Something for us all to think about before we stand in judgement.
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(Paraphrased) By the same measure you judge, you will also be judged...
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The prevailing opinion that runs my life, as a child of God is the only thing I think or agree with has to be in line with the Holy Scripture. The Scripture speaks volumes on man and my inability to judge another man’s servant. I also know that through my study during my stay at Shorter College- Jackson Theological Seminary. The belief system of the average American churchgoer has some concepts and precepts that I do find troubling. Nevertheless, as I stroll through the pages of the original text of the Old Testament, I can understand why this has happened.
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The Scriptures vividly and loudly informs us of the wiles of Lucifer to take us off and keep us from doing the things God had created us to do. Like Lucifer, sometimes we deem ourselves more knowledgeable than God. Like Balaam, we sometimes choose to speak prophecy of thing never told to us. Then, it falls upon the almighty omnipresent hands of God to correct his servants.
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Therefore, my fellow Christians, please do not rush to jump into a fight that God has already settled with these word centuries ago.
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Ecclesiastes 3:17
I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for a time there for every purpose and for every work.
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Ezekiel 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be
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Ezekiel 24:14 I the Lord have spoken: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord God.
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Romans 14:4 Who art thou that judges another man’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Yea, he shall be held up: for God is able to make him stand.
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Therefore, I beg that we judge nothing until the Lord come. He will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; do not quickly rush to judge each other so harshly. Think on this: What if Richard Roberts and Lindsey Roberts were really us. How would we want to be treated? Treat them the same way.
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This is indeed a continuing demoralizing story of Christian corruption and greed. The depths that we have been injured by the well meaning and/or the questionable actions of all of the individuals involved can never be successfully measured because the chasm continues to grow.
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As we continue to travel to the distant future where the actions of these people will be a memory lost in our history books, let us look to God for the healing each of us need. The newspaper expresses and vividly displays the hurts, pains, and agonies that the city of Tulsa and the students of ORU continue to go through. These hurts, pains, and agonies are something that can not be ignored and expected to go away. Indeed, they must be addressed.
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As the children of Israel found themselves suffering under the hard conditions of life in ancient Egypt, they, also found themselves faced with harsh circumstances that brought them much hurt, pain and agony. As they grudgingly traverse the hot dry desert, their hurts, pains, and agonies chased after them. These men hoped to overtake the Israelites and return them to the harsh condition of slavery in Egypt.
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Nevertheless, as the people, united stood by the river complaining about the man God had sent to lead them. Moses lifts his prayers up to God. However, the answer supplied by God was a surprise. ‘And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward.’
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In these sad days of disappointment in those we choose to place our spiritual trust in, we now find ourselves looking over of our shoulders as the enemy of hurts, pains, and agony charge over the not to distant horizon.
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Our first thought is to strike out at those who have gotten us in this situation. Then reflective thought along with the guidance of the Holy Spirit moves in. Who put a gun up to our heads and demanded we give? When were we every forced to give? Since, we are free-will living being, who do we blame because we chose to be fooled.
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As we look inside our fallen spiritual heads for answers, the loud proclamation of God rings in our ears. Why cry unto me? Citizens of Tulsa, go forward. Citizens of Tulsa, children of ORU- Go forward because God is not through. Christians - Go forward into the coming blessed promise of God that he will take care and correct his own. Go forward in the words that forever are true; you must forgive before God will forgive you.
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As I sit here at this desk, I view myself as a sinner saved only by the grace of God. Therefore, I choose to go forward in spite of the things those other people do. I refuse to be the one to say I quit God because of the wrong someone has done. Think of the many ways we wrong God each day, still God sent Jesus to stand upon the cross for us.
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There is a job, a cross, we must bear.
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There are other people needing the gospel we share.
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Stop focusing on the problem we are going through.
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God has an important job waiting just for you.
Our salvation should be so important to us that we do depend on the thoughts of someone else to lead us to God. This is the reason we must stop just foolishly taking these preacher, pastors, and teachers at their word. Every man is capable of lying or being wrong, even myself. There are true false prophets out here waiting to tear some unexpecting young Christian’s faith apart.
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I am neither defending nor condemning the actions of any of the involved parties in the recent Christian publicity nightmare. Rather as a child of God, I voice my opinion. My opinion is as the Scriptures states in Acts. (Paraphrase) After the good people of Berea finished listening to what Paul and the others had to say they went home and searched the Scripture for themselves to see whether or not what was said was true.
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However, I pray that the God that we serve will enlighten each of us to understand, ‘ In order to be misled, one must first choose to be led.’ I repeat do not get mad at the ones that fooled you into believing what you believe and for failing to live up to your expectations. We have the Scriptures in over 120 different interpretation. Why did we not just simply check it out for yourself instead of simply believing what another man states what it might say. Each of us are sinner fallen short of the glory of God, so why would we expect more of someone else than we do of ourselves.
In order to be misled, one must first choose to be led.’ The old saying goes ’You can lead a horse to water, but you can not make it drink.’ The same applies to each of us. We are free willed living being. We have a mind of our own. We know what the bible says. Nevertheless, for the life of us, we refuse to read it for ourselves. We lend upon the knowledge of our pastors, teachers, and preachers to tell us everything we need to know about a God that said in James, (paraphrase) If we desire his wisdom all we need to do is ask him and he will give it to us.’ Yet, we spend all our money on the knowledge of fallible man.
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I repeat do not get mad at the ones that fooled you into believing what you believe and for failing to live up to your expectations. The Scripture instructs us to try the Spirit by the spirit. Paul tells us numerous times to beware of false teachers spreading false doctrine. When was the last time you held your claps or Amens until you checked out what you were agreeing to?
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By the same measure, we judge others; by this same measure shall we be judged. Let us trust in the correcting hands of God to judge his servants. He has placed the authorities in place just for that purpose. If they do not judge the situation correctly, God will in the end.
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If you know and experience the stove being hot, nevertheless you listen to the advice of a friend to touch it.
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Whose fought is it that you were burned? You or your friend.
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God gave us the warning signs a long time ago. Since we did not pay attention to it, we were burned. We knew what to look for, but we did not look, so really, who is to blame?
I do not intend to hurt anyone feelings by tell you the truth. Nevertheless, my only concern is to get myself to heaven and be invited to stay after the lamb’s book of life is read.
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I am currently living for the last 20 years only by the grace of God despite having a fatal deadly disease, nevertheless I do not complain. I just continue to help people n spite of the daily pain I must endure. I do this not because I want man’s praise or man’s glory. I do it simply because on the cross Jesus bore the pains of my sins for me.
There are a lot of disagreements with what the bible has to say. Nevertheless, it does not change the fact that God does not disagree with what He has said. And frankly, that is really the only opinion that really matters.
In the final hours of my quickly disappearing life, my prayer for each of you will simply be God forgive them for they know not what they do and do not realize the intent of the words they say.
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One last bit of insight before I go.
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I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak,
They shall render account of it on Judgment day.
For by your words you shall be justified,
And by your words, you shall be condemned.
