Christian Newsletter Online

Acts 28:1-6,
 ”Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.”

Those particular people made a few mistakes in their thinking. Even though they were noted for showing unusual kindness the islanders mentioned in Acts 28 made some mistakes.

1. The islanders thought Paul was a murderer because bad things happened to him.
2. The islanders expected Paul to die from the snake bite.
3. When they realized Paul didn’t die they then thought he was a God.

How many times have you assumed things that were wrong?  If you are like me you’ve had your share of believing that evil things only happen to evil people.  That is a lie. 

We do know that evil people will receive a just reward for  their wicked ways. Some times judgment comes on wicked people before they meet their maker. We must also be aware of the fact that bad things happen to good people, too.  Sometimes God intervenes with some sort of miracle like he did for Paul in Acts 28. This story was important enough for God to inspire man to have it written so we can still read & learn from it today.

Paul had given his life to the Lord.  He was doing all that he knew was right and good.  In this story we can see that Paul was working hard to gather brushwood for the fire.  A viper bit him hanging on to his hand.  We live on this earth and there are spiders, snakes,  & other things that can bring us harm. 

How many times have you heard of how God stepped in to stay the hand of the enemy?  How many miracles do you know that have happened during your own lifetime?  God is still alive today.  He is still performing miracles.  Some times a person gets cancer & they live longer than expected.  Some times they leave this earth much quicker, too.  We must not become the type of people that assume we know it all & we understand it all.  God’s ways are higher than our ways.  His thoughts are wiser than ours, too.  Let us keep God on the throne and let Him handle things His way.  Let’s keep trusting Him no matter what we hear or see.  Let’s keep from passing judgment too quickly when bad tidings come a person’s way.

I’ve already addressed the issue of people assuming a person must have done something wrong just because something bad happens to them.  I’ve also shared a bit of how I feel about God’s control over life & death.  The islanders in Acts 28 are not the only people that think they know when a person is going to kill over.  The last wrong thoughts the islanders had were when they began to believe that Paul was a God because he didn’t die after the viper bit him.

Just because God’s anointing or blessing is on a man is no reason to lift the man up. We are to have no other Gods before the one true God.  Do not lift up the gifts or the blessed ones too highly.  God says we are to have no other Gods before Him.  No one must be more important to you than the most High God.

A dear Christian friend & I talked about Job.  Job is another person that had his very own friends become like miserable comforters to him.  He did all that he believed is right and good and his friends tried to blame him for his woes.  If you love Jesus and you love your friends do not be too quick to judge them.

You can judge the fruit of their lives.  If they walk around telling lies and cheating/stealing from people and doing things that you know God does not want them to do it is right and good to speak up against evil.  If they claim to know the Lord & they are not following after His ways then the Word of God clearly says to steer clear of them.  If they speak using foul language you know God’s Word says that blessings and curses should not come from the same mouth.  If they do things that you know are clearly wrong you are able to judge the fruit they are showing.  That is allowed.  Just don’t try to take the place of God and judge their hearts by the things that happen to them.

Good people and bad people get rain.  Good people and bad people may have misfortunate things happen to them.  We live in a fallen world.  The circumstances of life are not proper ways to discern whether or not a person is walking with God.

Do you know there will be poor people on this earth as long as we are living in it?  You can’t judge a person by the type of clothes they wear or the car they drive. 

People do make mistakes.  I’ve made plenty of mistakes.  I’m grateful to God for helping me learn that it is wrong for us to pass judgment on others based on circumstances or the amount of money they have in their pocket.  I pray you will join me in asking God to help Christian people wake up to some of the  mistakes they’ve made in the past so they won’t make nearly as many in the future.  With God we can be overcomers.  We can stop judging by circumstances.

I won’t neglect to add something else.  Please read what I wrote above and know that God loves a just scale.  God likes things to be balanced.  No one can balance things better than He can.  Please also recall that there are times God will pass judgment on a person because they have done evil things.  There are times He may let them eat the bitter fruit of having their own way.  When He allows things like that to happen He will make it work for good.  We just have to remember that no one can make all things work together for good the way He can.  Let’s let Him continue being the judge of all.

http://searchwarp.com/swa7061.htm

Here is a link showing another person’s words concerning Judgment – there is some good food for thought shared there – I don’t know who controls the site and I don’t know how long the words shared will be made available.  All of the comments made on that site are not shared by the writer of newsletterchristian.com

Survey ? What Do You Think? More than one question to read  ~

If a person goes to church, reads their Bible, and prays regularly do you think this is what really makes them a Christian?

Do you believe God makes a person accountable for the deeds they do while they are living on this earth or do you think they will only have to answer for their wrongdoing once they leave this earth?

I reviewed portions of I Samuel 25 yesterday.  I made notes and pondered on things that happened between Nabal, Abigail, and David.

The Word of God says that Nabal was wealthy but he was also surly and mean in his business dealings. David was one that helped protect things that belonged to Nabal.  David and his group had not taken anything for themselves while they were being helpful to Nabal.  Abigail was married to Nabal and she was both intelligent and beautiful.

The time came when David and his group were in need of some food so he asked for help from Nabal since he and his group of men had helped Nabal.  Nabal refused to help the ones that had helped him even though he was more than wealthy enough to give support to them and still be able to take care of his own needs.

Abigail saw that her husband’s greedy actions would bring them harm if she did not somehow intervene.  Her husband, Nabal, had insulted & shown contempt to David when he should have been grateful for the help he had been given.  He should have been grateful enough to share out of what he had.

Is it any wonder that Nabal’s very name means “Fool?”  Nabal went about his business and he even took time to take pleasure in all he had without taking thought of those that helped him.  Abigail patiently waited until a day had passed and until Nabal was sober before she told her husband how she intervened to save his life.  David and his group had been angry  at the way Nabal didn’t show appreciation for the good they had done for Nabal.

Abigail eventually did confront her husband. Nabal’s heart failed him and he became like a stone.  He suffered ten more days before he left this earth.

When I looked at the notes I made concerning these three people I thought about how we are reminded that we should help people without expecting anything in return but that does not mean we are to neglect to help those that have helped us.  Here is an Old Testament Bible story that reminds us that it is evil to be so greedy with what God has blessed us with that we forget those that helped us get where we are.

David saw the wisdom God had given Abigail.  David wanted Abigail to become his wife when Nabal died.  Nabal’s life was possibly cut short because of his greediness and due to his selfish way of life.  Judgment does come in many forms.

No earthly person lifted a finger to harm Nabal.  Vengeance belongs to God.

These thoughts are shared by Elizabeth Wolfe

I remember when this writing came to my mind.  I knew of a man that acted so much like Nabal I could hardly believe it.  He is alive.  He hasn’t been struck dead.  We pray that he will be one that will turn from his wicked ways & that he will live.  Most importantly we pray he will get right with God.  God is the One who knows all about a person.   God knows why each person acts the way they do.  May God continue reaching people so they can repent & live.