JOTS FROM OLD JAKE
CRITICAL DILEMMA
Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007 - 6:00 p.m.
I have for some time now been asking the Lord to purge the critical spirit from me, the temple of the Holy Spirit! I know that He is trying to do that with me but it requires me to learn more about Him and to die of my old natural man within me. I get the inspiration that I am on the verge of receiving in-depth truth in this matter. I meditate on the issues involved in the violation of this concept sending my mind in different pathways of thoughts. One such thought is: �How do I let someone know that they are being critical without showing that I am being the same thing?� The truth of that is that if I feel someone is being critical then the thought of criticism is already there. We have all heard and know the scripture, �Judge not lest ye be judged!� This is not a matter of whether or not we are redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ; it is more of trying to be Christ like in our relationship with Him!
I can see that Christians have been taught to be fruit inspectors from the time they become born again. The secular world has picked up on this way of thinking, and tells us that we are no better than they are. They see the imperfection of our lives and expect us to be better citizens than anyone else if we believe what we teach. Which for all intents and purposes they are correct in that statement. We are no better than they are. However, we are truly forgiven and we will be with Jesus for ever, a privilege they do not share unless they accept Jesus as their Savior.
As Christians we let our human instinct tell us that we should not allow other people to see our faults and we should look perfect in their eyes. Because of that the Christian drifts into a legalism mode. This puts us under the Law of Moses and the Torah.
If the following the laws of the Torah or Old Testament would save us from our sins and was an efficient method of salvation, then Jesus wasted His time coming to this earth and suffering for us! The reason we were given the Law was to show us that we were sinners and needed the grace of God to save us!
Ok, back to the point� if I in my mind and heart look upon others and determine that they are �not doing the Christian� thing, then I am judging that person and I am putting myself under the same judgment.
I remember back to when I first rededicated my life to Jesus� He gave me a new heart and a new mind. The things I said and thought were no longer there. He called me to minister to others and I was willing. The ministering that I did which was effectual was done only by the power of the Holy Spirit. Sure I had read the bible through several times as a youngster and had been raised in a bible believing church and home. I still did not have the concept of what a relationship with Jesus was or meant. At this point in my life I knew that I knew very little about faith in Jesus and I put my full trust into Him.
As I grew in the Spirit and as time went on I had a bunch of zingers thrown at me from the enemy. Most of them were quenched by the Armor I wore. The enemy however, is quite crafty, and knew how to push my buttons. I listened to the words of others who I had great respect for and started caring about how they saw me. I started to adapt my actions to set within the legalistic interpretations they had of me. At that time I started to loose the trust direction of the Holy Spirit because these false thoughts kept me from hearing the Holy Spirit. It was sort of like having a multi-line phone system and I had to put the Holy Spirit on hold while I was listening to the other lines.
Habits are hard to break if they are bad habits. Good habits seem to be on the brink of changing unnoticed instantly. I don�t know why but it sure seems that way to me.
I jumped over a point I wanted to make about when I first rededicated my life to Jesus. At that point in my life I could see no fault in anyone� it is hard to explain but, I could see and recognize sin, but the sinner I felt no fault against. I am sure that doesn�t explain it but I think it is kind of like the Lord sees us. He looks beyond our faults and sees our needs.
Just in case you are wondering� Old Jake is still under major construction!
Verse for today:
Luke 21:14-15 KJV) Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth (WORDS) and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
~~~ and
1 John 3:21-23 (KJV) Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
Ulterior thought:
Why do we care what others think of us? Could it be that we tend to shape ourselves into the image others have of us to gain their approval?
May You Be Blessed by the Holy Spirit to Overflowing!
Bye for Now!
