Ensign: Judgment

All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3


AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS                                          15 July 2016


Judgment.


It is certainly not something we like to have rendered on ourselves. Despite our best efforts, no matter how progressive we claim we are, we are likely to judge someone or something based on a gut reaction we have on someone or something that's either not like us or that we ourselves don't like. Personal preferences come into play, bias is rampant, and we're just not equipped to do it!




But just a minute here.


When Scripture talks about judgment, it's closer to our modern sense of condemnation, so when Jesus is saying "Judge not, that ye be not judged" in Matthew 7:1, He says not to condemn others or we'll be condemned -- our final eternal fate will be decided -- based on our standards. And none of us get into God Our Father's kingdom based on our standards. We're not God.


I'll be the first to admit when I came to one of my daily devotions this week, it unnerved me.


In Matthew 25:31-46 we see where Jesus is (from our standpoint, will be) judging the nations and separating the people in them on His right hand and on His left. He'll admit the righteous on his right who will "inherit the kingdom prepared for [them] from the foundation of the world" while the cursed on his left will enter "everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."


I urge you to read the full passage, I'm paraphrasing below.



Both the righteous and the cursed ask (will ask) Jesus the same set of questions, paralleling WHY Jesus now there as the Son of God is admitting them to or dismissing them from the kingdom of God. When did we ever see You hungry and feed You, or naked and clothe You, and so on? Jesus responds that as much as they did or did not do these things unto others, they did not do them for Him.


It kind of blows that whole "saved by faith and not by works" out of the water, doesn't it?


But while grace -- the unmerited favor of God that makes forgiveness possible -- is free, it still has to be asked for. It has to be asked for even if we're not or think we won't be in a position to do anything as a result. In Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the publican from Luke 18, we see the publican asking God to be merciful to him a sinner. He asks for mercy, admits he's a sinner, he receives it. The second thief on the cross in Luke 23 asks Jesus to remember him when He comes into the kingdom of God, and so Jesus promises to do. Jesus will never bring us for eternity to a place where we don't want to be. But whether that's with or without Jesus as Savior and Lord ... well, that's your choice, your one choice from which all others spring.


It's HIS judgment.


David


P.S. I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with you, and I hope it encourages us too! If it's not or you would just like me to get lost, please let me know. Thank you!


Thank YOU, Lord, that we can come to you in prayer and that we can count on You to provide for all our needs, even when we don't know what they are. And let us come to You in prayer for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence and all over the world.


Thank You as well, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service both here and abroad. Thank You also for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You by Your Son Our Brother, Jesus Christ.


And I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.