Living in Thanksgiving

Are You The Fire Without Heat?

Matthew 7:1-5 ESV

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 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? 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? 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.

In these days of political commercials and twenty-four hour cable news, it is often easy to judge others without knowing them. Beloved, we live in a world in which judging others can even come down to judging whole societies and groups of people.

The text from Matthew today is telling us to take a good look at ourselves before we judge others; yes our lives must be clean before we can complain about the mess that others have made of their lives.  Author and Pastor Stephen Kingsley wrote a short story about true appearances based on the scripture of James 1:22; and Matthew 5:16.

Kingsley wrote: “I walked into the restaurant and stomped the snow off my boots before walking up to the counter. As I ordered coffee and a bowl of chili, my eyes were drawn to an HDTV mounted on the back wall. The screen featured a close-up of a fireplace with dancing flames. Maybe it was because the winter weather had me chilled to the bone, but my eye kept wandering back to the screen as I stood waiting for my order. 

What good is a fire that doesn't produce heat? It looks good, but it won't really warm anybody. It's all atmosphere and no substance. If we're to shine as Jesus shined, it isn't enough to speak Christian, we must live Christian. We must do the very same good works that Christ himself performed. He not only taught us to love one another, to forgive, to heal, to mend, and to bear each other's burdens; he loved, forgave, healed, mended and bore the burdens of many.”

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (James 1:22).

Beloved my prayer for you today is that you look at yourself before judging others and that you take a look in the proverbial mirror, and ask yourselves if you are walking the walk as you talk the talk? This day I ask that you be the Word of God, and live the Word of God to all that you encounter.

This is the day that the Lord has made.