One of the biggest complaints about churches is that they are judgmental.  I hear many say that Christians aren’t supposed to judge.  Matthew 7:1 Jesus says we aren’t supposed to judge, but then there is Matthew 7:2 where it says that you will be judged in the way that you judge.

The thing is everyone judges.  It is a part of life.  No one is exempt.  If we don’t how are we to tell if something is wrong or right?   Everything can’t be right.  Jesus says there is only way to get into heaven.  Jesus says in Matthew 7:13-14 that people will think there are many ways to get into heaven but there is only one way.  In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus specifically says that some who think they are Christians will be surprised to find out that they are not.  Jesus says there is a right way, and many wrong ways.

Judging is actually necessary, and Jesus says how do you approach it, is what makes the difference.

The world judges people to put them down, to make fun of them, to make themselves feel better because someone is worse off than them.  The thing is we all have faults.  None of us is perfect.  Unfortunately, some churches and people who are Christians do judge like this.  It is wrong, but God sees all, and Matthew 7:2 applies to them.  I would not want to be in their shoes before God at the end.

How should we judge? (1) We need to use God’s word when saying what is wrong and is not.  It should never just be our opinion.  In the end only God has a vote.  We better have Scripture to explain it.  We should say this is what God says, not what I say.  (2) We should then remind them that God loves them and is absolutely ready and willing to forgive them and forget their sin.  Psalm 103:12. There is hope that must be the message.

Two more steps and this where many fail.

(3) Look at them as Jesus looks at them.  See them as people who need an answer.  Don’t put them down, show them love with how you look at them.  Remember you represent Jesus, and you may be the only Jesus they ever see, so what do they see.  (4) Lastly offer to walk with them.  Be there for them.  Yes, it may be messy.  You may go I don’t want to do that.  When you think that, remember you were messy once, and Jesus came and walked through the mess with you.  It is the least you can do.

These last two make all the difference.  People want to go to heaven, and the good news is, that Jesus wants them to get there.  But there is only one way, and we need to share that with people.  People need to know what that is in a way that they can actually realize and understand and come to grips with.

People think there are many acceptable ways to get to heaven.  The thing is Jesus does not agree with that.  He is also very clear about it in the Bible.  There is only one way.   People need to know what that is so they can get to where they are going.  And when they make a wrong turn, we need to be able to tell them the right way to go in a way where they will listen. 

Love is caring for the other person no matter what.  Since only one way leads to Jesus and heaven, when we see someone headed in any other way, and we know that the end of that road is destruction (using God’s Word not our opinion), we should do all that we can to help them get back on the right road because that is what Jesus would do.

Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome! 

Read this verse and what is your first thought?  Luke 6:38, Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”  

For most people they will think it is about money.  Is it?  Almost every week I get a comment from someone who says Christianity is just about the money.   It is because we badly misinterpret this verse.

God says He will give you more than you can imagine if you give to Jesus.  The principle is right, but what we apply it to, usually money, is wrong.   Think about it, God made the world.  Everything in it is already His. 

The only thing you can truly give God is love.  He gave you free will, with the power of choice.  He will not force you to love Him.  You are free to choose to hate Him if you wish (I don’t suggest that).  Jesus wants to know if you genuinely love Him.   There are so many ways you can show love to someone and that is what God wants.  But this verse is a challenge.

It says go ahead and try to out love God.  As you try, God says you are destined to fail, and this is something you want to fail at.   Because the only way you can fail to out love God, is for God to out love you!   This is great for you. 

There are so many ways you can try to out love God.  You can say it, you can do something for Him, You can sing His praises, You can do what He asks just because He asks, you can trust Him when it doesn’t make sense, you can also give your time (Ha Ha, you thought I was going to say give money), and yes you could give money too, but it is just one of many ways to try and out love God.   

In whatever way you show love to God, it must be genuine.  You can’t give love in order to get.  You can’t buy love.  That is true.  Same with God.  Trust me God knows when you act in love and when you don’t.  You can’t pull a fast one on God. 

The end of the verse says, for with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”   Many think that means if I give this much, this will happen.  Yes and no.  Let’s look at this from the perspective that all you can give is love.

For with the same measure that you use (Trying to out love God), it will be measured back to you. (God trying to out love you)

Both you and God are doing the same thing trying to out love one another.  So, it is the same measure, the thing is God will always out love you in the end and that is so awesome for us.    

Remember just as there are many ways for you to show love to God, God has an infinite number of ways to show that He out loves you. 

Could we show God love by giving money?  Sure, it can be, but it must come from genuine love if you do.  God will take care of you; He just wants to know do you really love Him because God really wants to out love you.  He wants to do something that is priceless for you!    

Go ahead and try to out love God.  I dare you.  Then look to see how God will out love you in a way that is truly meaningful to you. 

Remember Jesus loves and cares for you, I love and care for you, and you are awesome!

PS - For those that say there is no God, why not try it.  Try and simply love God.  See what happens. What do you have to lose?  Who wouldn’t want more love?  Who wouldn’t want love from the one person who can do anything for them?  And for those who are skeptical don’t use money, use some other way to express your love for God and see what happens.  Be genuine, remember you can’t fool God.  I dare you.

According to most polls today, you are considered a regular church attender if you attend once a month.  Many go well, I love Jesus.  He is with me all the time, so I really don’t have to go to church.

We want Jesus to come over to our house all the time.  To be involved in our lives.  And Jesus wants to and says He will be with you all the time.  Jesus gave us the church to give us the opportunity to physically come over to His house to show Jesus, we love Him.  To do what He does for Him.

He only asks for it once a week.  He even allows for us to skip some to enjoy life. In Hebrews 10:24-25, Jesus says just don’t make it habit.   Remember we are in a relationship and Jesus wants to know if want to come to see Him.  Going to church shows God we want to be with Him.  It also shows we love Him enough to do what He asks.

Jesus also knows that life happens and there are many things that come up.  Jesus does not want you to miss out on life.  You need to be a part of things to witness for Jesus.  But we can overdo that and forget about God.  Jesus wants to know if you can change your schedule and fit Him in?  Can you a couple of times a year say, well I could go to that other thing, but I chose to go to church instead.  That gets Jesus’ attention. 

How do you respond when someone does that for you when you know they could have been somewhere else, but they choose to be with you.  You feel good.   You feel awesome!  Jesus wants to feel that too!  Choosing to be in God’s house when you could be somewhere else, will compel Jesus to love on you like never before.  And not just that Sunday or special service, but every time you are in church because He sees the love effort you have made.

It would show those around you, your family, your friends, etc. How much Jesus means to you in a real way they can see.  You decided to skip going to the game, the reunion, the amusement park, etc. for church.  That will make them go wow.  There is something to what you believe. 

Sometimes you don’t have to miss anything.  You could show up late to the event.  People will ask why, and you will get to say to them, well I needed to see Jesus first.  That will make an impression on those you love and especially your immediate family.  And when you make that choice for Jesus because you love Jesus not out of duty or obligation, you may get to say this instead.  Well, I wanted to go to God’s House, and I am sure glad I did, because this happened. 

Think about how many times we want God to show up in our lives, but we can’t, say, once a year chose ON PURPOSE to skip one thing we want to do, to show Jesus He really is our first love.

Now I did not say you have to be in church every single time the doors are open.  I did not say that you can’t miss church for something you want to do.   Jesus just wants to know if you could choose Him over that once in a while.  When we do Jesus will not let that go unappreciated.  It will truly touch His heart and He will be highly motivated to touch your heart. 

You want to see miracles in your life like you see in the Bible.  Give this a try and see if Jesus does not do something amazing for you.    

One last thing, when you do miss.  You can.  Do you really miss being in God’s house?  Do you go man I wish I was in church.  Boy, I wonder what I missed.  I can’t wait to get back next week.  Or do not even give missing church a second thought?

That can also speak volumes to the one’s you love and care about.  That when you do miss, they see it, that makes an impression as well.  It also impresses Jesus, that you long for Him and really missed being in His house.  He appreciates that and will show that in your life. 

But I don’t get a lot out of church come back next Thursday for my follow up post!  It will change your life. 

Remember Jesus loves and cares for you, and I love and care for you, and you are awesome!

We all want God to do amazing things in our life. We pray to God and ask God for that. Well, I hope you do. I hope you don’t pray to God and ask Him to hurt you. The good news is God wants to bless you, for many though it seems like God doesn’t want to do things.

The top three reasons I get from skeptics is: God is not real. God is fake. God is imaginary. From believers the answer I get to this question is, well something is wrong in your life, or it is not His will, or that God does not move that way anymore.
The thing is all these answers are wrong, and God is saddened because God absolutely wants to do amazing things to benefit you over and over again like He did for those in the Bible still today.

It all comes down to the fact that God interacts with us in a relationship. What is the most important thing needed for a good relationship. Good communication. Good communication is honest but also it must be open. Open means that everything is on the table, nothing is held back. Open also means that you are willing to listen to the other person’s point of view.

In every relationship something will happen. We are human. But what do we do? We go “yep, I did that, it was my bad. I know. I can handle it”. And then usually this comes out, “at least I was honest about it”.

The thing is, just being honest is really the least you can do and that really isn’t much. Many say that because they want the other person in the relationship to leave them alone. The point of being in a relationship is that by being together, you both are better.
We do that with God so often. We don’t want to admit to our mistakes and when we do, we really don’t want God’s input. Our communication is pretty selfish. We are not open at all. We are not putting it all on the table. Yet, when people do pray, they want God to put it all out there for them, but they think it is OK to hold back on their end. And they wonder why they don’t hear from God. When we pray, and we are not open, we disrespect God, and why should God respond the way we want Him to. The answer is God shouldn’t, but He still loves us and wants to, He is just waiting for us to be honest and open with Him.

We want all this but have no desire to hear His opinion and His advice. Why, because then we would need to change things in our life. We don’t usually want to do that. The thing is God only wants the best for you. He is never going to give you advice that will harm you. He loves you.

Now some will say well God knows everything why doesn’t God just tell me what to do. The answer once again is God wants a real relationship with you. He wants to know that you want that. He could just wave His hand and do all you want, but that would do no good for your relationship.

Ever heard the phrase money can’t buy love. It has been proven over and over. God doesn’t want to buy your love; He wants you to want His love. He wants a two-way street in this relationship. God desperately wants to make your life awesome, but if you are not willing to be open with Him, He is not going to force you. He is also not going to waste His time when you have no intention of actually taking His advice to make your life better.

God absolutely loves you and wants to answer you, and then do even more than you asked for, because He wants to shine through you (2 Corinthians 1:20, For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.)
But God wants to know if you really want a real relationship with Him. And that takes good communication. And God communication means we are not just honest, but open as well.

When you do that, you will have the experience you always wanted to have with God. When the communication is good, the relationship will be good. And God wants the relationship to be the best you will ever have!

One last thing, if you are reading this and you think God is fake, God is a fairy tale etc. I challenge you to have and open and honest conversation with God and see if something doesn’t happen. God wants to respond to you. What have you to lose? If He doesn’t then well keep calling me a liar, but if He does, and you get to experience the love of a lifetime in an instant wouldn’t that be worth it.

Remember Jesus loves and cares for you, I love and care for you, and you are awesome!