Day 25: No Judgement Zone

JESUS said it first.

IT IS FINISHED.

But what is IT.

JESUS put the dot on every i and crossed ever T

on the CROSS. 

Nothing to add. Nothing to subtract.

IT IS FINISHED.

AMEN.

What is next?

RESURRECTION.

As I ponder the word IT,

reading through the SERMON ON THE MOUNT,

my heart is convicted deeply,

as I am drawn to HIS WORDS

of what isn't FINISHED in me.

JESUS INVITES all to

JUDGE NOT,

yet what do I still do?

JUDGE.

Ouch!

But

IT IS FINISHED.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE?

Oh to sit at the feet of JESUS is the easy part,

as I absorbing all that HE INVITES me to DO.

And then I have to get up and DO.

But I can't DO IT on my own.

When that is my problem,

my trying to DO.

 JESUS isn't asking me to DO,

as HE is asking me TO BE. 

TO BE HIS.

In BE~ING HIS,

JESUS INVITES you and I to BE like HE IS. 

Oh how I falter and fail,

but when I do

there is  GRACE

willing and able to pick me up,

to wipe the dust off my knees,

and then gently give me a high five

so that I press forward IN HIS GRACE!

How many times does GRACE do this?

Oh as many times as I need GRACE,

and that is all the time.

And that is why I NEED to have a

BE~ATITUDE.

When someone pushes me down, do I push them back?

I may not in my actions, but at times I do in my mind

because I forget the WORDS of GRACE~

"Do not judge and criticize and condemn [others unfairly with an attitude of self-righteous superiority as though assuming the office of a judge],

so that you will not be judged [unfairly]" *

Oh how JUDGING comes in all shapes and sizes,

yet summed up in the three C's of

 Dale Carnegie's first principle~

Don't

CRITICIZE,

COMPLAIN,

or

CONDEMN.

JUDGING~

CRITICIZING others to make ourselves feel better.

JUDGING~

COMPLAINING about others to blame others for our discontent.

JUDGING~

CONDEMNING others to take condemnation from ourselves.

Hmm.

JUDGING points the finger right back at yourself~

"For just as you [hypocritically] judge others [when you are sinful and unrepentant], so will you be judged; and in accordance with your standard of measure [used to pass out judgment], judgment will be measured to you" *

(Matthew 7:1-2)

Ouch again.

Why does this hurt so much?

Because when I experience HIS GRACE instead of HIS JUDGEMENT,

why would I even JUDGE?

I can BLAME my stinky flesh.

But what about the HOLY SPIRIT who resides in me,

who OVERCOMES my flesh.

Hmm.

I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me,

to BE ALL that HE INVITES me to BE.

My choice.

Am I being hard on myself this morning,

or is GOD pouring out HIS GRACE on me,

because HE is continuously cleaning up shop in this heart of mine.

And HE doesn't leave me alone,

for HE EQUIPS

me so that I don't JUDGE,

whether by actions or in thoughts,

by showing me GRACE in action~

"Do not let any UNWHOLESOME TALK come out of your mouths,

but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs,

that it may benefit those who listen" 

(Ephesians 4:29).

UNWHOLESOME TALK~

Destructive Damaging Talk

about others to others,

and even

Destructive Damaging Talk about "your" self to yourself.

Yup, even JUDGING yourself.

So I am putting the gavel down,

because

"I SEE GRACE"

(listen to the song below)