I Have a Responsibility to Judge

If a person is doing wrong and if we tell them they are doing wrong we are not judging that person but we are judging that persons behavior, attitudes. It is true that there are certain forms of judgment that we should not make.Biblical correction is not judging. Correcting or advising someone when they do wrong is not judgment, as the Bible says that we should correct, rebuke and be bold to those who are sinning in the wisdom of God. Rebuking a sinner, exposing corruption, correcting someone in love or disciplining ones children, teaching him good ways, good morals is not judging wrongfully.

Jesus did not intend to forbid judgments of all kinds. We can judge others in the interest of true justice without any kind of hypocrisy and according to the righteous guidelines that God has given us. We need to judge our self first to see if we are guilty of that sin and are capable of judging what we preach or teach. One should not judge based on silly rules, customs and traditions but there is nothing wrong in judging right or wrong with the help of the holy spirit and according to scriptures in a right way with good motivations. If there were no judgment, all the prisons would be empty and all kinds of criminals with violence were on loose and would have posed serious threats to everybody’s life, and morals and without judging we would never able to identify what is good, wrong, evil, immorality or bad and most of us would have chosen a wrongful path misinterpreting of the verse “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. Matthew 7:1. The evil and wicked people would use it to avoid being challenged in their wrong doing. If we don't warn someone in error to turn from evil ways , we are partly responsible. These are the scriptures which will help us with judging, correcting others so that they may follow Godly path.

Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment John 7:24

'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. Leviticus 19:15

Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the LORD your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly. Deuteronomy 16:18

If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults—take them to the place the LORD your God will choose. Deuteronomy 17:8

But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. Judges 2:19

I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the LORD, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites Judges 11:27

The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God. 2 Samuel 23:3

'Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it. Jeremiah 21:12

Speak up and judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31:9

Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17

Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven. Colossians 4:1

If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. Ecclesiastes 5:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things Philippians 4:8

So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours. 1 Kings 3:9

When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers Proverbs 21:15

For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. Genesis 18:19

He who walks righteously and speaks what is right, who rejects gain from extortion
and keeps his hand from accepting bribes, who stops his ears against plots of murder
and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil, this is the man who will dwell on the heights,whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. His bread will be supplied, and water will not fail him. Isaiah 33:15-16

Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. Leviticus 18:5

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 corinthians 6:11

Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty Exodus 23:7

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. Colossians 2:16

Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. Exodus 23:7

But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things Acts 18:15

This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. Romans 2:16

I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say 1 Corinthians 10:15

And he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears Isaiah 11:3

He makes them listen to correction and commands them to repent of their evil Job 36:10

He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray. Proverbs 10:17

He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored. Proverbs 13:18

A mocker resents correction; he will not consult the wise. Proverbs 15:12

But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:14

Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight. 1 Timothy 1:18

I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban. Job 29:14

. It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the song of fools. Ecclesiastes 7:5

I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God's name and said: "You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. Nehemiah 13:25

You must purge the evil from among you. Deuteronomy 19:19

So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. Luke 17:3

These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you. Titus 2:15

'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. Ezekiel 33:8

You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit Acts 7:51

Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins. James 5:20

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Matthew 7:15-16

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5:11

Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. Matthew 7:6

Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. 1 Corinthians 5:3

But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. 1 Corinthians 11:31-32

If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 1 Corinthians 6:1-2

'My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a 'den of robbers. Matthew 21:13

You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12:34

You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. Psalm 52:3

A wise man's heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction. Proverbs 16:23

These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the LORD's instruction. Isaiah 30:9

Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. Galatians 6:6

If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 2 Thessalonians 3:14

Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 2 Timothy 4:2

But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself. Ezekiel 3:21

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death. Proverbs 13:14

If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach Romans 12:7

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 1 Timothy 4:13

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness 2 Timothy 3:16

In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness Titus 2:7

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him 2 John 1:10

He too walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother encouraged him in doing wrong. 2 Chronicles 22:3

This is the way of an adulteress: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, 'I've done nothing wrong. Proverbs 30:20

When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong. Ecclesiastes 8:11

Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 1 Peter 2:12

The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left. Ecclesiastes 10:2

We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 2 Thessalonians 3:9

Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death. Proverbs 23:14

Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Corinthians 7:1

To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it Jeremiah 6:10

I prophesy that you will "Rise & Walk"

Be on the lookout for my new highly anticipated book; “Don’t Let the 4 Wheels F.O.O.L. You”!!!  If you have ever felt as though society has counted you out!  You won’t want to miss this inspirational road map to success!

Children Will Grow Your Church

I have people ask me all the time, "What's the one thing I can do to make my church grow fast! (to save souls and win the harvest of course...if you're trying to look good on a report or resume...give up on growing a church...God WILL NOT bless it)?" I tell them, "Find the best youth pastor you can and give them the most money in the budget!" Most pastors look at me like I'm crazy, but it's true. Look up stats on how many people go to college and never come back to church after the age of 18. Now THAT will shock you. 77% of Americans get saved before the age of 21. We have to find ways to get these kids early, get the Word instilled in them so they CAN'T leave it, even if they want to! You will always have some that will leave, and we will spend hours and hours praying them back in, but I have seen time and time again with my own eyes, kids that grow up in church stay in church.

This is also the fastest way to grow your youth group. Think about it: every year around August, youth groups lose a significant number of kids going to college, BUT they are getting new kids coming up from children's church.

Want to win young families and young couples? Have events for kids...they can't drive themselves! Parents have to come. You may even win neighbors and grandparents when they come to watch plays and musicals.

We could learn something from McDonalds. They put playplaces at the FRONT of their buildings, but they sell hamburgers...makes no sense! What happens when kids drive by... "Mom, let's eat there!"

Just a thought...wonder what would happen if we put OUR playgrounds in a place that everyone who drove by could see them? Get them in the building, then teach them the way to heaven...

I prophesy that you will "Rise & Walk"

Bitterness

If you ask me, forgiveness is the hardest command in the Bible, period. I have no quarrels with, ‘Thou shall not kill.’ It’s a reasonable thing to ask. I won’t argue with laws that prohibit stealing or adultery either. These ideas seem very practical. It’s surprising to me that ‘Thou shall not bear false witness’ would make the top ten but I’m willing to cooperate nevertheless. But forgiveness? Okay, I’ll give folks a pass when they make fun of my wheelchair. And I’ll get over it should someone ding the door of my van. But there has to be a line drawn somewhere.

There is a problem with drawing lines however, and I feel it is my duty to tell you that whatever you are unwilling to let go of you must carry. The burden is all yours and it gets extremely heavy at times. I should also caution you that these burdens tend to be jam packed with bitterness, and bitterness is a monster which will manifest itself in all kinds of ugly ways. It will affect your relationship with God and with other decent people in your life. They may not want to hang with you much anymore as bitter people aren’t known to be fun company. They tend to be very unpleasant and difficult. The only out God offers from bitterness is forgiveness. Trust me on this one, it is the only true out we have.

Jesus taught that we should make things right with our brother before bringing our gifts to the altar. I am of the conviction that this is because bitter hearts are a rip-off to God. We shortchange Him in our worship experience and cheapen His sacrifice to us. A heart full of grace is one that has a generous amount to pour out. If your heart is full of bitterness you haven’t much to give, not anything God would want anyway. It’s not that He is impressed with the size of our offerings but the purity of them is of great concern to Him. He doesn’t want us to get shortchanged either. He wants us to enjoy the ultimate worship experience and bitterness clearly gets in the way of that.

I base my thinking on many passages throughout the Bible but what immediately comes to mind is the sad story of Cain and Abel. This is the first account we have in scripture of gifts being brought to the altar. Cain held back, Abel did not. Cain had issues with his brother, Abel did not. Abel’s offering was respected, Cain’s was not. Cain grew angry, Abel did not. There is an undeniable pattern here which must not be ignored. After his little charade at the altar Cain’s countenance dropped like an anchor. He turned into a complete sourpuss. The Lord told him the fix; if he moved in a righteous direction his offerings would be accepted. If not, sin would come a knockin’. But Cain paid no attention to God’s counsel and allowed his bitterness to fester against his brother. Bitterness killed Cain and Cain killed Abel. End of story.

You may also want to consider the tragic tale of Job. This righteous man had fallen victim to a long series of unfortunate events, plus he was surrounded by a circle some real irritating “friends”. With each chapter things just grow bleaker and bleaker. You really start to feel bad for the sorry sap and wonder why God doesn’t step in at some point and bail poor Job out. He had to fight bitterness as if he were battling the final stages of cancer. Yet Job becomes a shining example of one who warred against bitterness and won. He doesn’t win until the very end of the last chapter, chapter 42. How does he get the victory? He prays for those misguided chums who made his life miserable. Then the Lord blessed Job more than he’d ever been blessed before. And he lived happily ever after.

Bible expositor John Courson refers to forgiveness as a safeguard for our mental health and emotional stability. This is true. As a youth pastor I have seen bitterness destroy too many lives. There are those I have pleaded with, almost to the point of tears, to be reconciled with family members or loved ones they were hurt by. Yet they chose to hold onto the offense. Sadly they grow more miserable by the day; they are snappy, irritable and harsh toward others. These are the ones that are always complaining, griping and pouting because they have no friends. Furthermore, it is a wonder to them that God does not hear their prayers. The fact is unforgiveness does hinder our prayers. Jesus gave us a model for prayer which includes the line, “Forgive us as we forgive others.” This wasn’t just randomly thrown in there for purposes of sentimental rhetoric. It was included as a condition for our own forgiveness. It is there for us to check our own hearts, and to free us of the baggage that comes with bitterness. It is there to remind imperfect people that anything we might have on our brother, God has a whole lot more on us. After teaching the disciples to pray Jesus immediately elaborated on the issue of forgiveness saying, “If you forgive the failures of others, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don't forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failures.” (See Matthew 6:14-15). This divinely inspired footnote to the Lord’s Prayer should tell us that forgiveness is serious business and vital to our spiritual well being.

Our expectations are completely out of whack if we think God should forget our numerous offenses when we’re not willing to extend lesser grace to others. Jesus makes this clear in the parable of the unfaithful servant. You remember this heartless guy don’t you? He was ready to pound his debtors face in because the guy owed him some chump change. This came immediately after he was forgiven an enormous debt that would have taken more than a lifetime to pay off. Jesus explains at the end of this parable that it is the unforgiving one that really pays in the end. I know this first hand. I paid handsomely when I allowed bitterness to rule my heart. I held onto the offenses of others for many years. It ate me alive. Things didn’t change until I gave my heart to Christ. Since then, I have lived happily ever after.
I prophesy that you will "Rise & Walk"