In every day real-life, on any multitude number of topics and ideas, the moment we judge true vs. false or right vs. wrong or good vs. bad, we are choosing one “side” that is divided from others based on our own opinions, perspectives, and beliefs. We can also recognize when we (and others) have a spirit of judgment within us/them, when people are generally unwilling to listen nor seek greater truth through understanding. Those in judgment are unable to find a place of neutrality (peace) in coexistence with, opposing opinions, perspectives, and beliefs, other than their own, and are unwilling to establish common ground.
Per dictionaries, “judging” is to form an opinion or conclusion about; to make a decision. These judgments based on our personal and/or collective perspectives/beliefs inevitably lead to conflicts between us, which can escalate from disagreements in words to actions – between two people or millions of people – to violence and wars. This “judging” is exactly what Jesus warned His disciples not to do, as written in Matthew 7:1-2.
As an example, whether or not someone believes the entirely possible truth that Jesus’ prophesies about His own return in the sign of the Son of Man came true on December 21, 2020 in the Christmas Star on solstice, is entirely dependent on one’s personal truths/belief system – whether believers in Christ or non-believers – and the below expands further on the Self-Quiz published earlier this year, “Instant Judgment Test: Know Where You Stand Right Now (for Everyone),” and provides a pathway for breaking the chains of judgment for those who are ready for freedom in Christ Jesus in their lives.
If anyone rejects or denies the possibility of Jesus’ return, they are in judgment because they are believing their “truth” is the “truest truth” and there is no other “truth” than their own (whether personal or collectively with others who agree with their “truth”), and whenever they are unwilling to understand a Greater Truth than their own in any matters in life, because they are attached to, and clinging to, their own beliefs/”truth” (ie, ego), and for those of Christian faith another way of saying it is that they are raising their idolic beliefs above God in their lives, whether in defiance to God’s sovereignty and will or in ignorance of their sin (ie, they know not what they do).
Particularly for believers in Christ, those who are unwilling to accept the tiniest possibility of truth in Jesus’ return in the sign of the Son of Man, those who judge saying, “That is impossible!” The truth is that their belief of it being “impossible” or “false” is in direct contradiction to the Truth written in the Bible that anything is possible with God (Job 42:2; Jeremiah 32:17, 32:27; Matthew 19:26; Mark 9:23, 10:27; Luke 1:37, 18:27).
Whether they choose to humble their way of thinking or not, the Truth in the Bible is that it’s entirely possible that it is true because anything and everything is possible with God. This is exactly what “being in judgment” is, and is exactly what Jesus warned His disciples not to do or in the same measure the judgment would return to them (Matthew 7:1-2).
In an “in judgment” mindset, the Almighty God the Father of Jesus Christ, has no room or power to move in their lives, and therefore the defiant and/or ignorant believers are reaping solely what they are sowing, and are missing out either partially or completely on God’s graces, gifts, blessings, and miracles. This is also discussed by Apostle Paul in Romans 2. But even worse, those who are in judgment are not doing God’s will, and therefore will not enter heaven per Jesus in Matthew 7:21 (no matter what they believe).
For those who may find themselves in this state of judgment, Job chapters 38-42 aptly break the chains for those who are willing to receive the teaching (please note, verses from NIV below, please feel free to reference your preferred version and translation of the Holy Bible as reference and confirmation):
Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:
2 “Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?8 “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
9 when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
11 when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?12 “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
13 that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
15 The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.16 “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
18 Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.19 “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
28 Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?31 “Can you bind the chains[b] of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons[c]
or lead out the Bear[d] with its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God’s[e] dominion over the earth?34 “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who gives the ibis wisdom[f]
or gives the rooster understanding?[g]
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?“Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
2 Do you count the months till they bear?
Do you know the time they give birth?
3 They crouch down and bring forth their young;
their labor pains are ended.
4 Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds;
they leave and do not return.5 “Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who untied its ropes?
6 I gave it the wasteland as its home,
the salt flats as its habitat.
7 It laughs at the commotion in the town;
it does not hear a driver’s shout.
8 It ranges the hills for its pasture
and searches for any green thing.9 “Will the wild ox consent to serve you?
Will it stay by your manger at night?
10 Can you hold it to the furrow with a harness?
Will it till the valleys behind you?
11 Will you rely on it for its great strength?
Will you leave your heavy work to it?
12 Can you trust it to haul in your grain
and bring it to your threshing floor?13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
though they cannot compare
with the wings and feathers of the stork.
14 She lays her eggs on the ground
and lets them warm in the sand,
15 unmindful that a foot may crush them,
that some wild animal may trample them.
16 She treats her young harshly, as if they were not hers;
she cares not that her labor was in vain,
17 for God did not endow her with wisdom
or give her a share of good sense.
18 Yet when she spreads her feathers to run,
she laughs at horse and rider.19 “Do you give the horse its strength
or clothe its neck with a flowing mane?
20 Do you make it leap like a locust,
striking terror with its proud snorting?
21 It paws fiercely, rejoicing in its strength,
and charges into the fray.
22 It laughs at fear, afraid of nothing;
it does not shy away from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against its side,
along with the flashing spear and lance.
24 In frenzied excitement it eats up the ground;
it cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds.
25 At the blast of the trumpet it snorts, ‘Aha!’
It catches the scent of battle from afar,
the shout of commanders and the battle cry.26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
and spread its wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
and build its nest on high?
28 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
a rocky crag is its stronghold.
29 From there it looks for food;
its eyes detect it from afar.
30 Its young ones feast on blood,
and where the slain are, there it is.”The Lord said to Job:
2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him who accuses God answer him!”3 Then Job answered the Lord:
4 “I am unworthy—how can I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
5 I spoke once, but I have no answer—
twice, but I will say no more.”6 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:
7 “Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.8 “Would you discredit my justice?
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
9 Do you have an arm like God’s,
and can your voice thunder like his?
10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
11 Unleash the fury of your wrath,
look at all who are proud and bring them low,
12 look at all who are proud and humble them,
crush the wicked where they stand.
13 Bury them all in the dust together;
shroud their faces in the grave.
14 Then I myself will admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.15 “Look at Behemoth,
which I made along with you
and which feeds on grass like an ox.
16 What strength it has in its loins,
what power in the muscles of its belly!
17 Its tail sways like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.
18 Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs like rods of iron.
19 It ranks first among the works of God,
yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.
20 The hills bring it their produce,
and all the wild animals play nearby.
21 Under the lotus plants it lies,
hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
22 The lotuses conceal it in their shadow;
the poplars by the stream surround it.
23 A raging river does not alarm it;
it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.
24 Can anyone capture it by the eyes,
or trap it and pierce its nose?a]“Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook
or tie down its tongue with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through its nose
or pierce its jaw with a hook?
3 Will it keep begging you for mercy?
Will it speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will it make an agreement with you
for you to take it as your slave for life?
5 Can you make a pet of it like a bird
or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
6 Will traders barter for it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?
8 If you lay a hand on it,
you will remember the struggle and never do it again!
9 Any hope of subduing it is false;
the mere sight of it is overpowering.
10 No one is fierce enough to rouse it.
Who then is able to stand against me?
11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay?
Everything under heaven belongs to me.12 “I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs,
its strength and its graceful form.
13 Who can strip off its outer coat?
Who can penetrate its double coat of armor[b]?
14 Who dares open the doors of its mouth,
ringed about with fearsome teeth?
15 Its back has[c] rows of shields
tightly sealed together;
16 each is so close to the next
that no air can pass between.
17 They are joined fast to one another;
they cling together and cannot be parted.
18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
its eyes are like the rays of dawn.
19 Flames stream from its mouth;
sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke pours from its nostrils
as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
21 Its breath sets coals ablaze,
and flames dart from its mouth.
22 Strength resides in its neck;
dismay goes before it.
23 The folds of its flesh are tightly joined;
they are firm and immovable.
24 Its chest is hard as rock,
hard as a lower millstone.
25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified;
they retreat before its thrashing.
26 The sword that reaches it has no effect,
nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.
27 Iron it treats like straw
and bronze like rotten wood.
28 Arrows do not make it flee;
slingstones are like chaff to it.
29 A club seems to it but a piece of straw;
it laughs at the rattling of the lance.
30 Its undersides are jagged potsherds,
leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
31 It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron
and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.
32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it;
one would think the deep had white hair.
33 Nothing on earth is its equal—
a creature without fear.
34 It looks down on all that are haughty;
it is king over all that are proud.”Then Job replied to the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.”
The Bible also teaches that with humility comes wisdom (Proverbs 11:2) and those who humble themselves will be lifted up (Matthew 23:12; Luke 1:52; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14; James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6) and shown favor (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).
Those who are wise in Christ acknowledge that one does not know everything and continually humbles themselves to a higher/greater intelligence (eg, God), for even our collective human knowledge and understanding is smaller than a speck of dust compared to the entire cosmos encompassing all of time and space throughout infinity and eternity. Carl Sagan’s A Pale Blue Dot helps put this truth into perspective.
To exit judgment and throw off the chains of limited thinking/beliefs and false truths (eg, ego and/or Satan’s strongholds), all one must do is be willing to adjust their thinking to, “it’s possible.”
Moving the “beliefs” needle from full opposition in judgment (“It’s IMPOSSIBLE!”) to “it’s possible” opens the Way of Greater Truth in Christ Jesus because the person is willing to humble their own “truth” (eg, crucifixion of ego/release of Satan’s strongholds/+ other terminologies) to the Truth that is Higher/Above/Greater than themselves.
It is the laying down of one’s self, the willingness to be wrong even if we were absolutely certain we were right, and is the humility and sacrifice of one’s self that is required by all who follow Jesus, just as written in the gospels, and online in Joy to the World: The Way of Love in Jesus Christ (from the Holy Bible).
For more about The Gospel of Joy, click here, for more about Shannon, click here, to connect, click here, to return to the home page, click here.
and Blessed Be
Joy in the World
in Christ Jesus’ Name
for Everyone.
❤️
www.ShannonofJoy.com
