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Self-Judgment


Thursday, December 18, 2014, Devotional by Dr. David Jeremiah of Turning Point Ministries

 ”For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.” (1 Corinthians 11:31; NKJV)

”Regarding this next item, I’m not at all pleased. I am getting the picture that when you meet together it brings out your worst side instead of your best! First, I get this report on your divisiveness, competing with and criticizing each other. I’m reluctant to believe it, but there it is. The best that can be said for it is that the testing process will bring truth into the open and confirm it.’ 

“And then I find that you bring your divisions to worship — you come together, and instead of eating the Lord’s Supper, you bring in a lot of food from the outside and make pigs of yourselves. Some are left out, and go home hungry. Others have to be carried out, too drunk to walk. I can’t believe it! Don’t you have your own homes to eat and drink in? Why would you stoop to desecrating God’s church? Why would you actually shame God’s poor? I never would have believed you would stoop to this. And I’m not going to stand by and say nothing.’ 

“Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, broken for you. Do this to remember me.”’

“After supper, he did the same thing with the cup: “This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you. Each time you drink this cup, remember me.”’ 

“What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.” 

“Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of “remembrance” you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe.”

“If you give no thought (or worse, don’t care) about the broken body of the Master when you eat and drink, you’re running the risk of serious consequences. That’s why so many of you even now are listless and sick, and others have gone to an early grave. If we get this straight now, we won’t have to be straightened out later on. Better to be confronted by the Master now than to face a fiery confrontation later.”

“So, my friends, when you come together to the Lord’s Table, be reverent and courteous with one another. If you’re so hungry that you can’t wait to be served, go home and get a sandwich. But by no means risk turning this Meal into an eating and drinking binge or a family squabble. It is a spiritual meal — a love feast.’

“The other things you asked about, I’ll respond to in person when I make my next visit.” 

(1 Corinthians 11:17-34; from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

In an age of grace, it is possible to lose sight of the notion of judgment. At least five judgments apply to all Christians:

  1. the judgment by civil authorities for law-breaking (Romans 13:1-7);
  2. the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15);
  3. the judgment by church leaders on unrepentant members (1 Corinthians 5:1-5);
  4. self-judgment—the responsibility of every Christian to judge his or her own sins (1 Corinthians 11:31);
  5. and the judgment of God upon unrepentant Christians in the form of discipline (1 Corinthians 11:30).

The judgment of highest priority is self-judgment, the confession of our sins, and turning from them, so as not to face judgment from other sources (1 John 1:9). It is this judgment that Paul exhorted the Corinthian Christians to make when he discovered they were dishonoring the Lord’s Table, or communion, in the church. Because they failed to judge themselves—repent of their carnality and disorder—God had visited the church with sickness and death (1 Corinthians 11:30).

Self-judgment, the examination of our life, should be a daily discipline based on the promise of God’s gracious forgiveness.

© 2014 Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah Picture6

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The Real Story of Saint Patrick and Why We Remember Him


TURNING POINT WITH DR. DAVID JEREMIAH

David Jeremiah’s Website

Tuesday, March 17

“Patrick’s Troubles“

Always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:10

Recommended Reading Psalm 119:92-93

Today is the day that the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick, is honored. A native of Britain, he was captured in the late fourth century A.D. by Irish pirates at age sixteen and enslaved for six years in Ireland. During that time he committed himself to Christianity. He escaped and returned to his family in Britain where, a few years later, he had a vision of the Irish calling him to return and minister to them.

Rather than resenting his years as a slave to the Irish, Patrick used the time as a shepherd to contemplate what it meant to know Christ, what it meant to know God’s forgiveness. He left Britain as an unconverted teenager but returned as a believer in Christ. Without those six years of suffering, who knows how different Patrick’s life might have been. And who knows how many Irish might never have heard the Gospel through Patrick’s ministry in Ireland in the fifth century? Times of trouble in life, be they brief or extended, require a change in perspective. Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” we must ask, “What is God doing in my life? What does He want me to learn in this situation?”

“Shall light troubles make you forget weighty mercies?” ~ John Flavel

 

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Christmas Stockings


Fireside Chats: Christmas Stockings
Saturday, December 13, 2014 Devotion by Dr. David Jeremiah of Turning Point Ministries
”So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury.”” (Mark 12:43; NKJV)
“Your love must be real. Hate what is evil. Do only what is good. Love each other in a way that makes you feel close like brothers and sisters. And give each other more honor than you give yourself. As you serve the Lord, work hard and don’t be lazy. Be excited about serving him! Be happy because of the hope you have. Be patient when you have troubles. Pray all the time. Share with God’s people who need help. Look for people who need help and welcome them into your homes.’
 
“Wish only good for those who treat you badly. Ask God to bless them, not curse them. When others are happy, you should be happy with them. And when others are sad, you should be sad too. Live together in peace with each other. Don’t be proud, but be willing to be friends with people who are not important to others. Don’t think of yourself as smarter than everyone else.’
 
“If someone does you wrong, don’t try to pay them back by hurting them. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. Do the best you can to live in peace with everyone. My friends, don’t try to punish anyone who does wrong to you. Wait for God to punish them with his anger. In the Scriptures the Lord says,
“I am the one who punishes;
I will pay people back.”Deuteronomy 32:35
20But you should do this:
“If you have enemies who are hungry,
give them something to eat.
If you have enemies who are thirsty,
give them something to drink.
In doing this you will make them feel ashamed” Proverbs 25:21-22
“Don’t let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good.” (Romans 12:9-21: Easy to Read Version, American Bible Society)
A poor man, father of three beautiful daughters, had no money to provide for their marriages or their futures. Hearing this, Saint Nicholas secretly put a bag of gold in the daughters’ stockings, which were hanging by the fireplace to dry overnight. Upon rising, the family was overjoyed. Ever since, children have hung up stockings on Christmas Eve in hopes of a visit from Saint Nicholas.
That’s the closest we can come to the origin of Christmas stockings. Regardless of the origin of the practice, one thing is evident: Christmas stockings can only hold small gifts. Indeed, what would fit in a child’s stocking was the extent of the earliest Christmas gifts from parents to children. And therein is the lesson: It’s the little things that matter most at Christmas. Jesus Himself revealed the true meaning of value when He commended a widow in Jerusalem for putting two pennies into the Temple treasury.
As you plan your Christmas giving this year, keep “value” in mind. Gifts wrapped in Christmas love are the most valuable of all.
© 2014 Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah
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Always Faithful


Today’s Devotional by Dr. David Jeremiah

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

“And [Abraham] believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6; NKJV)    

Recommended Reading Romans 4:20-22;  “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” (NIV) 

Eagle with FlagThe Latin phrase Semper Fi—short for Semper Fidelis—is well known to United States Marines and their families. It means “always faithful” or “always loyal,” and has served as the motto of the Marine Corps since 1883. On the Marine Corps emblem, an eagle holds a ribbon in its mouth inscribed with Semper Fidelis. The words “always faithful” suggest there is never a time when a Marine will not be faithful to his or her duty to country.

The Marine Corps motto could well serve as a motto for the Christian life. The apostle Paul makes the point that “it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). And Christians are nothing if not stewards—of creation, of spiritual gifts, of the Gospel, of time, talent, and treasure, and of the grace of God. There is never a day when we are not expected to be faithful to God, never a day when we can allow fear of the future to replace faith in the God who knows the future. Abraham received amazing promises from God about the future, and Abraham was faithful—”he believed in the Lord.”

If you are a follower of Christ, let Semper Fidelis be your watchword today and every day: Always Faithful.

“When faithfulness is most difficult, it is most necessary.”

Anonymous

© 2014 Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah

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