DAILY DEVOTIONAL – June 3, 2020
“Got Joy?“
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You loved so selflessly and so completely. When You looked upon us, lost in our sin, You looked not with judgement or contempt, but with perfect mercy and compassion and forgiveness. We confess Lord that we need that forgiveness as we often do not look upon others with the same mercy that You have given to us. Help us Lord to obey the greatest commandment to love You with all our heart, mind soul and strength, and in obedience to that commandment, to love our neighbors as ourselves. Amen.
Scripture: Matthew 7:1-5
“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Devotional – “J.O.Y.”
I have been studying Scripture for some time now, and I must confess, that this passage from Matthew 7 and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount certainly ranks as one of the most difficult passages in Scripture. It’s not difficult because of the complex theology. It’s not difficult because the translation is particularly tricky. And, it’s not difficult because it is some enigmatic saying or parable of Jesus that must be carefully interpreted. I have always found this passage difficult because it is very straight forward and easy to understand…and, I confess, it is a difficult teaching of our Lord to apply to my life. Not judging others, and seeing others with the same generous dose of leniency and non-exacting criticism I afford myself is not a natural tendency I have. And I am sure I am not alone in that either, right?
Why do we find it so hard not to be judgmental? Why do we find it so easy to excuse ourselves from the same criticisms with which we judge others? Well, to sum it up in one word, pride. God’s Word is clear; pride is at the root of all sin. Pride was at the center of the very first sin. The Devil didn’t tempt Adam and Eve with the fruit itself, but rather, with what he suggested eating the fruit would result in. Satan said to Adam and Ever, “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Pride. The same sin that caused Satan to be cast out of heaven is what he used to deceive Adam and Eve, and it’s the same temptation of pride that Satan harasses us with.
Again, God’s Word makes the danger of pride clear in a seemingly endless array of passages.
-When pride comes, then disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom – Proverbs 11:2
-Pride comes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall – Proverbs 16:18
One’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor – Proverbs 29:23
-For is anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself – Galatians 6:3
-Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips – Proverbs 27:2
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him – Prov. 26:12
-Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted – Matthew 23:12
-If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all – Mark 9:35
As I thought about Christ’s words to not judge others, and why it so easy to mitigate our own shortcoming and accentuate those of others, St. Paul’s words in Romans 3:20 kept coming to mind – “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” God’s law, both in our hearts and conscience, but especially in His revealed written Word shows us our sinfulness and just how far we are from being “good enough” in God’s eyes. Our sinful nature and pride recoils against that truth, no only further proving the point, but also causing us to try and make the futile attempt of justifying ourselves in our own eyes by bringing harsher judgement and criticism on others. “I may not be perfect, but at least I am not as bad as he is or she is.” Yes, yes we are. Yes I am. God sees everything for what it is. God sees all of us for who we are in truth. God sees all of us through His perfect righteousness and holiness, and we all fall miserably short of God’s law and expectations, and ultimately friends, God’s judgement is the only one that matters.
And God’s judgement is clear. The verdict is in friends. And what is God’s judgement and verdict upon us? Well, believe it or not, The Almighty God, the final judge and jury, has declared us to be…INNOCENT! Wait, what?! Yes my friends, all of those who repent of their sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, receive full pardon and forgiveness for Christ’s sake. Though we have all earned a guilty verdict and sentence of eternal separation from God, by grace through faith in Christ we are forgiven. For all who repent and trust in Christ. To repent means to confess that we deserve God’s judgement and guilty verdict. It means to admit that we are just as deserving of hell as the worst sinner we can imagine. As I said in a devotional last week; God’s expectation is perfection, and perfection has no measure. Perfect is perfect.
Thanks be to God for Jesus our Lord and Savior who was perfect in every way, and though He knew know sin, took the sins of the world upon Himself to bear our judgement and verdict and sentence on the cross.
Knowing this amazing grace and forgiveness we have in the humility of our Lord Jesus and in His humiliation on the cross, how can we but extend to others the same mercies of God we cling to so tightly and that we afford ourselves? Philippians 2 says it this way, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
On our own, we do not possess the humility and strength to love like Jesus. However, we have not been left to ourselves. Through a daily relationship and walk with Jesus in His word…knowing that Word and letting that Word take root in our hearts…the Holy Spirit will use the words of God’s Law to keep us humble, and the precious promises and Gospel of Jesus Christ to reassure our hearts of our sure salvation in Christ…and through that same Word God has promised His Spirit will give us and strengthen within us the faith to count others and treat others as greater than ourselves. That is true worship.
Only through the power of God’s Spirit, working through the Word of God, can we dare to be and live so radically so as to do what Romans 12:10 calls us to do, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
We all want that full J-O-Y of Christ in our lives. Right? To this day I will never forget a very simple yet impactful lesson a Sunday school teacher taught me in my youth. Maybe you were taught the same acronym as well. It’s worth remembering. My Sunday school teacher said, “J-O-Y stands for Jesus-Others-Yourself. When Jesus is first in our life, and we put others before ourselves, only then can we experience the J-O-Y of Jesus.”
May the J-O-Y of Jesus be yours in the fullest my friends, and remember, that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
