Monthly Archives: February 2016

Jesus And Money

Christian Life, ,

JESUS AND MONEY

Be careful not to practise your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven (Matt. 6:1).

Jesus had more to say about money and possessions than about anything else. Unlike church people today who get hot under the collar when the preacher speaks about money, Jesus understood how big a role money plays in the lives of people, including those who claim to follow Him. In fact, it is true to say that money controls our lives. The way we use our money is a mirror of our hearts. The way of the world can be summed up in two words – selfishness and greed.

Jesus had a lot to say to the Pharisees because they used every opportunity, including their so-called tzedakah – their righteous deeds or generosity – to get attention from the public. They did not give out of love for or duty to God but love of themselves. They wanted people to praise them for their “holiness”.

It is one thing to do one’s duty to God and another to do it in a way that draws attention to us. Jesus spoke often of money and possessions because it played as important a part in the lives of His disciples as it does in everyone’s life today. Money drives the world. Even the most humanitarian professions such as medicine and law are money-driven in our modern world. There are few by comparison who will use their profession to serve, without remuneration, those who need it.

What did Jesus have to say about our attitude towards our money and possessions? To understand the background to His teaching, we must go back to the Torah.

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD you God for the good land He has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws and His decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied . . . then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

. . . You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who has given you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to you forefathers, as it is today. (Deut. 8:10-12a; 14; 17-18)

God, not their skills or abilities, was the source of their wealth as a sign of His covenant; therefore, they were accountable to Him for what they did with it. Giving to those in need was to be their response of gratitude to God for His mercy and goodness to them, not out of any feeling of benevolence towards those who had less than they had. This wrong attitude would put them in the limelight rather than God.

Everything we do must be based on what God has done for us. The Israelites were to remember that it was the LORD their God who delivered them from slavery in Egypt. They were to receive His gifts with gratitude, not with pride for what they had, and to be continually grateful for His goodness.

How tragic that there is a world of people with talents and skills which they flaunt as their own,  and play to the world instead of acknowledging God as the source and using what they have for His glory. And His own people are not innocent of this either.

Jesus had no problem with wealth per se, but He did have a problem with those who used it to get honour and accolades from the admiring crowd. Once again, He connected this life to the life to come. It is the disciple’s responsibility to garner wealth for the life to come by using what he has to meet the needs of others in this life. It’s about attitude and motive. Giving to the poor is not about getting attention for being generous. It’s about expressing gratitude to God by showing mercy to those in need.

Giving from a grateful heart has eternal benefits. There is a spiritual dimension to the way we use our money. “Laying up treasure in heaven” is not a literal deposit in a heavenly bank account. It is a way of expressing what we have already learned of God’s ways. When we do the right thing by taking care of the needs of others, whether it be the need for comfort, mercy, or reconciliation, or to meet material or physical needs, God reciprocates by meeting our needs.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? . . . For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matt. 6:25; 32-33)

How many of God’s people do I meet or hear about who are in financial difficulties, who claim to be disciples of Jesus but who do not understand or follow His simple prescription for financial security? They pray for relief instead of obeying Jesus’s word, as though God were some benevolent grandfather who dishes out money every time they run out through their unwise spending.

Jesus gave us God’s way in a few simple words:

Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Luke 6:38)

Worry is not being responsible. Worry is a slap in God’s face and evidence of both ignorance of God’s Word and ways, and unbelief in His promises. God is a loving Father who would never permit His children to starve. However, in order for us to benefit from His faithfulness and generosity, He asks us to be generous by taking care of the needs of others. It is both an act of faith and of obedience when we do the right thing by giving, even out of our own need. God always responds to us as a Father who cares for His children.

When we “deposit” our “treasure” in heaven, instead of hoarding it for ourselves, it can never depreciate in value or deteriorate in condition. It is there for us in a time of need because God reciprocates with generosity to those who reflect Him by being generous.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Do you like this post? Then buy your own copy of my book, Learning to be a Disciple, which is also available from www.amazon.com or www.takealot.com in South Africa. You can also order a copy directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com

Watch this space!

My latest book, The Heartbeat of Holiness, will also soon be available.

Jesus And Prayer

Christian Life, , , , ,

JESUS AND PRAYER

Prayer was another subject to which Jesus gave a fair amount of attention. Why was prayer much more important to Him than it often is to us? Prayer was His lifeline to the Father. It was important that His disciples understood that prayer was the way that human sons and daughters communicated with their unseen heavenly Father.

Prayer as the Bible presents it, does not exist outside of this relationship. People may “pray” to their gods but it is nothing more than babbling to something that does not exist. The God of the Bible is the only one who responds to prayer. Oh, some may call it coincidence but when people pray, coincidence happens. When they don’t, it doesn’t!

You who answer prayer, to you all people will come (Psa. 65:2).

Jesus took time to teach His disciples about prayer and He often prayed in their presence. For Him, motive and attitude was as important as the prayers themselves. In His first teaching session with them, according to Matthew, He set the scene by warning them about wrong attitudes and motives.

There were two groups of people whose example Jesus’s disciples were not to follow, the hypocrites and the pagans, for very good reasons. Who were these people?

  1. The hypocrites

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. (Matt. 6: 5)

The first group were the “hypocrites.” The word “hypocrite” originates from classical Greek where the word was used of an actor who wore a mask to impersonate a character in a play. “Hypocrites” came to mean those who pretended to be who they were not. Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites on more than one occasion, revealing the identity of the hypocrites were of whom He spoke here. Theses men exposed the falseness of their own hearts by their contradictory behaviour, doing the “right thing” but ignoring the spirit of Torah.

It was a common practice to pray standing in the synagogue with arms upraised towards God. Jesus did not condemn their posture since the Bible advocates different postures in prayer, including standing before the Lord. He drew attention to their motive – they wanted to be seen so that they could be admired by their onlookers. They chose the most visible and public places for prayer so that they would be noticed and admired for their piety and, of course, for their long prayers. Jesus was adamant that they were not the model to follow. Why?

The reward they wanted was not from God but from people. They wanted accolades so that they could be admired and applauded with no thought of seeking God’s approval and God’s answers. Prayer had become ritualistic repetition, mere religious exercises with no sense of need for God. Jesus assured His disciples that, if this was all the reward they sought, it was the only reward they would get.

Prayer is not about impressing people. It’s not even about impressing God. Prayer is about seeking the face of God out of weakness and need. God responds readily to those who pray for the right reasons.

The ordinary people were surrounded by self-seeking, approval “addicts” whose prayer model was reprehensible – despicable, inexcusable and unacceptable – but His disciples were not to follow their example. Better to seek solitude and commune with God in secret where there are no watching eyes and listening ears than to pray in public, so that prayer can be sincere and real.

  1. The pagans

 

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. (Matt. 6: 7)

The second group were the “pagans”. Who were the pagans? Jesus mentioned pagans on at least four occasions in Matthew’s gospel.

  1. Pagans only relate to those who relate to them (Matt. 5:45-47).
  2. Pagans mutter empty repetitive prayers (Matt. 6: 6-8).
  3. Pagans run after material things (Matt. 6: 31-33).
  4. Pagans refuse to respond to the process of reconciliation (Matt. 18: 15-17).

In Bible times, people who worshipped false gods were regarded as pagans. They were despised, not only for their idolatry but also because of what they did.

For you have spent enough time in the past doing what the pagans choose to do – living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. (1 Peter 4: 3)

Jesus warned His disciples not to allow their prayers to degenerate into “babbling”. Another word for “babble” is to “mutter”. Why did pagans mutter? They muttered because they wanted to be heard. Empty repetition was the hallmark of pagan “prayer”. They had no assurance that their gods ever heard them. The cry of the priests of Baal from morning until noon when Elijah challenged them to a contest on Mount Carmel was, “O Baal, answer us!” 91 Kings 18: 26). Elijah’s short prayer, by contrast, was answered immediately! (1 Kings 18: 36-38).

How easy it is to “babble” when we commune with a God we cannot see and hear! God is spirit. Our communion with Him takes place in the spirit, with or without words. We must keep in mind that God hears our hearts, not our words. We need to practise God-awareness which takes us beyond ourselves and our concerns into the realm where God is sovereign and knows and works far beyond our thoughts and understanding.

God-awareness will save us from putting our circumstances before God, and from being need-and-word orientated rather than God-conscious. Our Father knows our needs before we ask Him. When we concentrate on needs and words rather than on God and who He is, our prayers degenerate into “panic” praying or giving Him information or advice. This is not prayer. This is paganism – speaking to gods who have to be informed or persuaded because they do not exist.

Prayer is essentially the interaction between a loving Father and His submissive and obedient child. It is the communion of heart with heart.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), a companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

For more details, check my website:

http://luellaannettecampbell.com/

Have you read my blogs on www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com ?

 

The Spirit Of Torah

Christian Life, , , , ,

THE SPIRIT OF TORAH

Unlike the other rabbis with s’mikhah (authority) who were permitted to make new interpretations of Torah, but who focused primarily on behaviour and actions, Jesus turned His hearers’ attention to the spirit of Torah, what He called ‘the more important matters of the law.’ (Matt. 23: 23). The Greek word translated “more important” has the connotation of “weight”, i.e., that which is heavy, which carries weight or is profound.

What is this “weight” of which Jesus spoke? To understand its meaning, we must go back to the Torah and look at its use there. Moses used the same word, “weight” (Hebrew kabod), when he asked God to show him His glory – kabod – Ex. 33:18. What was he asking? He was asking God to show him what was heaviest, weightiest or profoundest in Him – in His character as God.

This is how God responded:

And the LORD said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass by in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ (Ex. 33:19)

It seems, then, that the weightiest part of God’s character is His goodness (functionality) expressed in His mercy and compassion. This was confirmed by the prophet Micah who asked the question:

With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? (Micah 6:6-7)

All the things that Micah has mentioned were requirements within the Torah but taken to the extreme. But at the same time, all of these were useless without the “weightier things” of Torah.

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6: 8)

In Matt. 23, Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their attention to detail but the absolute neglect of their heart attitude of mercy. They did the right thing as far as Halakhah was concerned but they missed the point of Yahweh’s Torah completely. Whatever Halakhah demanded was to be fulfilled in the spirit of Torah – justice, mercy and faithfulness. These “religious” Jews were so intent on gaining a reputation for their “piety” that they were completely phoney before God.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practised the latter without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. (Matt. 23:23-24)

What was Jesus saying? Wherever the prescriptions of Halakhah came into conflict with the weightier matters of Torah, i.e. justice, mercy and faithfulness, Halakhah must give way.

Jesus’s many altercations with the religious leaders raged around the issue of mercy versus Halakhah. His call to Matthew to be a disciple and the subsequent banquet Matthew gave for Jesus with the disreputable element of society as his honoured guests, provoked a protest from the Pharisees.

When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and “sinners”?’

On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy that need a doctor but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.’ (Matt. 9:10-13)

A few days later the Pharisees went on the attack again. While Jesus and His disciples walked through a field of grain on the Sabbath, the men picked a few heads of grain and rubbed them in their hands because they were hungry. Always on the warpath, the Pharisees protested.

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, ‘Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.’ He answered, ‘Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread – which is not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests . . . If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice’, you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.’ (Matt. 12:1-4; 7-8)

It is quite obvious that they had not learned the lesson. As far as Jesus was concerned, wherever mercy and Halakhah clashed, mercy took precedence, even when it came to the simple matter of hunger over what was lawful according to Torah. Every requirement of Torah had to be fulfilled in the spirit of Torah for it to be what God intended.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), a companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

For more details, check my website:

http://luellaannettecampbell.com/

Have you read my blogs on www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com ?

Love Redefined

Christian Life, , , ,

LOVE REDEFINED

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matt. 5: 43-45)

There is no command in Scripture or record of hating one’s enemies in the Jewish writings. What did Jesus mean by the words “love” and “hate”? Was He using it in the same sense as His words in Luke 14: 26?

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his mother and father, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple.

Here we have another problem of the Hebrew language. Biblical Hebrew has no way of expressing “more than” and “less than”. Instead, it uses extremes to express degrees of comparison, for example, “love” and “hate” to imply “love more” or “love less”.

Was Jesus, in fact, saying that we should not love our enemies less than we love our neighbour or our friend? This does not have anything to do with the way we feel about our enemies but about the way we treat them.

If you love those who love you, what reward do you get? Are not even tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt. 5: 46-48)

What did Jesus mean by “love”? Does loving those who hate us and have ill-will towards us mean that we deliberately open ourselves to their abuse or, even worse, to the opportunity to do us harm in the name of love? That would be foolish and would accomplish nothing to restore broken relationships.

We have Jesus Himself to show us the way. How did He love His enemies? Strangely enough, He showed His love for them by telling them the truth. Why would His rather ruthless exposure of their hypocrisy be a gesture of love? Doesn’t it seem like retaliation for the way they treated Him? We could view His accusations as retaliation except for one thing. Jesus confronted them the truth so that they could make a choice.

We, so often, tell people what we think is the truth – in love, of course – to express our frustration or to retaliate against their treatment of us. Our accusations are most often a justification and comparison of us against them and their failure to live up to our standards rather than the expression of God’s standard. What made Jesus different from us?

His motive was not to justify or exonerate Himself when they accused Him of disregarding the Law. His motive was to open their eyes to their disregard for what God intended in the His Law – what Jesus called their blatant disregard for the “weightier matters of the law.”

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practised the latter without neglecting the former (Matt. 23:23).

By telling them the truth, they were given the opportunity to come back to God’s way and walk in the truth or to ignore Jesus’ warning and bring destruction down on their own heads.

If anyone hears my word but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day (John 12: 27-28).

Jesus also forgave those who mistreated Him. Love always forgives, no matter how another treats us. Forgiveness opens the possibility of the offender responding to God’s forgiveness. If we give hatred for hatred, we lock ourselves and our enemies into the brokenness that holds the world captive to Satan’s ways. Forgiveness frees us to breathe in the pure air (of spirit) of God’s kingdom.

As sons and daughters of God, our behaviour is to be above that of tax collectors and pagans of whom nothing more is expected than that they treat decently only those who reciprocate decently.

God is generous. He provides for those who never give Him a thought or offer Him any gratitude for His generosity. God acts in accordance with His own nature. His children are required to live up to the spirit of Torah just as He does.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), a companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

For more details, check my website:

http://luellaannettecampbell.com/

Have you read my blogs on www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

Revenge Redefined

Christian Life, , , ,

REVENGE REDEFINED

You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth . . .’ (Matt 5: 38)

Where does this statement appear in the Torah and what is the context? On the three occasions where this phrase “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” appears in the Old Testament – Ex. 21: 24; Lev. 24:20 and Deut. 19:21 – they all relate to civil situations, cases that were judged by a duly constituted civil authority, and never to an individual to exact vengeance upon another individual. However, the Pharisees had taken what was a divine principle for the courts and turned it into a licence for personal revenge.

How did Jesus address this issue in the spirit of Torah?

But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your coat, give him your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go with him one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matt. 5: 39-42)

Wait a minute! Is Jesus advocating that we become doormats and allow unscrupulous people to abuse us? Is this the spirit of Torah? Does Jesus want His disciples to be spineless pawns in the hands of wicked people?

First of all, we must distinguish between what is civil authority’s right to protect the citizens of a country from criminals, and personal offences which we do not have the right to judge. Jesus is dealing purely with personal matters here. In the kingdom of God, the right thing to do is to give up our right to avenge personal offences because God is the perfect judge.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil . . . Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. (Rom. 12: 17a, 19)

Before we are offended by the thought that Jesus permits people to treat us how they like, there is another side to this issue which will bring balance to Jesus’s words. For a third way of responding to injustice, the New Testament scholar, Walter Wink, in his books, Engaging the Powers and The Powers that Be, suggests the following explanation of Jesus’s words:

Jesus specifically stated that, if one is struck on the right cheek, he is to turn the other cheek. There are two ways to strike a person on the right cheek – a backhanded slap with the right hand or a flat-handed slap with the left hand. In the culture of that day, one did not slap another with the left hand because it was used for “unclean” purposes. To receive a left-handed slap was the height of insult. A backhanded blow was the way a superior treated an inferior. Either way, Jesus implied that a superior was beating an inferior.

Jesus came down hard on the Pharisees because they thought they were better than other people. He taught His disciples never to despise other people or think themselves better. His yoke was humility – viewing themselves in their rightful place in God’s world. However, at the same time, He did not allow socially inferior people to be treated with contempt.

A non-violent way to protest such treatment would be to “turn the other cheek”, forcing the assailant either to stop the abuse or to admit that the one he treated as inferior was actually his equal. The only way he could continue beating him was to admit that they were equals.

The following two examples emphasize the same point:

A Roman soldier was permitted to force a civilian to carry his pack for one mile. To prevent abuse, more than one mile was prohibited. Jesus advocated that, rather than to protest or refuse, the soldier be put in a difficult situation by carrying his pack for two. He would be forced to take it from you or face retribution, making him appear like the oppressor.

It was lawful to confiscate a peasant’s tunic for non-payment of debt. His only other garment was his cloak which doubled as a blanket at night. If he gave away his cloak as well, he would be left naked and cold. Jesus said, “Give him your cloak,” which would force his creditor to leave the peasant naked. Nakedness was not a sin but to look at a naked person was regarded as sinful. Hence, the poor person would expect to be treated with dignity and mercy.

http://dharmagates.org/other_cheek.html (from the article, “The True Meaning of Turn the Other Cheek”, by Marcus Borg, retrieved March 2015)

How, then, should we redefine revenge? God’s way is to turn the tables on one’s “enemy” by requiring him to treat one with dignity, and by treating him with kindness instead of perpetuating the wrong. God is the just and final judge. We can safely leave all judgment to Him because He will always see that we get justice. Sometimes the justice we expect is not always the justice we receive because God knows, not only the circumstances but the heart.

Our judgement is one-sided, in our favour and according to our standards. God judges according to His perfect knowledge and His standard, His Word which is an expression of His character. Unfortunately, our judgement will also backfire because Jesus promised that the same measure we use to judge others will be used against us. How would we like to sit under our own judgment and receive the same punishment we want to mete out to our offenders?

Better to forgive and to drop our offenses and allow God to out things right in His time.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), a companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

For more details, check my website:

http://luellaannettecampbell.com/

Have you read my blogs on www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com ?