Who am I to judge?

Just ran across this article and I have to share:

Some of the scriptures quoted in this article:

So, the Bible tells us not to judge people? Consider: “thus says the Lord: you, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me if I tell the wicked, ‘oh, wicked one, you shall surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked one from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself (Ezekiel 33: 7 – 9).
Neither Peter nor Paul were squeamish about judging others:

Peter said to Simon the magician “Your heart is not upright before God. Repent of this wickedness of yours … for I see that you are filled with bitter gall, and you are in the bonds of iniquity” (Acts 8: 20 – 23).
Paul said to Elymas, “you son of the devil, you enemy of all that is right, full of every sort of deceit and fraud. Will you not stop twisting the straight paths of the Lord?” (Acts 13: 9 – 10).

Here are some excerpts from the epistles that illustrate judgment:

“When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he clearly was wrong” (Gal 2:11).
“Brothers, even if a person is caught in some transgression, you who are spiritual should correct that one in a gentle spirit…” (Gal 6:1).
“Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them…” (Gal 5: 11).
“Reprimand publicly those [presbyters] who do sin, so that the rest will also be afraid” (Tim 5:20).
“Therefore, admonish them sharply, so that they may be sound in the faith…” (Titus 1:13 – 14).
“Exhort and correct with all authority…” (Titus 2:15).
“I am convinced about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another” (Rom 15:14).
“It is widely reported that there is immorality among you… A man living with his father’s wife.… The one who did this deed should be expelled from your midst. I … have already, as if present, pronounced judgment on the one who committed this deed, in the name of our Lord Jesus…. You are to deliver this man to Satan for the distraction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord” (1 Cor 5:1 – 5).

https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/who-am-i-to-judge

prayer request

Hi,

I have a prayer request for the group.

I just sent my friend a letter to tell him about Jesus Christ and how Easter is a celebration of our hope in Him and what He did for us. He used to work in the KC office with me and he became one of my best friends. He is Muslim, so I wanted to make sure he heard the real message of Jesus. Please pray that his heart is open to the message. Even if it doesn't take root now, I want a good seed to be planted. I also sent him a Bible in the hopes that he'll get curious enough to read it (I marked the Book of John, since it's a great starting point).

He is such a kind person, which is surprising since he's been through so much. He came from South Sudan (his story is similar to the men in "The Lost Boys of Sudan"). A Baptist church in Iowa sponsored his escape to America. He was also imprisoned when he was 16 for refusing to kill innocent civilians (a soldier handed him a gun and commanded him to shoot). He truly is an amazing person.

Thank you,

Renee

froggy

Funny how life works sometimes. I have a friend who jumps from church to church and I keep telling him that he needs to find one and settle in because there is no perfect church. (Because a church is made up of people and there was only one perfect person - the rest of us are generally a hot mess.)

Well, I recently got a bit froggy when something was said in my church that shocked me. So I've been going back in forth in my pea brain about what I should do. (I use the term 'froggy' because I am considering jumping from church to church until I find the perfect one.) Yes, I quickly forget my own advice.

Today I saw a piece from Aaron Armstrong that dealt with counterfeit churches and how they 'worship' (which is not a problem with my church) but his article had a suggestions for these three things to pray and I want to share it here. Great advice and great prayers.

• Pray for yourself. First, pray that God would show you the legitimacy of your concerns, and what is simply a personal issue that you need to work through.
• Pray for your church’s leadership. The elders and pastors of our churches are not perfect people. They need Jesus just as much as you and I do. Pray that the Holy Spirit would guide them and they would be genuinely attentive to his leading, and be open to constructive feedback.
• Don’t give up trying to be a positive influence. It’s tempting to jump ship and hope that you’ll find somewhere better. But because we know there’s no such thing as a perfect church, you’re always going to run into these issues. Don’t be disheartened—use the opportunities God gives you to fulfill your role as a disciple maker. Speak with your leaders. Encourage other church members. Be a blessing to this local church for as long as God has you there.

See, excellent prayers and excellent advice. 

http://www.bloggingtheologically.com/2016/03/14/counterfeit-experience/ 

March 10, 2016

We began our study with Philippians 1:9

Ron spoke of the various Greek words for love: Agape, Eros, Philia, Storge and he brought into the discussion Hesed – which is used so many times in the Bible. David’s men had hesed love for him – loyal to death. 

3 things to pray for the Lord to do with our fellowship:

   1.       Clear the way
   2.       So that love with overflow with each other
   3.       Strengthen our hearts

So many other things were discussed including: staying in the word so that we strengthen our knowledge. Think of the scripture where Paul talks about meat instead of milk. 1 Corinthians 3:2 ESV: I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Finally, a picture! (What isn't pictured is the three other people who are with us via the telephone.)

A couple of comments from our class:

"Recently read through the book of Philippians and thought that this is where I should live. Such a happy and peaceful book." Miguel

Ron said that in the past he has wondered why he didn't have the same contentment that Paul had.

Outline
1st chapter: Single minded
2nd chapter: Servant minded
3rd chapter: Spiritual minded
4th chapter: Secure mindedness

Did you realize that Philippians begins with grace and ends with grace?

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. Philippians 4:23