Dear Ones,
Hope you had a wonderful weekend. We enjoyed going to hear Leif preach and then to the lake for big yummy steaks that he grilled which is my favorite of all. We had games and fun and a wonderful Mother’s Day. Today I am going to make cookies and go to Aldi’s and Exercise class etc.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
How often do we judge others and later find out what we thought was true was not reality at all? Outward appearances aren’t always as they seem, and we may presume things that are not so. Sadly, it can cause others to have the wrong impression of a person if we let our judgement be known. One day, I remarked to Al that someone I just met was a little hard to figure out. I had talked with her a while and welcomed her, but wondered what I was missing, for her responses were not typical. Others may have wondered the same, but we all received her and she often remarked how loved she felt. Later we found out the answer, as she had cancer and had brain surgery prior to our knowing her, and suddenly it all made sense. What if we had judged her and talked negatively about her?!

What does the Lord have to say when we judge others? He is very clear, as He said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” (Matt.6:1-2) We studied this passage in our Wednesday night Bible study and discussed why we shouldn’t judge. The Message translation says, “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging.”

The only time we are to judge is when those within the church are in sin, as Paul said in I Cor. 5:12. But before we do, we need to first pray and examine ourselves as David did in Psalm 139:23-24, then ask the Lord to cross-examine and test us, and see if there is wrong-doing in our hearts. After we have examined ourselves, we also need to be sure we bring truth and not just gossip we may have heard. Usually it would be the pastor and elders that would go to the believer in love, confront him and bring discipline. We must guard our own hearts, that we don’t harbor a judgmental spirit, but speak truth in love.

Challenge for today: When you have judged someone else in your heart, confess it to the Lord and pray for the person, and leave the judging up to the Lord.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy