Sometimes we wonder why we can’t get a lot of people to come to church. Is it the time that’s not good, or is it too cold or hot in the church, or is it they do not want to be judged when they walk through the door. People sit and judge others and don’t realize only one perfect man has walked this earth and his is JESUS. I’m not standing up here saying I never judged anyone. I have judge a lot of people in my lifetime and it wasn’t even necessary. In Mathew 7:1-2 it says “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, 2 For God will judge you in the same way as you judge others, and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others.”I know it’s hard not to judge people and we don’t agree with their lifestyle. Just think, were you always loyal to the lord. Did you do everything that the bible says? Do you do everything now that the bible says? A lot of us judge others and we are doing the same thing and the only difference is you come to church every Sunday. Do you think you’re going to escape Gods judgment? God will not judge everyone different. In Romans 2:11 it states “For God judges everyone by the same standards.” Some people judge so much they think God is going to come down and stand beside them and ask if someone is good enough to walk through the pearly gates of Heaven. If God did come down he would say you judged so many people why can’t you just reach your hand out and help them. Mark 4:24 it states “Pay attention to what you hear! The same rules you use to judge others will be used by me to judge you-but with even greater severity.” See people don’t understand that God uses everyone. He used Moses who was a murderer, look at Noah he was a drunk. I’m not saying go out get drunk and kill someone so God can use you. I’m saying that God sees the good in everyone. Sometimes it just takes longer for others to get on track. How did Jesus act towards his friends that betrayed and turned their backs on him? For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.( Jesus talking to Peter at the last supper. Look at Judas I can’t stand him. You know he betrayed me right. Luke 22: 21-22“But, look! The one who betrays me is here at the table with me! 22 The Son of Man will die as God has decided, but how terrible for that man who betrays him!” See the devil wants us to judge and hate because he knows that if our hearts are filled with that negativity, it blocks the light of JESUS from entering our hearts and souls. It blocks us from ever being able to have true peace, joy, understanding, and love. We have to love our neighbors even if they don't live like we do or believe in GOD like we do. I do not read my bible like I should but I know enough about the word to realize that we as humans love to pick and choose which commandments we feel are important and which ones we feel we have a right to discard.
10 Commandments
1. “Worship no god but me.
2. “Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth. 5 Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the LORD your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation. 6 But I show my love to thousands of generations[a] of those who love me and obey my laws.
3. “Do not use my name for evil purposes, for I, the LORD your God, will punish anyone who misuses my name.
4. “Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy. 9 You have six days in which to do your work, 10 but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work—neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. 11 In six days I, the LORD, made the earth, the sky, the
sees, and everything in them, but on the seventh day I rested. That is why I, the LORD, blessed the Sabbath and made it holy.
5. “Respect your father and your mother, so that you may live a long time in the land that I am giving you.
6. “Do not commit murder. 7. “Do not commit adultery. 8. “Do not steal.
9. “Do not accuse anyone falsely. 10. “Do not desire another man's house; do not desire his wife, his slaves, his cattle, his donkeys, or anything else that he owns.”
We need to stop judging others and start looking at ourselves in the mirror and focus on our wrong doings! The devil wants us to focus on everyone else's sin so that we never get to the real heart of the problem which is the sin that resides in ourselves. We love to judge others ways of life because it makes us feel better. Too many of us like to put JESUS in a box for safe keeping and use him and his grace and forgiveness when it's convenient or when we feel like we have enough time for him. We love to talk the talk instead of walk the walk that JESUS walked. Have you ever seen the families that lost their loved ones and found it in their hearts to forgive the person that hurt them? I used to always wonder how and why in the world these families found it in their hearts to forgive these people. It is because they were smart enough to realize that having hate and resentment towards others only truly hurts us in the long run. Passing judgment and hating others is what the devil wants us to do! He knows that if we hate and judge others that the hate we have in our hearts will prevent us from ever truly living like Christ did when he was here! He came here not just to pay the price on the cross. Christ came to give us the perfect example to true everlasting salvation.
So stop looking around at family members and people in the community judging them on what they are doing. People believe since they can recite the bible from front to back and go to church every Sunday and bible study on Wednesday but you’re still going to be judge the same as the people that is not in church.
As I come to a close I want to ask how many of you recycle. It’s amazing how you can make new things from something that had been used. The high school I used to work at the track was made from rubber from old shoes. God does the same thing. When we make the wrong decision or going down the wrong path God don’t throw us away he put us in a recycling can and when we are ready he makes us brand new. I’m a prime example of this. God had put me in the recycling can and now he is pulling me out and putting me to work. So when you’re about to judge someone remember Psalms 75: 6-7 “Judgment does not come from the east or from the west, from the north or from the south; It is God who is the judge, condemning some and acquitting others.
