For they know not what they do

Luke 23:33-35 NLT

(33) When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed Him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified--one on His right and one on His left.
(34) Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." And the soldiers gambled for His clothes by throwing dice.
(35) The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. "He saved others," they said, "let Him save Himself if He is really God's Messiah, the Chosen One."

We are quick to ask for forgiveness when we fall short of God's standard but if someone falls short of our standard how often do we follow Jesus' example, “Lord forgive them for they know not what they do”? No, more often we keep score remembering their deliberate choices against us. In our self-righteous position we justify our prayer for equality, completely forgetting what God has done in order to forgive our deliberate choices against His will. At some point we all come to this place due to the pain and hurt we have endured and we think somehow if we forgive then the offender will not be held accountable. Jesus was not concerned about those responsible for his pain and suffering being held accountable but instead looked past that and saw them as lost children who needed saving. Jesus knew the Father would judge and even though Jesus could have called them out in His righteousness that was not what He came to do, instead He trusted the Father to do what only the Father can do. Remember this the next time someone deliberately comes against you or your intended good; can you trust Father God to do what you cannot, to see what is really going on and judge each one not only by their deeds but also by their hearts?

I have a saying that I try to live by when someone is acting out, “Don't let their problem become your problem.” Meaning we are so often concerned about things being even that when someone hurts us we are quick to act in kind to show them how tough we can be but did you know when we take matters into our own hands God's judgment moves from the offender to us, in part because we had the opportunity to show them God's love and kindness but we were disobedient. Now instead of the offense being against a child of God it is against God himself!

Lord, help me to love like Jesus loves. Please forgive me for holding on to my hurt and pain like they are some sort of trophy to be worn in front of others as a indicator of what I have endured for You, how silly. I am reminded often of my own need for forgiveness and exactly where I would be without it. Give me spiritual eyes to see what is really going on and a heart that trust You know what You are doing. To worry about people being held accountable for their deeds is to worry that You don't know what You are doing and that too is silly. Lord I love You, thanks for loving me first. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Why dad?

Dad why do we read the Bible? Because son there is a journey we all travel but this journey is different than any other because you cannot see, touch, or hear it but this journey is the most import one of them all. But dad if I can't see, touch or hear it how do I know where I'm going? That's the best part son, we have a guide that leads us but you can't see, touch, or hear Him either. But dad I don't understand. How can I follow someone that I cannot see on a path that cannot be touched? Our guide is Jesus Christ and He has given us a road map, it's called the Bible. Those who try to find this path without it are hopelessly lost, as a matter of fact Jesus in His infinite wisdom has hidden the path from all including the rich, those who do well in school, and those who are over us so that all the glory might go to His Father in heaven. You see many have tried to get to heaven on their own but all have fallen short of the mark but Jesus knows we cannot make it without Him and has a plan. In the end all the winners read the Bible not so they can look good but so they can see, does that make sense son? Yes dad, Jesus gave us His Word so that we may know Him and be able to follow Him so that one day we can all go to live with Him in heaven. That's right son, I love you.

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.

The purpose of the law

Romans 3:20 NLT

(20) For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

If we judge others by the law then it is clear we do not know the law, thereby voiding our own prosecution. No the law is there first to point us to our own need for Jesus. After coming to Jesus as Lord and in humility laying down our lives and the control we believe we have over it to His Lordship then those we were so quick to judge before are seen differently because we see them through the eyes of our Savior; no longer wanting to condemn but instead wanting to share the life we have found in Christ. Condemnation turns to compassion and contempt turns to serving and stonewalling turns into walking with that person until we are able to see where they are coming from, no longer do we take secondhand knowledge about a person in order to cast them out of the gates but instead we grow relationship and trust by speaking life into their very souls. In this way we become Christ-like, followers of Christ Jesus faithfully representing the love we have been shown, a love we could not earn to pay a price we could not pay.

Romans 3:25-26 NLT

(25) For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,

(26) for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and He declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus.

God respects Joseph

Matthew 2:13-23

God chooses to lead the family through Joseph, though He spoke to Mary first it was on a personal level to let her know God was with her concerning the birth of the Messiah but from that point on God led Joseph and Mary through Joseph's life, which gave respect and honor to Joseph as the husband and leader of his family. Had God not led them out of danger this way when Herod tried to kill Jesus but did it through Mary instead do you think that would have bond the family together or would Joseph start to feel excluded.

Too many times I've heard a husband say, “I'm just a paycheck to my wife. She doesn't need me otherwise.” If the husband is a good-willed man who loves God then it is natural for him to want to be included in decisions about the family, that's why it is so damaging when the wife makes choices about the kids, finances, schedule, etc. without talking to the husband first. I get that if the wife does not understand the reason for this it could be taken as the husband wanting to control everything, especially if her father was overbearing but by trying to be independent she cuts herself off from her husband's love, which leads to a “crazy cycle” Dr. Emerson Eggerichs talks about in his book Love and Respect. Remember it's the adoration of the wife for the husband that enables him to lay down his life for her and their children, as God intended.

I believe with Mary, as with all those who love Jehovah today, God continued to speak to her and reassure her on a personal level just as strongly as He did when the angel first spoke to her about the baby inside her womb and I also believe that when God led her family through her husband she had no resentment because she honored Joseph and knew that was God's plan.

Love and Respect changes everything

Within six months of marriage I knew what I needed out of our relationship was different than what my wife needed but I didn’t know how to express it. As years went by and we shared our home with teenagers it became ever more apparent that RESPECT was like an oasis in the middle of the desert and the absence of it was a burden too heavy for me to carry. The well-meaning “adult” that told my children that “respect is earned” either didn’t take time study the Bible on his own or never questioned the way he was taught for this teaching is prevalent in our homes, schools, and even churches. Ephesians 5:33 tells God’s command to both husbands and wives and when they marry they enter into an agreement with God but it is not dependent upon the other one’s ability to earn it. “So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” What’s being said, in case you missed it, is that the husband must have unconditional love for his wife and the wife must have unconditional respect for her husband – both being wired to receive God’s wonderful gift from the other one in this primary and unique way.

When we teach that love is to be unconditional but respect is to be earned it drains the husband of his God-given ability and/or desire to do anything for his wife or children because disrespect is seen as contempt but it does more than just that the husband is taken to into deep, dark place that no one else knows about and with one fell swoop the enemy of God has made his move against each one in the family. However, when respect is given unconditionally it causes something inside the husband to come alive. It’s the very same thing that makes a soldier willing to die for his friends – nothing is impossible or cost too much! “Mary tell me that you want the moon and I’ll lasso it and bring it down to you.” George Bailey could do anything for Mary because she honored him and in return he loved her. More than ever before the old movie “It’s A Wonderful Life” had real meaning to me this Christmas as God prepared me for this message, thanks Malachi.

I believe the wife has the ability to build her husband up to be the man God intended but she also has the ability to cut his legs out from under him and the sad thing is unless she also hears this message with her heart she won’t even realize it… she only knows that her husband isn’t loving her the way she needs to be loved. So who goes first? Which one is the more mature?

The following is an excerpt from the book I’ve been reading Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

The Law

Romans 7:4-6 NLT
(4) So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the One who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.
(5) When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.
(6) But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

I have been guilty of looking at the law the wrong way. When I fail to live according to God's Word the thing that is on my mind the most was the fact that I broke God's law and I am condemned by it but if I truly died to the law and was raised from the dead with Christ Jesus then the law no longer condemns me.

Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets but instead came to accomplish their purpose (Matthew 5:7). If that is the case what used to condemn because of the sin within me now once again points me back to Christ Jesus, as it was originally intended and that was what Jesus meant when He said that He came to accomplish the purpose of the law.

For too long the devil has used the law for his own means, trying to pull me out of the hands of my Savior but inside I knew this was wrong but felt I had no ground to stand on and because I judged others the same way therefore I too was condemned but no longer. Now this doesn't mean I have a free pass to live however I want but instead because of this great love inside of me for Jesus my one desire is to please Him in all things, again the law is fulfilled because of the work Jesus has done and at the same time He has canceled out the snare of the enemy. I am truly a new creature in Christ Jesus, old things have passed away and new things have come!

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 NLT
(17) This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
(18) And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him.
(19) For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.