Then a Shoot (the Messiah) will spring from the stock of Jesse [David’s father], and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him – the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and of the [reverential and obedient] fear of the LORD – and He will delight in the fear of the LORD, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make decisions by what His ears hear; but with righteousness and justice He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the downtrodden of the earth; and He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. And righteousness will be the belt around His loins, and faithfulness the belt around His waist. (Isaiah 11:1-5)

Jesus Himself did not judge by the sight of His eyes. The SPIRIT OF THE LORD and HIS ATTRIBUTES simply rested on Him, and He did ALL THINGS to PROMOTE LIFE, not death. He was ruled by THE FEAR OF THE LORD and came to ALL HE MET with HUMILITY, RIGHTEOUSNESS and FAITHFULNESS. He judged NO ONE wrongly. He did not focus on externals, or scorn or slander anyone.

Then WHY do WE?

John chapter 8 tells of scribes and Pharisees bringing a woman caught in adultery to Jesus. In response, where the Law SPOKE DEATH for PUNISHMENT and PAYMENT, Jesus had come to BRING A NEW WAY – THE WAY – of LIFE AND MERCY AND REDEMPTION. He said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” NONE were exempt. With new UNDERSTANDING, they OPENED THEIR HANDS and DROPPED THE STONES they previously thought they had a RIGHT to pick up….

WE should do the same – OPEN OUR HANDS – and DROP THE STONES – BEFORE ever slinging them – at ANYONE.

GOD ALONE knows all things. We have NO IDEA what’s going on inside a person, or what the LORD is doing in their life. These two facts alone SHOULD PREVENT US from THINKING WRONGLY, and from THROWING STONES of UNWARRANTED BEHAVIOR and UNSOLICITED ADVICE. We must continually remember to DROP ALL STONES, and suggest a person SEEK GOD with their WHOLE HEART and ASK HIM to show them who HE TRULY IS, and what HE WANTS FOR THEM. HE knows their broken places. HE knows their need. We would do well to point them in the direction of THE ONE who loved them enough to DIE.

Paul’s example to us…. “For I determined to KNOW NOTHING among you EXCEPT JESUS CHRIST, and Him crucified…. Now we have received NOT the spirit of the world, but THE SPIRIT WHO IS FROM GOD, SO THAT WE MAY KNOW THE THINGS freely given to us BY GOD, which things we also SPEAK, NOT in words taught by HUMAN wisdom, but in THOSE TAUGHT BY THE SPIRIT, combining SPIRITUAL THOUGHTS with SPIRITUAL WORDS. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is SPIRITUAL appraises ALL THINGS, yet he himself is appraised by NO ONE. For who has known the mind of the LORD, that he will instruct Him? BUT WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST. (1 Corinthians 2:1-16)

God calls us to THINK LIKE CHRIST, SPEAK LIKE CHRIST and ACT LIKE CHRIST in all we do. In spite of this, judgments of character are being made all the time based strictly on APPEARANCES and PERCEIVED LACK. Stones of CONDEMNATION and SLANDER are being thrown back and forth frequently, even between people claiming to KNOW GOD.

But Jesus did things DIFFERENTLY….

Now when the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.” And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you…. A moneylender had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were UNABLE TO REPAY, he GRACIOUSLY FORGAVE THEM both. So which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, FOR SHE LOVED MUCH; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “YOUR SINS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN.” (Luke 7:39-48)

Jesus mentioned NOTHING about the way this woman looked or the clothes she wore. His focus was on her BROKEN AND CONTRITE HEART and on the beautiful WORSHIP she offered AT HIS FEET, and He BLESSED HER for it. In contrast, the religious spirits in the room focused only on WHAT THEY COULD SEE – and in their SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS they CONDEMNED and SCORNED the humble woman.

This is common today, even in the Body of Christ…. and it is shameful.

BUT GOD…..

There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you FREE from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, GOD DID: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and AS AN OFFERING FOR SIN, He CONDEMNED SIN IN THE FLESH, so that the REQUIREMENT of the Law might be FULFILLED IN US, who do not walk according to the flesh but ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but THE MIND SET ON THE SPIRIT is LIFE and PEACE, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, YOU ARE not in the flesh but IN THE SPIRIT, if indeed THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN YOU. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (Romans 8:1-9)

For THE LOVE OF CHRIST controls us, having concluded this, that ONE DIED FOR ALL, therefore ALL DIED; and He died for all, so that THEY WHO LIVE might NO LONGER live for THEMSELVES, but FOR HIM who died and rose again ON THEIR BEHALF. THEREFORE FROM NOW ON WE RECOGNIZE NO ONE ACCORDING TO THE FLESH… Therefore if anyone IS IN CHRIST, he is A NEW CREATURE; the old things passed away; behold NEW THINGS HAVE COME. Now all these things are FROM GOD, who RECONCILED US TO HIMSELF through CHRIST and gave us the ministry of RECONCILIATION, namely, that GOD was IN CHRIST reconciling the world to Himself, NOT COUNTING THEIR TRESPASSES AGAINST THEM, and He has committed TO US the WORD OF RECONCILIATION. Therefore, we are AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST, as though GOD were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, BE RECONCILED TO GOD. He made HIM WHO KNEW NO SIN to BE SIN ON OUR BEHALF, so that WE might BECOME THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM. (2 Corinthians 5:14-21)

I have been CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST; and it is NO LONGER I who live, but CHRIST LIVES IN ME; and THE LIFE WHICH I NOW LIVE in the flesh I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD, who LOVED me and GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR ME. I DO NOT NULLIFY THE GRACE OF GOD, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly. (Galatians 2:20-21)

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God is at work in the lives of EACH and EVERY ONE of His people!

Christ LIVES IN US!

Jesus said the GOOD neighbor was the Samaritan who TOOK HEED to the INJURED MAN lying there bleeding in the road, and SHOWED HIM MERCY. Then Jesus said, “GO AND DO LIKEWISE.” So instead of THROWING STONES, He calls us to simply LET HIM be the GOOD neighbor IN and THROUGH us, to OTHERS! It’s in showing the LOVE and MERCY OF GOD that people become RECEPTIVE to Him! It’s NOT through criticism, scorn or slander! These things drive people AWAY from EVER wanting to know God at all. (In whatever ways we have driven people further from You, LORD, please forgive us!!)

When the LOVE, MERCY, KINDNESS and COMPASSION of Jesus Christ is shown to people, it helps TILL and CULTIVATE the ground for the GOOD THINGS God wants to plant and harvest IN and FOR them! The work IN each person is HIS to do, NOT ours. We simply OBEY and TRUST and LOVE HIM, and LOVE OTHERS. It’s plain and simple. HE DOES IT ALL!

And Jesus said to him, “‘You shall LOVE the LORD your God with ALL your heart, and with ALL your soul, and with ALL your mind.’ This is the great and FOREMOST commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall LOVE your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the WHOLE Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

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It is good to remember where WE came from. Every single one of us had to be RESCUED FROM A PIT and PLACED ON SOLID GROUND by God our Father through Jesus Christ ALONE. We stand on equal ground with EVERY OTHER PERSON on this planet who needs the GRACE OF GOD to be SAVED from this world which is perishing. NO ONE OF US is any better or worse than any other. Judgment with human eyes must stop, ESPECIALLY in the Body of Christ! We must WALK IN THE SPIRIT and NOT IN THE FLESH! We must see WITH HIS SIGHT and think WITH HIS MIND! Our thoughts, words and actions should NEVER bring death and destruction, but should FLOW LIKE RIVERS OF LIVING WATER – THINKING, SPEAKING, BRINGING LIFE everywhere we go!

GOD PROMISES to FINISH what He STARTS, and HE sees THE END from THE BEGINNING of each person’s life. WE only see one small DOT on each person’s timeline, so consequently we OFTEN have NO IDEA who is HIS and who is NOT. Our job is to simply LET THE LORD share HIS HEART, HIS WORDS and HIS ACTIONS through us to each one! The thoughts, words and ways of this world are NOT OURS! Instead, we are to be FILLED WITH and LED BY the HOLY SPIRIT of THE ONE, TRUE, LIVING GOD! HE PROMISES to produce in us HIS LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS and SELF-CONTROL, and people will see HIM and want to know HIM more!

HAVE YOUR WAY IN AND THROUGH US, LORD! BE GLORIFIED IN ALL WE THINK, SAY AND DO!

YOU ALONE ARE WORTHY FATHER GOD!!

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Now FAITH is the substance of things HOPED FOR, the evidence of things NOT SEEN. (Hebrews 11:1)

While we LOOK NOT at the things which are seen, but at the things which are NOT SEEN; for the things which are seen are TEMPORAL, but the things which are NOT SEEN are ETERNAL. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)