I’m human, from the roots of my freshly covered grays to the bottom of my heart – my heart that is “deceitful and wicked and beyond understanding” according to the Bible.
And while you and I may
have grown up and grown older…we are all still to some degree that same foot
stomping two year old as likely to demand our own way, to judge without mercy and to withhold righteous judgment out of fear.
And we are prone to read a
command like don’t judge and use it to justify our resistance to hearing truth from our brothers and sister and also use it to keep from speaking God’s truth
in love when all along if we held the greatest command closer to our heart and let its truth resonate within us and pour out of us we’d see a revolution in
this place…and what is that command? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength…and love – truly love your neighbor as yourself.”
Love is patient and kind
and doesn’t envy. It’s not boastful, prideful, or rude. It doesn’t insist on its own way or get irritable or resentful. It is sad when wrongs are done and
so happy when truth prevails. Love bears all things, believes and hopes and endures through all things and when everything else fails and fades and passes
away love remains.
That is why we can come to
one another and hear truth – be discerning, lift high the cause of Christ – and do it all – even when it’s hard – for the Love of God.
And so, when we come to a verse like, “Judge not, lest you be judged” let’s not use these words for our convenience. It is neither a command to never to judge or to avoid judging – it’s a command to judge without hypocrisy. Plank-free judging.
How then can we have a plank removed? We can no more remove a plank from our eye than we could perform our own Lasik eye surgery. Only someone with perfect vision can remove our plank – and we know that person…
Read the rest of this post about judging and let me know what you think. I hope this and other Dwelling Richly resources are helpful and encouraging for you.
Faith over Fear
Who is the least creative, least remarkable, least inventive person you can think of…I’ll save you some time. Satan. Satan is. Solomon wrote “there is nothing new under the sun” in response to his ponderings about
the repetitive and seeming meaninglessness of life – because aside from God’s
creative power and inspiration, it’s always going to be business as usual and
any of our efforts will eventually cycle into routine and meaningless pursuits
outside of the newness and redemption that God brings.
Letter to a Tired Friend
I just posted something I’ve been carrying in my heart for a while: “Letter to a Tired Friend,” and if you’ve been feeling worn down—emotionally, spiritually, or even physically—I hope you’ll take a moment to read it.
It’s just a gentle letter from someone who gets it.
You don’t have to do all the things.
You don’t have to keep saying yes out of guilt or fear.
And you certainly don’t have to hold it all together in Jesus’ name while falling apart inside.
This letter is an invitation back to rest. Not just physical rest, but that soul-deep, Scripture-rooted, heart-realigning rest that comes when we Shema, when we hear and respond to the God who’s already speaking.
If it encourages you, would you do something simple and kind?
Forward it to someone who might need it too.
That friend who’s always checking in on others. That woman who’s tired but still smiling. The one who rarely pauses to be still, even though she’s telling others to rest.
Let’s help each other return to the One who gives rest to the weary.
How to Fit Bible Study into Your Already Busy Schedule
You know you should, you know you want to – but…how can you fit Bible study into your ridiculous schedule? Here’s some tips…
Avgolemono – Lemon Chicken Soup
Avgolemono is a lemon chicken soup you’ll love as a new family favorite. It takes less than 30 minutes to cook up! Here’s my super simple recipe. Leave a comment and a review below. I’d love to hear how you liked this yummy soup! Share and tag me @JenniferGRichmond #JGRBlog and let’s see your photos too. Happy Cooking!