FEBRUARY 17 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#04 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

 

FEBRUARY 17  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#04  “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, each day as I start my day with the thought of “Jesus”, there is a Peace that cannot be explained — but LORD I need no explanation and that amplifies my Peace. There is no name like the Name of Jesus and there are no thoughts like thinking about Jesus! 

Each morning as I rise and go to Your Holy Word there is an eternal Hope for my life and then I write the Name “JESUS” and my soul knows that You are the Light of men and that Your Light is THE  LIFE. Jesus forgive me of my daily shortcomings and carry me until I finally become One with You, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.     

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS is the Master Teacher and He has been Teaching these first four Lessons in a specific order therefore He has a specific overall objective because each Lesson builds upon the last Lesson and points us to the next Lesson while keeping us focused in the direction of “Light” that He is leading us into. 

This section on “Judging” has been a struggle for me and my spirit feels violated by the world. Jesus was always Teaching Lessons that are “universal” in that every soul of every generation can apply EVERY LESSON THAT JESUS TEACHES to their daily lives! In other words — “Each Lesson Jesus Taught was relevant when Jesus first spoke His Words and they are just as relevant today as we read His Words for the first time in our lives!!!”  

I know that every thing that I read about in God’s Holy Word points to Jesus and 

when we focus on Jesus we can see God’s Love being poured out on all generations through the Great Sacrifice and Obedience of the Only Begotten Son 

yet when I read this command from Jesus as written in Matthew 7:6 I struggle, not because I struggle with following Jesus but because I struggle with the fear that I am not understanding the True Lesson Jesus is trying to Teach when He says: 

“Do not give what is holy to the dogs…” (Matthew 7:6)!!

 Yesterday the Holy Spirit led me to consider that this new age of unbelievers are in the process of “re-defining God’s Moral Standard” by which God has commanded us that

 “we should judge our own actions and let God Himself judge others”, 

and it is through that process of “re-defining God’s Moral Standard” that the new unbelievers have removed all that is “Holy” from the “judgment process established by God” thereby making the New Age Moral Standard “relative” to the reigning political thought of what is best for the political beast to retain power! 

I gave two instances: (1) Abortion and (2) Same Sex Marriage. 

If we look at “Abortion” from its “re-definition perspective” then we see that the “politics” of abortion is what is driving the “re-definition” of abortion which is now defined, not from God’s Moral Standard but from the political viewpoint which our modern society is told is “the woman’s right to choose”. There is a great conflict with God’s Holy Word with this modern re-definition of “abortion” as a “woman’s right” to take the life of the new “unborn” human growing within the mother’s body designed by God to give “life” to the unborn growing in her womb!  God grants each individual “life” and God does not give the “right” to anyone to take that “God-given life” from the individual God gave life to. Only by taking the “Holy” aspect away from life can they “re-define” abortion! You cannot show a single abortion that has not deprived an individual of that individual’s “God given right to life”!! 

The same is true with “Same Sex Marriage” — Two people of the same sex have been given by those seeking “political power” the “?legal?” right to marriage but there is no “Biblical Justification by God’s Moral Standard” that same sex couples can enter into “Holy Matrimony”. The political “re-definition” of marriage has removed the “Holy” element of marriage, therefore “Holy Matrimony” is impossible when “Holy” has been “politically” removed from marriage!  Again this has been done to “politically re-define” those terms that have always kept our common moral compass pointing to the “Truth of God”. 

Jesus is Teaching us on “judging” in Matthew 7:6 that we must not abandon God’s Laws and we should always “judge” as led by the Holy Spirit of God and not by some “politically motivated re-definition” of men seeking to remove that which is “Holy” from “God’s Moral Standard”! 

Our society today has lost our direction and has strayed from the 

TRUTH OF GOD’S MORAL STANDARD as determined by God 

to be the True Definition of “Right and Wrong”. 

Each society must come to the TRUTH that God is Eternal and His Holiness is UNCHANGING — God Himself and His Holiness must NOT be removed from the laws of our society — 

for without God’s Holy Moral Standards we are left with man’s standard which has demonstrated that we are “fallen” from God’s Holiness and we are left living in an un-Holy Godless Society without a Moral Compass for our Guiding Light — and where there is no “Light” to guide us, we always end up in darkness!   

Tomorrow we will start looking at JQ#05 in Matthew 7:7-12 which will return “Holy” to our judgments.

FEBRUARY 16 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#04 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

 FEBRUARY 16  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#04  “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer   

JESUS, Lord this is my prayer of thanksgiving — of all the things that I could be doing and all the places that I could go, I have chosen to start each and every day by writing the Name above all names — JESUS! 

Lord, over the years as I have tried virtually every thing under the sun, nothing has ever given me peace nor made me a better person than calling on  the Name of Jesus!

 There is Truth and there is Hope, 

and there is the Assurance that what God says He Will Do, He Does — 

Lord, Your Word is Holy and Your Way is the True Path of Righteousness so I pray for Your Guidance and Your Presence to lead me forward keeping my eyes on Your Glory.     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS started this section by giving us a command to “Judge not…” (Matthew 7:1a) and there is a gnawing in my spirit that is linking this command to today’s new age definition of “tolerance”. Like so many other words used to control our thought process (by whoever it is that thinks that the average man cannot think for himself) the new meaning of “tolerance” does not carry the same meaning that I grew up with. These verses from the Holy Bible are being used against Christians in this new age of “tolerance” as we are accused of being “intolerant” if we don’t accept people that have made different life choices than we as Christians have made under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and living a life as commanded by God Himself. 

When we look at “tolerating” people, the new age definition has rewritten the definition to mean that we completely accept them without passing “judgment” on them and we have been led to believe that “total acceptance” is the “right thing” to do and they are using this command from Jesus “not to judge others” as proof that Jesus would have accepted them. The problem I have with that thinking is that if we “tolerate” the ungodly as defined by God Himself then we are putting man’s definition of “tolerance” above the Godly Moral Standard!?!?! 

 By accepting the world’s definitions generated by men then we have effectively made “Tolerance” our “new god” as we substitute God’s Moral Standard of “do not judge” with new age “total acceptance” of every type of behavior in the name of “new age tolerance”! What is being overlooked in this passage IS THAT GOD IS NOT SAYING that the sinner will “not be judged”, God is saying that we are to leave the “judging” to the Fair, All Knowing God who is the Righteous JUDGE of ALL! 

We are to study what God declares as “Moral or immoral” and we are to “tolerate” what God “tolerates”, not by what moral standards man thinks God should “tolerate” — for everything THAT God does NOT “tolerate”, GOD DECLARES is an ABOMINATION! 

The “new age” definition of “tolerance” would leave us to believe that God has changed His mind about what behaviors are “abominations” — while in reality God is saying that we are “to leave judging others to Him and we should accept His judgement as our standard”!!  

So if God writes in His Holy Word that homosexual behavior is an “abomination” then we should take God at His Word instead of “caving in” to some New Age definition of “tolerance”!  We have allowed our society to crawl out onto a very slippery slope by “accepting” without question these new age definitions that are being imposed on our social philosophy. 

Two instances: (1) Abortion and (2) Same-sex marriages.

 When did we as a society drop our Moral Standards based on God’s Holy Word and allow a government appointed representative body of 9 people (all lawyers) to decide what is “morally acceptable” by a simple majority of as little as 5 people and to declare what is “legal” behavior for millions of people? 

We as a society have allowed the establishment of a new godhead in the government that is “appointed” by the sitting administration and we are letting them use whatever “politically correct” standard they chose to establish as “morally acceptable” for our entire society?! 

“The LORD is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth…” 

(Isaiah 40:28) 

and yet the government in their thirst for “power and control” will soon be passing legislation to outlaw the use of God’s Moral Standard and new laws will be written to support this new age moral standard based on this new age definition of “Tolerance”! Talk about a “double standard” —they will outlaw the Bible first (using the separation of Church and State) but then use the Bible (by quoting Jesus saying “judge not” taken completely out of context) to justify their new “Tolerance” law because Jesus said “Judge not…” !?!?! 

This discourse on letting the world establish the Moral Standard is in my opinion the result of Christians “… giving what is holy to the dogs…” and “casting our pearls before swine” because I see the future of Christians (if we stay on this slippery slope) “trampled under [the government’s feet]” as they “turn and tear [Christians] to pieces…” (Matthew 7:6) 

Surely we must “educate” our government that “judge not” is to be applied to “everyone that is not God”, and that includes the entire government for the government is NOT GOD, the government is elected and appointed BY OTHER MEN! If we abandon GOD’S MORAL STANDARD and replace it with an “opinion” from the “supreme court” which is comprised of “appointed” justices that “by man’s laws” cannot use God’s Moral Standard to make a decision, THEN THERE IS NO JUSTICE!!! 

FEBRUARY 15 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#04 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

 

FEBRUARY 15  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   

JQ#04  “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer    

JESUS, I pray today that Your Spirit will move among all families and that all hurt and all separations will be dissolved so that a Great Healing will begin in each and every family. 

Lord, there is no hope for mankind if mankind remains removed from the family unit established by God and those institutions set up for the good of the family by the Creator God and Everlasting Father. Jesus, You said that You and the Father are One and You prayed that we could be One with You and the Father, so Lord that is my prayer today, that Your Spirit will unite all families that we can be 

One with You, and the Father, and the Holy Spirit of God!     

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS is the Great Physician and the only One qualified to do “I Surgery” (see February 14) and successfully remove the “speck” in our brother’s eye and the “plank” from our own! We examined ourselves on the aspect of “judging” as we began looking at JQ#04, Jesus points out to us that we are in danger of becoming worse off ourselves than the one we have tried to “judge” when He asks,

 

JQ#04 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3) 

Jesus immediately followed that Question with an identical Question just in case we didn’t get it the first time: 

“Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:4)  

Two Questions back to back (JQ#4a & JQ#4b) from Jesus and both demand we stop and consider what is happening in our life BEFORE we stop and try to “judge” what is going on in someone else’s life! The language Jesus uses always makes it clear what His meaning is and in this case Jesus immediately asks the Questions and then before waiting for an answer He uses the word “Hypocrite!” He makes it clear that He is calling the one that “judges others” without first looking at himself IS the “Hypocrite!” Jesus makes this evident when He states:

 “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye…” (Matthew 7:5a) 

leaving no doubt that the “Hypocrite!” is the one that fails to see that we should seek to be righteous before God before we try to judge the righteousness of others. 

Jesus gives us a reward for doing things as He commands for He states that if we will first examine ourselves and resolve our own issues 

“…then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5b)

 Jesus is saying if we do not judge others then He will give us discernment to actually help others instead of judging them! Doing things from the Jesus Perspective keeps our attention on Proper Priorities and it is only Proper Perspective when we keep a right-relationship with God as the first order of business! We are to continually examine ourselves and our motives and when we are sure that we have taken care of spiritual business in the order and manner which God commands, then and only then can we be useful in doing God’s work and help others instead of judging others. 

God always holds those that want to serve Him to a higher standard so we must be aware of the responsibility of being called Christians!  

Each JESUS Question points to a Spiritual Standard: 

JQ#01 - “…glorify your Father (Creator) in Heaven…” 

JQ#02 - “…therefore you shall be perfect…(strive to improve)” 

JQ#03 - “…seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…” and now in 

JQ#04 - “do not judge…” but [remove our own unrighteous] “plank” from our lives before we try to [remove the unrighteous] “speck” from theirs.” 

The next verse I still struggle with and I pray for God to direct my heart on Matthew 7:6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs…” ——— surely it somehow ties in with Matthew 7:1-5!!!

FEBRUARY 14 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#04 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

 FEBRUARY 14  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#04  “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Praise Your Holy Name for You Lord have given up more than anyone will ever give up and You did it out of Pure Obedience to the Father’s Will and Master Plan of Salvation for all mankind. Praise be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for the Plan of Salvation.

 Let us not question why God chose Jesus as the Only Way to enter into Holy Fellowship with the Father, but let us instead be joyful and rejoice that God has prepared The Way for  sinners to be saved! Jesus is the Name and the Way to Eternal Life with the Father and the Way to live more abundantly on this earth. Lord, I choose to live with You in heaven and pray to be always focused on the Way to get there.     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

JESUS has so far asked us with His first three Questions: (JQ#01) to consider that we have been made in the image of God and therefore in God’s Plan for mankind He has decided that we, through our daily lives are to represent Him as the “salt” and the “light” of the earth and (JQ#02) our attention is directed towards separating ourselves from the world, not to isolate ourselves but to let our “light” shine through the darkness in the world — our “light” is to be Powered by God’s Greatest Gift to mankind, His “Love” which He desires to bestow on the world. 

In order to make our “light” shine brightly we have to “Love others” like God “Loves” us. 

Then (JQ#03) Jesus asked us to look around at how God has taken care of His world and has provided so abundantly for His Creation and answer honestly, “Is not life more than bread, and the body more than clothing?” which if we do answer honestly we will see that the world is “physical” and in a “fallen” state but through God we can see the “Spiritual” world and the possibilities of “Hope” that exist through following God’s Plan for the “Spiritual” life which He offers freely to all that will “believe” and have “Faith in God and His Plan for Mankind”. 

That brings us to the next Question (JQ#04) Jesus places before us, and Jesus with JQ#04 does in the same manner with this 4th Question what He did in Teaching us about “Worry” in JQ#03 by starting out with an imperative statement of the 

Truth of God: “Judge not, that you be not judged.” 

(Matthew 7:1) 

Jesus is very clear on how He feels about us judging others, and it only takes 2 well placed words for Jesus to say all that needs to be said about “Judging” in this verse as He states “Judge not…” and then He uses 5 more words — “…that you be not judged…” for a total of just 7 words to Teach us all we need to know to pass a spiritual test on “Should we as Christians judge others?” If we stop and listen to what Jesus is Teaching on “judging” then we can also confidently answer “Why” we should refrain from “judging others”. 

Jesus continues this important section on “judging others” which boils down to adjusting our attitudes spiritually to promote a positive attitude from others in the next verse: “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

 (Matthew 7:2) 

What may seem obvious on the “physical” surface to our worldly eyes may need to have the surface scratched “Spiritually” a little for that “digging deeper study” on “judging others” by our worldly viewpoint.  Jesus does make it clear what our initial action should be when He asks

 JQ#04: “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3) 

Every time I read this section I get the impression that the Holy Spirit is telling me that if I observe something in someone else that makes me want to “judge them” then I should immediately run to a mirror and look to see what I am doing in my own life that generated that erroneous feeling? I always call this section “I” surgery because it is my personal belief that Jesus is telling us that 

we should operate on ourself 

to correct our “Spiritual Blindness” 

and to be acceptable in God’s eyes 

before we should operate on someone else 

so they are acceptable to us. 

Jesus is telling us that there may indeed be a “speck” in my brother’s eye but if I try to take God’s place and pass “judgment on” the “speck” in my brother’s eye that in “Reality” from God’s perspective I have effectively blinded myself by inserting a “plank” in my own “I” and just as we cannot save someone else from their sins

 (because only Jesus has that Power to Save) 

it is our responsibility to share the Gospel of Jesus with them — 

apply the principal of letting the “I” Surgeon do “I” Surgery” in this “speck removal operation” — we are not to perform the “I” Surgery operation on our brother, but we should refer them to Jesus and let the Great Physician do what only He can. 

This is a difficult Question/Lesson so we should look closely at what Lesson the Master Surgeon has to Teach us in this section on the subject of “I” surgery.