John 7:24 "Do not judge according to appearance; but judge with righteous judgment."
I was watching the beginning of the Corrie Ten Boon movie The Hiding Place, and heard the following statement. "Just because a mouse lives in a cookie jar, does not make him a cookie". The Lord began to speak to me concerning this.
It is somewhat grievious to think about this, but the grieving of it's thought does not make it any less true. A lot of people that carry a Bible, go to church, even preach; oh, Lord, do I go here. Yes, I know it is from You, but....well, here I go. Those that love the Lord and abide in His ways will accept this, those that do not, well, this is, you might say, about them. A lot of people that proclaim to be a Christian are only religious. This is not to say that they do not love the Lord. I believe they do, but they dwell in the law, not in the freedom of our Lord Jesus. Have you ever known the hurt inflicted on yourself from church going people? Or the criticism and rejection? I know so many people that have left the church and stopped going all together because of things that have been done to them in church. So many reasons this is done; some think it is their place to "keep all the undesirables out". How this hurts our Lord, as it is these He dwelt among the most. If our churches are only for those that can dress proper, act according to the rules and traditions of the church, sing the proper songs; "don't get into complete worship here, don't sing love songs to our Lord", just keep to the hymnal. There is nothing wrong with the hymnals for they have some beautiful songs in them, heart written songs. But sing these songs with a love in them, with a desire to touch the heart of God with them, not as an anthem with all the notes properly sung, "all together now". Allow folks to drift off in their own special words to the Lord. But, I get off track. I just love to worship my Lord, and have been known to sing my own words to the music.
But much of the hurts inflicted on the children of the Lord, on His people, come from inside our own churches. Just because someone dresses nicely, carries the Word of God, says the right things, preaches with such command of the Word and the English language, does not make them a true Christian, the true meaning of the Word. It makes them religious; it makes them the Head of the church, instead of the servant of the Lord, a shepherd of his sheep placed under him for his care. The same with church leaders, teachers, down to the person that opens the door. I had a lady in the church I grew up in come up to me and tell me my parents needed to be ashamed for allowing my sister to streak her hair. Now this was in the 60's when it was not the thing to do when you were a teenager. You see, however, my sis did not do anything to her hair, it was naturally that way. But instead of this person being a loving spirit, it was done in a very critical way. If you were not dressed just so, you were frowned down on. I don't know exactly what happened, but something did and my daddy took us out of the church. If something was said to him about us kids, that would have been enough for we were well behaved, he was a Deacon and he would have made sure of that. But this is to say, that all those that are looked up to, are not always what they should be on the inside. Not full of the true love of our Lord.
So the mouse is not a cookie just because of where he lives. This is not an easy subject for I am not one to judge anyone. I think the reason I am in this place, thank you Father, is because I have seen some precious children of the Lord terribly hurt by folks in church. I do not want to see anyone not go to church for inflicted hurts by those there who are supposed to be God's hand extended. Let's get our act together folks. If we are going to wear the clothing of a sheep, let's make sure we have the heart of our Lord inside. The heart that loves as we are supposed to, without judgment, without malice, without reservation, but with the heart of our Lord who loves us unconditionally. Let's think before we speak, let the Lord show us the heart of a person before we assume they are not a child of God. We all are the same, remember, but for the grace of God, we are that unwashed one is search of a Savior.
Well, my Father, once again I have my head on the virtual chopping block. But if it costs me friends, well, they were not in You and You probably did not pick them for me. Always let my words be from You, my Lord, not from me. Let the words of my mouth and the love from my heart give encouragement and welcome to those You send my way. Let me be open and honest with all, let me only shine with the Light of Your Love and Your mercy and grace. Let me be exactly what I seem, Your child that loves Your children.
01-18-12
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