downward mobile, but I can most assuredly say they would call it upward mobile.  And I think they wonder why we aren't more like them, that is, those of us who call ourselves Christian.

As I read this Bible text, which I think is commonly referenced to John the Baptist, I am not sure that I completely understand what it is calling towards.  Shall I go to the wilderness and make straight a road, fill valleys, and level mountains?  More study is required here.

My Propensity to Sin

Romans 7: ²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Teeing off a devotion series and Sunday School lesson by Chris Garick, I find myself in these verses.  I want to do what I know is good, but temptation is a powerful and incredibly deceptive thing.  The things that tempt me may be very different than the things that tempt you.  I think this is why we so often readily identify sin in other people's lives that they seem blind to or unwilling to admit.  We tend to have a "we've got it," or "its not really a problem," or "I can stop any time I want to," or "if God didn't want me to do this He wouldn't have created me to do it" attitude or mentality.  Sin tells us that we can "have our cake and eat it too" as Satan told Eve that she would not surely die in the garden leading up to the original sin.  While we know Satan lied to Eve, we often miss the lies he has sold us and to miss these lies exposes us to terrible consequences as documented in Romans 8: ⁵ Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. ⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ⁸ Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
I've never heard a person say categorically that they don't want to please God, but know so many that are bent on living a life displeasing to God and are either blind to it or are rationalizing it with the statements above.  Fortunately, as Chris goes on to point out in his own devotion on this subject, the story doesn't end with an everlasting internal struggle that is up to us to fight alone.  Romans 8: ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.^[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,^[g] Father.”
So it is clear than if we have accepted Christ as our Savior and we are actively living a life led by the Spirit, we are freed from battling sin on our own, but have all the power of God inside us battling it for us.  The key here is what Jimmy Whited preached on so well yesterday:  we must be actively pursuing a life led by the Spirit, not our own "wisdom," logic, or ideas.  To say that "God gave me a brain and expects me to use it" is to risk putting our own will above that of God's.  I'll concede only that God has given us a brain and expects us to use it to seek him.  Beyond that, we risk putting ourselves on the throne of our lives instead of the Holy Spirit. 
So how have you responded to Jimmy's invitation to make Jesus Lord?  Are you wrestling with the subject to the point you're criticizing the sermon, or are you examining your own life to see where the Holy Spirit needs to be given control?  I know I have areas in my life that have yet to be fully in control of the Spirit.  I long for the promised peace of life in the spirit, but know that it only comes through death to myself and living a life led by Him.
 

Live in the Spirit

²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. - Romans 7:21-25

Paul examines us as physical beings with God's Spirit inside.  He feels the attack and demand of the inherited sin versus the pull of the Spirit inside of him.  When he wants to do good, evil is right there tempting the whole while.  Isn't wanting to do good enough?  Surely God only wants us to want to do good right?  Aren't we sufficient if we just want to do what's right?  Um, maybe not.  No matter how much I may want to do good, I'm insufficient to do it.  I simply can't overcome the sin within myself.  "What a wretched man I am!"  

No matter how much I want to be something more or do something more, I am caught in this sin web and it will devour me.  What will rescue me?  God does, "through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

He describes it as two Masters that we are slaves.  One is a slave "of sin at work within me" and wages war against his mind.  The other is a slave to his mind.  "The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace." Paul writes in Romans 8:6.  I believe it is an error to read Romans 7 and not read Romans 8.  If I just live in Romans 7 then I believe that I am in a continual war with myself.  Yes, God rescues me from the inevitable consequence of my sin, but I am still at war with it.  When I read Romans 8, I realize that Jesus' own Spirit lives within me and there should be life and peace, not a war. 

⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. - Romans 8:9-11

Once we are rescued we are in the life of the Spirit.  And if that Spirit is of God who through His power raised Jesus from the dead, He is able to give you life even though you are in a sinful body.  How?  Because it is His Spirit and not your Spirit.  Why?  Because He loves you and wants to be with you.  He wants us to live in His victory over death from sin.  He wants us to live in that abundant life, which is life in Him (not more stuff). 

"O death, where is thy sting?"  Live in the Spirit of God today.  Find it, dwell there, and seek to stay there.

Perspective

Matthew 16:25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. NIV

Giving it to God is a difficult thing to do.  Here is this issue before me and all my worldly training says attack it, analyze it, make a plan for it, work the plan, and expect God to bless the plan.  None of this is scriptural.  God says to seek Him first and everything else will be given to us.  I'm not advocating ignoring issues or shirking responsibility, but sometimes we need to quit trying to solve insolvable problems with our own knowledge, skills, and wisdom.  Often I find I simply stir the pot and make matters worse.  I'm stuck in such a situation now at work.  We have a couple of people actively trying to subvert progress and undermine the people making it.  Its tempting to try to expose these people, but any attempt to do so is to act on second or third hand information reducing me to their level.  I simply lack the wisdom to deal with this effectively. 
I'm praying that God will modify this situation through or in spite of me such that all involved can simply get back to productive work.  It's difficult, however, to not get absorbed in scheming, planning, and plotting against these people.  We've found it impossible not to dwell on the issues, which has robbed us of quality time and useful productivity.  Clearly we've not adequately given this issue to God.  To truly give this to God is tough.  God says not to worry, but the constant conversation indicates we are in fact worrying - a lot!  It's time to focus on what God has called us to do and when this issue becomes unavoidable, drop to our knees and spend our time in prayer vice worry. 

Read, Soak, and Repeat

Good Morning!

This is God.

I will be handling all your problems today.

I will NOT need your help.

Have a great day!

A very simple message, but one I have failed at grasping the last few days.  Ok, okay.  You got it, you got it, you got it.  You've heard our cries, you've got it.  You can handle it.  It's Yours. 

Gees, I'm so hard-headed!  How does God put up with me?  

Thanks Julie for pointing out the lesson and devotion for today.  :)

No Whining!

Philippians 2: ¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”^[c] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky
I'm sure we all know people who constantly whine about everything.  These people just wear me out and I get tired of working them.  Nothing is good enough, no one does anything right, there's never enough or there's too much and on and on.  As I've aged, I get less patient with these people, but I've learned that I can't change them.  In order to work with them, I've got to change.  Therefore, I've learned that there are a few things worth arguing about.  Inerrancy of Scripture and Christian morals and values are a couple of principles that I stand on and have become increasingly vocal about.  There are a myriad (look it up!) of things that simply have no real significance, yet result in bitter arguments, office "drama," and even church splits.  People just lack what I call strategic perspective and simply can't sort out those things of eternal significance that must be inviolate and those things that really don't matter in the grand scheme of things.  I sit in so many meetings at work, various boards, and even church and listen to endless emotional debates that really don't impact our ability to reach people for Christ or fly, fight, and win (as the Air Force says). 
When these issue come up, I try to sort out first, does this really impact my core values and does it have eternal consequences?  If not, then is it worth arguing about?  Given limited time, money, and energy, should I through my resources at this issue?  Almost always, NO!  When I make priority-based decisions based on God first, Family second, and self third, so many of life's divisive issues fall away into insignificance and I can appear blissfully ignorant.  Unfortunately, very few people share my core values and are out to get what they can as often as they can wherever they can from whomever they can.  When I retreat into my defensive, "does this really warrant my time and attention," I open myself up to be victimized and taken advantage of.  When these issues become personal to me or my family, it is much more difficult to sort out and "do everything without grumbling." 
Lord, help me to be the person focused on your kingdom, not the trivial issues of this world.  Help me to stand firm on those things that really matter to you, but avoid needless and divisive conflict.  Keep me and my family & friends from being victimized by self-centered people who would see the mission fail in order to serve their own selfish interests and ego.  Help me to be wise, courageous, and yet loving in all I do.

Under Attack

John 10: ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. (NIV)

 

People amaze me sometimes. One would think that people on the same team would support and encourage one another, but this is not always the case.  In fact, in this ever-increasingly self-centered world, its obvious to me that if there's not something in it for the individual, then taking the team down with an interpersonal squabble is acceptable.  I was not raised this way, do not think this way, and am amazed and almost always caught off-guard by people that do.  In fact, I'm not very good at combating these people because they have secret, personal agendas, whereas I always (or at least I think I do) approach situations with a great deal of transparency and naivety.   That makes me and those working with me vulnerable to surprise attack from within. 

Jesus talked about people like this - those whom their personal agendas are bigger than the objectives of the team.  In this particular case in John 10, he acknowledges that such people really are serving as "hired hands" as opposed to the "good shepherd" who lays his life down for His sheep.  Obviously Jesus is talking to and referring to the Pharisees who are focused simply on their own personal agenda, but I think the principle applies to many cases in which I see people elevate their own personal agendas above the team's and the team suffers because of it.

I find comfort in knowing that whether today, or in the far distant future, God ultimately wins and as an inheritor of His kingdom, then so do I.  Paul, who was always under very real physical as well as verbal attack summed it up this way: 2 Timothy 4: ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (NIV)

I really don't know what some people's agenda truly is, but I know that in spite of their scheming and backstabbing attacks, in the end, God wins.  My job is to remain in His will which requires me to forgive them.  Today, forgiveness will be hard, but I pray that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart would be holy and acceptable to Him and would bring Him glory and honor. 

 

 

Live

Lord, reach inside of me and discover a new me.  One that not just resembles You; one that is You.  In that revelation, may Your purpose be found in me.  Show me why I was created and put in this world.  Keep me from simply being a man of destruction.  Where I refuse to be overcome, crush me.  Lord, remove me.  Create in me Yourself or destroy me.  You declare that You and You alone are life. Wherever You are not is death.  I would rather physically die than live spiritually dead.  Lord, make me to live - today.  

Shout to the Lord!

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

¹ Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
²     Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Tired?

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30

Are you tired today?  Maybe you are physically tired, just exhausted.  Sometimes we need a vacation from the vacation.  I think this is the easiest way to be tired.  I usually am physically tired just from not sleeping well enough or enough.  It seems to be so much worse to be emotionally tired.  Or to be tired of some problem that just exists, it neither gets worse or better, or it is getting better but not fast enough (darn that whole perseverance builds patience thing).

Jesus puts the answer very simply - “Come to me”.  If you are tired, go to Him “and I will give you rest”.  What’s that problem or burden you have?  Take it to Jesus and He will give you rest.  Stop carrying it.  I find that I can go to the alter, lay it upon His feet while I pray and feel immensely better in that time, but then I pick it back up when I get up and leave the alter.  Why do I do that?  Do I not trust Jesus with my burden?  I think I do.  It is just so hard to let it go I guess.  If only I could be as a child and come to Jesus completely open hearted, giving all for Him to enjoy, even the burdens.

²⁸ Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary.  His understanding is unsearchable.  ²⁹ He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.  ³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, ³¹ but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. – Isaiah 40:28-31

God never gets tired.  As an engineer it only makes logical sense that I’d give my burdens to Him since He can work on them all night and all day, but even more, as the controller of time He can stop time and work on them or go back in time and change them.  The Lord can also change any aspect or condition of the burden that I can’t possibly know can be or should be done.  Only a fool would not give his problems to God.  Unfortunately, I am that fool too often.

But, if we do give it to Him, He provides strength to our tired and weary selves.  I think just not carrying the burden provides strength, but God says He gives power, increases strength, renews strength, … IF we wait or hope on Him.  We trust Him with it; we know He will do His will and it is best; we have faith that He has it; and we declare that unless He handles it, it is impossible so that we can praise His name for His deliverance.

Blessed

Philippians 1: ³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

I just returned from this year's High School Mission Trip to Henderson Settlement in Frakes, KY.  What in incredible blessing it turned out to be for me and those who were blessed to attend.  The youth were great, the family we served blessed us more than we were able to bless them, and God answered numerous prayers.  For me, the highlights were the respect our youth showed me and the family we served, the testimony of the family (although I missed our poignant Friday session), and participating in praise and worship led by Ryan.  There is truly no greater sense of contentment for a father than to see his son mature into a young man gripped by the love of God and devoted to His service.  For me, I clearly saw God answer prayer in very real and practical ways that confirmed that He cares about the details of our lives (Matt 6) and my faith was increased. 
I pray that those youth whose lives were touched this week will continue their walk into the fullness of a deep and abiding relationship with God.  Failure to capitalize on this experience would be such a waste.  I look forward to their response to His clear demonstration of love.

Dry Bones

The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. ² Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. ³ And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

⁴ Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. ⁶ I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. - Ezekiel 37:1-10

The question God asked Ezekiel is a question God asks us.  Do you have an impossible situation in your life right now?  Reflect for a moment about it.  God is asking you, “Son/daughter, can there be life in that situation?”

What is your answer?  Maybe you’ve been praying about it for years and there has been no change.  Maybe all you see is a dead thing.  It will never change, there is no hope for it.  What do you see?  Do you see the thing as it is, or do you see a God who can bring life to anything dead?  What do you see, Christian?  Ezekiel answers with his spiritual eyes, “O Lord God, You know.”  And so it should be with us, our answer to the impossible situation should be “O Lord, Your will be done.”  We must be careful not to lean on this as something to say and not pray diligently with the burdens on our heart, but we must say it knowing that God can bring anything to life.  The situation results are up to Him and Him alone and we are dependent upon Him for it.

Then the bones become assembled in order, flesh is attached, and they become corpses.  I think I’d feel more spooked standing among corpses than dry bones.  There is order established from the hearing of the Word of God, yet there is still no life.  Too often we as a church put everything in order, we get the right people in the right places and still there is no life.  In our own lives, we may read the Word, do the Word, and get worn out by it with the feeling we are doing it all ourselves.  And the truth is we are.

Next, the Spirit of the Lord was breathed into the corpses and they became alive.  Just as God breathed into man in Genesis and gave him life, just as the winds blew at Pentecost and the Spirit came into the disciples, God brought life to them. 

Were you not once as spiritually dead as the dead bones Ezekiel is standing amongst?  And yet, you were brought to life.  The Bible says, "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:12).  If a person does not have Jesus, his bones are bleached, white, and dry. Spiritually speaking, he has no life.  Ephesians 2:1 says, "And you hath he quickened [revived], who were dead in trespasses and sins."  If sin still reigns in our lives, if we're still controlled by a life of sin, then we're spiritually dead.  We are as good as dry bones.  "For this my son was dead," the father said of the prodigal son, "and is alive again; he was lost, and is found" (Luke 15:24).  When was the rebellious son dead?  When he was out living a riotous life. Spiritually he was as dead as a dry mummy, but then God brought him to his knees and restored him to his senses.

When Mary asked, "How can this be?" the angel Gabriel told her, "Nothing is impossible with God."  And when the disciples asked, "Who then can be saved?"  Jesus said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  The Bible is saying that without Christ we can't do anything, but through Christ all things are possible.  God never wants us to lose faith that He can give life-even if it appears that a situation is hopeless.  

Answered Prayers

Nothing seems to strengthen my faith more than answered prayer.  I have to say this week has became a week of answered prayer. 

John 15:7 - "If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you."

First, we've been praying that God would protect our home.  In that, we had been feeling like there was something not right with our nephew, but we didn't know what.  It was something inside that was speaking to both of us, but how can you make a move on a feeling?  (I'm not sure, but I am sure that both of us are closer to doing it as we have had several issues lately where that internal feeling was right.)  Unfortunately, to our great disappointment, something was wrong and it became exposed.  I have to believe that God was protecting our home and him as we had been praying for him also.  I do wish we had more significant influence on settling the matter though.

James 1:6 - "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering."

Next, we have also been praying for some time that God would help us with our vacation plans.  Julie had an idea about what she was being led for us to do (6-day rafting trip in Grand Canyon), but I just couldn't settle on it.  I'm always up for adventure, but the costs are pretty substantial.  I was about to do it anyway and was conversing with the company when they offered the trip we wanted for half-price.  It was too incredible to comprehend.  I have to believe that God provided that extra incentive.  Now the vacation plans are set.

John 16:24b - "... ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full."

Then, Jack was having a little hard time with the top of his ankle, since he has been running a lot having started football conditioning this week.  We prayed that God would heal his ankle and help him to tough it out for his last day this week so it could then heal during the three days off.  When Jack got home he said his ankle hurt at first but then basically stopped hurting while he was at conditioning!  (The same time that we were praying.)  I noticed that he was not limping when he was home whereas he was the day before.  How does your foot heal while exercising?  I have to believe it's an answered prayer.

Matthew 7:7 - "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you."

And to top it off, as I pull into work I look over to my left and see Mike doing some physical training.  Yes, his hair is still fallen out and he is pale.  Yes, he still looks weak.  But there he was, after cancer removal and four rounds of chemotherapy having enough energy to begin trying to live again.  We have been praying diligently for Mike for over four months for healing and comfort in the treatments.  What a joy it was to see him out there.

Matthew 6:6 - "But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to the Father which is in secret; and your Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly."

God is just too good to us.  When I sit and contemplate it I can hardly contain myself.  How He can still care and love me is really difficult to comprehend, but yet I know it to be true and real.  Praise God today for His many answered prayers!

Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.  By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. – Hebrews 11:1-3

This is the Christian’s most common definition of faith.  Faith is the reality of our hope.  What is our hope?  Most people hope for something better, although when you ask them what that betterment is they usually speak in terms of things.  An ease of life.  A smaller group would speak of living better by doing and being more as a person.  This group should be celebrated since they are closer to real Hope.  Either way, the hope is for something more than what is or what they are in this world.  Our faith, as Christians, is the reality of Jesus Christ.  He is the evidence of an unseen God.  He is more than what is or what we are in this world.  And through faith we know that He framed the world as it exists.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. – Hebrews 11:6

You cannot come to God without faith in believing that He Is.  The Prodigal Son returned to his father because he knew he was a son of his father.  He believed in who his father was.   Without faith, we cannot return to our Father and our Father is most pleased when we return to Him.  He rejoices with all of Heaven when any one of us returns to Him.

In light of many recent events in my own life, the life of my brother, the life of my nephew, the observance of the sons and daughters of Christian friends, I see that in every situation where someone has made decisions for sin they have really made a decision away from faith.  Their adherence to the promises of God and their belief in Him knowing, through the words on 2,000 year old pages, what is best for them is waned.  At some point of ignorance and foolishness we believe that we know better than the God who made us.  Our faith is failing.  We are having a faith issue.  Whether it is deciding to divorce our spouse, do a drug, not do what our parents are saying, become a homosexual, or whatever it is, the real issue is faith.  We are saying that we know better.  Until we get our faith right, full correction is not possible.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.  For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.  And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. – Hebrews 11:13-16

But what about the cry that we are doing what God says and we don’t see how this is in our better interest?  Again, it’s a faith issue.  If I believe there is one thing that I know better about what is better for me than I am doubting God.  Here we see in Hebrews that many people didn't receive their promises but lived to the fullness of their life in faith anyway.  Their promises being made later and to others.  They lived and served faithfully for others, most of which they never knew.  Even though they could remember how to go back to where they had lived before and could have returned whenever they wanted, they still stayed faithful to God knowing that the fullness of their life was in Him and He was faithful to them.  

May we be as faithful for the remainder of our days!

Judge Not

This is a very well written devotion by Oswald Chambers today.  I started to add to it, but then backed out as I'm not sure anything could add to it.  There are many great statements in it.  I did add the Bible verses to his references for ease of reading.  May God forgive me for anytime I possibly think or consider a thought of judgment or devaluation of another person or their character.  For then, I become the greatest sinner.

Here is Oswald's writing:

Judge not, that you be not judged - Matthew 7:1

Jesus’ instructions with regard to judging others is very simply put; He says, “Don’t.”  The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known.  Criticism is one of the ordinary activities of people, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. The effect of criticism is the dividing up of the strengths of the one being criticized. The Holy Spirit is the only one in the proper position to criticize, and He alone is able to show what is wrong without hurting and wounding. It is impossible to enter into fellowship with God when you are in a critical mood.  Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others.  Jesus says that as His disciple you should cultivate a temperament that is never critical. This will not happen quickly but must be developed over a span of time.  You must constantly beware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person.

There is no escaping the penetrating search of my life by Jesus.  If I see the little speck in your eye, it means that I have a plank of timber in my own, "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).

Every wrong thing that I see in you, God finds in me.  Every time I judge, I condemn myself.   "¹⁷ Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, ¹⁸ and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, ¹⁹ and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. ²¹ You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself?  You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?²²  You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery?   You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³  You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?  ²⁴ For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written." (Romans 2:17-24).  

Stop having a measuring stick for other people. There is always at least one more fact, which we know nothing about, in every person’s situation.  The first thing God does is to give us a thorough spiritual cleaning.  After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us.  I have never met a person I could despair of, or lose all hope for, after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God.

Divine Power

“His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness …” – 2 Peter 1:3.

It is God’s power that provides for our ability to have a call from Him to be saved.  It is God who came down to us, lived perfectly with us, allowed Himself to suffer under our judgment, was crucified until physically dead, buried, and who rose again.  This is the divine power of God.  There exist no other perfect love, no other perfect sacrifice, no other perfect obedience, except for that in Christ Jesus.  And that same power has been given to us through His divine call and our sharing of His divine nature.  This is so we might have His divine power to life a joy-filled and victorious Christian life.

Do not say that God has not made an arrangement for you to live for Him.  He has made every arrangement for our life in Christ and our godliness of life for Him.  God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.  All things, not just some things leaving us to figure out some ourselves.  He has given us all things that lead to life.  Jesus says that He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).  God has given us all things that lead to Jesus.  “He that has the Son has life …” (1 John 5:12).

God tells us he will never leave or forsake us.  The moment we become born again into His divine nature we have the ability to experience victory over sin and be released from hopelessness and fear that dominate the world today.  But, this gift of divine power does not mean we will remain in perfect communion with God.  It does mean that we are capable of staying there, but as we know, the battle for us is ongoing and will ever remain until the glorious day we receive our final call to live in His presence.  A former president of Radio Bible Class, Richard De Hann said, “If we have the assurance of God’s forgiveness, the consciousness of His eternal presence, the joy of answered prayer, the experience of His day-by-day guidance, and the expectation of a glorious eternity in Heaven, you can have the blessing of God’s power in your life even in the midst of illness, great poverty, or anonymity.”

Read God’s Word.  Commune with Him in prayer.  Obey His teachings.  And live in God’s strength.

Divine Nature

Through another supernatural work of God we are to “be partakers of the divine nature”.  Some false teachers in the day Peter wrote this were teaching that salvation was an evolution.  They thought of salvation as a gradual process of being delivered from our lust from the sinful world and thereby becoming enabled to share the nature of God.  They thought this transformation was worked out through religious rites and mystical experiences.

Rather than this viewpoint, the apostle Peter teaches that the supernatural event has already occurred.  It happens the moment a person is born again through faith in Christ.  It is a single event, not a series of events.  We are not sort of saved or partially saved.  We either believe in Christ and get saved or we don’t.

But, what exactly does being a “partaker of the divine nature” mean?  It means that we might be called a child of God!  The Christian life is not a series of dos and don’ts.  The Christian life is being a part of Christ, it is living with Him and wanting the things of God.  It is following His guidance and yearning for more of Him everyday.

First, it means that we are united with Him.  In John 15 Jesus speaks of Himself as the vine and we as branches.  This is an obvious statement of our being united with Him.  In fact, He says that we can do nothing without Him.  In Ephesians 2:4-6, Paul says “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”.  Paul writes in Philippians 3:10 “that I may know Him”.  We can know Jesus for He has called us friends.  Oh, to know Him!  Christianity is a Person.

Second, we are able to share this divine nature through the new birth.  In John 3, Jesus took great pains to describe this to Nicodemus.  We have a physical birth by our earthly parents, but when we believe for our salvation upon Jesus Christ we have a spiritual birth.  Peter says in 1 Peter 1:23 that this new birth is “… not of a corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which lives and abides forever”.  There is a new nature inside of us and it is God’s continued work of Santifying Grace to bring that man out so that this new nature is the dominant one.

Third, we receive indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.  Paul teaches in Corinthians that this Spirit guides and comforts us, and leads us into all truth.  A part of God actually takes up residence in my spirit.  As God’s nature is certainly divine, we are able to share in that divine nature as He dwells inside our heart.  Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  Christ lives in me and in so doing I share in His divine nature.

Peter follows this being a partaker in the divine nature with “having escaped the corruption of this world”.  We aren’t just out of it for a little while, but we are washed clean and new again.  The corruption isn’t our primary nature anymore.  Having been born again, we have a knowledge and the Spirit inside of us showing us how to life a real life.  We have escaped the corruption, it doesn’t rule us anymore.  There is a continuing conflict in the life of a believer between the new nature and the old nature. 

The best story is the Prodigal Son story Jesus told.  At the end, the son had to say that he would arise and go to his father, because he was a son and not a pig.  In our struggle in our conflict, if we are sons of God, we will at some point have to return to our Father.  Our nature is a son nature and not a pig nature.  

Compelled!

For Christ’s love compels us,  (2 Corinthians 5:14a NIV)

For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16 NIV)

Truly no better place to be than on a mission trip with my family - not just my own, but my Youth group and adult volunteers as well. Looking forward not just to a week in the Appalachians of Kentucky, but an opportunity to spend it in service.  I pray that this Father's Day wouldn't be about me, but about what our Heavenly Father has done in and through my life and the lives of so many other fathers who have dedicated themselves to His service. 

Divine Call

³ His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, ⁴ by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Our call to God came from God.  We have been “given all things … through the knowledge of Him who called us”. 

There is a general call to salvation which has been extended to everyone.  This call is Prevenient Grace.  Before anyone knows God, the only message they can hear is “Come to Me”.  Prevenient Grace is simply the effort God extends in making that call.  The internal call that only you can hear.  The people, events, and happenings in someone’s life before they recognize and decide to “Trust in Him”.  They are all forms of Prevenient Grace.  It is God calling them to “Come to Him”.

Make no mistake, however, the call to God is of God and not from anyplace else.  This specific call to us is an act of God that is intended to lead us to repentance and faith by the Holy Spirit.  This invitation to salvation comes from God, not us.  The invitation, the wooing, for us to come to Christ would not be accepted by anyone if it weren’t for the enlightening, convicting, and enabling work of the Holy Spirit.

Why does this call have to come from God?  Because natural man does not seek God and is spiritually blind and dead.  Man as a sinner is hostile towards God.  In Romans 3:11 it says, “There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.”  1 Corinthians 2:14 reads, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”   A general invitation to the gospel isn’t enough.  The call has to be upon him.  Only the Holy Spirit can do the supernatural work of opening sin-blinded eyes and ears and giving the power to believe.  When a person does hear and believe the message of salvation, there is no doubt that he or she has been divinely called.

The call, the invitation, is to everyone for the Bible says, “Whosoever will may come”.  But that call comes with an effectual work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the one who responds.  An old preacher said this, “I don’t understand much about the doctrines of calling and election, but I’m sure of two things: I know that God loves everybody and invites them to Christ.  I also know that I was running away from Him as fast as I could, but He still found me and saved me.”

And all God’s people said, “AMEN!”

As a saved person, I can’t help but be filled with gratitude that God singled me out and for reasons I’ll never understand, opened my eyes, overcame my will, and enabled me to believe on Christ.  There is nothing about me that deserves His divine call, but I am so thankful He made it.

Testing Teachers

Acts 17: ¹¹ Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.(NIV)

How many of you reading this simply accept whatever is said by your SS Teacher, Pastor, or Youth Pastor without question and without verifying against scripture?  We've been blessed in our church with sound Biblical teaching, but this isn't always the case.  Without study, we are susceptible to buying into false teaching.  To have a misunderstanding of the things of God is to worship a false god!  As you grow and mature, more and more of your spiritual growth becomes your own responsibility.  Put down your phone (or open your Bible app!), turn off the video games, and open scripture and read. Pray first for the Holy Spirit to guide you, then trust God to do as he promised.  Open the Book of Life and become familiar with the God who relentlessly pursues you and wants what is best for you.  He promised that His word would not return empty (Is 55:11), but would accomplish what it needs to at that moment in your life.  Furthermore, examine what people say about God for yourself.  Don't be immature, susceptible to every whim of teaching (Eph 4:14), instead take on the responsibility of adulthood and begin to feast from the meat of His Word. 

Tell it Like it is

2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Paul came to them and told them the gospel as it is.  He did not speak with the fullness of his advanced education.  He did not speak with the fullness of the Jewish history and rituals.  His message centered on Jesus and His crucifixion.  He says that he was weak and in fear while he gave the message.  He did all of this so they would be focused on the message of Christ and their faith would not be in how well he is able to speak and present the Gospel.

Today we concern ourselves so much with the entertainment of people.  I find myself concerned with this too often.  As one elder pastor said, "When you present the Gospel, tell it like it is!". We should not be too concerned about music, projectors, sound, or lighting unless it is obstructive to the clear message of the Gospel.

Maybe we're a friendly church, maybe we're a great singing church, maybe we're a fellowshipping church, whatever we might be is all secondary to the question of, "are we a presenting of the Gospel as it is church?"   Keep the main thing the main thing and let the rest settle in underneath.

Effective and Fruitful

5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. - 2 Peter 1:5-9

How can you be ineffective and unfruitful as a witness to Christ?  Do not add anything to your faith.  Don't grow.  Believe in Christ, get your fire insurance, then be satisfied.  Everyone preaches that you are either growing or dying, but I wonder if you can't stagnate.  Perhaps some get saved but refuse the Sanctifying Grace of God.

The bigger lesson is that we are provided a step-by-step functional ladder diagram to use to not be ineffective or unfruitful.  Where am I in the flow chart?  I need to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal this to me as I reflect upon my actions.  Do I have virtue and knowledge?  Am I practicing self-control with perseverance?  I thing this aspect of this list is the most important as a turning point towards those character qualities that demonstrate God in us to others.  If we learn to persevere in self-control godliness, brotherly affection and love are added.

I think of these across the traits of my character.  Considering my patience, am I knowledgeable of it, is it in self-control, has it lead to loving others?  How about my anger?  Or my joy?

If we lack these qualities we are as being blind having forgotten our sins have been forgiven.  I understand this as if we are lacking these qualities, we have forgotten how significant our salvation is and how much it transforms us.  we have forgot our first love.  Or, we have allowed our guilt and shame for our sins to overwhelm us and to render us as ungrowable,  since we have forgotten these sins have been removed through the work of Christ.

We should desire to be effective and fruitful.  So, we should work on these aspects of growth in all aspects of our lives.

Judgment (Continued)

2 Timothy 4: ² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

“Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.”
― Rick Warren

We are truly living in the times Paul prophesied about in 2 Timothy.  From my perspective we live in a time of unprecedented secular humanism in which we blend scripture with secular worldview based on logic, reason, and intuition to justify whatever behavior we desire.  The Methodist Church, for instance, is undergoing a "schism" over sexual immorality of all kinds, especially homosexuality which is driven by a misrepresentation of scripture by a very small minority of leaders who may have good intentions, but have been led astray by such blending.  Note that Paul told Timothy to "be prepared" which tells me that we have to know Jesus so well that we immediately recognize anything that is not representative of Him (Study!).  Furthermore, we are to correct, rebuke, and encourage. As I pointed out in my last post, this isn't to be done harshly or broadly, but strictly as led by the Spirit. Note that Paul even included direction on what to do with leaders who sin  
1 Tim 5:  ²⁰ But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.

Unfortunately, Rick Warren is right.  Satan has robbed us of the power of the Spirit by convincing us that to disagree with someone's behavior is to fear or hate them or more often to "stand in judgment of them."  I don't need to stand in judgment, scripture clearly states that we are known by our deeds.  Gal 5: ¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
So by our actions, we bring judgment of God upon ourselves.  If I go speeding down my street at 100mph, for example, clearly I'm sinning.  No one is judging me, trying to figure out my motives, and whether I'm living in relationship to God or not; NO - I need to be recognized for what I'm DOING: endangering others, and need to be stopped!  Addressing sin doesn't require judgment, it requires discernment.  By recklessly speeding, I've judged myself.  Failure to do so, I remind you, is to doom me to a "multitude of sins" (James 5:20 - see yesterday's post). 
We often talk about sin being defined as "missing the mark" - Hamartia in greek.  I've got a real beef with how we in the church teach this, however.  I've stood behind enough guns to know that if I don't aim at the target, I absolutely will not hit it.  So to call living a lifestyle of sin "hamartia" is to misrepresent that sin.  We all sin because we are human and fallible.  Yet there is a difference between trying to live a Godly life by depending on the Holy Spirit, scripture, and Godly council, and to shun scripture and live a lifestyle in obvious conflict with scripture.  This isn't hamartia as you're not aiming at "the mark" of a lifestyle patterned after becoming Christlike.  This may be a prodigal experience or an indication that Christ simply isn't Lord of your life, or even that Christ has no place in your life.  It's not up to me to determine your motives or your salvation condition.  What it is up to me to do is to discern "acts of the flesh" vs "fruit of the spirit" and if called upon by God, to confront that sinful lifestyle. 
Eph 5: ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
Failure to do so when called upon has significant ramifications:
Hebrews 10:²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 

Prayer Focus

Prayer.  I have been intrigued for a while about how I pray.  Too often I feel like I'm just praying for apparent needs in the lives of others.  Heal them, help them, guide them, protect them are common phrases for others and for my family.  Yet, while they are mostly selfless prayers, I feel a tug that I'm missing the intentional mark of how Jesus would pray.  As I read about Jesus I see that His single concern was the spiritual health of people, not their physical health.  He could see, better than anyone who has ever lived, how insignificant the physical life was by comparison to the real life in the spiritual kingdom.  This leads me to dwell on my prayers and how my own perception of someone's apparent need should be considered.

What if God has put some event or happenstance in someone's life for the very clear reason to develop their spiritual condition?  And then I pray to God for it to be removed from their life?  At that moment, I am praying against the will of God simply because I have not worked to view what that person might really need spiritually.  But how can I possibly know what is someone's  inner spiritual need?  I also know that if I just pray, "God have your will in their life", I'll feel like I'm not pouring my heart into asking Him to be in their life.  "Thy will be done" Jesus taught us to pray.  I think we are to pray for others to recognize and grow in some spiritual way in accordance to God's pressure so His will be done.

Paul's prayers exhibit so much of what I think my own prayers should reflect.  His language reflects thoughts and yearning for the spiritual relationship of others to God.  "Our prayer is for your perfection" (2 Cor 13:9); "that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless" (Phil 1:10-11); "may God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through ..." (1 Thes 5:23); "that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power" (2 Thes 1:11); "that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col 1:9-10); "that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,  that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,  may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height —  to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Eph 3:16-19)

Just in these few examples I get the sense that Paul is praying for their inner being, their spiritual relationship, and their spiritual work.  Where is this element in my prayers for others and myself?

Oswald Chambers comments, "'You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss . . .' (James 4:3).  If you ask for things from life instead of from God, 'you ask amiss'; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment.  The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God."  I have to wonder if I ask for others for my own self-fulfillment.  I do not think so as I do not see how I have something to gain other than the knowledge that God has worked in their life.  But I also wonder if I do ask amiss many times, not centering my prayer on the aspects of the only life that matters, our spiritual life, concentrating on that work as Jesus did.

Judgment (Continued)

Matt 18: ¹⁵ “If your brother or sister^[a] sins,^[b] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’^{[c] 17} If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
Yesterday I concluded that the worst form of judgment from my perspective, is to look down upon someone and determine that they are not worthy or deserving of the good news of Christ.  I might be the only messenger of Christ they ever meet and to fail to be a good witness may condemn them to a life in Hell.  Clearly this is not my appointed role and would invite judgment upon myself as well.
Today, I think it important to take on the lie that we are not to confront sin.  Clearly we are all sinners and therefore stand in need of a savior (Rom 3:23, Rom 14:10), therefore as many have said, the ground is level at the cross.  Yet to fail to point out the sin in others is a problem at the very core of my love condition.  James 5: ²⁰ remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. So to be silent is to condemn them to "a multitude of sins!"  We know that there are consequences to sin both on earth and after and to fail to care enough about someone to simply allow them to go on sinning without confrontation is to stand and watch them suffer. 
Obviously, however, I'm not appointed to correct everyone.  Matthew 18 shows us that if a "brother or sister sins against me" I'm to confront them.  I'm not appointed to be everyone's accountability partner.  This, to me, is why we have small groups in church - to develop close relationships within which we can both encourage and hold each other accountable.  So part of our Christian discipline, in addition to worship, prayer, study, and service to others, is accountability.  Our first priority should be to submit to accountability to ensure we are pure 1 Tim 5:  ²² Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.  Once we submit to accountability and studied scripture such that we correctly handle it (2 Tim 2:15), THEN can we love others by pointing out sin.  We must avoid the temptation, however, to rush to do so.  Gal 6:1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.
To be continued

Judgement

Matthew 7:1  “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

These verses are the subject of a raging debate both within and outside of the church.  People that insist on sinning manipulate these words to mean that Christians can't call out sinful behavior or hold others accountable for their acts.  This is false teaching and a great lie by Satan.  In fact, James 5:19-20 says "¹⁹ My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, ²⁰ remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins." 
We know that final judgment takes place in Heaven and is reserved for Christ alone.  This judgment determines where you spend eternity depending entirely upon what we each do with Christ.  John 14:6 says that the only way to Heaven is through Christ.  So to me then, for me to become a judge would be to determine whether someone was worthy of the Gospel message of Christ.  As you know, the early church had a great debate as to whether the good news of Christ should be shared with the Gentiles and we now know that God was raising up Paul and others with him specifically to spread the Good News to the Gentiles.  So for me to look at someone and decide that they are unworthy of the Gospel message may be damning them to an eternal life in Hell.  I don't have this right.  In fact, I have the responsibility to carry the Gospel message to "all the world" (Matt 28:18-20).  
More tomorrow