"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need."
Matthew 6:33
Man Lord please keep us focused on our mission in life...to be about You and Your Kingdom which is everlasting! I think part of our problem as Christians today is we are so consumed with things that simply do not matter to our God! I think more times than not we miss it...we miss what God wants us to see and to be about! I am sports guys, so here is analogy in sports lingo!
It would be like a pitcher pitching in the World Series. He has 2 outs in the last inning, and he is one out away from leading his team to victory. The batter steps in the box, and this pitcher throws his first pitch...and it is called ball 1. Then he comes back and throws 3 strikes in a row to strike out the batter, get the final out and win the game and become World Series Champions! Now imagine this...they just won the game right, as the catcher runs out to the mound, the pitcher is expecting to get a massive hug..."great job man!" or "we are the champs!!". Instead, the catcher runs out to the pitcher and says why was your first pitch to that guy a ball?
What does the first pitch matter now that the game is over?
I think this describes us as Christians, we are so concerned about the dumbest things compared to God's Kingdom! We are so busy worrying about ball 1, that we miss the next 3 strikes that win us the game and World Series. This is the reason I am challenging us to memorize Matthew 6:33! Let's stay focused together, and keep the main thing the main thing...let's be about our awesome Lord and His Kingdom! Help us to do this Lord God I pray!!
Summary...
I think these 6 verses go so well with what I was talking about above! We sometimes walk around as Christians thinking everyone else has a problem except us. I love this classic line from our Jesus..."How can you see the speck in your friends eye when you have a log in your own eye!" Yes!! That is awesome...score 1 for Jesus. The thought most people have about Christians is that we are so judgemental...and we are! We Have to follow verse 5, and deal with our stuff first and then help others.
I think it is the times we look in the mirror, deal with our "stuff", that we are reminded how imperfect we are and how badly we need Jesus. Taking more time to do this will humble us and prevent us from judging others! We need to look in the mirror a little more often...or atleast I do!
Jesus says something funny in verse 6...read it again. What do you think He meant by that? This past weekend Lauren and I went to Tampa to visit her sister. We went out to eat, and we were leaving the restaurant on our way back to the car and I saw this guys reading scripture with a sign that read..."Ask me why you are going to hell!" That right there is exactly what Jesus was talking about in verse 6...He warns us not to waste our time. He says do not throw something as beautiful as pearls to pigs! Now from the outside that can seem judgemental, and totally the opposite of everything He just said in Matthew 7, but Jesus was not telling us to judge others or even to give up on unbelievers. He was telling us not to waste our time. We have to follow Him in the way He spoke truth to others. Jesus never shy ed away from the truth, but He never was short on compassion either! He always was filled with love and He was the King at relating to people! Sitting on the side of the road, telling people they are going to burn in hell is not relating to people like Jesus would.
Let's be full of love and compassion, committed to not judge one another. Let us invest in one an others lives, and earn that opportunity to speak the Truth at the moment when it will be received by a heart that does not believe!
Questions...
- Have you ever judged someone unfairly?
- What can we do as Christians to change the way the world views us when it comes to always judging others?
- How can we be more intentional about looking in the "mirror" more to remember how broken we are, and to prevent us from judging others harshly?
- What is your strategy to share your faith with people who do not believe in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit?
Lord Jesus help us to become more and more like You! Please fill our hearts with compassion for others! help us Jesus not to judge others, but to relate to them in a way in which we can speak Your mighty Truth that they will hear. Please hold us tightly...Jesus I love You and NEED You Badly! Bless our community, fusion, and continue to use us to be the change! We surrender who we are unto You, take us and use Lord I Pray...In Jesus Name...Amen!
tom
