2015 Bible Reading Challenge - Week 6

Here are some more devotionals from our 2015 Bible Reading Challenge.  You can join the challenge by visiting our church website.

February 2, 2015

Scripture Reading: Exodus 20:1-21:32 and Matthew 21:23-46

Devotional:

Today we come to the Ten Commandments.  Yes, commandments.  Not suggestions.  We could focus the rest of this year's devotionals on the Ten Commandments and still not exhaust all that there is to say about them.  You are likely very familiar with the list.  Maybe you have the list memorized in order.

1. No other gods.

2. No idols.

3. Do not take the Lord's name in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath.

5. Honor your father and mother.

6. Do not murder.

7. Do not commit adultery.

8. Do not steal.

9. Do not bear false witness.

10. Do not covet.

As you look at this list, you will notice that the first four commandments focus on our relationship with God.  The final six commandments focus on our relationship with one another.  In a few days we will see Jesus' response to the Pharisees in Matthew 22 when asked which commandment is the greatest.  Jesus responded by summing up the Law, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."  He then gave the second greatest commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Note that the two commands Jesus gave in response to the Pharisees' question correspond with the two tables of the Law.  Jesus' first command has to do with our relationship with God, and summarizes the first four commands.  Jesus' second command has to do with our relationship with other people, and summarizes the final six commands.

This is important because it helps us to see that the list of commands in Exodus 20 is not exhaustive.  It is not intended to be a list prohibiting every possible sin.  In fact, we could say that just as Jesus' list of two commands in Matthew 22 is a summary of what God requires of us, so is the list of ten commands given to Moses in Exodus 20.

Jesus said as much in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.  "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matt. 5:27-28).  Jesus said similar things with regard to anger, divorce, oaths, and loving our enemies.  Jesus makes it clear that obedience to God is not limited to rigid obedience to a list of ten commands.

I love the way the Westminster Larger Catechism deals with the Ten Commandments.  As an example, it asks in Question 136, "What are the sins forbidden in the sixth commandment?"  To which it replies, "The sins forbidden in the sixth commandment are, all taking away the life of ourselves, or of others, except in case of public justice, lawful war, or necessary defense; the neglecting or withdrawing the lawful and necessary means of preservation of life; sinful anger, hatred, envy, desire of revenge; all excessive passions, distracting cares; immoderate use of meat, drink, labor, and recreations; provoking words, oppression, quarreling, striking, wounding, and whatsoever else tends to the destruction of the life of any."

The WLC does the same thing for all ten commands, making clear the broad scope of each command.  You can read what the WLC has to say about the other nine commands here.

My point is that we may be tempted to look at the Ten Commandments and think we are in pretty good shape.  I have never murdered anyone.  Check.  I have never committed adultery.  Check.  I am not a thief.  Check.  But the WLC, and Jesus in Matthew 5, make it clear that we have all broken all ten commands.  There is none righteous, no not one.

So what hope do we have?  Our only hope is Jesus.  He is the only one to perfectly obey the Law.  He is the one who died in our place to pay for our sin.  His righteousness is credited to the account of all those who repent of their sin and place their faith in Him.  This is our source of hope.

Seek today to live a life pleasing to God by the power of the indwelling Spirit in your life.  But when you fail, and you will, trust in the one who already lived the perfect life in your place.  It is only through His righteousness that you can truly please God.

Prayer Focus:  Pray that God would help you to obey His commands by the power of the Spirit in your life.  Pray that God would direct your attention to Jesus when you fail.

February 3, 2015

Scripture Reading: Exodus 21:33-23:33 and Matthew 22:1-33

Devotional:

As I read the laws given by God to His people in Exodus 21-23, I am reminded that God loves His creation.  He certainly loves His covenant people, the spiritual children of Abraham, with a special love.  But He loves and cares for all of His creation.

People sometimes think of the God of the Old Testament as a God of judgment.  He doesn't care about people.  He just goes around killing and destroying.  The people of Israel are protected, while everyone who gets in their way is destroyed.  But today's reading should give us a different perspective.

The list of laws given in this section of Scripture is intended to protect.  Slaves, sojourners, orphans, widows, poor, and others are protected by these laws given by God to His people.  We are reminded that God cares about the oppressed.  He cares about those who suffer.  And not just the oppressed of Israel, Exodus 22:21 provides protection for sojourners as well.

Don't just skim over the laws found in Exodus as if they are unimportant.  Take time to consider the love and care God has for the people He created, His image bearers.  We talked at length about our status as image bearers of God as we were moving through Genesis.  The same principle is found here.  God cares for those who bear His image, and we should too.

Think also about yesterday's devotional.  The final six commands focus on loving our neighbor.  That is exactly the focus of the list of laws in today's reading.  These laws contain clear applications of the sixth commandment (do not murder) and the eighth commandment (do not steal).

We sometimes think of the law as an unnecessary burden.  But the reality is that God has given us His Law as a gracious gift.  He desires good for us.  Allow today's reading to give you a renewed understanding of and appreciation for the Law.

We will continue to consider God's Law more as we move through the Old Testament.

Prayer Focus: Pray that God would help you to care for the oppressed as He does.  Pray that God would give you a renewed understanding of and appreciation for the Law.

February 4, 2015

Scripture Reading: Exodus 24-25 and Matthew 22:34-46

Devotional:

We looked at the great commandment a couple days ago when talking about the Ten Commandments.  As we read today the passage that contains the first and second greatest commandments, I want to consider them a little further.

It is interesting that the two greatest commandments were given in response to a question by the Pharisees.  Jesus was always receiving questions from the Pharisees.  These questions were usually intended to trick Him into saying something they could use against Him.  You would think they would get the hint.  Jesus answered in a way that silenced them and made them look foolish every single time.

This occasion was no different.  The Pharisees wanted to know which commandment was the greatest.  Maybe Jesus would say, "You shall have no other gods before me."  Or maybe the prohibition against murder or adultery would top Jesus' list.  No.  Jesus refused their trap and essentially said that no command of God can be pitted against another.  They are all important.  Obedience to all of them is essential for walking in righteousness.

The commands to love the Lord with all that you are and to love your neighbor as yourself sum up the entire Law.  You cannot love neighbor and murder someone, or even have hatred in your heart toward them.  You cannot love God and take His name in vain.

We sometimes like to pit one command against another.  We like to think of some commands as more important, usually the ones we are more inclined to observe anyway.  But this is not the way Jesus spoke about the Law.  He made it very clear that there is a God in heaven.  He has revealed His Law to mankind.  His Law is perfect.  And He requires perfect obedience to His perfect Law.  There is no way around His requirements.

This quickly reminds us that we do not measure up.  There is no escape route.  We need Jesus.

Unfortunately, the Pharisees thought that they were Law keepers.  They looked at themselves and their level of obedience, and they were proud.  Look at us.  See how faithful we are to God's Law.  They too had elevated some commands as more important than others by their thoughts and actions.  While they may not observe some commands, they always kept the most important ones.  Or so they thought.

In this passage, Jesus confronts them in their self-righteousness as He did throughout His ministry.  He was always pointing to Himself as the only way for man to be made right with Him.  This was true for the Pharisees.  It was true for His disciples.  It was true for Jew and Gentile alike.  We all need Jesus.

If you are like me, you are tempted to think of yourself as a Law keeper.  You are tempted to look at the way you live your life and see righteousness.  This passage reminds me that I am not righteous.  It reminds me that I do not always love God.  It reminds me that I do not love others as I should.  I need a righteousness that is not my own.  I need the righteousness of Jesus.  And you do too.

Prayer Focus: Ask God to help you see the unrighteousness in your life.  As you see areas of sin, confess them to God, repent, and trust in the righteousness of Jesus as your only hope of being right with God.

February 5, 2015

Scripture Reading: Exodus 26-27 and Matthew 23

Devotional:

The scribes and Pharisees do not have the best reputation among Christians.  We love to give them a hard time, and rightly so.  Jesus gives a whole list of reasons why in today's New Testament reading.

Matthew 23 contains seven woes against the scribes and Pharisees.  Each woe focuses on the hypocritical practices of these religious leaders.  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you clean the outside of the cup and the plat, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence," Jesus said.

The problem was not that they had laws.  The problem was not that they expected obedience to these laws.  The problem was that they themselves did not keep the Law as they should.  Oh, they obeyed some of the laws.  They wanted everyone to look at them and see how righteous they were.  But they were not really concerned with obedience to God.  They were not worried about the issues of the heart that people could not see.

Jesus was always rebuking the Pharisees.  He was always pointing out their hypocrisy.  But people often misunderstand why Jesus rebuked the Pharisees.  He didn't rebuke the Pharisees because they were too righteous.  He didn't rebuke them because they erected really high standards for themselves and kept those standards.  Instead, He rebuked them because they were not righteous enough.  They did not meet the standards they had established, and they did not meet God's standard.

Christians sometimes like to point to Jesus' treatment of the Pharisees as a reason why we should not have high standards.  High standards lead to pride and self-righteousness.  Seeking to live a godly life means that you are like the Pharisees whom Jesus rebuked.

But God has given us a very high standard.  He has given us His Law.  Godliness and obedience to the Law is actually a standard so high that we cannot attain it on our own.  This was the problem with the Pharisees.  They failed to recognize that they fell woefully short of obedience to the Law.  In fact, they were always trying to trap the only one who never sinned.  Rather than placing their trust in Jesus and depending on His righteousness, they sought to destroy Him.

We have a lot to learn from Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees.  The lesson is that of not being hypocritical.  We do not avoid hypocrisy by lowering God's standards for us.  No, we avoid hypocrisy by striving to put off the works of the flesh and put on the fruit of the Spirit.  We avoid hypocrisy by recognizing when we fail, and clinging tightly to the cross of Christ as our only hope.

Prayer Focus: Pray that God would help you to flee from hypocrisy.  Pray that God would help you to do this by striving for righteousness and clinging to Jesus when you fail.

February 6, 2015

Scripture Reading: Exodus 28-29 and Matthew 24:1-14

Devotional:

We began Matthew 24 today, and will be looking at the rest of the chapter over the weekend.  This is a chapter that often elicits significant debate concerning various perspectives on the end times.  There is a lot that we don't know from this passage, likely because God never intended for us to use it to develop extensive charts and make sure predictions concerning the last days.  But there are some things that we see very clearly in Matthew 24.  I want to focus this devotional on a few of those things.

The first thing that stands out to me is the promise of false teachers in verse 5.  The New Testament is full of warnings concerning those who seek to lead the people of God astray.  Such is not unique to the last days, but this verse seems to indicate that that kind of thing will only increase.

The reality that false teachers have always existed, and will always exist until Christ returns, should motivate us in our efforts to know God's truth through His Word.  It should also cause us to be alert.  The Bible is our standard of truth.  If it contradicts God's Word, it is false.  May we be people who commit ourselves to God's truth.

The second thing I notice is the promise of persecution.  This also is something that Jesus promised throughout His ministry.  It is not unique to the last days.  Jesus experienced persecution.  His disciples experienced persecution.  Countless Christians around the world today choose daily to follow Christ even though it may cost them their lives.  Certainly persecution will increase in the last days, but it is not unique to a certain period of time.

I like what Jesus says in verse 13, "But the one who endures to the end will be saved."  Jesus is not saying that we somehow earn our salvation by enduring.  Rather, He is saying that those who endure to the end prove that they are the ones whose lives have truly been transformed by the gospel of Christ.  Jesus' words here should motivate us to endure.  By this we prove to truly be His disciples.

Finally, I want to point out the uncertainty Jesus left His disciples with concerning the timing of His return.  This was not by accident.  Jesus did not intend for them or us to know when He will return.  But that hasn't stopped people from creating prophecy charts and attempting to predict Christ's return. 

Ignore those predictions.  Jesus told us that no one knows when He will return.  He has made clear for us what we are to do while we wait.  We must commit ourselves to being conformed more and more to the image of Jesus through the work of the Spirit in our lives.  And we must devote ourselves to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to all people.

May we cling to the reality that Christ WILL return.  And may we ignore man's predictions in favor of God's instructions.

Prayer Focus: Pray that God would help you to be obedient to the things He has given you to do prior to the return of Jesus.

2015 Bible Reading Challenge - Week 2

Here are the week 2 devotionals.

January 5, 2015

Today's Reading: Genesis 10-12 and Matthew 5:1-20

Devotional:

Genesis 10 contains what is often referred to as the Table of Nations.  It is a long list of names tracing the lines of Noah's sons.  Reading the names can be tedious, but they serve a very important role in the story of the Bible.

We learned from Genesis 6-9 that God destroyed every living creature on the face of the earth in a worldwide flood.  The only ones excluded were those who were on the ark.  As we come to Genesis 10 and read the list of Noah's descendants, we are reminded that all people come from a common ancestor.  This demonstrates very clearly that we are all related.

It is important that we take time to think about the implications of such a reality.

One of the implications that immediately stands out to me is that it leaves no room for us to think of ourselves as more valuable than other people.  God has created each one of us in His image, and we have all descended from Noah.  Therefore, we all have dignity and worth before God.

This truth was underlined in Genesis 9 when God laid out the penalty for taking the life of one of His image bearers.  The penalty was death (Gen. 9:5).  God values all human life, and we should too.  We considered this some in the last devotional.

It is also interesting to think about this in light of what we read in Matthew 5.  The end of Matthew 5 contains a section on loving our enemies.  This is a difficult section for us and goes against what our flesh tells us we ought to do.  Our flesh wants to retaliate.  Our flesh tells us that our enemies hate us, and we should hate them too.

But the way of Jesus is different.  The way of Jesus is better.  The way of Jesus views our enemies as those who are separated from God because of their sin and can only be reconciled to Him through Christ.  The way of Jesus recognizes that when others wrong us, we have an opportunity to live out the gospel before them, giving them grace and love, something they and we do not deserve.

Matthew 5 is all about Jesus turning the conventional wisdom of the day on its head.  "You have heard it said, but I say to you," is repeated several times throughout the chapter.  Even the statements known as the Beatitudes are contrary to popular thought.  Jesus wants to change the way we think.  He wants to give us a wisdom that is not of this world, but that comes from God.

Take some time today to consider the way of Jesus and how different it is from the desires of your flesh and the wisdom of the culture around you.

Prayer Focus:

Pray that God would reorient your thinking.  Pray that He would help you to see the difference between the ways of the flesh and the way of Jesus.  Pray that God's Spirit would empower you to live in the way of Jesus.

January 6, 2015

Today's Reading: Genesis 13-15 and Matthew 5:21-37

Devotional:

The story of Genesis is moving quickly.  Yesterday we were introduced to Abram as we saw God call him to leave his homeland and move to the land of Canaan, the land God would give to him and his descendants.  God promised to make a great nation of Abram and multiply his descendants.  It would be through Abram and his descendants that all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

Then before we were given a chance to treat Abram as a hero, we saw him neglect his wife and allow Pharaoh to take her as his wife.  Get used to this kind of thing as you read through the Bible this year.  The "heroes" of the Bible aren't very good heroes.  Abram neglects his wife.  Moses was guilty of murder.  David committed adultery.  Peter denied Jesus.  Paul was previously a persecutor of Christians.  The list goes on.

There is only one hero seen on the pages of Scripture that never lets us down.  His name is Jesus.  He is the one to whom all of the other heroes point.  The Bible is intended to direct our attention to Him, the author and perfecter of our faith.

I do want us to think about Abram some more though.  Chapter 12 of Genesis tells us of God calling Abram and includes some promises God made to him.  In chapter 15 we see God reaffirm His covenant with Abram, promising to make a great nation of him and his descendants.  Abram's descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky.

God is seen doing something special here in the first half of Genesis.  He is beginning to establish a people for Himself.  He is entering into relationship with these people, such that they are His people and He is their God.

While it may seem that God is limiting His work to a certain ethnicity of people at this point, we do catch glimpses of God's missionary purposes.  We see that God is going to use Abram and his descendants to bless all the nations of the earth.  This blessing would ultimately be fulfilled in Jesus, a descendant of Abram, who came and died for people from every tribe tongue and nation.

God is establishing not just a line of physical descendants of Abram, but also a line of spiritual descendants.  We haven't gotten there yet, but Galatians 3:29 says, "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise."  The promises God made to Abram are for you and me, those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus and now belong to Him.

As you read the promises of God to Abram and his offspring, take joy knowing that you too are his descendant.

Prayer Focus:

Pray that God would help you to find joy today in His promises made to your father, Abram.  Pray that God would remind you of His purposes for the whole earth, not just one group of people.  Seek God's direction as to how you can be a part of spreading the message of Jesus to all nations.

January 7, 2015

Today's Reading: Genesis 16:1-18:21 and Matthew 5:38-6:15

Devotional:

Matthew 6 begins with three very important spiritual disciplines: giving, praying, and fasting.  Fasting is part of tomorrow's reading, but we will address it here.

Notice a phrase that shows up to introduce each of these, "When you…."  When you give to the needy.  When you pray.  When you fast.  You see, Jesus is not calling His disciples to do these things.  Instead He assumes that they will do them, and gives instructions for them when they do.

I doubt any of us would say that these things are not important or necessary.  At least we wouldn't say that out loud.  There is just too much Scripture concerning each of them for us to make that argument.  But if someone looked at our lives, they may conclude that we do not view them as important.

Maybe you are strong in one of them.  Or maybe two.  But I expect you can find room for growth in at least one of these disciplines, if not all three.  Consider your giving.  Does it represent a heart of generosity or greed?  What about your prayer life?  Do you faithfully devote yourself to prayer?

Fasting is a spiritual discipline that is unfortunately often lost in the church.  It is a way to express our dependence on God rather than temporal things.  Fasting helps us to overcome self-reliance and focus our attention on God.  Missing a meal or series of meals reminds us that man does not live by bread alone.  It helps us to feast on the Bread of Life.

You will also notice about each of these that Jesus is not just concerned with the outward action.  He is also concerned with the heart behind the action.  In fact, it is the heart that concerns Him most.  We saw that in chapter 5 when Jesus focused not on murder and adultery, but on anger and lust.

Getting our outward actions right is hard enough, but doing those actions with the right heart makes it feel almost impossible.  Of course, that is part of the point Jesus is making.  It is impossible.  Though the scribes and Pharisees never murdered or committed adultery and could always be seen giving to the poor, praying, and fasting, they were not righteous.

In fact, Jesus calls them hypocrites.  They followed God's laws on the outside, but their hearts were filled with anger, lust, greed, and self-reliance.

Part of what Jesus is doing in the Sermon on the Mount is demonstrating very clearly that no one meets God's standard.  As Paul would write, "There is none righteous, no not one."  Jesus intends to direct the attention of the people to Himself, the only one who has ever done everything right with all the right motives.  He wants them to recognize that He is their only hope.  He wants us to recognize that He is our only hope.

Rather than trying to do better to earn God's approval, will you lean upon Jesus and His righteousness?  Recognize that you are right with God because of Jesus.  God has declared you righteous because of the righteousness of Christ.  Now, through His Spirit, He continues to produce righteousness in your life through the spiritual disciplines of giving, praying, and fasting.

Prayer Focus:

Pray that God would help you to trust in the righteousness of Jesus rather than your own.  Pray that as you trust in the righteousness of Jesus, the Spirit of God would produce good fruit in your life through growth in the spiritual disciplines of giving, praying, and fasting.

January 8, 2015

Today's Reading: Genesis 18:22-19:38 and Matthew 6:16-34

Devotional:

Matthew 6:25-34 is a passage of Scripture to which I find myself constantly coming back.  I have found it to be helpful so often in my ministry.  It seems that without fail this passage is applicable to the person to whom I am ministering.  Whether it be the husband who is struggling in his marriage, or the mom who is raising the kids on her own.  It might be the teenager who feels out of place, and struggles with his/her identity.  Maybe it is someone who just received a terminal health diagnosis.

The reality is that most of us have chalked up anxiety and worry to just part of the human experience.  Life is hard, we reason.  So we have just come to accept that we will be anxious and worry.  How else can one respond to the difficulties of life?

This passage presents us with a better way.  God does not intend for us to live life crippled with fear.  Jesus tells us that we can live a life that is free of anxiety and worry.

One of the things that I love about this passage is that Jesus doesn't say, "Do not be anxious," and then stop.  He goes on to provide help to the one who doesn't know what a life without anxiety looks like.

He first reminds us that there is more to life than the here and now.  This is a point he just made in the preceding section.  There is something eternal.  There is a treasure which moth and rust cannot destroy and thieves will never break in and still.  Jesus reorients our thinking to the things that last.  Life is more than food.  It is more than clothing.  A good marriage, obedient children, ample money, and excellent health are all good things.  I do not mean to minimize the importance of these things.  But they are not the MOST important thing.

There will be no marriage in heaven.  Familial relationships won't matter anymore.  Money will be a thing of the past when the streets are paved with gold.  And we will all have glorified bodies.  We need to be reminded to set our minds on the things that last.

Second, Jesus points to the birds of the field and the lilies of the field.  God takes care of them.  The birds have food.  The lilies are arrayed beautifully.  You are God's image bearer.  You are infinitely more valuable to God than the birds of the air and the lilies of the field.  What makes you think God doesn't care about you?  Why would you think He would forget you?  We can trust that the good God who is sovereign over the universe holds our lives in His hands.  We must combat anxiety by setting our minds on this reality.

The final reason Jesus gives for not being anxious doesn't sound very spiritual, but it is wise instruction from heaven.  Don't worry about tomorrow because each day has its own trouble.  Focus today on tackling the circumstances life throws your way today.  Lean on Jesus.  Seek first His Kingdom.  Find rest in Him.  Tomorrow will be here soon enough.

I don't mean to suggest that anxiety and worry are easy things to overcome.  They certainly are not.  I am not recommending a try harder and do better approach to worry and anxiety.  I am also not saying that your circumstances will suddenly improve when you follow Jesus' instruction in this passage.  Life is hard.  That is part of living in a world broken by sin.

I am suggesting that we cling to Jesus, the one who knows our struggles and cares for us.  He knows us better than anyone else because He made us.  As we place our trust in him in the midst of life's struggles and place our burdens on Him, we will find that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  There is rest for our souls in Jesus Christ.

Prayer Focus:

Do you feel overwhelmed by the cares of the world?  You cannot do this alone.  Pray and ask God to help you cling to Jesus.  Cast your cares on Him for He cares for you.

January 9, 2015

Today's Reading: Genesis 20-22 and Matthew 7:1-20

Devotional:

Matthew 7:1, next to John 3:16, is perhaps the most often quoted verse in the Bible.  Unfortunately, it is usually stripped of its context to justify all kinds of sinful lifestyles.  This is not surprising given the evolving moral climate in our country.  It seems that increasingly the only thing immoral is to suggest that something is immoral.  The tolerance police swarm, seeking whom they may devour.

The problem with the way this verse is often used is that it ignores the context of the passage and the intent of Jesus when he spoke those words.  Jesus was not giving a general prohibition against ever casting judgment about anything.

There are clearly times when casting judgment is appropriate.  You don't allow the convicted felon to keep the nursery.  You don't give the adulterer a position of leadership in the church.  For the sake of their soul, you call the serial sinner to repent of his sin and place his faith in Jesus.

Rather than saying, "Don't judge," Jesus is saying, "Don't be hypocritical."  Examine yourself.  Don't run around pointing out the sin in everyone else's life when your life is full of sin.  Remove the log from your own eye first.

In saying that this passage is often misused, I don't want to strip it of all meaning as if it has no use.  For I think it is a very important word for each of us, the religious people in the church.  As religious people, we have a tendency, if we are not careful, to look down our noses at others as if they are not as righteous as we are.  We have no problem identifying the speck in someone else's eye, but identifying the log in our own eye is a different story.

We need to hear the words of Jesus here.  We need to be much more concerned with the sin in our own lives than we are with the sin in the lives of others.  We need to follow the pattern of David in Psalm 139, "Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

The reality is that we are often blinded to our own sin.  We need someone who is invited into our lives to come and help us identify areas where spiritual growth is needed.  We need someone we can trust.  We need someone who will be honest with us about our faults.

This is where the body of Christ comes in.  We need the church.  We need brothers and sisters around us who are involved in our lives.  We need to be willing to be confronted in our sin.  We also need to be willing to confront others in their sin when necessary.

God has called us to holiness.  Judgment is an essential element of that pursuit.  Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.  Let's learn to judge in a way that is God-honoring rather than hypocritical.

Prayer Focus:

Spend some time examining your heart.  Is there sin you need to confess to God and seek His forgiveness?  Pray that God would help you in your pursuit of holiness.  Pray that God would help you to be willing to be judged by others.  Pray that God would place those people in your life if they are not there already.