My Judge

Pastors and congregations can we please stop criticizing other churches? Small churches blaming big ones for offering short cuts to the life of Christ, big ones overlooking small ones for not reaching as many people, old verses new and on and on it goes. When the real issue is not how much spiritual depth is offered in a weekend or how many programs are offered during the week but it is the spiritual condition the individual heart. Yes, the church has a responsibility to point each member to Jesus Christ and challenge us to be more like him but no matter what church you attend on the weekend it is up to you to seek God's face during the week. Does our faith exist because it is convenient? Do we go to church on the weekend because it is socially acceptable or expected? When we go to church are we meeting God for the first time that week or are we bringing Him in the door with us? Why do we go to church? Is it so we can stay connected to the things of God, be fed, and feel good about ourselves for another week or are we going to worship God corporately, encourage one another, and see God move among His people?

No the differences in churches is not the problem, as long as the leadership is seeking God's direction. The religious be warned God has not given you the right to judge the heart of another (John 8:1-20). The issue is the difference between carnal Christians (those who are saved but still think of themselves first) and the spiritually mature Christians. We know that God's Word does not return void, there are no condition that must be met for this to be true but it instead it is true all the time. So if God's Word is being delivered then there is the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to move within His people, regardless of the method of delivery. In any given church you can see this division of spiritual growth with you own eyes – those who want to do what is right so they follow the crowd but lack the strength or desire to search for God on their own and those who really know God, who claim to hear God's voice, who faithfully obey His Word consistently.

We also know that the body is made up of different parts and no one part can say to the other it is not needed simply because it's functions differently (1 Corinthians 12). Yet comparisons between the body of Christ are announced from the stage almost every weekend – why? What purpose does it serve? Have you ever seen someone gain popularity only to be put down by another? Does that make the person trashing the other look better? I don't know about you but it turns my stomach. How much more true is that for the family of God? Yet it is rampant in social media, in our homes, work places, and churches. If it makes you sick to your stomach I wonder what God thinks about it? So stop yourself before you speak the next critical word of judgment and understand how that makes you appear and if that is not enough to change your mind then remember though we are not to judge the heart there is One who is worthy of fulfilling that role and He has promised to do it and the hour quickly approaches.