GOLDEN WORDS
Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the
dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.
Isaiah 50:10 NIV
Can you see the Lord in your thinking? If not, suspend your judgment until you can. Can
you see the face of Jesus in your affections? If not, restrain them until you can. Can you
see God in you circumstances? If not, do nothing until you can.
Oswald Chambers
Daily Meditations by Pat Nordman ©
May 17
"Do not judge, or you will be judged." Matthew 7:1
One of the loveliest portrayals of Jesus is in John 8. Those who harshly judged brought
before Jesus a woman who sinned. Jesus stooped, on the woman's behalf, to write in dust,
on the Pharisees' behalf, the numerous and equally sinful violations of those waiting to
stone her. Jesus did not verbally pass judgment even on these so ready to condemn. In
great kindness He wrote in the ephemeral dust their own sins. By so doing, He left us a
compelling and extraordinary example that He hoped we would make ordinary.
Jesus came to this sad and sore world, not to condemn but to save; not to break the
bruised reed, but to straighten and strengthen it; not to wound, but to heal; not to
punish, but to comfort; not to stone, but to sooth. He came to reveal the heart of a
Father who looks on us with eternal love, not a God who finally demands his pound of our
weak flesh. And He asks that we do the same for others. Especially in kneeling in prayer
we write in the dust our hurts and others' perceived sins.
"Did no one condemn you?" Jesus asked the woman. "No one, Lord."
"Neither do I condemn you; go your way. From now on sin no more" John 8:10,11.
"If God is for us, who is against us?...Who will bring a charge against God's
elect?" Romans 8:31,33. Mary became one of God's elect because Jesus showed mercy
rather than condemnation. Should we not follow His example and show forbearance to others?
We are sinners, too, so why should we point out the tiny speck when we carry a beam of sin
ourselves? "Love covers all transgressions" (Proverbs 10:12b) so let us rather
love one another than condemn without the facts.
Pat Nordman ©
Excerpts from today's Spurgeon's Devotions |
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| "So to walk even as he walked." - 1 John 2:6 |
"Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee." - Isaiah 41:9 |
Why should Christians imitate Christ? They should do it for their own sakes. If they desire to be in a healthy state of soul--if they would escape the sickness of sin, and enjoy the vigour of growing grace, let Jesus be their model. |
If we have received the grace of God in our hearts, its practical effect has been to make us God's servants. We may be unfaithful servants, we certainly are unprofitable ones, but yet, blessed be his name, we are his servants, wearing his livery, feeding at his table, and obeying his commands. |
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Current Bible Question ?
When Elijah challenged the priests of Baal, what were they sacrificing to their god?
Previous question and Answer:
Who saved her unwise husband from the wrath of David, and later married David after the death of that husband?
Abigail 1 Samuel 25
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..and by his light I walked through darkness! JOB 29:3 NIV
Why Are You Hiding? by Pat Nordman
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Adam and Eve sinned and they hid, and God looked for them. What a wonderful spiritual lesson there is here. The Lord God calls to us, "Where are you?" Where are we in our lives? God continually calls and finds us:
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil" Isaiah 5:20. This is exactly what the serpent did in the Garden. Adam and Eve fell through the senses and lost common sense. Our senses are our servants, to be guarded ever so carefully. The serpent assailed Eve's sensibilities. So one of our first lessons in life is that we must have boundaries for the senses that war against our spirit. We can be sure that it is through the avenue of our sensations that the serpent will be tripping us up. God cautions us in His call to beware of what we see and hear and feel. If we sin with these wonderful gifts, then it is of the serpent, that liar. Nothing but good comes from God: "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" Genesis 1:31. |
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Send a note to © Pat Nordman , the writer of this devotion |
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More Walking Through the Darkness
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