Think on These Things
March 2001
We
really have only one important mission on this earth.
Each one of us has the identical mission, and nothing other than this
really has any significance. Jesus
put it this way (Mat. 6:33): "But seek first His kingdom and His
righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”
This is a very powerful and comprehensive promise of Jesus.
Accepting it requires considerable faith.
Most feel that they can find satisfaction on their own terms, but when
they do they put other things before His kingdom and His righteousness.
Some
have thought that this promise justifies laziness and inactivity.
But those who are slothful are hiding behind the promise, not exhibiting
faith in it. For, the seeking of
God’s kingdom and righteousness involves more than a facade of virtue.
It requires the modification of our attitude so that we become a living
sacrifice, no longer conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing our
our minds (Rom. 12:1-2). If we seek
His kingdom first we will have the right loving relationship with our families,
we will be of considerable value to our employers, we will have the respect of
our friends, we will not have to worry about who we lied to, and on and on.
And with these benefits, “all these things shall be added to you.”
But
the Christian does not seek the kingdom in order to obtain “these things.”
For that is not seeking the kingdom at all ... it is merely seeking
“these things.” The Christian
seeks God’s will first and accepts both the blessings and the hardships that
come from a life of faith. His/her
faithfulness is not dependent on everything always working out well; it is a
matter of knowing God’s will and recognizing that He knows us better than we
know ourselves, and trusting that His way is best for us, even those parts we do
not understand.
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The goal of this page is to promote morality and justice in our society (Prov. 14:23).
“Should
we judge?”
The commonality of the antics of our outgoing President and his former
“spiritual advisor,” Jesse Jackson, are expected.
So is the commonality of their defenders.
Their reasoning is this: (1) no one is perfect, (2) we should not
criticize if we are not perfect, therefore (3) we should not criticize these
men. Take this reasoning to its
logical conclusion and no actions could be criticized regardless of how heinous.
Of course, there are no such constraints on those who criticize those who
“judge” these men.
It
would be different if these men had no influence over our lives ... or were not
attempting to influence National (if not international) events.
We have a right ... no, an obligation ... to defend ourselves from such
purveyors of immorality. Jesus had no reservation about pointing out the corrupt
leadership of his day (Mat. 23:15): "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, because you travel about on sea and land to make one proselyte; and
when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”
And the apostles (imperfect men) similarly identified those in error by
name (e.g., 3 Jn. 9).
If
anyone had doubts about these men before the events of the recent past, they
should not any longer. Even the
staunchest supporters of ex-President Clinton cannot defend his actions of
pardoning Marc Rich, who stole literally millions of dollars and was clearly
guilty of treason for trading with enemies of this country in time of war.
And this is just one example of dozens of shameless improprieties and
abuses of power that have ended his term of office.
The
problem that we have is: where is the outrage?
How can people continue to pay these rogues to continue their mischief?
In so doing they participate in their evil works.
Eph 5:11-12: “And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of
darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of
the things which are done by them in secret.”
How true the bible is.
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Rev
5:8-14: “And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the
twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden
bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy art Thou to take
the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for
God with Thy blood {men} from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
And Thou hast made them {to be} a kingdom and priests to our God; and
they will reign upon the earth.’ And
I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living
creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and
thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was
slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and
blessing.’ And every created
thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea,
and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to
the Lamb, {be} blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.’ And the four living creatures kept saying, ‘Amen.’
And the elders fell down and worshiped.”
Amen.
If
you ever get discouraged at how things are going and feel that all is lost,
remember that God is on the throne in heaven, and Jesus, your mediator, is at
His right hand. If you are right
with God, nothing else matters.
Those
of the first century to whom John was writing were under severe persecution.
They were expecting God to solve all
their problems in a worldly way, but instead all they were facing was the
loss of their possessions and perhaps even their lives.
John needed to convince them to seek first the Lord’s kingdom and His
righteousness. We live in a different era ... at a time when religious
persecution is rare in most of the free world.
We live in a time of relative prosperity, where most hard-working, honest
people have no problem in making a decent living.
God has blessed us richly, but often we want to take the credit for it.
Our success can be our worst enemy.
For, worldliness is all around us, and it is so easy for us to seek first
the things of the world. Perhaps it
is easier to be spiritual in times of distress.
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“We should not judge since none
of us is perfect.”
but
Jesus commanded (John 7:24) ...
"Do not judge according to
appearance but judge with righteous judgment."
First,
let us hasten to agree that (1) none of us is perfect, and (2) there are
situations in which it is sinful to judge (e.g., James 4:11). But to take this to the extreme and state that we should
never judge anyone’s actions is so totally unworkable that no one even gives
it serious consideration. Those who
are judging this author for what he is writing right here are proving my point.
We all DO judge; we are all critical of others at times, probably far
more than we ought to be. So let us
not be hypocritical with this “do not judge” smokescreen.
The Christian’s concern is not with whether or not to judge; we are commanded to judge under certain circumstances (e.g., see 1 Cor. 5). Our concern is with meeting our obligation to judge righteously. Jesus gave us the criterion. He said: “do not judge according to appearance.” That is, we are not to judge according to our superficial, prejudiced, viewpoint. Get the facts. Look deeper. Get the other side of the issue. Be fair and honest. Find out and accept reality. Then, based on the verified truth, make your judgment. To fail to “judge righteous judgment” is to disobey the command of Jesus given above. Those who accuse others of sin for pointing out the truth are merely hiding behind a misunderstanding of what the bible teaches on the subject of judging.
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