TODAY'S READING IS FROM https://utmost.org/ and the print version of Oswald Chambers Daily Devotional: My Utmost For His Highest -- Date: June 22
The Unchanging Law of Judgment: this statement is not a haphazard guess, it is an eternal law of God. Whatever judgment you give, it is measured to you again. There is a difference between retaliation and retribution. Jesus says that the basis of life is retribution — “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” If you have been shrewd in finding out the defects in others, remember that will be exactly the measure given to you. Life serves back in the coin you pay. This law works from God’s throne downwards (cf. Psalm 18:25-26).
Romans 2 applies it in a still more definite way, and says that the one who criticizes another is guilty of the very same thing. God looks not only at the act, He looks at the possibility. We do not believe the statements of the Bible to begin with. For instance, do we believe this statement, that the things we criticize in others we are guilty of ourselves? The reason we see hypocrisy and fraud and unreality in others is because they are all in our own hearts. The great characteristic of a saint is humility — “Yes, all those things and other evils would have been manifested in me but for the grace of God, therefore I have no right to judge.”
Jesus says — “Judge not, that ye be not judged”; if you do judge, it will be measured to you exactly as you have judged. Who of us would dare to stand before God and say — “My God, judge me as I have judged my fellow men?” We have judged our fellow men as sinners; if God should judge us like that we would be in hell. God judges us through the marvelous Atonement of Jesus Christ.
MARY’S RESPONSE:
LIKE OTHER CHRISTIANS, I TOO STRUGGLE WITH JUDGMENT OF OTHER PEOPLE …
I think this is one of the reasons why Jesus never speaks of political issues outside of His parable-style communication like that of Matthew 22:21 – He knew full well His words would be scrutinized by people of His time as well as those of us today.
"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" ~ Matthew 22:21
I love how each time religious leaders attempt to trap Jesus they themselves become confounded. Never had they met someone like Jesus: A Jew who walked straight into their synagogues and quoted from Isaiah 61 regarding his mission and purpose. A man who committed no sin against his fellow Jew or any other man or woman. A Messiah who paved a way to eternal life with Him for all who would believe:
"... if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." ~ Romans 10:9-10
Don’t let this world confound and wound you through its evils. Take you family and friends – the nation and the world into the throne room and present them to your heavenly father. Remember to talk to God regularly and be completely honest about your hurts and your unanswered prayers. This is truly the desire of my heart, but I find I’m often angered by injustices.
I’m angry when I discover our political leaders care more about building personal wealth through insider trading and teachers unions caring more about their pensions than teaching our children to read and write. And at this point, I am angered over the gender ideology agenda that’s targeting our children and families.
I’ve spent most of my adult life standing up for what is right – either directly or indirectly in service of children and families along with clients ranging from Christians, Catholics and Messianic Jews.
These days my anger is aroused by the transgender movement and it’s targeting of our children. As someone who has undergone 4 major back surgeries – and lives with titanium rods in my spine along with a spinal cord stimulator implant, I am dead set against pushing children into unnecessary surgeries. My back surgeries were necessary not by my doing – but because of a work related injury and car accident. I did not have a choice in this matter. I was unjustly injured in both situations and I thank God I’m able to walk. Children who are labeled as transgender are unwittingly handing over their bodies for an over-bloated medical industry to profit from them. AND THIS IS UNJUST. SO NO, I DO NOT DISPISE TRANSGENDER or LGBT PEOPLE – quite the opposite. I do however despise the dangerous gender ideology agenda and so does God:
There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. ~ Proverbs 6:16-19
