This is a copy of a comment I left on Livin Life's Blog the other day. Please prayerfully consider my heart. We ALL have sinned and have fallen short of our awesome and glorious God. Let us speak life to the sinner and hope to the bound. Let us call for repentance with Love in our words and our actions.
James 4:7-12
"So be subject to God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him], and he will flee from you. Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery].
[As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins]. Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].
[My] brethren, do not speak evil about or accuse one another. He that maligns a brother or judges his brother is maligning and criticizing the Law and judging the Law. But if you judge the Law, you are not a practicer of the Law but a censor and judge [of it].One only is the Lawgiver and Judge Who is able to save and to destroy [the One Who has the absolute power of life and death]. [But you] who are you that [you presume to] pass judgment on your neighbor?"
I believe if we truly react to our own sin with grief and penitence, we would be less likely to judge others, whether outside or inside the church.
NEVER wink at sin; God doesn't, no matter who it is, but how WE address that sin does matter. Obviously, someone who is not saved does not have full knowledge or what he/she is doing in regards to sin, and a Christian can even have blind spots in regards to his own sin. Why else would we need to be changed from glory to glory?
A heart of Love will Love by speaking the truth, BUT that truth would be tempered by our knowledge of the sins own hearts have been capable of committing. If we get a revelation of our own sin and its destructive nature, we will be less likely to act with a Pharisee spirit to any other person...Christian or non Christian, and more likely to prophetically call forth the treasure that lies buried beneath all the dirt of sin.
2 comments:
Hi there Beautiful Grace, I went over to Livin' Life and I really appreciated what she had to say about raising the bar, and the other recent posts she had. She is one Christian who really thinks out her faith, and wants to be authentic in her Christian walk.
Thanks for directing me to her blog, and also for the comments you wrote on her post Raising the Bar. It is all so well said.
You, and Livin Life, and other friends I've met on blogworld have convinced me that there are many Christians all over the world who walk their talk... and are such an encouragement to me, esp as we see the Day drawing near.
I don't want it to be a matter of argument whether one is a pre, mid or post tribber. But, something in my heart, and from studying Scripture points to the possibility of the Bride going through the "trib" as part of her refining process and being rightfully called an Overcomer.
Well, this will be a rather long comment, as I don't have access to your email, and I do want to share my heart more openly with you. I'm not sure if you agree that this is the venue for our heart to heart exchange, but this is all I have at the moment, so I'll take it.
Thank you so much for being so sensitive, and not wanting to take things for granted. I want to assure you I find no offense in your calling me by my given name "Maria." In fact, as I mentioned I kind of liked the sound of that name as no one has ever called me by that name before, except you, and one or two others in blogville. I like that name, esp, after knowing what it means. You may continue using it, BG. And you can call me Lidj, too... it's really okay what you want.
ANd thanks for your prayer for me. I appreciate it. I know I am free to grieve, and in fact, deep inside of me, I am. Losing a beloved husband is definitely no laughing matter, and there is a time and a season to laugh, and a time to cry. I'm just so thankful for things at hand that I need to attend to. Not an excuse, but I have really been kept busy these past three months.
Yesterday Feb 23 was Ernie's 3rd month of being in heaven. Only three months, to me, it seems longer than that!
Well this will be all for now.
See you again one of these days,
and want you to know I'm praying for you, your mom, and the things you shared in your post before this one.
Love,
Maria ;0
"never wink at sin" great point! We can never take sin and the evil of this world and our hearts to lightly. Thanks for this powerful reminder!!!!!
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