Words Of Encouragement To Start The Day ( Friday 4/17/09)

All That Matters Is What God Sees When He Looks At You!

Luke 16:15 (Amplified Bible)

¹⁵But He said to them, You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted and highly thought of among men is detestable and abhorrent (an abomination) in the sight of God. [I Sam. 16:7; Prov. 21:2.]

     Opinions, much like noses come in many different varieties and come in a variant of shapes, colors and sizes.  I have spoken with many individuals through out my life who hate the hypocrisy that is aligned with being a Christian.  We often kill our own witness by the way we judge others, the way we act on the job or by the way we treat or do not treat others whether our family members or outsiders.  Judgement is a major issue that is often a destructive entity in our lives.  We judge everyone from our spouses and children to our co-workers and friends.  Often times never realizing that as we release these words, that we have cast  labels and opinions into the air that can and often will cause individuals to walk away from God and us too.  It will cause people to lose focus and purpose and to begin to travel a road of despair and unforgiveness.  Do we really have the right to judge, especially when we are a work in progress, ourselves.  Or did we consider for one minute if God judged us where would we be?

     I was watching a movie over the weekend and a woman was being judged because she did not look the part of a minister's wife, she still possessed what was labeled as a worldly look.  Instead of being embraced and loved into the kingdom, she was scorned and ridiculed because she did not live up to a standard.  A standard not outlined by God, but by man, who is imperfect themselves and broken at best on a good day.  But as the story went on, the bottom line was the most important thing was not the judgement of others but the thoughts of God, when He looked at her.  God's heart is filled with a desire to be reconciled with His creation, His love.  He said He loves us with an everlasting love.  He looks beyond our faults to the cross and sees the blood deposited on our behalf.  God sees love and forgiveness, care and mercy.  What is it that we are seeing beyond our own selfishness.  We see every wrong ever done to us, ever word spoken that did not line up with our trend of thinking, we feel the sting of disappointment and the pain of betrayal.  What if God began to react and feel as we do, you see these are all things we do to Him and continue to do to Him with our choices and our lifestyle, and if he began to judge us or offer an opinion based upon what we deserved, where would we be?

       Think for one minute if God gave you what you give others in the are of judgement, forgiveness, opinion, mercy, love and care, how would that work out for you?  For most of us we would not be here today. Our life would have ended some time ago. For others of us, we would be broke, busted and disgusted, and for others still our minds would be lost forever, turned over to a reprobate place never to be redeemed.  It is time to apply what God applies to you when He looks at you...His MERCY, LOVE and His PROTECTION!  Remember sin is sin, wrong is wrong, there is no greater sin in the eyes of God...