If you are a Christian, remember that people judge your Lord by you.
Read Job 42:1-8
After a national news magazine posted an online story listing a community as one of the Top 10 dying cities in the nation, local citizens were outraged. They registered their indignation, pointing out evidence to the contrary. One resident went to great lengths to disprove the harsh judgement. He recruited local citizens to show up downtown and appear in a video that showcased the vibrancy of our community. The video received international attention and the news magazine admitted it was wrong. But the organisation that had done the “research” stood by the conclusion, even though it was based on limited criteria.
Their self-defence surprised most people because their careless conclusion seemed indefensible. But then someone thought how common it is to make faulty judgement on minimal information. One of the classic Biblical examples is that of Job’s friends. They wrongly concluded that because a series of tragedies happened to him, Job had sinned.
In the end, God defended Job and offered a startling conclusion. He didn’t rebuke his friends for judging Job but for speaking falsely about Himself (vs 7). This is a humbling reminder that when we make careless judgements about others, we are sinning against God.
Prayer:
¥ Pray that each person in your congregation would be ready to bless and serve others tomorrow as we gather tomorrow. Pray that our spiritual gifts will be used to bless and edify each other and that our words and actions would also be a blessing to each other.
¥ Pray that our offering tomorrow would reflect the love and grace that we have received from the Lord. In particular, pray that we have enough offering to cover our costs and extra to be a blessing to those who are struggling and doing without.
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