Posts tagged Jesus

40 Days of Preparation Day 14

Mar09
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Friday March 9, 2012, is the fourteenth day of preparing our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, Easter Sunday. Today I need to “put off” loving little and “put on” loving like Jesus.  Jesus’ kind of love is truly beyond the average human’s comprehension.

13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 (ESV)

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to love Jesus more than others? Jesus answers this question when He tells the Pharisee Simon the following story.

41 ‘‘Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon replied, ‘‘I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” ‘‘You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. 44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, ‘‘Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.  46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.  47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then Jesus said to her, ‘‘Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, ‘‘Who is this who even forgives sins?”50 Jesus said to the woman, ‘‘Your faith has saved you; go in  peace.”  Luke 7:41-50

In this passage of Scripture we encounter two very different people. One, a Pharisee believes that he is right with God because of his understanding of a perceived ability to keep the letter of the Old Testament law. Secondly, we meet a sinful woman who has placed her faith in Jesus, resulting in her loving Him supremely. On one hand, the Pharisees’ religion has led him to be judgmental, self-righteousness, and to doubt the claims of Jesus (Luke 7:39). On the other hand, this sinful woman’s love for Jesus has led her to faith, repentance, and peace.

With which of the two characters in this story do you have the most in common?

In today’s church their are many who approach their Christian faith in the same means as this Pharisee.  As a result they twist the Gospel out of its context and labor under obligations of law and legalism which lead them to be superficial in their practice of Christianity resulting in no joy, no peace, and love that is not like Jesus’. These people perceive that their need for Jesus and his forgiveness is small, particularly when compared to sinful people like this woman.

If today you find that your practice of Christianity has led you to become judgmental, self-righteous, and to wonder whether or not all of Jesus’ claims are actually true, then you need to “put off” loving little and “put on” loving like Jesus.

The fact is that regardless of how much or how little you think you have sinned everyone of us stands before Jesus with the same need as this woman.  Each of us do not possess the ability to save ourselves or to forgive ourselves of our own sin. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah expresses the predicament in which each of us find ourselves regarding our own sin this way:

5 . . . How then can we be saved? 6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. 7 No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have given us over to our sins. Isaiah 64:5–7 (NIV)

The very best that we have to offer God, our most righteous acts, when compared to God’s goodness, greatness, and holiness is like filthy rags (the actual Hebrew words literally mean “the rags of menstruation”). So no matter how good you think you are or how few your sins may be, each of us stand condemned in our sins before Jesus just like this woman. There is nothing we can do.  God is just and right when he condemns us to hell!

The true spiritual condition of every person who tries to earn their salvation, or impress God by their goodness, is given by the apostle Paul in the book of Romans.

20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20 (ESV)

Imagine how sad the human story would be if this were its end.

This woman, who anoints Jesus’ feet with costly perfume while continuously weeping, washing the feet of Jesus with her tears and drying them with her hair is the perfect picture of everyone who has come to learn the rest of the story.  Paul continues to write in Romans;

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Romans 3:21–24 (ESV)

There is no distinction, between the one who has sinned a lot and the one who has sinned only a little.  All of us should be weeping at Jesus’ feet.  The sad fact, however, is that there are those among us who do not fully understand the full extent of the work Jesus has done on our behalf.  The result of their faulty perception is that they love Jesus only a little.  Therefore, as I prepare my heart for Easter I must “put off” loving little and “put on” loving like Jesus!

Whenever I come to truly understand His love I will realize that Jesus’ kind of love is unconditional, unconventional, and unstoppable!

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40 Days of Preparation Day 11

Mar06
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Tuesday March 6, 2012, is the eleventh day of preparing our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, Easter Sunday. Today I need to “put off” discontentment and “put on” contentment. One means to help you and I recognize the seriousness with which we must deal with putting off discontentment is to ask ourselves “for what purpose do I do work?” If the answer is to provide for my family’s needs then I must ask a further question. “How much is enough?” According to my Economics 101 instructor the basic needs of a human are “food, clothing, and shelter.”

I believe that too many of us in America today suffer with an incessant need for “more!”  It really doesn’t matter what we are discussing we want “more” of it. At the root of this desire for “more” is the basic problem of a lack of contentment or discontentment. As we prepare ourselves today I ask you to consider the areas of your life with which you are discontented. You may discover that those are the same areas over which Jesus may not have complete control.  You and I need to ask God to take these aspects of our life and have His way in the whole of our lives.

The children of Israel became discontented after waiting 40 days for Moses to return from meeting with God on Mount Sinai.  Their discontentment led them to grievous sin!  While the sin of the nation of America does not take this particular form, we are guilty of our own types of idolatry. According to this passage from The Message Bible the root cause of Israel’s sin was discontentment.

6 The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way as they did. 7 And we must not turn our religion into a circus as they did—“First the people partied, then they threw a dance.” 8 We must not be sexually promiscuous—they paid for that, remember, with 23,000 deaths in one day! 9 We must never try to get Christ to serve us instead of us serving him; they tried it, and God launched an epidemic of poisonous snakes. 10 We must be careful not to stir up discontent; discontent destroyed them. 1 Corinthians 10:6–10 (MSG)

I believe that discontentment is destroying our nation today and many Christian families along with it.  The danger of discontentment is further illustrated in The Message Bible in the following text.

14 Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. 15 Make sure no one gets left out of God’s generosity. Keep a sharp eye out for weeds of bitter discontent. A thistle or two gone to seed can ruin a whole garden in no time. 16 Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. 17 You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears. Hebrews 12:14–17 (MSG)

That discontentment has led many in our nation to be guilty of this “Esau syndrome” is evidenced each day as our politicians haggle over how to cut spending from this year’s federal budget all the while acknowledging that a failure to do so will burden our children and grandchildren with crippling debt.

You and I are also guilty of this “Esau syndrome” each time we borrow from the future to pay for pleasures and conveniences in the present.  It is discontentment which fuels our debtor economy and has led America to become a debtor nation made up of debtor citizens. You and I need to put off “discontentment” and put on “contentment.”

You say you are debt free and therefore have no problem with being discontented. Perhaps the following verse will enlighten you. Are you guilty of grumbling or complaining? If so the root of these expressions is being discontented. Jude warns us that there are individuals within our churches who are discontented and grumble because deep down they are really seeking their own way and not God’s.

16 These people are discontented grumblers, walking according to their desires; their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage. Jude 16 (HCSB)

I have come to understand that many times in my life when I have prayed that phrase in the Lord’s Prayer “thy will be done on Earth, as it is in heaven” that I really did not mean it.  Instead, had I been more honest I would have prayed “my will be done in heaven as it is also done on Earth.”

When I truly learn and except that God’s will is best for me, for you and for everyone, then and only then, can I become truly contented.  It is in this state of contentment that I can trust God to meet my needs and can cease attempting to serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24). The Hebrew writer explains it this way;

5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” Hebrews 13:5 (NASB)

Indeed the apostle Paul says it very well when he states;

6 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, 1 Timothy 6:6 (ESV)

Yet, for you or I to experience this great gain in godliness we must learn to be content with what we have and quit seeking to constantly gain more and more for our own selfish purposes.

8 If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 1 Timothy 6:8 (NASB)

Perhaps the greatest New Testament passage which deals with learning to be content with what one has is contained in the letter which Paul wrote to the church at Philippi while he was imprisoned in Rome. Paul writes;

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of [being content] whether facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:10–13 (ESV)

How as Paul learned this great secret of being content?  He tells us in 2 Corinthians.

7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7–10 (ESV)

Scholars have written many pages trying to convince one another of what exactly was Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” I do not intend to add my voice to theirs. Instead, I want to focus your attention upon the effects which Paul says this “thorn in the flesh” wrought in his character.

Paul says that this “thorn in the flesh” taught him to be “content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.” It is precisely weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities which you and I seek to insure ourselves against by every means possible in our daily lives.  Our society is built upon the “pursuit of happiness”  precisely by preventing such troubling personal experiences to befall any one of our citizens. Yet, Paul teaches us that whenever he was experiencing these things we naturally seek to avoid he discovered that during those times he was strong with the Lord.

I need to put off “discontentment” and put on “contentment!”  As I do so I must learn to strive for less of this worlds goods and for more, much much more of God and the things of God.

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40 Days of Preparation Day 4

Feb28
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Tuesday February 28, 2012, is Day 4 of preparing our hearts, souls, and minds for Easter Sunday.  I must “put off”  Temporal values and “put on” eternal values. Temporal values refer to things which are of this world and eternal values refer to things which will be important for us in heaven or the next world.

That’s right the next world.  The Scriptures teach that this world is temporary but the next world will be eternal.

13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:13 (ESV)

Peter teaches us that Jesus taught him that the disciples were to wait on the new heaven and Earth where sin would no longer govern human endeavors but where righteousness instead would dwell. As a Christian my attitudes, desires and ambitions should be focused on this eternal reality rather than the temporary and transitory concerns of this earthly life. The ultimate eternal reality is recorded in the last book of the Bible, the Revelation of John.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. Revelation 21:1 (ESV)

This Earth which all of humankind is known as its home will be destroyed but God in his infinite power, wisdom, grace and mercy will create a new heaven and a new earth. This new heaven and new earth will be the home for God ‘s kingdom and his  people throughout all eternity.

Temporal values are more of an attitude which leads us to sin than an actual sin in and of themselves. There are two primary areas which reveal our true attitude toward things temporal and eternal, our checkbook and our schedule. For example there is nothing wrong with money in and of itself, but the love of money is clearly condemned in Scripture. Had the good Samaritan not had some coins he could not have been such a blessing to the man who had fallen among the thieves.  If we truly understand the temporary nature of both our lives and thus planet then we will be able to use money for eternal purposes. This is how Jesus’ teaching about treasure is to be understood.

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19–21 (ESV)

If we have “put off” temporal values and “put on” eternal values then we are free to be stewards of the money which God gives us so that we can use it in a way that will bless others here and now and bless us there (in heaven) and then (for eternity). While it is true that you can’t take your money with you according to this teaching of Jesus you can send the blessings of having used your money for God’s eternal purposes on ahead.

Another area which reveals our true attitude or temporal values eternal values is how we use our time day by day.  If we are not living for eternity is very easy to become disheartened as we see our physical bodies changing as we age. An extraordinary amount of money is spent every year in the United States on cosmetic surgery, cosmetics, exercise equipment, and gym memberships.  According to Paul this emphasis reveals an this place focus on the importance of this life over and above our eternal life in heaven.

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.  2 Corinthians 4:16–18 (ESV)

The American society has become much more concerned with what is seen and fleeting but what is unseen and last forever. When we examine our schedules and find that we are spending much more time working out our physical bodies a praying or reading God’s word this reveals our need to “put off” temporal values “put on” eternal values.

 

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40 Days of Preparation Day 3

Feb27
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Monday February 27, 20112 is Day 3 of preparing our hearts, souls, and minds for Easter Sunday. Today I must “put off” the sin of being unforgiving and I must “put on” forgiveness. Remember our goal is to consider every area of our lives over which Jesus may not have complete control.  We need to ask God to take these aspects of our life and have his way in the whole of our lives.

Why is not forgiving  others such a big deal? It is very simple; if I want God to forgive me then I must be willing to forgive you. At the end of the Model Prayer Jesus adds the following statement about the importance of forgiving others.

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14–15 (ESV)

Could it be stated any more plainly?  I don’t know about you but I have plenty which I need God to forgive in my life, therefore I must forgive others, if for no other reason than the fact that I need God to forgive me.  How many times must I forgive someone else.  Peter asked Jesus this question also.

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21–22 (ESV)

Let me save you the trouble of doing the math 7o times 7 is 490.  Lest you think that you are going to have to develop a better system for record keeping let me explain what I think Jesus is teaching us.  The number “7″ is a special number in the Scriptures.  The number “7″ symbolizes perfection or completion.   Jesus is not telling Peter to keep better records but is illustrating a point he has already taught us.

2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:2 (ESV)

Forgiving others becomes easy when I remember all the sins that God has had to forgive in me.  Like Peter we often think in our fallen flesh nature that we are being compassionate and gracious when we say “Lord I’ll forgive them 7 times,” that should be enough to be considered magnanimous.  Jesus teaches that when it come to forgiving we are not to be busy counting but are to be concerned instead with forgiving completely.   As you read this devotion who is God the Holy Spirit prompting you to forgive?

I think that this subject has been adequately dealt with in this devotion to this point.  If God the Holy Spirit has prompted you to forgive someone then case closed. DO IT!

If you need more convincing then keep reading. In  his book Alone With God: The Power and Passion of Prayer John MacArthur points out seven reasons for forgiving others. Perhaps his words will help in convincing you to forgive.

1. A Characteristic of the Saints. As citizens of God’s kingdom we are blessed and receive mercy because we ourselves are merciful (Matt. 5:7). We are to love even our enemies because we have the nature of our Heavenly Father residing in us. Just before giving this model prayer, Jesus instructed His audience, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, ‘love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven’ ” (Matt. 5:43–45). Blessing those who persecute you is tantamount to forgiveness. By loving your enemies, you manifest that you are a child of God. Forgiveness is the mark of a truly regenerate heart. When a Christian fails to forgive someone else, he sets himself up as a higher judge than God and even calls into question the reality of his faith.

2. Christ’s Example. The Apostle Paul instructs us to “be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). John tells us, “The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6). Jesus Himself is our pattern for forgiveness. On behalf of those who drove the nails through His hands, spit in His face, mocked Him, and crushed a crown of thorns onto His head, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). He is our role model. The severity of any offense toward us cannot match what Christ endured. The writer of Hebrews said, “You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin” (12:4).

3. Expresses the Highest Virtue of Man. A man displays the majesty of his creation in the image of God when he forgives. Proverbs 19:11 says, “A man’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook a transgression.”

4. Frees the Conscience of Guilt. Unforgiveness not only stands as a barrier to God’s forgiveness but also interferes with peace of mind, happiness, satisfaction, and even the proper functioning of the body. According to 2 Corinthians 2:10–11, when we have an unforgiving heart, we give Satan an advantage over us.

5. Benefits the Body of Believers. Probably few things have so short-circuited the power of the church as unresolved conflicts among its members. The psalmist warns, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (Ps. 66:18). The Holy Spirit cannot work freely among those who carry grudges and harbor resentment (Matt. 5:23–24).

6. Delivers from God’s Discipline. Where there is an unforgiving spirit, there is sin; and where there is sin, there will be chastening. Hebrews 12:6 says, “Those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom he receives.” Unrepentant sin in the church at Corinth caused many believers to be weak, sick, and even to die (1 Cor. 11:30).

7. Activates God’s Forgiveness. The activation of God’s forgiveness is probably the most important reason we must forgive others. This reason is so vital that Jesus reinforces it at the close of His pattern for prayer (vv. 14–15). Nothing in the Christian life is more important than forgiveness—our forgiveness of others and God’s forgiveness of us. Because God deals with us just as we deal with others, we are to forgive others as freely and graciously as God forgives us.

Are you there yet?  Where?  To the place where you can be obedient and  “put off” unforgiveness and “put on” forgiveness! Do it, you will be glad you did!

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40 Days of Preparation Day 2

Feb26
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Warner Smith

Today, Sunday February 26, 2012, is Day 2 as we continue to prepare our hearts, souls and minds for the most high of all Christian holy days, Easter Sunday.  As we prepare ourselves each day I ask you to consider an area of our lives over which Jesus may not have complete control.  We need to ask God to take these aspects of our life and have his way in the whole of our lives. On Day 2 of our 40 days of preparation for Easter I must “put off” the sin of being judgmental and I need to “put on” trust in God.

I read somewhere that the most quoted Bible verse in America used to be John 3:16 but that recently the most quoted Bible verse in America has become Matthew 7:1 .

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:1-2

As I understand it the basic principle taught in these verses is that Christ’s followers are not to be characterized by judgmental attitudes. The immediate practical rationale for His command is that others, including God, may treat us in the same manner which we treat them.

The entire thrust of the Sermon on the Mount, of which this passage is a part, is to show the distinction between true and false religion, between spiritual truth an spiritual hypocrisy.  Jesus places God’s perfect and holy standards beside the unholy and self-righteous standard of the scribes and the Pharisees and declares that those who follow the scribes and the Pharisees will have no part in God’s kingdom.  Never has a more controversial or judgmental sermon ever been preached.

In Matthew 7 Jesus is referring to our judging another persons motives, which no mere human can possibly know. What Jesus is specifically forbidding is self-righteous, officious,  unmerciful, prejudiced, and unwarranted condemnation based on human standards and human understanding.

Three reasons why Jesus condemns such judgments as sinful are:

  1. Such judgments reveal an erroneous view of God. That He somehow needs your or my help.
  2. Such judgments also reveal an erroneous view of others. That we are superior to others and or therefore in a position to judge.
  3. Such judgments reveal erroneous views of ourselves. That we are righteous and able to pass judgments.

Whenever you or I condemn another person without mercy because they do not do something the way we believe it should have been done or because we believe their motives are wrong, we are making a judgment that God alone is qualified to make.  Perhaps this poem will help you think before you judge as much as it has me.

Judge not the workings of his brain,
And of his heart thou cannot see,
What looks to thy dim eyes a stain,
In God’s pure light may only be
A scar brought from some well-won field
Where thou wouldst only faint and yield  – Author Unknown

So if I trust God more I will feel obligated to judge others less.  Jesus goes on to teach us that as it pertains to judgment the person which I should feel free to judge is myself.

3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:3–5 (ESV)

If I have a proper attitude when I judge myself I will discover that the sins which I once saw as large in another or actually small when compared to my own sinfulness.  Therefore, to not be guilty of the additional sin of hypocrisy I must trust God to judge others and spend my time asking God to help me judge myself.

What Jesus’ Censure Against  Judging Is Not

Today tolerance is prized above all other virtues.  One is looked upon with scorn if we make any moral judgments concerning any oneelse’s belief system.  This position is a Trojan horse, however, because we clearly all agree that the events of 9/11/01 carried out in the name of Allah are absolutely and positively wrong!  That is a judgment on the 19 highjackers belief system which we each make.  Someone who thinks that it is proper according to their belief system to offer human sacrifices to God would similarly be condemned by us and correctly so.

The church throughout its history has a record of standing and shouting condemnation against society whenever society strays from Biblical norms. That is a component of every Christians prophetic role,

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, Ephesians 4:15 (ESV)

We sin individually and corporately when we do not voice such condemnation to our society. Many today misuse the Matthew 7:1 text to silence the church and individual Christians from voicing our convictions which confront society’s current view.  We are branded as violators of Jesus’ injunction not to judge, and we are branded as trouble makers.

Yet at no time in the history of the church, or of ancient Israel, was spiritual and moral reformation achieved apart from confrontation and conflict.  God’s prophets have always been bold and controversial.  And they have always been resisted, often by God’s own people.  The church reformers of the sixteenth century were men of strong conviction and principle, apart from which the Protestant Reformation would never have occurred.  We are to say “Thus says the Lord,” but we are to be loving and accepting of those with whom we disagree.

Our condemnation of sin, however, must never become a license which we use to feel morally superior to others.  We are to be clear about what Christ taught and condemn what He condemned but we must be controlled by His love and concern for the lost as we make our case, controversial and confrontational though it may be.

As you make judgments condemn the sin but show love and concern for the sinner.  Today take care to avoid judging others motives, but always trust and obey God first and foremost!

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