on December 20, 2012
Luke 6:37-38 – "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
“Do not judge…” “Do not condemn…” this is Jesus condemning unjust and hypocritical judging of others. It is NOT Jesus dismissing our responsibility for discerning right and wrong! In just a few more verses He instructs His followers in recognizing good and bad in others. Our Lord is keenly aware of the propensity of human sinful nature to give self a license and condemn others for the very same things we do ourselves! Hypo-critical judgment and condemnation of others is anathema to the Spirit of God, who did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but rather to save it! God is the only righteous judge, because of His perfect wisdom for every situation, His perfect knowledge of every motive and His perfect love for every soul!
Instead of nurturing judgmental and condemning attitudes, Jesus instructs us to “give” and “forgive.” God so loved the world that He GAVE – His one and only Son! When we give and forgive we are treating others as we would want to be treated, and we are acting in the same spirit that God has toward us! Judgmental and hypo-critical people set themselves up for the judgment and condemnation of others, whereas a giving and forgiving person sets himself up to receive forgiveness and good things from others! God Himself operates on this principle. It was His confidence that in giving His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for sin that He would gain children of faith who would love and enjoy Him forever!
Jesus also speaks of the “measure” of our giving. If we measure out our giving with a thimble, then that’s the measure we’ll receive back in – with the exception that it will be heaped up, pressed down, shaken together and running over! Or, if we measure out our giving in a wheel barrow or a dump truck, that’s the measure we’ll receive back in, with the same heaped up, pressed down, shaken together, running over principle.
So many worry that, if they give, they won’t have anything left for themselves. They also fret that if they forgive, they will be taken advantage of and they’ll get walked all over. Yet, Jesus is teaching that it is in forgiving that we are forgiven and it is in giving that we receive even more! Forgiveness and Giving are investments that lay up treasures in heaven! The interest rate is “out of this world!” Won’t you let the Spirit of God fill your heart with a love that invests in souls like He does – in forgiveness and in giving, rather than in judgment and condemnation!
Thursday:
- Meet together with at least 1 or 2 other believers to enter the Throne Room of Grace.
Friday:
- Thank God that He did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save it!
- Good News families of the week: Jim & Carol DeYaeger, Frank & Anna Diehl, Phil DiMora
Saturday:
- Pray that you will not show a hypocritical spirit of judgment that condemns others for doing the same things you are guilty of doing!
Sunday:
- Give thanks that God is a righteous judge, perfect in wisdom, understanding and love!
Monday:
- Pray that those who are called by His name will perfect the grace of giving and forgiving.
Tuesday:
- Give thanks that God so loved the world that He GAVE! Praise God for His giving nature and the gifts He has given to us.
Wednesday:
- Pray that forgiveness and giving will replace judgment and condemnation in our lives.
Prayer Challenge: Pray that God’s Word may dwell in your heart richly, that you may experience the full measure of His joy within you. Pray that, though you are in the world, God will protect you from the evil one. Ask God to sanctify you by the truth of His Word! Remember that as God sent His Son into the world, so has Christ sent you into the world. Pray that you may become one with all other believers in Christ, just as the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father. May we all also be in them that the world may believe that God sent His Son. May we be one as the Father and Son are one: Christ in us and us in Christ. May we be brought to complete unity to let the world know that God sent His Son and has loved them even as He has loved His Son. – John 17:13-23