Minister Moose Tracks

"Judge not, that you be not judged." - Matthew 7:1 Especially in today's culture, I would venture to say that this is possibly the most misunderstood and taken out-of-context verse in the Bible. It is often referenced when someone feels trapped and  he/she has been caught in sin and is followed by an impulsive reaction. Not only do those who reject Christ as Savior use this reference all the time, but also those who profess faith in Christ. How can this be? Is it a lack of understanding as to what Jesus meant when He said this or should those who frequently use this verse to defend sin be in question as to the genuineness of their claim to Christ? "Don't judge me!" Such a statement ought to never come out of the mouth of a Christian, for it is nothing but futility. You ought to know that there is only one true Judge (John 8:50). Even so, Jesus Christ paid the price for your sins in order that you would be justified, not judged, based on what He did on t...

Galatians 6:1-5 “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness...” BUSTED! Nobody enjoys being caught red-handed in his or her sinful nature. Society tells us that we are “good” people and that there is “good” within every person. Sure, every person is capable of doing “good” things here and there but all of us fall short of perfection (even society tells us that “no one’s perfect!”). Nonetheless, this “good person” idea often does more damage than anything else. In order to reaffirm the mindset that “I am a good person,” it deceives us into thinking that we must show our best on the outside, despite the filth that resides within. Instead of accepting that we are flesh, we put on a façade that makes us more like plastic. When someone is caught in sin, however, it is unfortunate that it is often the religious crowd within the walls of a church building that condemn and rouse, instead of care and restore. ...

Isaiah 14:12-14 “How you are fallen from heaven,      O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground,      you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart,      ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God      I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly      in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;      I will make myself like the Most High.'" Pride. If there is a "king" among the different kinds of sin, perhaps this would be it. Indeed, Isaiah directly speaks regarding the evil king of Babylon but he also alludes to the prideful spirit of Satan himself. The sin that caused God to cast Satan out of heaven is the same sin that causes us to believe that we have no need of God. To the mind of natural man, it is detrimental to think that he is dependent upon someone...

Ruth 1:19-21 19  So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20  She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21  I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” Distraught, sorrowful, and likely confused due to the death of her husband and two sons, Naomi understood these events to be signs that God was against her and therefore treated her harshly. Her reaction is somewhat reminiscent of Job's wife who said, "Curse God and die" (Job 2:9). While having a finite understanding of their own circumstances, both Naomi and Job's wife witnessed the events that surrounded them and subsequently developed a bitterness toward their Creator. While a backstory ...

Ruth 1:15-18 15  And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16  But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17  Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18  And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. When the Spirit stirs within a person to fervently pursue the ways of God, the person's will is conformed to His own and diligently seeks ways to please Him. In this brief wonderful story found in the Old Testament,  we read of a woman named Ruth who dwelled in the pagan city of Moab. Ten years after two Israelite men took Ruth and Orpah, another Moabite woman, to be their wives, they both died, leaving Naomi, th...

Genesis 3:8-13 8  And they heard the sound of the  Lord  God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the  Lord  God among the trees of the garden.  9  But the  Lord  God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10  And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”  11  He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”  12  The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”  13  Then the  Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” In the verse before our passage (v. 7), we read that the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened and so they sewed fig leaves together to co...