Jump for Joy!

How do you see God?  Is He your loving Father or a cruel judge waiting for you to mess up and punish you?

I was blessed to have a wonderful earthly father.  He gave clear directions and set reasonable boundaries.  But as I grew, he allowed me to test those boundaries and make my own decisions.

He warned me when it appeared I was getting ready to go the wrong way, but sometimes I went that way anyway.  I made some major mistakes in my young adult life.

But I knew I could go to Daddy and share how I messed up.  I knew he would listen and help me get on a different path.

As I have read the Bible, I have always seen God my Father through the lens of my loving earthly father.  I always looked for the ways God was showing love to His Children.

However, I noticed many others, who did not have a loving, earthly father, did not see  see God as loving.  They looked through the lens of judgement, condemnation and punishment and saw God that way.  They saw Him as a God to be feared.  They wanted to run from Him.

Let’s look at God’s interactions with His first humans.  God created a wonderful world for them with everything they could have possibly wanted.  

He gave them clear warning about the one thing they needed to avoid.  He told them plainly what would happen if they did not avoid it.  He would not kill then.  But the results of their actions would be death.

They did it anyway.  They immediately realized their sin.  Satan personally delivered it, complete with guilt, shame and fear.  They ran.

Enter God.  Well, actually He had been with them all along.  They just didn’t recognize Him.

Many envision God running after Adam and Eve in anger and screaming, “Where are you?  Who told you were naked?”

God was not running.  He was not frantically searching.  He was not angry.

He knew exactly where His Children were the whole time.  He knew what He had told them.  He knew how they had been deceived and made bad choices.  He knew they had to learn how to make better choices.

God was their Loving Father, Who wanted them to enjoy all the gifts He had given them.  But to do that, they had to learn to listen to Him and do what He said.

I do not believe God was yelling.  I believe He spoke to His Children gently and in love.  I believe He looked on them with compassion, even as they were suffering because of their own doing.

The questions God asked Adam and Eve are also questions for us.

“Where are you?”

Not geographically.  Where are you in this life?  How did you get to this point?  Where do you hope to go?  

Hear God gently asking you, 

“Where are you?”

God asked next, 

“Who told you that you were naked?”  

Think for a moment about how you were led into temptation.  Who led you there?  You can be sure it was not God.  

This is not the time to finger point at whose fault it is that you ended up where you are.  This is the time to recognize the source of the temptation and nip it in the bud, so you do not fall again.

God then asked, 

“Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?”  

Stop for a moment and consider whether you have done what God told you to do or whether you have done what you now know He did not want you to do.

God delivered his last question.  

“What is this you have you done?”  

We often want to slide past all the gory details of our sins and move on.  It hurts to consider what we have done.  But God wants us to see it for what it is, so we can learn.

Adam and Eve had a world of only good before they allowed their vision to be clouded with evil mixed in with good.  Looking at the full picture of our sin is the beginning of separating the evil from the good.  It is the first steps toward home.

And God walks every step with us.  There were consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin.  There are consequences when we sin.  But the goal of any God directed consequence is to free us from temptation in the future.

God is a loving God.  When I mess up, as I still do, my first thought is not “I want to run from God.”  We can’t.  My first thought is, “I need to talk to my Father.”  

Even though He already knows everything, He always listens and He always tells me what to do next.  And we walk on … together always.

He will do the same for you.  He loves you.

I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

Jeremiah 31:3

Be sure of this.  I am with you always!

Matthew 28:20

It is said some wars were won.  

But many did not win, in earthly terms.  We can hope they did win in heaven.  But they never returned to people who desperately wanted them to return.

And many who returned never completely returned.  Some left literal pieces of themselves on foreign soil.

Some were changed forever mentally and emotionally.  The up close and personal encounters with death, the unpredictability of life second to second, the things they were forced to do that they did not want to do, but did because they obeyed commands, faces and bodies of suffering.  It all became a recurring storm inside them.  And it never went away.  

Nightmares of unbelievable intensity.  Being labeled, not as a hero, but a victim of “shell shock,” later called by a nice clinical sounding name, post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.  It sounded better, but it did not make the symptoms better.  Hell was still hell, even with a flower bed out front.

And then there were the ones who came home and tried to make sense of it all.  They bonded with buddies and tried to distill something good from the bad.  They became a support group for each other.  No one could understand quite as well as someone who had been there.

In times where war was justifiably protested, people sometimes turned against the soldiers coming home from the war.  It was a war they did not create or in some cases, even choose to fight (There was once a draft.).  It was not the welcome home they had hoped for.

How do I know?  The stories I heard would fill volumes.  I was a family member, a friend, and even more, a recipient of more than 30 years of stories from veterans, their families and survivors of war.

Their stories became a part of my story.

I grew up in a peaceful world in the late fifties and sixties.  But by the end of the sixties, there was Vietnam.  

Some of my high school classmates went there right after graduation and never returned.  The boy with the winning smile who always laughed and had big dreams for the future.  My friend’s sister, who was among the first nurses to die.

People were scared.  Many did not want to go to war.  But there was the draft.  If your number came up, that was it.  You were going wherever they said go.  And families were left to keep the home fires burning.

I went to college.   I knew many boys from the Citadel who graduated and went to war.  They were added to the stories of never returned or returned, but on a totally different path from what they had planned in college.

After college, I became a military wife.   My husband was assigned to a unit in Germany.  Then came my next exposure to the dregs of war.  

I was amazed to discover there were some wounds unhealed from wars long declared over.  There were Germans who had lost family and friends at the hands of Americans long ago.  Some were not kind to Americans.

One of my German friends explained it this way.  She said, “You have to understand they were raised to hate Americans.”  

Think about that.  Some people today carry battle wounds that have not healed.  And some children and young people around the world are being raised to hate.

I worked at an American dependent school.  There were two secretaries.  One was an elderly German lady.  The other was an English younger lady.  She was Jewish.  

She talked of the terror of hiding under the streets of London as bombs were falling.  She asked our German friend how it was possible they could have ever followed Hitler.

Our German friend cried.  Today her words still haunt me.  She said, “We believed what he said.  We thought he would make Germany great again.”

The two women supported each other, both locked in a different kind of grief.  They found peace in trying to understand the other side of their war experiences.

Then came my husband’s orders to Vietnam.  I joined a Waiting Wives club.  We waited together for our husbands to return.  Sometimes they did.  Sometimes they didn’t.

And some lived the life of never knowing.  Their loved ones were missing in action or known to be prisoners of war.  Lives permanently in a stall.  Those waiting had nightmares too.

My husband did come home.  And I began the next chapters of my life. I spent the next thirty years as a nurse at a VA Medical Center.  

As much as I hate war, I love veterans.

I heard stories over and over again of heroic actions never recognized with parades and medals.  No buildings named for them.  Just people who believed they were doing something that would somehow be good for someone.  

And whether they chose to go to war or not, they were willing to give their all for someone else.  They are certainly deserving of being thanked for their service.

The most gut wrenching stories came from veterans who were dying, some from illnesses related to their war exposures.  Their last agonizing words were often prayers for forgiveness for what they did to the ones called enemies.

One man said, “I still see them.  When you look face to face, you can’t forget it.  They are people, like us in some ways.  I think we all just wanted to go home.”

So what can we do now that once again, war has become an American reality?

Pray for everyone involved on all sides — decision makers, participants, victims, families, those who wait through an uncertain future.

Never forget the humans involved.  This is not a sports event to be cheered.  This is not an entertaining video game.  Look at the people.  See the faces.  Hear the stories.  Let yourself share in the human feelings out there in the world.

Remember the veterans who are still with us.  They may never let you know about that lump they get in their throat when someone wants to know what it was like in war time.  

They may not let you know their heart rate speeds up when they see the bombs drop as reported on the evening news.  But it’s there, somewhere in that place in their memories they wish they never had to go.

No way around it.  War is Hell and no one wins.

Pray for Peace and then work on achieving it wherever you are, one person at a time, one kindness at a time, one more act of forgiving and moving toward what Jesus prayed for.

“Your Kingdom come, 

Your Will be done on earth, 

as it is in Heaven.”

Matthew 6:10

And raise your children to love and not hate.  Teach them peace is still possible.  Let them know they are our hope for the future.

A knife can be used as a tool to do useful things.  It can also be used to commit violent acts.

Same with a sword.  Jesus made various references to the use of a Spiritual Sword.  But in all cases, the use of The Sword was for good and not evil.

What is this Spiritual Sword?  Paul told us, what it is.  The Sword of The Spirit is The Word of God.

Paul said,

“Take the helmet of salvation and The Sword of The Spirit, which is The Word of God.”

Ephesians 6:17

Paul also told us how powerful that Sword is.  It is much more powerful than any physical sword.

“For The Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Hebrews 4:12-13

Jesus knew that in spite of His intensive training, His Followers would be tempted to forget the sword He wanted them to use.  

He wanted them to give up the use of their physical sword and instead learn how to use their powerful Spiritual Sword.

Jesus shared The Last Supper with His Disciples.  He revealed to them that one of them would betray Him.  They wondered who it was.

But then they quickly moved on.  Look at what happened next.

A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.

Luke 22:24

Jesus gave them yet another lesson in humility.  He carefully reminded them that being in authority was to be a servant, not a master.

He gently reminded them of His Authority.

He said,

“ I am among you as one who serves.”

Luke 22:27

Then He served up something so wonderful it would take years to digest.

He said,

“I confer on you a kingdom, just as My Father conferred one on Me.”

Luke 22:29

Then Jesus spoke specifically to Peter, telling him, 

“Simon, Simon, satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

Luke 22:31-32

Jesus knew, not only the tests before Him, He knew the testing to come for all His Disciples.

Peter, however, was sure he would prevail by his own strength.  He declared he would go with Jesus to prison or death.

Jesus told Peter he would deny him.

Peter was determined to prove Jesus wrong.  He saw himself as loyal.  He saw himself as strong.

Jesus again gently interjected.

He reminded all His Followers that when He had sent them out, they had wanted for nothing.  But in the coming days, He said, they would need to have some physical preparations.

He told them to get several things … a purse, a bag and a sword.

Wait!  He told them to get a sword?  

Yes.  

Remember a sword, like a knife,  is both a tool and a potential weapon.  After all Jesus had taught and modeled on non-violence, He was not changing to advocating violence.

But his still immature disciples zeroed in on the swords, proudly proclaiming they already had two.

Jesus’ reply has too often been interpreted as approval, but I do not think it was.

I imagine Jesus doing a deep sigh and perhaps an eye roll.  I imagine Him thinking, “Did I not just review non-violence, humility, being a servant?”

And then, to stop any continuing banter, Jesus, like a good parent said,

“That is enough.”

Luke 22:38

After that they went to The Mount of Olives.  Jesus prayed.  But He also directed His Disciples to pray for themselves and each other.

Jesus said,

“Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”

Luke 22:40

After Jesus prayed apart from them for awhile, He returned and found them sleeping.  Once again, He implored them to pray.  As He knew the testing and temptation were about to begin.

He said,

“Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

Luke 22:46

Soon afterward, the chaos began.  Judas arrived with soldiers.  Judas kissed Jesus.  In spite of the best spiritual training anywhere, in spite of being in the very presence of God Who had authority over everyone and everything, Jesus’ Followers said,

“Lord, should we strike with our swords?”

Luke 22:49

And before Jesus could even answer, Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant.

Now before we are too hard on the disciples, think about the world today.  People who carry The Name of Jesus are at this moment carrying out acts of violence.  Some are doing so in Jesus’ Name, even quoting scripture to prooftext their actions.

How did Jesus handle Peter’s impulsive misuse of his sword?  

He healed the victim’s ear.  He then spoke to Peter and anyone else thinking of dealing with conflict through violence.

‘Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”

Matthew 26:52

Think of the swords you carry.  You may have any number of physical things that could be used as a tool or a weapon.

But you also carry other things that can heal or hurt.  You carry words.  Do your words heal or hurt?

Most importantly, are you using The Sword of The Spirit?  And are you using it as God intends it to be used?

If you are not sure how to use your Spiritual Sword, ask God.  He does not mind giving repeated lessons until you understand.  Peter finally understood and became the rock on which The Church was built.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.

1 Peter 1:22

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8

P.S.  God wink.  In case you forget what The Sword is, God has given you a clue in the word itself.

sWORD

In Jesus’ time, centurions were Roman army officers.  They were crucial backbone commanders responsible for training, discipline, and leading troops in battle, often rising through the ranks based on merit.

A centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant, who was lying at home paralyzed and suffering terribly.

Jesus readily agreed.  However, the centurion told Jesus He knew Jesus did not even need to come.  He knew Jesus could just say the word and it would be done.

The centurion told Jesus he understood authority.

He said,

“For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Matthew 8:9

Jesus said The Word and the healing was immediately done.

But Jesus was not done.  He publicly commended the centurion’s great faith.  In fact, Jesus said he had not found anyone with such great faith.

I imagine that might have ruffled some synagogue feathers.  To have a member of the hated Roman army commended and said to have more faith than they?  

 Jesus was impressed with what the centurion had learned through his military experience.  

This Roman soldier knew who was in charge.  

He understood a command was not a suggestion, but something the commander expected would be carried out promptly.

But even more, the centurion knew the commander was trustworthy.  People literally trusted their lives to him.

Jesus looked at the centurion with love and realized he had learned the basics well, even though the lesson had come through an imperfect system that was designed to promote and defend the very things Jesus opposed.

Jesus saw the man and He knew his heart.

And so that day, Jesus gave him the gift of having his servant’s life restored.  Jesus gave the centurion the gift of a life saved by Love.

We don’t know all of the rest of the centurion’s story.  He may have retired with the Roman Army many years afterward.

But, if so, I am betting he was an inside operative for Jesus.  I like to think he found ways to show mercy.  He found ways to work for peace instead of war.  He worked to bring joy instead of pain.

And always, he remembered the joy of a life saved instead of a life taken.

He heard The Voice of The Greatest Commander giving the most important Command to override all the others.

That Commander is still in charge and His Orders have not changed.

Jesus said,

A new command I give you: 

Love one another. 

As I have loved you, so you must love one another!

John 13:34

Many wars called holy wars were not holy.

Many violent acts carried out in the name of God were not done at His Direction.

What does God think about the killing of His Creations?  A quick read of The Bible might confuse some on exactly where God stands.  I like the advice of one writer, who said, “In all cases of confusion, refer to Jesus!”

However, even before Jesus, God had plenty to say.  

From the beginning, God said to His humans,

“And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. 

I will demand an accounting from every animal. 

And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.”

Genesis 9:5

“As I live,” declares The Lord God, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways.”

Ezekiel 33:11

David went far beyond the killing of Goliath.  He became a great warrior.  His zeal for winning battles and the adoration of the crowds that followed, clouded David’s vision.

He considered building a Temple for God to simply be icing on his own cake.  David had not learned the sanctity of every life.  

Paul would later reveal, 

“Your bodies are Temples of The Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God.  You are not your own.”

1 Corinthians 6:19

God refused to let David, who had destroyed so many human temples, turn around and try to honor Him by building Him a Temple.

David shared what God told him.

But The Word of The Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to My Name, because you have shed so much blood before Me on the earth.”

1 Chronicles 22:8

Those points and others let us know what God spoke as recorded in the Old Testament.  But there is more as recorded in the New Testament.  

God further revealed Himself in Jesus!

He was direct in how we should treat our enemies.

 He said,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:43-45

Loving your enemies is about as far from war as you can get.

Jesus acknowledged there would be wars.  He said plainly there would be trouble on the earth.  But He did not approve it.

He has sent us into the dark world to bring light, not add to the darkness.  He has sent us to bring love, not hate.

As there continue to be wars, even as bystanders, may we never lose our humanity and compassion for all who are suffering and will continue to suffer.

Go back and read God’s Words and pray … for everyone … everywhere.

And remember where all battles are truly won.

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says The Lord Almighty!

Zachariah 4:6

Jesus clearly demonstrated the art of knowing when to speak and when to be silent, when to act and when to walk away.

Jesus told His Disciples they would not always be accepted.  Did He tell them to argue, protest or hit back harder?

No.  

He told them to walk away, shake the dust from their feet and let The Lord decide the fate of those who rejected them and their message.

When Jesus revealed Who He was in the temple, the people were enraged.  They tried to take Him out and throw Him off a cliff.  

What did Jesus do?

Jesus passed through the crowd and went on His Way.

Luke 4:30

When Jesus was arrested before His Crucifixion, He demonstrated again His Powerful use of Silence. 

While many false accusations were brought against Him, Jesus was silent. 

Mark 14:62

Herod plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.

Luke 23:9

When He was accused by the chief priests and the elders, He gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 

But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

Matthew 27:12-13

When we are questioned or confronted by someone opposing us, we want to speak up, argue, make our point.  We forget true freedom of speech includes when to speak and when not to speak.

Sometimes when we add to the noise of a situation, no one can hear The Holy Spirit speaking.

Stop now and think about any conflict you might be in.  Who do you want to win?  Is it really all about you and other people?  Or is this an opportunity for all to see The Power of The Holy Spirit?

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Exodus 14:14

Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.

Psalm 46:10

You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of The Lord on your behalf.

2 Chronicles 20:17

“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says The Lord Almighty!

Zachariah 4:6

Jesus knew to wait for The Spirit.

Jesus said, 

“For I did not speak on My Own, but the Father Who sent Me commanded Me to say all that I have spoken.  

I know that His Command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what The Father has told Me to say.”

John 12:49-50

So what should we do?

Hear what the world is saying.  

But then before you respond, be still.

Hear what God is saying to you.

If He says, “Stay silent and walk away,” do that.

If He says, “Here is what I want you to say,” listen carefully and repeat it word for Word.

Can you imagine a world where we all just said what God told us to say … where we all just spoke one language, that being the language of God’s Love?

Sounds like Heaven.

Your Will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven!

Matthew 6:10

Many people view Heaven as a place where only the best, most perfect people live.  They believe Heaven will be all the more perfect because any wicked people will be burning up in Hell.

Those who anticipate living in Heaven, of course, believe they are not wicked.  They may have a few flaws, but overall, they judge themselves not bad enough to go to hell.

And it seems very important to some Heaven bound people to believe some people they know will be going to Hell.  They may have already personally ordered them to go there.

So it bothers them to think God might somehow give wicked people a pass.  It does not seem fair!  

Stop for a moment and review the people you have known, do know or know about.  Are you at peace with God being able to forgive them of all wrongs and clean them up and redeem them for Heaven?

Do you regularly pray that for your enemies?

What does God say about the wicked?

“As I live,” declares the Lord God, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways.”

Ezekiel 33:11

That is …

“God our Savior, who desires ALL people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

1 Timothy 2:4

We have our hope set on The Living God, Who is The Savior of ALL people …

1 Timothy 4:10

Paul concluded,

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from The Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39

So since God wants everyone to be saved, shouldn’t we be praying for and desiring that too?

Instead of judging and sentencing and waiting for God to carry out the execution, we should be praying for our enemies … in fact, for all people … and looking forward to seeing them after God cleans them up.

And less we think too highly of ourselves, remember what else Jesus said,

“Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone.”

John 8:7

Paul spoke a truth when he said,

“All have sinned and fall short of The Glory of God.”

Romans 3:23

God’s going to need to clean us all up before we can enter heaven!

Jesus said “Do not judge.”

He also said we cannot sentence an offender.  

If we are truly sharing in Jesus’ ministry on earth, we have to be clear about the mission.

God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

John 3:17

Where does judging and condemning start?  Jesus told us.

A good person brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil person brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. 

For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Luke 6:45

Jesus made it clear that violence or other ways of hurting people start on the inside of a person, sometimes long before it explodes to the outside.

Jesus was even very specific about no name calling, noting even calling someone a fool would put them in the danger of hell’s fire.  

So remember the next time you are tempted to tell someone to go to very hot places, Jesus said,

“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 7:2

Jesus said looking at someone lustfully was just as bad as if you had committed an immoral act with them.

It was clear Jesus was saying, “Becoming My Witness starts with work on your heart.  Your physical senses will follow your heart.”

Now is the time to check your heart spiritual health.  Are you brave enough to let God check you out?  

Can you say as David did,

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Psalm 139:23-24

When we allow God to do a heart cleaning, we will discover the treasure there.  God Himself!

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!

Matthew 5:8

Jesus said, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”

Matthew 7:1

As I have gotten older, my tolerance has expanded.  I still believe some things are right and some things are wrong.  But I am more open to trying to understand why people believe or behave as they do.

I am interested in seeing what beliefs are beneath the behavior they are expressing out front.  

Many people do what they do because they want to be seen … noticed … simply matter … be remembered.

Besides looking at victims of violence, I also look at perpetrators of violence and try to understand how they came to be perpetrators.

I look at the sins of other people and sadly feel a kinship with them.  I may not have acted on my feelings yet, but I often was tempted in the same way.  

Sometimes I realize I have sinned in the same way.  I am not so quick to condemn.  

I understand.

I have discovered I was wrong about some things I once passionately believed.  Therefore, I have more patience with people who may be wrong about what they believe.  

I know I was never converted by people telling me how wrong I was.  I changed when they listened to me and prayed God would show me what He wanted me to see.

So in doing a self assessment recently, I felt good that I had become so non-judgemental.

Then God tapped me on the shoulder and showed me who I was still judging.

I have been amazed at some of the rhetoric that has come from Christians in recent days.  

Instead of being the flavoring salt Jesus intended us to be, some have become salt to rub in wounds.

Instead of being The Light Jesus intended us to be, many have used what light they have to accuse or condemn others.

There has not been much love expressed for friends or enemies.  Many have been pronouncing judgements left and right.

God said, “So, Carolyn, are you judging those who are judging?”

Gulp. 

Yes, I am still working that one out with Him.  How do we deal with this issue of knowing what’s right and wrong without getting into judgement?

We can bring any situation to God.  He will even let us express our opinion to Him in His Private chambers.  

But He will remind us we are not the judge.  He is.

The decision of how to resolve any matter is completely God’s Call.  He already has The Plan and He will carry it out in His Time and in His Way.

If we are a part of that Plan, He will tell us what to do.  But in the meantime, we have to leave the judging up to Him.  

And yes, that includes judging those who judge.

Let all creation rejoice before The Lord, for He comes, He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His Faithfulness.

Psalms 96:13

As we are discussing mercy and forgiveness, you may find it most difficult to forgive one person in particular — yourself.

We learn valuable lessons in life, sometimes after we have made mistakes.  

Unfortunately we often spent much way too much time deciding whose fault it was.  It hurts to think it might be our fault, so we may look for someone else to blame.

If we can’t lay all the blame on them, we may try for the shared blame route.  OK, I did it, but I would not have except for … he led me into it, she left me no choice, she deceived me, he gave me bad advice, etc, etc, etc.

But ultimately, it comes down to us.  I did it.  We may feel all alone in that pool of self pity, but look again.  You’ve got company.

Satan thrives on torturing humans.  He is an expert in pouring on the guilt.  He has really enjoyed your humiliation, anger, attempts to blame others, but now he is licking his chops.

Like a prosecuting attorney, he makes his case for how and why you screwed up.  He calls you names.  He reminds you of every past failure.  God may forget your sins, but it seems satan never does.  He tells you that you are a total failure and you will never change.

He tells you people don’t like you, much less love you.  He points out you are alone.

Then he moves in for what he hopes will be the kill.  He tells you God is very disappointed in you and no longer loves you … if he ever did.  He tells you that you better run because God wants to punish you severely.

In fact, he says, the world would be better off without you.  He suggests you should end it all now because you really have no future.

Who knows but what that is what Judas heard after his colossal mistake.  And instead of knowing the mercy with which Jesus would forgive him, he suffered the deceit of satan who literally left him hanging.

Can you forgive yourself?  In part, but not completely.  You can give yourself some grace in realizing the lessons often come after the mistake.  But to receive the full Gift of Grace and Mercy, you need God.

Imagine yourself sitting down with God.

He is not name calling.  He is not condemning you.  He does what He did with earth’s first humans who sinned.

He let them know He was present, had been and always would be.  He is with you now.  He was with you when you stumbled.  He will be with you.

He let them know He knew … everything.  He does.  God knows every detail of every moment of your life.

He asked them, “Where are you?”  This was not a game of hide and seek.  He wanted them to pause and consider how they got where they got.  How did you get here?  Where are you now?

He then asked them who they had been listening to.  They recognized it was satan.  Have you been listening to him too?

They then listened to God.  Are you listening?

They let Him give them new clothes.  Are you ready to change?

They followed Him on a new plan for their life.  Are you really to leave your mistakes behind and follow Him to a new Life?

Judas was sorry for what he did.  But he could not find forgiveness except in the one place it would be freely offered.

We will never know whether Judas heard Jesus’ Words from the cross and knew Jesus meant him too.

“Father, forgive him.  He did not know what he was doing.”

And the message of Grace is Jesus has said that about all of us.

“Father, forgive them.  They do not know what they are doing.”

Luke 23:34