Daily Devotional, Year 2 – SEPTEMBER 7 (Chief of Sinners, Part 2: Judge Nothing Before the Time!)
By admin On February 4th, 2021.
.
Daily Devotional, Year 2 – SEPTEMBER 7
.
.
.
.
Chief of Sinners,
.
Part 2:
“Judge Nothing Before the Time!”
To read Part 1, click here…SEPTEMBER 6 (Chief of Sinners, Part 1)
.
.
.
.
.
“yea, I judge not mine own self.
For I know nothing by myself;
yet am I not hereby justified:
but He that judges me is the Lord.
.
“Therefore judge nothing before the time,
until the Lord come,
who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness,
and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts:
and then shall every man have praise of God.”
1st Corinthians 4:4, 5.
.
.
.
.
.
Of all the persons to make such an exhortation as today’s signature Bible passage, the
Apostle Paul would seem like the last guy to be so bold! But here it is… “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” 1st Corinthians 4:5
.
Yes, Paul proclaimed very many judgments in his various Epistles, for example, this…“But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.” 1st Timothy 9:6.
.
Now here’s a very judgmental statement by Paul, would you not agree?
.
.
.
.
.
.
NOT TO JUDGE PEOPLE OR THINGS?
.
So just what could Paul be referring to, when he says, “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” 1st Corinthians 4:5
.
Notice that Paul did not say, “Judge no person.” No, Paul said, “Judge nothing…” And so, one might conclude that the Apostle, Paul is speaking about more than judging only the hearts of people.
.
.
.
.
.
.
TAKE, FOR INSTANCE, TELEVISION…
.
Well, with just one quick look at this world, one can easily conclude that there are 
many things which could warrant our judgment. Yes, there are countless things that we could be judging, aside from people.
.
Take television for instance. If there were ever a list of inventions from Hell, television would be on the “short-list”, wouldn’t you agree?
.
And certainly the Christian must make a personal judgment about television, whether or not to watch it. And certainly there may be times when that Christian may be inclined to watch TV, perhaps for some particular family situation, or maybe for career purposes.
.
TV – highquality – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
.
.
.
.
.
NOT TO JUDGE TV, OR ITS VIEWERS
.
And so, while a Christian may be vehemently against watching television, that Christian must never set himself up as the controlling conscience for everyone else.
.
Oh yes, it may be the Christian’s duty to warn another Christian against the evils of television watching. And if both parents are in agreement, the decision may be made to not even have a television. But any well-seasoned Believer understands that there are a myriad of special circumstances which go far beyond his personal understanding.
.
And so, that Believer stops himself when Satan whispers some judgmental thought in his ear, regarding someone else’s choices.
.
.
.
.
.
BACK-SLIDERS IN HEART… 
.
For instance, every genuine Believer has, no doubt, had “his nose rubbed in his own sins” so to speak, many countless times over his past Christian experience. And 
so he is painfully aware of his own weaknesses when he sees another Christian being plagued by television watching, or food addiction, or a host of other garden-variety sins….
.
He well understands the following proverb…“The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways:” Proverbs 14:14
.
And thus, the Believer is very sympathetic to, not only the daily struggles of fellow Believers, but also to the weakness and struggles of all Mankind.
.
Vincent van Gogh – Old Man in Sorrow (On the Threshold of Eternity) – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
Weeping Woman – Van Gogh – Wikimedia – US Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
MILLIONS OF OTHER EXAMPLES
.
Well this is just one example of how complex this fallen world is.
.
And one could cite a multitude of other examples of how we cannot fully understand how God is working in the hearts of people in the world.
.
And so, a good, “rule of thumb” would be, “be slow to speak”, as it says in James.
.
People on Times Square – cropped image – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
.
.
.
.
.
GENTLE & PATIENT WITH OTHERS
.
But also we must remember Paul’s admonition to Timothy (and to us!)… “but be gentle unto all [men], apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” 2nd Timothy 2:25, 26
.
This above passage reveals that Mankind is hopelessly taken captive and bound by iron fetters in Satan’s prison-house of sin and selfishness. And it does no good to be harsh with others.
.
And though I don’t want to go too far by partaking of their abject sins, I nevertheless must realize that I just cannot judge the motives of the heart, in them, or even in my own self!
.
Internet addiction prisoner – Wikipedia – Creative Commons lic.
.
.
.
.
.
OUR HEARTS UNSEARCHABLE
.
Remember what Paul says in this, our same signature passage from 1st Corinthians…“yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but He that judgeth me is the Lord.” Corinthians 4:3, 4
.
Paul well knew that he was incapable of even knowing his own heart! That is why Paul spent countless hours praying for the Lord to be His judge, and to graciously reveal to him his secret faults.
.
Paul Converted – www.thebiblerevival.com
.
.
.
.
.
THINGS TOO HIGH
.
Listen to David’s self-distrusting statement…LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.” Psalm 131:1, 2
.
Therefore, dear Stranger & Pilgrim, the very Good News is that this is still the Day of Salvation!
.
And so, let’s no longer try to judge what the world is doing. But let’s wait until that final hour before His throne, when the Great Judge of the Universe, “will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.” 1st Corinthians 4:5
.
David the Shepherd Boy – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
.
.
.
.
To read Part 3, click here…
SEPTEMBER 10 (Chief of Sinners, Part 3: But Dung!)
Dog defecating – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to fully understand that God has many reasons for doing what He is doing. And so, help me not to foolishly condemn things that I do not fully understand. But simply help me ( with deep humility and meekness) to warn my fellow sheep about things that are harmful for myself and them…
Prayer for USA – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
.
.
.
.
READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read…JANUARY 16 (How a Joke Killed! Part 4: Mocking Others! Not Good!), or you can also read this article…“April 12th (Look For The Light At The End of the Tunnel! Part 2: Judging Others!)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
.
.
.
.
THE END
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
.
.
.
THE WOMAN ON THE ALTAR CONSTELLATION
.
.
.
.
.
“Let my prayer 
.
be set forth
.
before Thee as incense;
.
and the lifting up
.
of my hands
.
as the evening sacrifice.”
.
Psalm 142:2
.
.
.
.
.
LOCATING THIS CONSTELLATION…
.
This “Golden Altar” Constellation is only seen in winter through spring, in mid-sky. It is to the south of the “Fleeing Woman Constellation” (AKA Ursa Major or The Big Dipper).
.
.
The “Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12” Constellation is in the northeastern sky in this sketch. You would be facing east and looking very high up almost to mid-sky to see this constellation group this way. The altar is farther south but still in the eastern sky. This altar itself is commonly known as “Leo Major“, with the smoke rising being “Leo Minor“.
.
A little farther down this page is the sketch of this same constellation in the latter part of winter, when you look at them facing westward. You will notice that what looked like Gospel seed being cast from her left hand and left foot (see “Woman of Revelation 12-The Fleeing Woman” article for explanation of casting “Gospel Seed”) now appears like smoke or incense rising from the altar. It is not clear why the altar is sideways in back of the Woman. It would make more sense if it were directly under the Woman. However, the Lord must have some spiritual truth to convey concerning this odd positioning of the Altar. The 7 Stars (Big Dipper) is easy to see with its very bright 7 stars. But the Revelation 12 Woman (Ursa Major) must be seen on a dark starry night, away from city lights.
.
THE ZODIAC CONSTELLATION NAMES
It is not the purpose of www.theheavensdeclare.net to give any validity to the Zodiac or any pagan deities. But the common names of many constellations (such as Scorpio or Sagittarius, etc.), must be given, solely for the purpose of locating them on star-charts.
.
.
.
.
.
READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… Woman of Revelation 12, (“The Woman on the Altar”)
.
.
.
.
.
TOMORROW…
SEPTEMBER 8 (Flee To The Mountain! Part 4: Fiddling While Rome Burns!)
PICTURE: Nero sings and plays while Rome Burns – Wikimedia -US Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY
.
ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
.
THIS IS STUDY #615 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
.
Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain
.
Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on the provided image credit link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing names, details, and tags, and all other necessary info on any particular photo.