Happy Wednesday

DO NOT JUDGE!

By Dominic and Marie-Helene Bradshaw

     We human beings usually are so quick to point the finger at someone, judge him or her according to our standards of good behaviour and when we judge them we in a way condemn them.

     However, before we make a judgment, we should read in the Gospels what Jesus had to say and how He behaved in His private intimate relationship with His Father and His dealings with people. See Luke 6:36-38

     First of all Jesus made it very clear, He said, "do not judge so as not to be judged" (Matt 7:1). People tend to judge by what they see but usually they overlook the fact that nine times out of ten, they don't have the whole facts at their disposal, so they judge according to their own values and according to appearances. That is very dangerous! Let us instead refrain from doing so, and instead be merciful as Jesus is merciful towards sinners.

     We all need a Doctor "Jesus". We all need to be cleansed and purified. As Jesus says if anyone says he has not sinned, he is a liar. If we look at our lives, none of us can even pick up a stone let alone consider throwing it at a sinner even though that person may be a murderer or adulterer.

     As Jesus says quite clearly in this text "If there is one of you who has not sinned let him be the first to throw a stone at her"  (John 7:7). When we read that verse and think about it deeply and meditate on what it implies, we should realize that we have to be careful not to fall into the devil's trap of being the world's judge, but instead we should pray, pray unceasingly for sinners to be covered, to repent of their ways and turn back to God and live for Him and Him only by serving and loving Him completely and helping His people.
     Jesus has then to become Lord and master of our lives in all ways. We need to pray that we are more and more merciful in our dealings with people. Jesus is love and mercy shown in total perfection - in other words model our lives on Jesus.
     If we have failed to do so in the past, let us pray and repent of our sins, sometimes our very many sins and ask God for His love, mercy and forgiveness and ask Him to heal us and cleanse and purify us of all decay and if we can, try to ask forgiveness of those we have hurt as well.
     Let us pray to God to act in our lives and lead us away from evil, as it says in the Lord's Prayer, "...lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil"  (Matt 6:13) . So instead of "stone, kill, destroy that person who has done wrong", urging us to judge, kill and condemn, let us instead pray to God for mercy on that person and to be healed from that attitude towards that person.
     James 5:11 says "The Lord is kind and compassionate as it says in the Bible that He is slow to anger and rich in mercy," and pray unceasingly to God for a change of attitude towards people for He is the Lord and Saviour of your life and only He can change you by His Holy Spirit, for He is the creator and the potter. We are the clay, and He can mould us into the people he wants us to be, holy and spotless without the stain of sin in our lives and that we can truly love Him with all our hearts, souls and spirits and love our neighbour as Jesus loves us. We should treat others as we would like them to treat us, as seen in Luke 6:30.

Help me not to judge prayer:
     Sweet Jesus, Please help me to be always kind and compassionate. Help me never to judge, but help me to be truly merciful and loving as you are love and mercy itself. Help me to love you completely and serve and worship you. Help me to live my life as a prayer of adoration for you serving your people, with love and respect to give you glory and honor, in Jesus name. Amen.

One Day At A Time, Sweet Jesus

I'm only human, I'm just a woman.
Help me believe in what I could be
And all that I am.
Show me the stairway, I have to climb.
Lord for my sake, teach me to take
One day at a time.
Chorus:
One day at a time sweet Jesus
That's all I'm asking from you.
Just give me the strength
To do everyday what I have to do.
Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus
And tomorrow may never be mine.
Lord help me today, show me the way
One day at a time.
Do you remember, when you walked among men?
Well Jesus you know if you're looking below
It's worse now, than then.
Cheating and stealing, violence and crime
So for my sake, teach me to take
One day at a time.
(Chorus) 

Daily Smile:
Bob: "So, you say that you won the conversion with your wife yesterday."
Joe: "Yes, she came crawling on her hands and knees."
Bob: "Really? What did she say?"
Joe: "Come out from under the bed, you coward

In The News:
CNN's Piers Morgan: Amend the Bible to Embrace Homosexuality
CNN host Piers Morgan, who is already facing angry deportation calls from thousands of Americans over his attacks on the Second Amendment, is calling for a gay marriage amendment to the Bible, Townhall.com reports. During a discussion on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight" on Christmas Eve with megachurch pastor Rick Warren, Morgan argued that there needs to be an "amendment to the Bible" for same-sex marriage. "Both the Bible and the Constitution were well-intentioned but they are basically inherently flawed," Morgan told Warren. "Hence the need to amend it." Warren replied: "Uh, no. Not a chance. What I believe is flawed is human opinion, because it constantly changes."

Maryland Business Owner Ends Wedding Services Over Same-Sex Marriage
A well-known Maryland tour company famous for its old-fashioned trolley rides will no longer be offering its wedding services starting in January because its owner opposes same-sex marriage and fears he might face discrimination claims for turning away gay couples, the Christian Post reports. "We're a Christian-owned company, and we just can't support gay marriages," said Matt Grubbs, owner of Discover Annapolis Tours. "We're not trying to make a statement. We're not trying to make a point. We're just trying to be faithful Christians," Grubbs said, adding that his attorney advised him to shut down wedding services to avoid discrimination lawsuits. According to the Baltimore Sun, Grubbs' decision means walking away from $50,000 in revenue in 2013, when new same-sex marriage legalization comes into effect in the state. 

Dead Sea Scroll Digital Library Opens

A new digital library stored on Google servers and containing fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls was launched Dec. 18 by the Israel Antiquities Authority and Google Israel, reports Travelujah. The current library contains 4,000 high resolution scans of infrared photographs that were taken after being discovered in the 1950s. An additional 1,000 new scans were specially constructed by the Israel Antiquities Authority. The actual Dead Sea Scrolls are on display inside the Shrine of the Book exhibit at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The scrolls were discovered in the 1950s in caves situated in the Judean Desert at the site of Qumran. To learn more about the new Dead Sea Scroll library, visit this link: www.deadseascrolls.org.il/.