The pointing finger

Hi gals,

This morning in our reading I was struck by the verse in Isaiah 58 "If you do away with...the pointing finger...THEN your light will rise in the darkness" (vs 9,10). Then on the way to work, I heard Romans 2:1-4 "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ²Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? ⁴Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?" And it all came together.

As you all know, revival has been going on in our church for some time now. And I hope and pray that we have all been a part of it. However, I have to confess that I have fallen into the habit of "Quenching the Spirit"--even mentally it is a dangerous thing. There have been many people who have had radical change in their lives, and yet I find myself thinking, "This will never last. I know they will fall back into their old habits." Or worse, when they bring a good word or a good example, thinking "Who are they to tell me what to do or how to live? Just (insert amount of time) ago they were living a much worse life than me. What can they have to offer?"

Girls, I know that we all tend to fall into this mentality. Women are especially vindictive and judgmental. But what does God's word say..."you who pass judgment do the SAME things." Who are we to say whether or not someone has changed? Is it not possible that we are just jealous of the change in their life, and we feel upset that they are actually doing BETTER than we are spiritually? Rather than judging them, we should look and rejoice in what God is doing in their lives. I was thinking about the adulterous woman this morning. What worse sin can there be than to commit adultery...And yet, what did Jesus do? He told her, "neither do I condemn you." Who are we to cast that first stone? Are we guiltless? Have we lived such holy lives that we are able to spiritually discern whether others have come to know Christ for the first time or anew?

When I think about Isaiah I get an image in my mind...standing there and pointing..."saved, not saved, saved, not saved...true repentance, faking it." But for some reason, that finger is never pointed at me, examining and judging my OWN life. I pray that when it does, that I can say with confidence, "Saved!" But when I am so busy deciding about the salvation of others, I am too busy to look at my own life. When we have stopped "the pointing finger" and have looked at our own lives, have accepted God's gracious and MIGHTY work in our church, THEN, then and only then can we have our light shine powerfully in the darkness. God is not calling for us to judge others in this time of revival. Yes, we must be wise and we must be aware that Satan is actively at work. Yes, there are those whose revival is fake...But I know that I err on the side of being over-judgmental, of being to certain that everyone else has a fake revival. Yes, be on guard! Stand firm in the faith! Do not be naiive. But give people the benefit of the doubt. If they are wolves in sheep's clothing, it will become apparent. But you cannot learn how to be holy in your own life if you are shining the light of God's grace in everyone's life but your own.

I know that there is much more complexity to this whole situation than first appears. But, let's believe that God is a great God, that He can save and radically change those who were only a month or two ago living in great sin. He is God! He is mighty! He is great! And He is so far above us that we cannot doubt His work. Do not doubt His grace...or "show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience." Let's take MORE time to examine our own lives. I know that I don't want others pointing their fingers at me and saying "she will never last." I want encouragement and support and prayer that my life will continue to change so I can serve God more.

And one last thing ladies. Let us not think that we can pretend and cover this feeling. I know we ALL know when someone is covering up true feelings...if in our heart we are judgmental people, it WILL come across in our actions. And we will not escape God's judgment!

I hope that this is a reminder for us all. I know that some of you truly do have gracious hearts that are so faithful to build others up. And I praise God for you! I know that I personally need to work on having faith that God can change even the worst person! I hope this is an encouragement to live more faithfully before God. Praise Him!

Talking versus Praying

Have you ever noticed (I know I have, that's why I'm asking) that your voice changes when you pray out loud? It doesn't happen when you pray alone or silently, but in a group or a prayer meeting, WOW people can hear that seriousness in your voice! All of a sudden you're using "God talk", remembering verses, phew!
Or are you sitting here thinking, "Oh that's not me. I totally know the kind of people you're talking about though. Those self righteous people."

Ok I want to challenge you on a couple things:

*First, for those of you who know the kind of people I'm talking about: Stop it! Who are we to judge the heart of another person praying? Who's to say what their motive is? We are being self righteous when we think that not praying eloquently means we are somehow more spiritual. God does not want us to pray in a dead way. We are speaking to Him!

*Second, let's all consider our motives when praying out loud. Are we talking just to hear ourselves talk? Or are we really coming in reverence and delighting to speak to our Lord and Savior? Have you ever thought about not praying in a prayer meeting? I know to some of you, this may sound like an excuse to not pray. But I mean it more for those people who pray once, twice, three times in a meeting. If our motives for praying are to appear more righteous to someone else, or to sound good, then we are just Pharisees. If God is putting it on your heart to pray three times, then pray three times! But I think there is also a place for humbly listening to what others are talking to Him about.

*Third, we can talk when we pray. What do I mean by that? Well, something I was thinking about lately is that I don't sound eloquent when I pray. I sometimes have a hard time putting words together, and I sometimes use the wrong word. Sometimes I even insert a 'like' in there! You know what, though, girls? It is not about the words we use. It is about a heart attitude. And that's not saying that the worse we talk, the more holy we must be. But don't be jealous of those who can pray so eloquently! Instead, be encouraged! Come to God with a holy reverence and speak to Him what is on your heart--bring to Him your fears and doubts and praise and questions and everything else. First of all, He already knows it! But a real relationship is just that--real and genuine. Imagine if all your friends came talking to you with British accents and speaking in Victorian language because they thought it would impress you. Would it?

*Lastly, a verse from this morning's reading:

(Mark 1:35) "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed"

Things that struck me about this: VERY EARLY, He was by Himself, He left the distractions and even His closest friends to go commune with God.

Do I have the same kind of communion with God? Am I seeking Him on my own? With the very best of me? What is my personal prayer life like? Or am I just willing to pray in front of others and get their praise?


P.S. Girls, I hope you know I write these posts because they are things I struggle with. I don't mean to preach sermons or give you the impression I have it all figured out. I don't. Even with praying in groups, I go to all extremes--judging people for talking too long, for being too eloquent, for not being eloquent enough, praying just to hear myself talk, trying to find big words and remember verses so I'll sound more holy...all of the above. So these posts are just thoughts :)