Judgement

Judgement

So often it seems that when God brings you to something, in this instance sharing about judgement, that the enemy is equally quick to bring you to a situation that will lead you to the perfect opportunity to either stand strong on the tenants of Christ or have actions make a lie of what your mouth says you believe.

No sooner did I send off yesterday's study - than I found myself slap in the middle of a situation which was painful, fighting the desire to stand in judgement and cause hurt to another.  I am way too emotionally entrenched in the situation to accurately assess my performance but my fervent prayer is that I allowed God to be fully God in the situation.

Onward we march my fellow soldiers!  In chapter 7 of the book of Matthew we find that God has given us the guidelines that we need in order to walk justly in wisdom.

Let's begin with a quick over view of the book of Matthew and the historical settings so that we can accurately discern all that we are reading.  Knowing that as we are diligent to seek His face, that He will reveal himself to us.

When we look at the over all structure of the book of Matthew, one can find much evidence as to the purpose of Matthew's writings.  The book of Matthew groups the teachings and the deeds of Jesus Christ into five divisions.  Five divisions were common in Judaism and may have been Matthew's way of showing Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law.

Prologue:  Chapters 1-2  Matthew shows that Jesus is the Messiah by linking Him with the promises made to Abraham and David.

First division:  Chapters 3-7  This contains the Sermon on the Mount and reveals Jesus' description of how people should live under God's reign.

Second division:  Chapters 8:1-11:1  Jesus' instructions to the disciples as He sends them out on their missionary journey.

Third division:  Chapters 11:2-13:52  Records several controversies which Jesus was involved in, seven parables describing some aspect of the kingdom of heaven, coupled with necessary human response.

Fourth division:  13:53-18:35  Concerns the conduct of believers within the context of Christian fellowship

Fifth division:  19:1-25:46  This narrates the final journey of Jesus and His climatic conflict with Judaism.

Remainder:  26:1-28:20  Shares the events and teachings pertaining to the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and the Lord's commission to the Church.

With the exception of the beginning and the end of the book, Matthew does not list events in Chronological order.   Instead it is written in such a manner as to show that in Jesus, Judaism finds the fulfillment of it's hopes.

With this background information, we are now firmly grounded to begin our journey into all that God has revealed for us regarding judgement.

As the morning unfolds in front of each of us, let us remember that God is standing with us through all that comes our way today.  We are strengthened by His might through His word.  There is nothing that comes our way, that has not been filtered through His love.

Blessings to you all, my friends.

katrina

Judge not... or should we?

Day - # today.....

<Smiles>  Now just so you know, I have not finally fallen off the edge.  We are however, about to take a detour.

Please hear my heart now, before another word is shared.  I readily include myself in all statements which will follow.  There is no judgement intended nor inferred in regards to anyone other than myself and society as a whole.  My heart has been breaking for a while now for the hurt being lived by so many - and being lived so needlessly.  With that having been said, let's begin.....

As I have been listening to conversations among fellow believers and conversations among those who are not believers, one universal topic seems to arise often:  the matter of judgement.

Matthew 7:1  New Living Translation (©2007)
"Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.

This verse seems to be a favorite among people everywhere and is quoted often.  Each time I have heard this verse referenced or judgement spoken of, my heart has become a little heavier.  Each time I find myself standing in the position of judgement, I die a little more.

God has birthed in my heart, hmmm... don't even know what to call it.  God has birthed in my heart a deep hurt for the subject of judgement, an even deeper conviction, as well as a desire to know and correctly interpret His will regarding such.  All too often I have been slow to respond to God's leading... sometimes because I just don't want to, but more often, because where He is leading is to an area of great discomfort.  So I am stepping out with this, umm -study I guess, in faith that God has a purpose, a plan, and a person for whom this is intended.

There is a truth that was shared with me long ago by a person of great spiritual maturity and wisdom.  Plucking a verse and applying it to your situation is not necessarily, correctly understanding God's intention.  In order to correctly discern God's will in any situation in our life, we are to put in place the following:
Prayer - remembering to listen as much as we speak,
Study - you must work to understand the circumstances in which He shared that particular verse in order to correctly interpret His meaning,
Counsel - seeking Godly counsel from a mentor, prayer partner, or accountability partner is often vital to stepping outside of the emotion of our circumstances and gaining Godly wisdom for our life.

Keeping these things in mind and moving on "toward the prize of His calling" (Philippians 3:14) we will spend a little time journeying together and learning what God has said in regards to judgement.

I seek and covet your prayers for wisdom and discernment during the days ahead and am so very grateful to share all that He is leading me to with each of you.  Walking together with fellow believers is the great joy of my life.

Hugs and love to you all...   Look up and see all the great blessings that our blessed Lord and most gracious Father has laid before you this day.

katrina

A Relational People

Day 29

Preparing for Eternity

Romans 14:12  New International Version (©2011)
So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

Are we ready for that day?  Really?  Are we ready for the day we will all have to stand before Christ and give account.  Am fairly sure I am not.  There will come a time when we will all answer the question that arises from how much time we invested in ourselves and how much time we invested in serving.

You know - I have some pretty great "reasons" as to why I haven't served as much as I could have.  At least they sound pretty great here on earth.  I have a feeling, however, that when I am standing before the great I Am, that the reasons will fall to the side as dust.

I know that we are to invest heavily in each other.  We do this each time we serve, help, welcome, support, talk to those around us.  We were built to be relational people.  It is high time we put this back as a priority in our lives.

Communication technology being what it is today - it is becoming increasingly easy to keep in touch but at the same time it is becoming oh so much harder to allow the reality of relationship to exist.  We have gained access but lost intimacy.

You cannot have any type of relationship without intimacy.  The giving and sharing of two people together opening themselves to love, joy, and yes, even the hurt that comes from such.

Mark 8:35  New Living Translation (©2007)
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.

This is such an important basis for our serving here on earth, that God specifically addresses this on five different occasions in the gospels.  Life is meant for ministry - not for self service.

So let's get up out of our drive through mentality and begin living a life of servitude.

I am going to leave you with a quote by Marianne Williamson - this is a favorite of mine.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Walk well today my friends...

katrina

We are commanded to serve God

Matthew 20:28

New Living Translation (2007)
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Serving is the very heart of Christian life.  Jesus came to SERVE and to GIVE - these two verbs should define our life here on earth.

Mother Theresa once said "Holy living consists in doing God's work with a smile".   Wow... Can we honestly say that we are doing God's work WITH a smile on our face?

I think perhaps it is all too easy to get caught in the trap of believing that spiritual maturity is an end in and of itself.  Actually this is not the truth at all.  The truth is that maturity is for ministry.  We grow up so that we can give out.  We must act on what we know and practice what we claim to believe.

Impression without expression causes depression.  *RW*

How many of us are in an active Bible study?  I know I am.  How many of us go from the end of one bible study to the beginning of another?  I know I do.  Honestly, perhaps the last thing we need is to go to yet one more bible study.  Perhaps the thing we need most, is serving experiences where we can begin to exercise our spiritual muscles!  Sadly, many of us, again - myself included, already know more than we put into practice.

As we learn, grow, and mature our focus should shift from "who will meet my needs" to "whose needs can I meet?".  Do we ever ask this question of ourselves?

As I read all the jests and posts concerning the gloom of this morning being Monday - my mind and spirit began to rebel.  THIS day, THIS moment, THIS second is a precious gift from God given to us to redeem for His glory!!

So join me today as we shift our focus from being served to being in service.  No matter how small the deed, no matter the recipient, no matter the audience - do it all for His great glory.  God sees.  God hears.  And God is smiling on you.  

Be blessed as you walk in His path.....

Hugs and prayers to all

Katrina

Silent No More....

Afternoon to each of you.....

I pray that each of you has had a beautiful day and have enjoyed time spent with your family in worship.

Today has been a day of revelations for me.   I have been wrestling with a strong feeling that God was calling me to no longer hide a very large part of my life that up til now, my family has been my main support system along with my faith and relationship with God.

I have Polycystic Kidney Disease and was diagnosed when I was 18.  For the most part, I live my life as any of you.  And I will continue to do so as long as I can.

The future ahead is only known to God.  Remember Jeremiah 29:11  English Standard Version (©2001)
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Although I may not always know God's will for my life or His plans for my future - I know without a doubt I can trust His heart.

I share this only to have you join me in prayer.  Prayer that I have wisdom in the paths God would have me walk.  Prayer that I am quick to be obedient.  Prayer that I always choose to keep my eyes on Him above any circumstances.

Please, let's not make this a big deal.  Just know that you are part of my life on purpose.  Just as God loves you on purpose.

katrina

View from the hole....

This is an excerpt from today's lesson that I studied.  Thought I would share it with each of you.


Day 27

Defeating Temptation
Reveal your struggle to a godly friend or support group.

As I have had a moment here and there in the past week or so - I have noticed that each of us seems to be in a different area of struggle.  Today's lesson couldn't be more timely.  If you look back over our studies, I think you will see how He has time and again showed up so very large on our behalf to give us all we need to be over comers.

I have been so very guilty of crawling into that hole I always go to and pulling the dirt over me in an attempt to cope.  That certainly has never worked in the past and and sure didn't work any better this time around either.

I find it oh so amusing how God will take those times when I am being so dense and just knock me up side the head with His divine wisdom yet one more time.  I can just hear Him saying, "Well DUH".  Ha ha ha.   Really, you think I would be a bit more on top of it by now wouldn't you?  But alas, no.  It seems I am rather fond of knocking my head up against a wall.  

Might account for my being rather "special" don't ya think?  Hey, don't be afraid to snicker as I am enjoying a laugh at myself as well.

Ecclesiastes 4:  9Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.

There are those times when we need to open ourselves up and confess our temptations to another in order to break the vicious cycle of intention/failure/guilt.  Remember dear friends, none of us is without guilt and no one sin is greater than another ( however much we might like to convince ourselves otherwise ).  God has given us relationships so that we might have that partner to pray with us, pray for us, encourage us, and most of all to hold us accountable so that we might defeat the temptation!

I really enjoyed the perspective gained by the wording Rick Warren chose for this statement.  ** Authentic honest fellowship is the antidote to your lonely struggle against those sins that won't budge.** RW   Beautifully said.

James 5:16  New Living Translation (©2007)
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

TAA DOWWWW... Yeah baby!!  Power punch right there!!!  Reinforcing once more that truth abides in the light and defeats all sin!

View from the hole:  ( you know, the one I created and referenced above )
View?  What view?  The "view" sucks!  The hole is dark, dank, and stinks on multiple levels.  The aloneness only intensifies the hurt making it seem larger than life and un-defeat able.  The hurts grow until they over whelm you and push you into a position from which you can no longer begin to see the light.  This hole is made deeper by the information age where the only picture others see is the one you paint for them.  Since there is very little personal interaction - one can paint quite the merry little scene in spite of the dark hole in which you reside.  Who would want to stay here?  You would be surprised.  The hole is familiar.  The hole is relatively safe from further hurt.  Do you see the twisted logic that happens when in the hole?  Grab your shovel, hitch up your britches, put your boots in motion and walk into freedom.  RW said it best - "You are only as sick as your secrets".

We don't want to admit our faults out of pride.  So we paint pretty little pictures on fb of a life full of smiles and laughter.  We walk the halls of our church and we continue with the mask firmly in place.  I am fine, how are you?  Isn't it great?  So very NOT.

Guess what folks?  Life is hard!  We get dirty!  There are messes!  So what?  So do you, and you, and you.  It is high time we realize we are in the mud together and work to haul each other out!!  There is zero fun in the mire and the Father is waiting to wash us clean and seat us at the banquet table so that we may feast with Him.

I do believe I will delete "I am fine" from my conversations.  If you ask me how things are, you had best be ready for the answers because the game of pretend is only good for young children and fools.  I am neither.

So grab on to my hand, let's walk ourselves outta here and get to living life together!!

Love you all so much.

katrina

You can't fake fresh....

I read this just recently in regards to those of us who raise chickens and enjoy the benefits of fresh eggs each day.

Then God took such a seemingly innocent remark and turned it back to me.  You can't fake fresh.

Huh??

Then over a cup of coffee and a morning study, I got it!  You can't fake fresh!  You cannot fake a fresh relationship with Christ.  If you are daily living in His presence and walking in His calling, your relationship with Him will be fresh!  Wow.... Sometimes the simple can trip me up faster than the profound.  Causes me to giggle at myself every time.

Seems to me that it is way to easy to get caught up in what we like to term as "living" and we forget our first love.  In so doing, we trade the truth for a lie.  You see, the hustle and bustle, all the demands on our time, the "to do" lists, are not living.  It is the lie known as busyness.

I am too busy to read my Bible.  I am too busy to pray.  I am too busy to attend church.  I am too busy to love others.  Busyness is easily the greatest slimy sneaky tool the enemy ever enacted to steal us away from our love.  Busyness creeps in a bit at a time.  Busyness robs from God, from our family, takes our joy, steals our peace.  What are we left with?  Oh yeah.... busyness.

Our first love.  God.  Our Father.  He gives all that busyness steals.  He provides the means to have family in the fullest sense of the word.  He provides a joy that is based upon our relationship with Him rather than a fleeting moment.  God grants us a peace that no tragedy or sorrow can steal.  God gives us pure love which knows no boundaries.

So the statement remains.  You can't fake fresh.

And I choose not to!!  I choose to point these boots on the road He has placed me on, pull my chair up to the table and talk with him every morning, place my hat on my head and smile as I revel in all that the Savior brings me.

For God will not take me where He cannot sustain me!!

Come on, join me.  Get those boots a walkin.....

katrina