PERFECT JUDGMENT

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, My decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent Me.”

John 8:15-16

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Put your hand up if you have ever been judged?

If your hand isn’t in the air, then maybe you should think about the question a little bit more because unless you have completely sequestered yourself from society, then you have been judged by someone at one time or another. And further, I could almost guarantee that everyone who has been judged by another has also been guilty of judging someone themselves. It seems to be in our human nature.

So given that almost every person has judged another, it would make sense that more than a few people have judged sinfully, that is in a way that is in violation of God’s word and thus displeasing in His sight. We see it today and as we continue our study of John 8, we see it happened in Jesus’ time as well. Look again at our two scripture verses for today:

“You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, My decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent Me.” John 8:15-16

You’ll recall that Jesus had told the people gathered to listen to Him teach that He was the Light of the world and anyone who chose to follow Him would never walk in darkness but rather have with them the light of life (John 8:12).

In response to Jesus’ claim, the Pharisees immediately attempted to discredit Jesus by saying His words were untrue because He was speaking on His own behalf with no witnesses. As they had done for His entire ministry, the Pharisees were passing judgment on Jesus, mostly based on their own opinions. They hated Jesus so much that they never entered any encounter with Him with an open mind to consider His ways over their own. Jesus was always judged as the adversary.

Well, Jesus first attacked the Pharisees assertion that He was testifying without substantiation by ensuring the Pharisees knew that God was His witness, the One who had sent Him to earth in the first place (John 8:17-18). In other words, the very God the Pharisees professed to serve, the very God who was truth personified, was Jesus’ witness and so Jesus was perfectly validated.

And it was this point that completely invalidated the Pharisees’ judgment, the next point Jesus made to them.

“You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, My decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent Me.” John 8:15-16

The judgment levied by the Pharisees had no foundation point in God. Jesus made it clear that they were using human standards in drawing their conclusions about Him and so it was their assessments that lacked validity and truth.

Conversely, Jesus, who not only stood (and still stands) with the Father but was grounded in Him, would always judge in truth because His judgments were as one with God as He was.

In the end translation, Jesus was perfectly validated and anyone who chose to reject that validation would experience perfect judgment for there is never injustice when God renders the verdict.

Such will be the case when Jesus returns. Those who placed their belief and hope in Him as Savior will be perfectly validated when He comes back, taken away into eternal life with Jesus, while those who rejected Him, those who criticized and condemned Him will find themselves perfectly judged, receiving the verdict of everlasting damnation.

There will be no third option. A person will either be saved or not on the day of perfect judgment when God once again sends His Son Jesus to earth.

What will happen to you?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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PERFECT VALIDATION

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Pharisees challenged Him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on My own behalf, My testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am one who testifies for Myself; My other witness is the Father, who sent Me.”

Then they asked Him, “Where is your father?”

“You do not know Me or My Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”

He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.

John 8:13-14, 17-20

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Perhaps no other act of God received less validation than the one that meant the most to mankind, Him sending His only Son Jesus to save.

The Israelites sure didn’t have any trouble giving credence to how God created everything. They never questioned how God parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could flee the oppression of Pharaoh on dry land on their way to Canaan. They wouldn’t think about not giving God credit for sending manna and quail from the heavens to feed the Israelites on the way to the land He promised them or for the all consuming fire set from heaven when He was called on by Elijah to show the Baal worshipers who the real God was.

God was not only credited but praised for all of these acts and more. And yet, Jesus went through His years, invalidated by those who claimed they believed in God, many of which were the Jewish religious leaders of His day. If you don’t believe that, look at our scripture passage for today as we continue our study of John, Chapter 8:

The Pharisees challenged Him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on My own behalf, My testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am one who testifies for Myself; My other witness is the Father, who sent Me.”

While in the temple courts near where the offerings were set, Jesus had just finished proclaiming Himself as the Light of the world, adding that anyone who would follow Him would never walk in darkness. There wasn’t anyone there to vouch for what He was saying and so the Pharisees decided to challenge Him on what He had said:

“Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.”

Of course, the Pharisees, the acknowledged experts in the law, were using a well known part of the law that covered valid testimony, whether in matters of justice or anything else. The guidance wet like this:

“One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” Deuteronomy 19:15

The Pharisees didn’t see any witnesses present to authenticate what Jesus had said and so they automatically ruled his testimony to be unacceptable and unfounded, a finding that Jesus didn’t agree with, saying:

“Even if I testify on My own behalf, My testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am one who testifies for Myself; My other witness is the Father, who sent Me.”

Here, Jesus once again tries to truthfully explain His origins. For He was sent from heaven to earth by God the Father and He would soon return from where He came when His earthly life was over. He fully knew this but the Pharisees had no idea. Still Jesus pressed forward by making the case for the truthful nature of His testimony. For He knew the law and its requirement for two or more witnesses, and He met that requirement. He was one witness and God was the other, the One who had sent Him, the same God the Pharisees claimed they believed in. It was nothing short of a perfect validation and still the Pharisees were so close minded that they couldn’t grasp the legitimacy of Jesus’ words, even when they were presented clearly. We know this because they asked Jesus:

“Where is your father?”

To which Jesus replied:

“You do not know Me or My Father. If you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”

Jesus was making it as clear as He could for the Pharisees to understand. He and His Father were one. If you knew one, you would know the other. The Pharisees claimed to know God but they didn’t really know Him. If they did, then they wouldn’t reject Jesus as they did.

Well, the Pharisees probably couldn’t receive a greater slap in the face than being accused of not knowing the God they confessed to serve. They would have surely viewed the words as disrespectful but even more so would have assessed Jesus comparing Himself with God as blasphemy.

By His words, Jesus was placing Himself in danger of retaliation but note what happened for the scriptures tell is that “no one seized Him”.

Jesus was free to continue His ministry.

Why?

It was “because His hour had not yet come.”

Yes, there would be a point when Jesus would be falsely accused, seized, and arrested.

Yes, He would suffer great abuse and persecution before being executed by crucifixion.

All this would happen but in its due time and that time had not yet come. It was not yet the will of the Father for Him to die to save all mankind.

Friends, as we see in today’s message, Jesus is perfectly validated by God His Father and ours. He is who He said He is. It was true in New Testament times and it’s still true today.

Do you believe He is the Truth as He said He was? (John 14:6)

Or are you like the Pharisees, unwilling to place your faith and trust in Jesus as Savior, even with all the evidence perfectly confirming He is everything He said He was?

Your choice is a matter of life and death so I pray you will choose wisely.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

LIT UP

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever walked in darkness in your life?

I know I have and have dealt with countless others during my many years in ministry. Here’s a couple of current examples:

- Someone fighting cancer that doesn’t seem to want to go away. Treatment after treatment after treatment has been endured and still it seems there is no improvement. Death seems closer than life at this point, dark times indeed.

- Another person was a domestic violence victim and fled, trying to just be safe and create a better life for themselves and their child. Day after day, they struggle to make it while dealing with all the legalities that come with trying to get support and severed from a bad relationship. Sometimes the person feels like they should just give up. Such is the impact of being in the darkness of life for awhile.

- And then there is someone who has been fighting depression for years. No matter how much they want to feel positive, they can’t seem to see beyond the gloomy cloud that always seems to hover over them and the people around them don’t understand her or the condition that keeps her in darkness.

Three people with different life issues but one common thread: they all find themselves trying to make it through life’s darkest places.

Jesus seemed to know that this would be a part of the human experience, that people would find themselves in life situations that would walk them through dark valleys far from the joy found on the mountain tops. As we see in a single verse from John, Chapter 8, there is hope for anyone in the midst of despair and anguish, gloom and torment. Look at His words again here:

When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12

Jesus, the One who would also proclaim Himself as the Way and Truth and Life (John 14:6), here lets all God’s people know that He is the reliable light source that anyone can turn to, no matter what life brings their way. He (Jesus) is the light of the world and anyone who chooses to follow Him will never walk in darkness but have the light of life.

Friends, Jesus, the One who is the Truth, said this. There is no need to live in the dark because Jesus brings us the light of life and the darkness cannot (and will not) ever overcome it. Ever.

With this, don’t let the enemy try and obscure your sight and block the light of life. You see, Satan would have us so concerned about other things that we get distracted and take our gaze away from the Jesus, the Light of the world. Keep your heart’s affection and full life’s attention on Jesus and you will never be in darkness for He will ensure you remain in the light, a light that will never ever go out, a light that will come to live within you as well.

That’s right, when you follow Jesus, the Light of the world, His Light becomes a part of you and He allows you to shine it on others. He told us so Himself. Look at these words from His Sermon on the Mount:

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

When we receive the Light of Jesus into our lives, we become the light of the world ourselves, lit up vessels who reflect the very Light of Christ onto others. As we see in these verses, we are commanded to let this light shine before others. Jesus doesn’t make it optional and why would we want it to be. As Christians, we should want to everyone about Jesus and as we do, others will see His Light shining from us. They will be drawn out of darkness to the Light and lit up themselves when they too decide to follow Jesus.

In other words, the Light of Jesus spreads from believer to believer, driving out the darkness one person at a time along the way.

Question: Have you been lit up by Jesus in your life?

If not, then you are walking in a darkness that can easily be taken away. All you have to do is choose to follow Jesus right now and receive His light and love that can never be taken away.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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NOT CONDEMNED

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, Sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

John 8:10-11

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Taken into custody for committing adultery by the Pharisees and hauled in front of Jesus and the Jews gathered to hear Him teach, the woman must have believed her time was up. Surely she was about to suffer a terrible death at the hands of a mob who would stone her to death.

But then something amazing happened.

Telling Jesus that Moses would have commanded that the woman be stoned in accordance with the law, they wanted to know what Jesus thought. The scriptures tell us the Jewish religious leaders asked with the intention of trapping Jesus into saying something they could accuse Him of but as we saw in the last devotion, Jesus had a surprise for them. You may remember His reply as it went like this:

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7

After saying this, Jesus sat and continued to write on the ground while one by one, the oldest first and then the younger, dropped their stones and walked away. The woman remained behind unscathed.

What do you think was running through her mind at that moment?

One moment she was a goner, the next a survivor. All because of Jesus, the Jesus who now turned to the woman saying:

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

To which she replied:

“No one, Sir.”

Indeed, no one that was there to condemn her remained. No one could throw their stone because not one of her accusers were without sin. They were as guilty of transgressive behavior as the woman they were judging.

So would Jesus condemn her?

The answer is no and through His words, we catch a glimpse of the beauty and grace contained in having a relationship with Christ.

“Then neither do I condemn you…Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus was perfectly sinless. He was one with His Father and if anyone on earth had the right to judge, it would have been Jesus. But note that He chose not to condemn the woman. Instead, He allowed her to live on, this time in a right and righteous way, leaving behind her life of sin.

He’s been doing so ever since then.

Indeed, Paul would pen these words to the Christians in Rome well after Jesus died, was resurrected, and ascended:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Did you catch that?

I don’t know how many times I have ministered to Christians who are living in the guilt of their past mistakes. They live in such a self condemning way that they barely can function, crippled by their regret and shame. They have forgotten the words of Jesus to the adulteress and the words of Paul later.

There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus.

Indeed, when we are in Christ, we are expected to leave our lives of sin behind and live in the kind of righteous way He did. We can do just that when we live as He did, something Christians are supposed to do. It’s inherent to being a Christian. We are to be Christ-like.

So how can we be free from condemnation for our sins?

Because Jesus has already paid the debts we owe. He did so when He was crucified in our place on Calvary’s cross, our sins nailed to that cross with Him. He was the unblemished Lamb of God who came and took away the sins of the world (John 1:29) and after His resurrection and subsequent ascension, every single person who has placed their belief and trust in Him finds themselves justified or in other words:

Just as if they had never sinned.

Or put another way:

Set free from condemnation by being washed white as snow by the precious blood of Jesus, the blood that will lead to death passing over every Christian when Jesus returns.

Indeed, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Believe it because Jesus, who is the Truth (John 14:6), said it and gladly receive amazing grace in its purest sense, now and forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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