Kath's Korner

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷ “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

²⁸ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

²⁹ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”  Matthew 13:24-30

The servants wanted to remove the weeds, the unbelievers. To do that, they would have to have the ability to judge their hearts. That ability has not been given them. Only Jesus has that ability.

So, why do we spend so much time and energy criticizing, judging and condemning? Is not our real job loving our neighbors as ourselves? Shouldn’t our time, then, be spent on praying for our neighbors and bringing them to Jesus? And once they’ve come and received His free gift of salvation, encourage them and disciple them?

If we truly did our job, our second purpose for being here, wouldn’t our lives reflect our Master’s and, as a result, our neighbor would see Him in us and want Him?

We are trusted to spread the spirit of love. Tenderness in judgment, the habit of thinking the best of one another, unwillingness to believe evil, grief if we are forced to do so, eagerness to believe good, joy over one recovered from any slip or fall, unselfish gladness in another’s joys, sorrow in another’s sorrow, readiness to do anything to help another entirely irrespective of self- all this and much more is included in that wonderful word love. If love weakens among us, if it ever becomes possible to tolerate the least shadow of an unloving thought, our Fellowship will begin to perish. Unlove is deadly. It is a cancer. It may kill slowly but it always kills in the end. Let us fear it, fear to give room to it as we should fear to nurse a cobra. It is deadlier than any cobra. And just as one minute drop of the almost invisible cobra venom spreads swiftly all over the body of one into whom it has been injected, so one drop of the gall of unlove in my heart or yours, however unseen, has a terrible power of spreading all through our Family, for we are one body – we are parts of one another. If one member suffers loss, all suffer loss. Not one of us liveth to herself.

- Amy Carmichael

Monday mornings……ugh!  Thoughts of the weekend and stuff that my mouth uttered run through my head. Judgments of fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord soon come after. If i am exhausted from a long busy weekend, many times i entertain those thoughts, and they become rooted into my brain to meditate on throughout the day until i am convinced they are true. Next time i see that particular beloved my heart scowls at them and i’m sure my face reflects that scowl.

But, were these thoughts originally mine or is there an enemy that plants them, covering them with past forgiven hurts from those beloveds? Like a seed sown and watered, my imagination flourishes with accusations and judgment. Oh, what a wretched sister i am. Who will save me from this abomination of God’s people?

Praise God, Jesus, His Son died to pay the price for the sin i’ve committed when I’ve appointed myself judge and jury. But how could this slander have been prevented?

First, i must test it with what Paul challenged in Philippians 4:

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Is this thought true? Is this thought noble? Is this thought right? Is this thought pure? Is this thought lovely? Is this thought admirable? Is this thought excellent or praiseworthy?

Yikes! I can’t usually make it past true because most of the time it’s assumption and not fact. So what do i do with it? There’s a saying my maternal grandmother said many times to me in my childhood and teen years – “When in doubt, throw it out!” That’s what we do with the thought that is not true or noble, right, pure, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy.

Do we stop there? No, we’ve been given a command to love the Lord our God with everything and to love our neighbor as our selves. So let’s go back into Philippians the first chapter and look at verses 9 through 11:

⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

My desire is that my love for God and for my neighbor will abound more and more with wisdom and understanding so that the next time an ungodly thought about another comes to mind I can throw it out immediately. Then, follow up with prayer for that precious one that God has made.

I’ve found it quite interesting that as soon as i begin to measure the thought against Philippians 4:8 my heart does a screeching reprimand to my mind. My prayer is that this would become the norm rather than the exception.

Today, beloved, i challenge us all to pray for each other that we would love with knowledge and wisdom so that we can discern whose thoughts these are!

¹ Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. ² Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

³ At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

⁴ Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” ⁷ And the man got up and went home. Matthew 9:1-7

Several years ago, my husband and I took a group of children to a residential rehabilitation center one Sunday every month to worship with them. One young woman that lived there was paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheel chair. In addition to her paralysis she could not speak and had limited use of her upper body. However, she could raise her left arm and sway it back and forth to whatever praise music we were singing. She could also use it to hit people that annoyed her. Sometimes she would make a moaning noise in her throat. If she was agitated the noise became quite loud.

As the months went by, I was determined to get to know her. Being an enthusiastic user of our English language I have always been intrigued with people that cannot use it. And so I began to approach her. The first few times she became quite agitated, and I had to dodge her swinging left arm. I tried a much quieter approach and gradually she became accustomed to my standing beside her during worship. One Sunday during prayer time, I gently put my hand on her shoulder and began praying for her. Expecting to duck for the swing, I was amazed that she relaxed and put both hands in her lap!

After that breakthrough, each Sunday we visited I would quietly stand by her and pray for her during prayer time. One month I had extra time on my hands during a Sunday that we weren’t scheduled for the rehab center. I decided I would go visit my young friend. She was still in bed when I got there. The nurse said my friend had not seemed well that morning, so I asked permission to visit her. The nurse gave it, and i headed toward my young friend’s room. When I got there, she was lying in bed very still and seemed to be deep in thought. I quietly slipped into her room and stood by her bed. She saw me and flashed that look of recognition I had come to learn. I pulled a chair up to her bed, sat down,  put my hand on her shoulder and began to pray for her. She relaxed for a bit, but then began to stir until she grew quite anxious. As I prayed asking God to help me see her heart, I sensed I should ask her if she knew Jesus. Immediately she grew more anxious. So I asked her if she wanted to talk with Him and make Him her Savior. She lay back relaxing totally. I laid my hand back on her shoulder and told her to pray in her heart with me.

What rejoicing the angels had that morning as my young friend became born again in Jesus! After that day I spent as many Sundays as I could with her; one time taking her outside and enjoying God’s creation. I would share whatever prayer requests with her I had for the children in our church, then give her the answers God gave as they came. She really seemed to enjoy praying for them!

I tell you this true story to illustrate the passage in Matthew 9. The first thing that Jesus does when He sees the paralytic man with his friends is forgive the man for his sins. He sees the man’s heart. And then Jesus heals him just to prove He has authority to forgive. What does that tell us about Jesus’ heart toward the disabled people of our world? Jesus showed me my young friend’s heart and because He did, she belongs to Him!

Who, then, is truly disabled?

You need to live with the boat He gave you

and just keep on rowing.

- unknown

13 Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.

14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.  Matthew 19:13-15

People were bringing children to Jesus to have Him touch them.

To have Jesus touch them

To have Jesus touch them

To have Jesus touch them

And His followers, Jesus’ followers,

the very men who would spread the gospel

said, “No”.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”      Psalm 92:12-15

Oh Beloved, what a rich time with our Father this morning! As i was looking up cross references for the word flourish, i came upon this passage from Psalm 92. Curious about palm and cedar trees, i grabbed my trusty Bible dictionary and found both. Palm trees can reach a height of 100 feet. The one that was pictured in the dictionary is also called the date palm and can live 100 to 200 years. Cedar tees of Lebanon reach a height of 100 feet and a trunk circumference of 40 to 50 feet. Studying the pictures, i was struck by the cedar trees’ magnificence and power.

Back to the passage, then, we see the psalmist comparing followers of the Lord, Jesus Christ, with both palms and cedars. We will flourish like a palm tree of 100 years or so and grow like a cedar! We will bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit right through our old age and stay fresh and vibrant! Oh, thank-you Jesus! For You alone give us life. You alone make us flourish!

My soul has been greatly stressed as of recent. Difficult decisions need to be made – at least i thought they were difficult decisions. So i cried out to God this morning earnestly seeking His presence, His wisdom and His answers.

He directed me into studying Psalm 72:2, specifically the word, justice. Looking up the word in a Bible dictionary, i found a short teaching that focuses on maintaining justice (doing what is right) in both the law and personal relationships. As i studied each passage it referred to i came upon Psalm 146.

Beloved, when we earnestly seek God, He is faithful to show Himself! He knows our hearts and the struggles we have being human. He knows our personalities and passions. He also knows when it’s time to reveal the stuff in our hearts that are not of Him.

What a glorious morning – He has once again opened my eyes to an area i thought was godly, but it was all about me again and how i thought i could help Him. And so, the decision i thought was so difficult was actually very easy once He showed me!

I would like to share Psalm 146 with you now. Enjoy His presence in the midst of it!

Psalm 146 (TNIV)

¹ Praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD, my soul.

² I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³ Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save.
⁴ When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.
⁵ Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God.

⁶ He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.
⁷ He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,
⁸ the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.
⁹ The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

¹⁰ The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the LORD.

And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastics 4:4

What is this thing that I do

I write

I study

I search

Is it from You Lord

Is it from me

You alone know my heart

You alone know my endless thoughts

Are they from You Lord

Are they from me

Will they matter in the end

Will they matter now

What is this thing I do

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. Ecclesiastics 12:13,14