Tabatha

All members of the trinity work together to bring about our salvation . The Father chose us before we chose Him. Jesus Christ the Son died on the cross and shed His blood for us while we were still sinners. The Holy Spirits brings us benefits of salvation , and sets us apart for God's service. We're called into a living hope of eternal life, Our hope is not only for the future, eternal life begin when we trust Christ and join God's family , no matter what pain or trial we face in this life , we know that it is not our final experience. Eventually we will be with Christ forever.

I pray my actions and attitude is Christ like. Sometimes I feel so humble that God chose me to be a part of His own. I desire to be so filled with His Spirit that I can be all He has called me to be. Jesus dying on the cross sometimes brings tear and emotion to me. Knowing I am not in my self worthy, but by His shed blood He has made me worthy. I love Him so much.

UNTO OBEDIENCE AND SPRINKLING OF THE BLOOD OF jESUS cHRIST. By "obedience" is meant either the obedience of elect men of Christ, which lies in obeying the truth of the Gospel, called the obedience of faith; and so is the same with the "belief of truth",which goes along in election with the sanctification of the Spirit, in ( 2 Thessalonians 2: 13) and in submission to Gospel ordinances, and doing all good work in the name of ,Faith , and strength of Christ; and which also are fruits and effects, and so not causes divine perdestination; see ( Ephesians 2: 8-10) and also follow upon the sanctification of the Spirit; or else the obedience of Christ is intended; which lay in His performing the precepts of the law, and bearing the penalty of it, death; and by which the chosen seed are justified, or made righteous in the sight of God. and have a title to eternal life and Glory, and are safe from the wrath to come; and to the enjoyment of this grace, They are chosen of God the Father; and between these two, predestination and justification, there ia a close and inseperable connection; so that they that are interested in the one, or the other;see ( Romans 8:30), the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ;does not denote a small quantity of it, for it was shed and poured out in great abundance; but it is said in allusion to the sprinkling of the blood of the passover Lamb ( Exodus 12: 22,23 ) ) or to the sprinkling of the blood on the book of the covenant, and on the people at Mount Sinai, The application of the blood of Christ to the Heart of God, by the Spirit of God, for cleansing, pardon and justification, is meant, which affords true, solid conscience peace and joy now, all which are secured by grace.

Without a clear focus on Jesus-who He is, what He has accomplished, and what He is continuing to do in our lives-we are going to become overwhelmed, wiped out emotionally and physically by the fearful concern, the subjectivity ,that accompanies suffering. Focusing on Jesus will keep us from anxiety What are the things going on in the world right now that scare you to death? What causes you to lie awake at night, to live with a sense of apprehension? Perhaps your fear is more centered in your own personal experience. in relationships or difficult circumstances that you are going through right now. Our security in the Lord is not tied to any immediate circumstances, to material resources that could protect us or sustain hope. It is not even dependent on our own emotional resources to" hang in there" to tough it out. Prayer , and the word of God is our greatest resources. to get our spiritual priorities straight. JESUS is always #1 to focus on Him The dark clouds disappear and you get back on the right path. I am no saint and I thank God for the Holy Spirit conviction when I get off track, He brings me back by reminding me who my life is supposed to be committed to and where I will live eternally. Heaven is my home not this world. Praise God.

( 1 Samuel 15:22 ) Obedience is greater than sacrifice. John A. Stormer gives the following explanation of obedience: " Obedience is doing what those in authority request or want. It is the opposite of'doing your own thing' true obedience involves doing what an authority wants immediately. respectly, joyfully, and completely. Obedience requires the submission of the will of the individual to those in charge. True obedience ultimately stems from submission to God. ( Matthew 7:24-27 ) The point that Jesus is trying to make here is that works for God are not sufficient evidence that we are His. He says that not everyone who says to me, " Lord, Lord," will enter the Kingdom of Heaven: but he who does the will of my Father who is Heaven, In othr words, it takes more than saying that Jesus is Lord to make us a child of God. It takes obedience to God's will. You see, doing work for God does not mean that we are doing the will of God. We may simply be doing what we want to do, And the evidence that we are truly born of God is that our lives reflect His life. You see, obedience is never an arbitrary thing. Obedience is allowing the Lord to rule in our lives. Obedience is the life of Jesus Christ being lived through us. Obedience is surrender to Him. Obedience flows from a living relationship with God. It comes from knowing Christ intimately. And you're not living based upon your own human ability. You are obeying God. You are living by the power that God supplies. And you are obeying God's will for you. True disciples do not just say "LORD, LORD," they do the will of God. The Christian obeys God because God has shown favor to him, the Lord of the Covenant sacrificed him self to save his people from their sin and to redeem them for righteousness ( Ephesians 2:8-10 ), This is the ultimate motivator to Christian obedience.

Jesus answered and said to Him " If anyone loves me, He will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23 ) " Therefore, since we are receiving a Kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire." ( Hebrews 12:28-29 ) ( James 1: 22-25 ) "22 But Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (23) For if any one is a hearer and not a doer, he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror; (24 ) for he observes himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ( 25 ) But he who looks into a perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer that forgets but a doer that acts, he shall be blessed in his doing. James is writing to people who are facing a variety of trials. Through these trials, their trust in God is being tested, and stretched. By having remembered what the word says they can go through all the trials because of what they have heard. James wants to help his readers to go through these difficult times because of the things he has taught them. he wants them to go through in such a way that their relarionship with God deepens and grows. James has spent a lot of his time so far reminding his readers of the character of God. To really be doers of the word it must be embedded in our hearts and minds, no matter what we are doing or where we are we are ready in season and out. Jesus reminds us of the unchanging, generous, and completely good character of God. He reminds us that God created us because He desired to and that He did so in order that we could be " a kind of first fruit of His creatures. "( 1:18 ) We are to be quick to hear these words of truth. Listening and receiving again and again the truth of God's amazing love and grace for us will help us to be more deliberate and faithful in being doers of the word of God. If I do not act on the truth I hear from my heavenly Father, then I am deceived because the truth I heard does not stay before and in me. I soon forget it and so forget myself. This passage in Matthew I see as a warning even to Spirit-filled believers who have seen the power of God flowing in their ministeries. Jesus is saying: "Even all that is not enough, I WANT YOUR HEART. You need to put away sin ( pride) Independence and let me direct you. If we have been sinning, or we have not been doing what God wants us to do, and we have been doing all these things in our own self, The answer is to repent, and renew our love for God. God is willing to forgive- we must be willing to be changed , turn around and go in a different way, following God's word. Paul said, "But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him " ( 1 Cor.8: 3 ) Jesus will not say those words of condemnation in ( MAtthew 7: 21-23 )

The true test of a true or false prophet has to do with the kind of charactar of their fruit. Appearances can be deceiving. But taking time to inspect the fruit will give a more certain indication of the nature of the tree. Suppose you are not skilled in picking out trees by the appearance of their foliage. If you were to come upon a orchard of trees that had yet borne no fruit that season, there would be no way for you to tell what kind of trees they were. You would simply have to wait until the fruit began to come. As the fruit started to appear. All doubt would be erased as to the kind of tree it was. If you saw apples, you would conclude that it was an apple tree. If you saw oranges, you would conclude that it was an orange tree. If you saw pears, you would conclude that it was a pear tree. You would know by the fruit. What are the marks of a true prophet? What are the marks of a false prophet? One area in which Jesus expects us to bear good fruit is the area of our charcatar. hear we are talking about who we are on the inside. What are your motives? What are your attitudes? What are your ambitions? Jesus said in ( John 15: ), "By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples." Paul in Galations ( 5:22-23 ) tells us that, " the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, parience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." In other words, If we are walking in the power of the Spirit then we will be displaying the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. When we are trying to evaluate one who speaks in the name of the Lord, first look to the inner character of the individual. Look inside. Look at the heart, Take the time to get to know the person well enough to find out what is on the inside. ( Colossians 1:10 ) Paul exhorts us to " walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, To please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and Increasing in the knowledge of God." A true prophets will be involved in doing the work of the Lord in a selfless way. He will not be in it for his own glory. He will not be in it for profit. He will be a servant of God seeking to serve others. Another area of good fruit has to do with sound doctrine. Evaluate what you hear by the Word of God. Look at the charactar of the persons life. Look at the goal of the persons ministry. If what you see lines up with the Word of God, then rejoice. If there is something not right, then beware!!!!!!

The wide gate in this passage is the default gate that every one finds himself on unless he makes a decision to find the narrow gate and go through it instead. As Christians, it is easy for us to make the numbers of this passage our focal point. We say to ourselves, "yes, most people are going on the wide easy path, and only a few of us are going the right way." We warn those on the wrong path to come join us on the right path. That's all fine, But sometimes I think we are to quick to find ourselves on the "right path". The word translated narrow in verse 14 is the Greek word thilbo, meaning "suffering or afflication." When Jesus says that the way that leads to life is narrow, He is saying that the path to life rather than destruction is paved with suffering and afflication along the way. We as Christians might do well to ask ourselves as we read this question, "How am I suffering for Christ?" If we are not, then we might question whether we are on the right road after all. Suffering for Christ means we sacrifice wealth,friends, family, reputation, power, privilage, and even health and life to obey the teachings Jesus has given in the Sermon on the Mount. If we are turning the other check, going the extra mile, praying for our enemies, then we will at times suffer at the hands of the world. I've met people who either say or believe, " well I just pick and choose bits and pieces from different religions, there's a lot of good in every religion." Your spiritual beliefs are not some smorgasbord experience where you say, I'll take some of this, and a little of that, but none from there, or from that. And please don't miss this, Here is the reason Christianity is being attacked and will continue to be maligned. It's not that we claim that Jesus is a way to Heaven... It's that we believe Jesus is THE WAY TO HEAVEN. The exclusivity of the gospel is what infuriates a pluralistic, "tolerant" society which has been so steeped in moral relativism that there is a huge sliding scale between right and wrong. This scale is so wide, it looks an awful lot like a broad road to destruction. Test everything Hold on to the good , Avoid every kind of evil ( 1 Thess. 5:21-22 ) The Wise Person says, " There a difference between truth and falsehood." I do not accept Universalism no way shape or form is what i am saying!!!!!!!

I really Like your answer ( Tabatha )

RICIPROCATE GOOD DEEDS IN FAITH If those who condemn others are condemned (7: 1-5 ), God clearly operates on a principle of reciprocity; We must do good to people in advance of their doing good to us, trusting God to reward us later. The principle in this context is that as we give, it will be given to us by God in the day of judgement. If God is the example of giving ( vv 7 & 11 ) , we should give whatever people need ( 5: 42 ). How we treat others ( 7:12 ) reveals our character ( vv 16-20 ) and hence reveals our destiny. This has been called the " Golden Rule" ; over a millennium earlier, a Christian Roman emperor allegedly engraved the saying on his wall in gold. This rule was a widespread principle of ancient ethics. The positive form of the rule appears as Homer and recurs in Herodotus. The negative form ( "And what you hate, do not do to anyone") appears in Tobit,Philo, and elsewhere; one Jewish work straddles both forms. Although some commentators have tried to disparage the negative form by contrast with the positive, both forms mean the same thing; both biblical law ( Lev. 19: 18 ) and Paul ( Romans 13: 10 ) define the positive commandment of love by means of negative commandments. The principle appears in cultures totally isolated from the ancient Mediterranean; it appears, for example, Confucian teaching from sixth-century B.C. China. That others would discover this same principle should not surprise us, because one of the most natural foundations for ethics is for a person to extrapolate from one's own worth to that of others, hence to value others as oneself. Thus every person is morally responsible to recognize how one ought to treat every other person. When we treat others the way people of higher status treated people of lower status in Jesus' day, we invite God's judgement against us. No one so insensitive as to demean another human being on account of social station warrents God's mercy. One who observes this basic principle will fulfill all the basic principles of the law the way God intended them ( Matthew 5: 21-48 ; 22: 37-39 ). Later Jewish tradition declares that the sage Hillel, who taught before Jesus did, had already seen this rule as a good summary of the law. As the story goes, a Gentile approached both Hillel and his rival sage, promising each that he would convert to Judaism if the sage could teach him the law concisely. Hillel declared, "Whatever you do not want someone to do to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the law. This is the law of love, the principle by which Jesus epitomizes the entire humanward aspect of God's law ( 22:30-40 ) What is distinctive about the principle as it appears in Matthew is its relation to the day of judgement ( MT.7:1-2, 13-14 ) . Most of this teaching was researched on the internet.

Jesus instructed His disciples to pray to God as their Father. He now picks up the theme of God as Father in His second illustration. Earthly Fathers love their children and delight in giving good gifts to them. Human fathrs do not give their children " bad "things when they have asked for something good. Put it a little differently, earthly fathers do not give their children gifts which will harm them when they ask for those things which will help them. Fish and eggs are both helpful. They strenthen the physical body. Snakes and scorpians are both harmful to the physical body. God, as a Heavenly Father, does not give us those things which will be harmful to us , when we ask for those things which are beneficial to us. To often I find myself asking God for snakes and scorpians, rather than fish and eggs. I discover that I am inclined towards things which are detrimental to my spiritual life. In such cases, I may ask for a snake, But God gives me a fish. I may wish for a scorpian, but God gives me eggs. If God does not give me evil gifts when we ask for good, He does give us good gifts even when we seek those which harmful to us. Because God is a good God, a loving Father, He cannot only be expected to answer our petitions, but to do so in a way that is for our highest good. From our Lord's first story we learn that God answers our prayers. From the second, we learn that His answers are good ones. The highest good which God gives to His disciples who petition Him in prayer is summed up in the gift of the Holy Spirit. What better gift could our Lord give to His disciples. And we know from the first chapters of the book of Acts that the Spirit of God the Father's gift to the church, in answers to their prayers. Christ is showing us the heart of God the Father. God is not shelfish, begrudging, or stingy, and we dont't have to beg or grovel as we come with our requests. He is a loving Father who understands, cares, and comforts, if humans can be kind, imagine how kind God, the Creator of kindness can be.

Our God is faithful The Judge in this parable acted on behalf of the widow because she was wearing him down, not because he was a good judge. But God wants to bless us. Jesus does encourage us to be persistent in praying for our needs to be met. I believe this is because our constant prayers are our lifeline to God. If God's answer is wait, we can have confidence that the waiting is for a good reason. By being persistent, we are keeping in touch and growing in stature as one of His blessed children. We will be blessed in God's time, if not in ours; and the blessing will be glorious. ( Luke 18: 1-8 ) The first example which our Lord gave us is a rather humorous one, when you try to visualize it. One man has an unexpected guest arrive at his home , and he is without bread to give him. Even though it is midnight, he goes to the house of a friend to ask to borrow bread. His friend is already in bed, perhaps the same bed as his children. There may be animals in the room, as there often was ( and still is in some parts of the world ). The friend in bed would have quickly given the bread if it was not so late, and if it would not disturb the whole household. But even though man in bed protests, the man in need boldly persisted , which prompted his friend to get up, open the door, and give him what he was seeking, the bread for which he asked. If this man's request was granted, due to his persistence, even though it was most inconvenient, then persistence in seeking what one truly needs must pay off. ( Luke 11: 5-10 ) Jesus tells us to examine our own motives and conduct instead of judging others. The traits that bother us in others are often the habits we dislike in ourselves. Our untamed bad habits and behavior patterns are the very ones that we most want to change in others. Check to see if you deserve the same criticism. Judge yourself first. and then lovingly forgive and help your neighbor. ( Matthew 7: 1-2 )

"Ask" indicates a petition. " Seek" however, indicates a search for something that is either lost or has not yet been found or discovered.The verb Zeteo, " try to find something, seek, look for," with the possible additional sense of "devote serious effort to realize one's desire or objective, strive for, aim ( at ), to obtain, desire, wish ( for )." " Seek, and you will find, " Jesus says. The seeking is a maturing process, A sifting process, If we continue and don't give up becomes a single-minded Quest to Know God. We are not to give up because we will find Him if we seek Him with all our heart. The third command is "Knock, and the door will be opened to you." Basically, knocking is confined to closed doors, not open. You've faced closed doors in your life. ones you sought desperatly to open or reopen. Some of them you have banged on again and again. But then you learn to try other doors to see which one God will open. In the New Testament, an "Open door" seems to mean an " opportunity": ( Verse 7 ) suggests aggressive and intensive praying, not for things, but for enablement, The terms ask, seek and knock suggest continual and persistent activity. Rather than persisting at criticism or fruit led evangelism among the hardened, let us pour our efforts into prayer, for God is always willing to help us search our hearts. He is always ready to give us His best, nowhere are we told that God is going to give us all we ask for. Jesus has said that God does not give His children. useless or dangerous things in response to their prayers. What is stressed is that God will always answer our prayers. He will never overlook a request, nor will He respond in a way that is harmful to His child. If there were ever motivation for prayer, it is in this fact. God is our Father, if we, by faith, have become His Sons and daughters through Jesus Christ, His Son ( John 1:12 ), no request of ours is insignificant to Him, and no request is ignored.

"Ask" indicates a petition. " Seek" however, indicates a search for something that is either lost or has not yet been found or discovered.The verb Zeteo, " try to find something, seek, look for," with the possible additional sense of "devote serious effort to realize one's desire or objective, strive for, aim ( at ), to obtain, desire, wish ( for )." " Seek, and you will find, " Jesus says. The seeking is a maturing process, A sifting process, If we continue and don't give up becomes a single-minded Quest to Know God. We are not to give up because we will find Him if we seek Him with all our heart. The third command is "Knock, and the door will be opened to you." Basically, knocking is confined to closed doors, not open. You've faced closed doors in your life. ones you sought desperatly to open or reopen. Some of them you have banged on again and again. But then you learn to try other doors to see which one God will open. In the New Testament, an "Open door" seems to mean an " opportunity": ( Verse 7 ) suggests aggressive and intensive praying, not for things, but for enablement, The terms ask, seek and knock suggest continual and persistent activity. Rather than persisting at criticism or fruit led evangelism among the hardened, let us pour our efforts into prayer, for God is always willing to help us search our hearts. He is always ready to give us His best, nowhere are we told that God is going to give us all we ask for. Jesus has said that God does not give His children. useless or dangerous things in response to their prayers. What is stressed is that God will always answer our prayers. He will never overlook a request, nor will He respond in a way that is harmful to His child. If there were ever motivation for prayer, it is in this fact. God is our Father, if we, by faith, have become His Sons and daughters through Jesus Christ, His Son ( John 1:12 ), no request of ours is insignificant to Him, and no request is ignored.

Jesus statement, " Do not judge." is against the kind of hypocritical, judgmental attitude that tears others down in order to build oneself up It is not a blanket statement against all critical thinking, but a call to be discerning rather than negative. (Matthew 7: 3-5 ) " Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ( 4 ) How can you say to your brother, " Let me take the speck out of your eye," when all the time there is a plank in your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers eye. Nobody with a beam in his eye can see clearly. That is the problem here. They can't look at those around them clearly. They can't look at themselves clearly. For this reason, we must underline the word " look" in verse ( 3) . Jesus speaks in our passage of people who are so quick and ready to condemn others. Such people look for wrong in the lives of others. They seem to derive a malicious sort of pleasure from putting the finger on the weak spots in the lives of their neighbors. It is almost as if they enjoy spotting evil, wrong, and things they disagree with. They are so absorbed with looking for the evil in the lives of those around them that they become totally blind to their own faults. Jesus reminds us that we can never judge another without first judging ourselves. That way we can never consider ourselves above a brother or sister who is struggling with a sin in their life. And, once we know our own sinful heart, then we are more mild and careful and prudent in our judgment of others. And, when we do admonish, we do so as a co-sinner, as an equally fallen saint. In this way we treat each other as brothers and sisters and as equals in the Lord. None of us, in other words, can consider ourselves as being better than others. I am reminded of what Jesus said when a woman caught in adultry was dragged before Him: "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." That's a good thing to keep in mind. None of us are with out sin. This story reminds us that this business of making judgments requires hard work. We need to make an effort to know all the facts and hear all sides. We need to consult the Bible to see what it teaches. We need to Pray for Spirit-informed discernment. making judgments is hard work done by responsible and compassionate people. The Lord does call us to make judgments. But, we have to make sure we do the right kind--not the wrong kind-- of judging. May the Lord give us the grace to discern what is right and what is wrong.

The Greek word for judging in our text literally means "acting as a judge." Its specific meaning is "to pass a verdict or pronounce sentence; to declare that a person is guilty. " So what Jesus is warning against is the terrible sin of condemning, of pronouncing judgment, in a final sense. Do not Judge. " Do not place yourself on the throne of God." We need to take this to heart. If we are honest with ourselves we must confess that in our lives, there are to often a readiness to condemn. Too often we not only critize someone's opinion but go a step further and criticize and condemn the person too. It is this kind of judging we are not to do. Those with a judgemental attitude fail to show love. In ( 1 Corinthians 13 ) Paul tells us love is patient. But a judgmental spirit is impatient. Love is kind. A judgmental spirit is unkind. Love is not rude. a judgmental spirit is always rude. Love is not easily angered. A judgmental spirit is easily angered. Love always protects, love trusts, always hopes. A judgemental spirit constantly attacks, never trust, and always hopes for the worst. We are not to have this kind of spirit. As Luke says give and it shall be given unto you pushed down running over and poured into your lap. If we give out ( ! Corinthians 13 ) we will get all those positive things back poured into our lap. If we do the opposite we will get the negative. As we look at Matthew 7 we see that Jesus teaches us three reasons why we are to be careful in our judging. (!) " Do not judge, or you too will be judged." (2 )" If we condemn others, than our Lord will condemn us. (3 )" Do not judge others, " says Jesus. " For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with measure you use, it will be measured to you." We are Christians, and are justified by faith , and have an assurance of salvation, and know we are going to heaven when we die, we will be passed through a purifying flame by the Lord if we condemn others. When you condemn others you are exposing yourself to judgement and will have to answer to the Lord for these things. You will stand ashamed before the Lord. ( PSalm 18: 24-27 ) The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight. (25 ) TO the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, ( 26 ) to the pure you show yourself pure. BUT to the crooked you show youself shrewd. (27 ) You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

There are those Jesus calls dogs and swine. We think this sounds rather un-Christ like, except Christ said it. These terms probably refer to those who have professed loving God, but are now apostate ( 2 Peter 2: 20-22 ) - their lifestyle or their doctrine shows that they are not of us. Can you imagine giving Holy food from the temple to an uclean dog scavenger? Of course not! Pearls were extremely precious. To throw them into the pig pen would be to not only lose them in the slime, but also to anger the pig, who might come after you for throwing him inedible food. Pigs were unclean animals according to God's law ( Deuteronomy 14:8 ). Anyone who touched an unclean animal became " ceremonially unclean" and could not go to the temple to worship until the uncleanness was removed . Jesus says that we should not entrust Holy teachings to Unholy or unclean people. It is futile to try to teach Holy concepts to people who don't want to listen and will only tear it apart what we say. We should not stop giving God's Word to unbelievers , but we should be wise and discerning in what we teach to whom , so that we will not be wasting our time. When leaving Gentile cities, pious Jews often shook the dust from their feet to show their seperation from Gentile practices. Jesus tells his disciples to shake the dust off their feet if a city or home didn't welcome them? If the disciples shook the dust of a Jewish town from their feet, it would show their seperation from Jews who rejected their Messiah. This gesture was to show the people that they were making a wrong choice. They preached to the Gentiles because the Jews were jealous and would not accept the gospel.

Most of the time when we criticize or judge others whether behind their back or to their face negatively we do it out of insecurity in our selves. It puts others down to lift ourselves up or to make us look better.Jesus tell us to examine our own motives and conduct instead of judging others.The traits that bother us in others are often the habits God is showing us in our selves. It is like looking in a mirror. Our untamed bad habits and behavior patterns are the very ones that we most want to change in our selves. Do we find it easy to magnify others' faults while excusing our own? Before we judge or criticize others faults we need to Judge ourselves first, and then lovingly forgive and help our neighbor. The Implication is not we should never judge, but when we do judge, remember thst we shall be judged by the same standards we use! Let mercy and love temper our judgements. It is after we have corrected our own faults before judging others. maybe then it would not be necessary to criticize others. The one thing I have seen in people judging or criticixizing others turns into a gossip fest in the name of praying for them. I have seen so many christians hurt emotionlly and put down by well meaning other christians criticizing the faults of others. Be kind, and merciful , I believe we should pray first and discern when to approach a person that has some problems unbecoming a christian and then go by the leading of the Holy Spirit. We must judge from a position of humility, not selfexaltation, We are all sinners, we are all' like that other man'- ( Luke 18;9-14) GOD"S STANDARDS___ The judgement is never our judgement. It is the judgement of the Word of God- (John 12:48)

i am not sure there is humor in this verse. I believe the Lord is saying, " Don't worry about the future. The future is going to have it's own trouble. Just wait till you get to it." Don't worry about tomorrow. Now, providing for tomorrow is good, but worrying about tomorrow is sin because God is God of tomorrow just like He is the God of Today. ( Lamentations 3:23a ) says that His mercies "are new every morning..." He feeds you like He fed the children of Isreal--- just enough manna for the day. God only gives strength for one day at a time. He doesn't give me the grace for tomorrow until tomorrow. Many people worry about dying. But when somebody in their family dies, God gives a wonderful grace and peace sustaining. They can't understand it! I have had people say to me, " You know it's so wonderful how God has sustained me and supported me I have a normal sorrow but I feel strength and confidence and a gladness in my heart that this one I love is with the Lord." And that is right, because God gives us grace for the hour that we need that grace But if you want to worry about the future now, You are going to double your pain without any grace to deal with it. I have learned to take a day at a time. I don't know the reality of what life will bring. I pray and just roll what I can on God. As I feel God lift the burden and carry it away I can enjoy today and let tomorrow bring what it may. So I try not to worry about the future that I cannot live in till it comes.

To "seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness", means to turn to God first for help, to fill your thoughts with His desires, to take His character for your pattern. Give Him first place in every area of your life. Of all the priorities of life, this is number one. The Kingdom is simply ( basileia ) in the Greek, meaning " Christ's Rule, the rule of God, the reign of God, the Dominion of God, The Kingdom of God" We should seek that which is eternal. According to (Matthew 6:10 )_ we are to pray " Thy Kingdom Come" We are to be lost in the Kingdom of God. He will give us all the other things. Seeking the Kingdom also means that I seek Christ's rule to be manifest in my life. I seek the Kingdom of God to be revealed in my life as righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit ( Rom 14: 17 ). So when the world sees these things in my life instead of worry, it knows the Kingdom of God is in my life and heart. I can say, " I want people to be saved and I want to tell them all about Jesus." But if my life is marked by worry, anxiety, and concern, they will not believe I have anything they want. They are certainly going to question the power of God. The Kingdom of God is manifest in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.--that overcomes worry. We seek the Kingdom when we long for Jesus to return in His millennial glory. I can't get too excited about piling up stuff in this world because I am going to get it all for nothing when the kingdom comes. The Bible says that I will be a joint-heir with Christ ( Rom. 8:17 ), we will reign with Him forever and ever ( Rev.22:5 ), we will have a new heaven and a new earth throughout eternity and we will have all the majesty and riches of eternal heaven Why should I waste all my time stockpiling stuff when the whole earth is going to be destroyed and the Lord is going to make a new one?

"( verse 31- 32a ) " Therefore, be not anxious saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?or, With what shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek." The word "Gentile" can also be translated "Pagan" or "Heathen", and means "people without God and Christ." These people worry about this world. That is all they have going for them. They live to grasp and possess because they don't have God to supply for them, to promise them anything-- they don't have any divine resource to come to their aid They have to do it all on their own. They are ignorant of God's supply, so they anxiously and worringly set their minds on all the necessities. But for Christians, this is senseless and without excuse. It is a serious sin. Jesus is saying that it is uncharacteristic of our faith to act like ungodly people. For us, worry is needless because of God's bounty, senseless because of God's promise, useless because of our impotence to do anything, and faithless because we put ourselves in the same category as an unbeliever. "A Christian should differ in seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness" means to turn to God first for help, to fill your thoughts with His desires, to take His character for your pattern, and to serve and obey Him in everything . The Christian faith says that God will supply all my needs... and God can be trusted. To worry about my food or my physical welfare or my clothing is to have a worldly mind. ( Philippians 4:6 ) " Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplications with thanksgiving, let your requests be known unto God." But our God knows. If I believe that my God loves and cares, now I see that He knows, If God knows my life and need, then all I need to know is that He cares. If He knows and cares, then I am home free. My Heavenly Father knows that I have a need. He not only has the knowledge, but He has the resources and the love to provide. So, what Should I worry about? Nothing! Worry is unnecessary because of my Father, uncharacteristic because of my FAITH. ( Heb. 13:8) " Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever means He will be doing the same thing tomorrow that He was doing yesterday. If I have any question about the future I look at the past. Did He sustain me then? He will sustain me in the future. There is no past, present or future with Him . Worry is forbidden. In other words, get your thoughts on the devine level and God will take care of the physical. God doesn't want us involved in the physical, He wants us to be free from that.

The instruction from Sermon on the Mount preached by our Lord Jesus Christ is practical and touches us right where we live. The heart of the matter to which Jesus speaks in ( Matthew 6 : 25-34 ) is the issue of material-- worrying about our finances, worrying about our life, worrying about our earthly existence, and worrying about the necessities of life. Three times the Lord gives the injunction in this passage that we are not to worry. Such anxiety, fear, and worry have absolutely no place in the life of a Christian. Yet the heart of the matter, even in our country, is that most people live for nothing more and nothing less than all the possessions they can possibly grasp. But the whole thing may be crumbling before their very eyes because America cannot sustain this constant economic over- indulgence, over consumption, and over production that it is currently experiencing. There is an often repeated phrase in the passage that becomes the theme, " Be not anxious", It appears four times in this section. Anxious is a word that simply means "To worry" " Don't worry", is the heart and soul of the passage. The Lord is calling for us to cease worrying. " Worry is the equivalent of saying, " God, I know you mean well by what You say, but I'm not sure You can pull it off". Worry is the sin of distrusting the promise and the providence of God-- yet we do it all the time. William Ward put it this way, " Worry is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster and belief in defeat.... worry is wasting today's time to clutter up tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles. Worry is simply the expression of human sinfulness. There is no reason for us to worry about things in life because that is the Lord's area. God does provide the basics of life--- that's the promise. The basis of the promise is that God is our Father. God is a loving father who supplies for His children. Read ( Psalm 34: 10 ) " but they who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing." ( Philippians 4: 19 ) " But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus." (1 Peter 5: 7 ) Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." Yes, worry and trust is the exact opposite Worry Distrust God If you worry, you are not trusting your Heavenly Father. If you don't trust your Heavenly Father, the number one cause might be that you don't know Him well enough. If you knew Him, you would trust Him. Studying the Word of God will help you to know who He is and how He has supplied the needs of His people in the past. Even those of us who know God and study the Word worry now and then. This happens when we are not fresh in the word every day so that God is in your mind. Then Satan moves into that vacuum and makes you worry about something. That is sin. God is worthy of a greater faith than we sometimes give Him

The Lord gives the illustration of food and fashion in His Inclusive Provision " Behold the fowls of the air.." I see the Lord standing on the hillside up in Galilee looking down over that beautiful north end of the sea, the breeze rippling across the water, the sun bright in the sky. The people were all gathered at His feet. As He was speaking to them, some birds might have flown accross the sky, the north part of the area of Galilee is the crossroads of bird migration. Jesus probably saw them fly by. Every bird that lives in this world lives because God gave it life. If God gives life to a bird, He doesn't say, " I have given you life, now you figure out how to keep it." Point given is He will take care of them! Birds don't get together and say, "We have to come up with a strategy to keep ourselves alive." Birds have no self-consciousness, no cognitive process, no ability to reason. But God has planted within birds something called instinct so that they have a devine capacity to find what is necessary to live. God doesn't just create life, He also sustains life. ( Psalm 147: 9b) --"to the ( young ravens which cry out," ) He gives food. God feeds the birds through the process of their own instinct which the bible call"crying out to God." Now, if God is going to take care of irrational birds who cry out to Him through instinct, is not God going to take care of His own children? ( Job 38 : 41a ) " Consider the lilies of the field.." What are the field lilies? They were most likely no particular flower at all. " Field-lilies" is just a general term for all of the wild flowers that graced the rolling hills of Galilee. Where I lived in the Mountains of Virginia in the Spring Time the hills were clothed with wild flowers and the scent was overpowering but beautiful. The same as the hills of Galilee. The anemones, the gladiolus, the iris, the narcissi, and the different kind of lilies. They even had what I think might be the prettist of all the scarlet- colored poppies . The hillsides of Galilee at the right time of the year would be dotted with the brightness of all these lovely flowers. ( Just close your eyes and imagine the sight of this beauty ) " They toil not, neither do they spin." They don't make fancy thread and hang it all over them and say, " I've been scarlet for two days, I think I would like to be blue tomorrow." Look at the litttle flowers in the field. They don't bother to spin and toil- there is a free and easy beauty about them. You can take the most glorious material or the most beautiful thing ever made for the greatest Monarch, like Solomon, put it under a microscope and it will look like sackcloth. But if you take the petal of a flower and put it under a microscope you will see the difference. I have never seen anything come close to the beauty of the petal of a flower. There is a texture and form and design and substance and color that man with all of his ingenuity cannot even touch. " And yet I say unto you that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these." Wherefore, If God so clothe the grass of the field ( all the flowers and the grass), which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you Point given, God will provide for all He has created.! The point is so very valid. Amen