Thy Word:

Do Not Judge Others

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.”

Matthew 7:1-6 NLT

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My Thoughts: In today’s verses, Jesus is calling us out on the ugliness of wrongful judgment and He isn’t mincing any words!

I once judged a woman who came to church in an outfit that can only be described as risqué. (You can read that story in a previous blog from Matthew 3:4-10  https://thywordmythoughts.com/2018/08/13/matthew-34-10/ ). I wish I could say the shame of that incident put a stop to my judging, but my words and actions often reflect otherwise. Jesus sternly reminds us we have a lot of cleanup in our own lives to address before we even think about judging others:

“Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Matthew 7:5

In other words, “Cecilia, you better clean up the mess in your own life before you even consider what someone else is doing!”

So why do we so recklessly and carelessly judge? The obvious reason is because we are all sinners. However, I also think it is because of a basic human frailty; we want others to like us and/or we care about what they think about us. That need is a good reminder for us to examine our own motives and conduct. What I have learned about myself is that the habits or traits I often dislike in others are habits or traits I dislike about myself. Yikes! Therefore, when I find myself about to magnify someone else’s faults what I am really doing is attempting to excuse my own.

Jesus tells us this:

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” Matthew 7:1-2

I don’t know about you, but the stark truth in this verse terrifies me! Jesus tells us how we judge and treat others, will be the standard by which we will be treated and judged as well! In other words, before we judge anyone we better examine ourselves first to see if we deserve the same criticism!

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” Romans 12:3 NIV

As I was studying judgment I found this verse and the associated notes from my NIV Study Bible:

“My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight.” Proverbs 3:21

Notes: “What is the difference between sound judgment and discernment? Discernment (or discretion) is the ability God gives to many people to think and make correct choices. Sound judgment, includes discernment, but goes beyond it. It also includes the knowledge that comes from instruction, training, and discipline, and the insight that results from knowing and applying God’s truths.”

The notes point out that we can only have and use good judgment when we know and apply God’s truths. The key to battling our tendencies to judge is keeping our relationship with God close, and asking Him to open our eyes to see what might cause us to misuse judgment or discernment.

When I (personally) make that assessment, I see that I tend to lean towards judgment when I feel insecure or when I fail at something. I usually do this as an attempt to make myself feel or look better, but the result is always the opposite; I feel and look worse. Not a flattering assessment, but this truth empowers me to turn my weaknesses into strength.

To sum it up, we have to understand that part of our personal growth is an ongoing process of learning and becoming more self-confident. That cannot happen without a combination of successes and failures. What that means for us is our failures (as painful as they may be!) provide us with a great treasure of knowledge towards that personal growth. It happens when we choose not to see our failures as a negative happenstance (tempting us to judge), but rather a positive experience that promotes personal growth!

The last portion of the verses we read today is sad and heartbreaking. We all know people who refuse to take responsibility for themselves or their actions. No matter how hard we try to help or encourage them, they just want us to solve their current problems today so they can create new ones tomorrow. That’s what Jesus describes:

“Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.” Matthew 7:6

Sometimes we have to leave people in the hands of the Lord. We have to allow them to hit rock bottom before they are willing to take responsibility for themselves and for what they have done. Don’t fall into the trap of judgment and bring shame on yourself when you encounter someone like this, just walk away quietly. Until they are ready to repent and take ownership for their own lives and responsibilities there is nothing we can do. How do we know when someone is ready to take ownership? They exhibit it by consistent and repetitive actions; it is not a single event or flowery words or empty promises.

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Closing Prayer: Father God, this lesson today was very eye-opening and convicting to me. Although I didn’t like it, there is a lot of truth I need to own and face. Father, guide my actions every day to mirror Yours and not those of a hypocrite. Open my eyes immediately to know where I must face my own mistakes and not sin by attempting to pass judgment on others. Father, thank You for Your words that guides us all to look more like You. I pray that every day I reflect compassion and reach out to understand rather than judge. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

 

 

Thy Word:

Do Not Worry

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Matthew 6:25-34 NLT

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My Thoughts:

I’m going to confess straight up this lesson is going to convict me in a big way! I cannot wait to share my awful truth with you about my relationship with worry (said no one ever!).

As I spoke these words in my heart, “oh dear, how am I going to do this,” my soul immediately responded with “by telling the truth.” (This may be why I didn’t want to start a blog! Just kidding…., maybe…🙄 )

Worry is one of my root sins, and I’d be willing to bet many of you suffer from the same thing. As a child I worried a lot because I had an abusive alcoholic father (story told in an earlier blog “The Power of Words” part 1 and part 2). By the time I ended my first marriage (more dirty laundry); I was an expert in worry. I used to say very flippantly, “I’m a worrier; if I have nothing to worry about, I fabricate something!” In hindsight, I’m mortified to even say I used to think that was funny.

It gets worse. 😱

Occasionally, one of my sisters and I would talk to each other and play what I’m going to call the “what if” game. We would take a situation that was happening in our lives and “what if” it to death. What if this happens or what if that happens? Our theory was that if we said it out loud to each other, it wouldn’t come true, but do you know what actually happened? It led to wilder and wilder “what ifs” until we were about half convinced the things we fabricated were actually going to happen so we worried more!

Do you know what we were doing? We were not only playing into the hands of Satan with worry, because we were tormenting our minds. We were also predicting the future, or to put it simply we were being fortune tellers!

CAUTION! CAUTION! This is NOT a game! This was us aligning ourselves with Satan! This is what God says about fabricating what we think is going to happen (fortunetelling):

“Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:31 NLT

This is the definition of defile:

“To make physically unclean especially with something unpleasant or contaminating.”

Just to make sure you understand what I’m pointing out: we were literally pouring out piles of toxic and contaminated lies which turned into bigger worries in our hearts and souls.

“The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” Proverbs 15:4 NIV

Our spirits were crushed with the perverse (and fabricated!) worries we were telling ourselves! 😱

God asks us a very serious question in our verses, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” WHEN has a worry EVER been beneficial in ANY situation? N-E-V-E-R!!!!!

I only wish someone had shared this truth with me all those years ago.

[Worry] dominates the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs [God is referring to us!]. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Look, I know it sounds like I’m handing out platitudes but when God speaks it is the truth. As a single Mom when I didn’t know how I was going to feed my children two days before payday, God provided. When I didn’t know how I could take one more day as a caregiver for a dying man, God provided. Clothes? Not trying to be rude, but in America most of us have more than one outfit in our closet don’t we? Yes, we do. Do we need more? I doubt it, but I know for a fact that God provided for a young woman when she and her husband committed to get out of debt before starting a family. After a long stretch of time with no money for extra’s, she needed a pair of black slacks for her job but they had no extra money to get them, so God provided.

Each of these real life stories (from above) have what I believe are miraculous provisions, and if you are a believer and have faith in God, I know He will provide for your needs too. How do I know that? Let’s look at those verses again:

“And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? …your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Matthew 6:30, 32b, 33, 34

1. Lay your worries at the feet of Jesus and ask yourself, “What can I do to change the situation?” The answer may be “nothing,” which is a difficult command for someone (me) who is a servant. That takes us to step #2.
2. You must surrender your worry to prayer. God absolutely commands us to pray often and regularly for the situation, and we don’t need to pray the details because Satan uses that to put us back in the “worry loop.” If you pray sincerely, with faith and trust, God will hear and answer your prayer (assuming you are a believer in Christ*). It may not be in your timing, and it may not be the answer you wanted. But God’s ways are better than our ways, every time. I promise.
3. If there is something God wants you to do, He will guide you, but you won’t hear it if you are too busy reliving every detail about your worry. Remember this verse: “For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace.” (1 Corinthians 14:33). If your mind is in a state of disorder then it is not from God. Peace is from God. Ask yourself: who/what am I allowing to guide my thoughts? That will tell you who you are listening to the most.
4. The last is the hardest. Ask yourself, “What is my sin in this worry? Have I done something to offend, or hurt someone?” If so, you must repent (cut it out!), and you might have to ask for forgiveness. Like it or not, you already know the answer to these hard questions and the sooner you face it, the sooner you can put it behind you.

 

[*Do you need to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Remember what Jesus tells us: “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NLT

If you believe this in your heart, follow this link and pray this prayer from the late Billy Graham (you may have to copy and paste the link into your browser):

https://binged.it/2pwNzyJ ]

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Closing Prayer: Father God, thank you for reminding me how worry can be so destructive in my heart and mind. Father, I pray that when I have a worry I go through Your Word to learn the truth or ask someone who is following You to help me learn what Your Word says. Father, if someone asks for my help, please guide me to show them how to look to You and Your Word for answers. Today we learned an important lesson about Satan and how he wants to destroy us with worry and I pray that we remind ourselves of this: disorder is from Satan, peace is from Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for this simple truth. We thank You that we have Your Word to guide us every day. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thy Word:

Lay Up Treasures In Heaven

Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

The Lamp of the Body

Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

You Cannot Serve God and Riches

No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
Matthew 6:19-24 NLT

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My Thoughts:

I apologize for my blogging tardiness; I’ve been reading a pre-released copy of one of my favorite authors, Jerry B Jenkins. I’ll share more about that in another blog, and until then, here is the next set of verses in our study of Matthew!

Treasures: This first section I call “the desire to acquire!” We all seem to have a built in desire to want things but it appears more intense around the holidays, don’t you think? Our mail, newspaper, and television commercials are filled with material things that bring on those feelings of want with more intensity. I have even encouraged those desires from my family by asking them to tell me what they want for Christmas in the hopes that I could fulfill their wishes and make them happy.

There is nothing wrong with having goals to acquire things when we are wise stewards of our finances and if those “things” don’t consume us.

But how do we know when we have crossed the line of healthy versus unhealthy desires? I think it begins with a lack of contentment. Our desires begin to surpass our common sense or financial means, and eventually turn into greed, meaning we are never satisfied and we want more and more.

For example, one of the most common things I have seen in my own neighborhood are three car garages so filled with “stuff” the owners cannot even get their cars in the garage! That blows my mind! Other examples include boxes of items that we have had so long we don’t even know what are in them anymore. Maybe we have too much clothing because we won’t downsize our closets? (I know, I know, we might lose weight and be able to wear those things ‘someday?’) Or maybe we just can’t pass up a great sale, so we buy whether we have a need or not! The example I find the most terrifying is when we see someone finally part with an item but they keep talking about it or asking about it when you are with them, maybe even for years! If we find ourselves doing that, it is clear we may have physically turned loose of the item, but it still very much has control over us!

If any of these categories sound familiar, perhaps it is time to ask some hard questions. Why? Because what we treasure the most controls us, whether we want to admit it or not! If our treasures or possessions become too important to us, we must re-establish control and/or get rid of some stuff.

“Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.” James 1:14

Instead of storing earthly treasures in garages or storage facilities, we are told to “Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:20-21 NLT

If our homes were destroyed tomorrow, everything would be gone in an instant. Even the best home insurance policy could not fully reimburse us for all that we have in our possession. However, if we spent our time and effort in building a relationship with God and our families, our treasures would be forever intact.

What are the desires of our heart? If it is just for material things I believe we are missing out on moments of beauty and priceless treasures!

Lamp of Our Body: There is a child’s church song that always comes to my mind when I read these verses:

“O be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
There’s a Father up above
And He’s looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see.”

The song has additional verses that include warnings for our ears to be careful what we hear, our feet to be careful where they go, our hands to be careful what we touch, and finally our mouths to be careful what we say. (Are you squirming like I am, especially on that last one?)

What have we seen (watched), listened to, touched, gone to, or said lately and has it provided “light” for our body? Would we be willing to share all that we have done with everyone? If the answer is “no,” oh goodness people, we are probably deep in sin!!  Please understand that you cannot keep secrets from God! He knows all and sees all!

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.”  Hebrews 4:13 NLT

What do our eyes say about us?

“But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!” Matthew 6:23 NLT

If we believe a sin in our life is actually light, brother/sister, we are in deep darkness and there will be serious consequences! I once knew a man who was cheating on his wife, but he believed it was okay because “she makes me happy and God wants me to be happy.” Have mercy! Sin never makes God happy! If you believe otherwise, that is a lie from the pit of hell! This man lost his family, his home, his job, his friends, and the “other women” eventually left him too when she realized it cost him all he had. (Clearly her treasures were misplaced as well, wouldn’t you agree?)

God or Riches: I almost think these last two verses should have started with the word “therefore” because it perfectly ties together all that we have learned! Let’s look at our last section again with that word included: 

[Therefore,] “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money, [or to any earthly treasure, or anything that is unhealthy].”

One verse summarizes our entire set of verses today: “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:21 NLT

Where is the desire of your heart? What would God say is your primary focus?

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Closing Prayer:  Father God, thank you for these lessons that remind us that we must carefully audit our lives to see what/who/where our treasure lies. Do we see changes that need to be made? Are we putting too much importance on what we have or what we incorporate into our lives? If we lost everything today, would we believe that because we have You in our heart and the love of our family, we would still have a storehouse of treasures? May it be so, Lord, may it be so. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.