"God Can Only Judge Me"

*Disclaimer*: Do not read if you are easily offended by God's truth. You should just leave now if you are. No hard feelings, only love.

Our culture is in the age of not "judging people" and frankly I am annoyed by this whole movement if I am being quite honest. Why am I annoyed? Well, because people really do not understand what the word "judge" means. Let me start by clarifying some definitions for you.

To judge: To form an opinion or conclusion about. To infer, think, or hold as an opinion; conclude about or assess.

My question is, when did the meaning of to judge someone, change to someone being condemned? I am looking at the definition again trying to understand where we got condemning someone from to forming an opinion about another. 0____o Am I the only one confused about this or am I missing something?

Going by the culture's definition of judging, seems to me that everyone is breaking your rules of "not to judge people" EVERYDAY! Seems to me that when someone says, "Oh that person looks very nice today" does that count as judging someone? Or if they say, " My teacher is the best person ever"; that is a judgmental statement, just a positive one. Let's flip the script now. If I say, "OMG this food is sooo disgusting", I have just made a negative judmental statement, correct?

Ok, so where in there did I condemn? Wasn't I just forming an opinion, based on my circumstances? PHEWWW! Now that we are clear on the definition of "judge", let's proceed to the whole point of this post !

The whole movement of our culture saying, "Only God can judge me" displays a lack of reverence and respect for God. It is used in a way that basically is saying "you can't judge me, but God can, but secretly He really won't judge me". I have heard this statement usually when someone is doing something they know to be wrong and using it as an excuse for you to condone their bad behavior. Let's look at some song lyrics now, shall we?

Miley Cyrus

To my home girls here with the big butt

Shaking it like we at a strip club

Remember only God can judge ya

Forget the haters cause somebody loves ya

Tupac

Only God can judge me, is that right?

[synth voice] Only God can judge me now

Only God baby, nobody else, nobody else

All you other motherf* get out my business

This stuff is all in our culture! So no wonder people say and think nothing twice about it! It is engrained in us. I am here to tell you they are wrong, oh so WRONGGG!

What people fail to realize is that just because God does not judge you right now in this particular moment, does not mean the judgement is not coming eventually. People say this phrase almost jokingly because they truly believe that the judgment we receive from people will be harsher than God's judgement....whooppss so false ! #fail

Delayed judgement is not denied judgement. Our generation does not honor or reverence God, we do not fear Him and we think we can do what we want!

We also have a perverted perception of grace. We view God's grace as an excuse to do wrong "that God will forgive me because He loves me ..ladidididida" We need to start viewing grace not as an excuse to sin, but more like empowerment. We are given grace to not keep sinning, but to live a life of holiness and obedience to the authority of God! Also, there is no swift judgement in these days beacuse the Glory of the Lord is not strong in it's presence. When the glory of the Lord is strong, there is swift judgement because the light destroys and exposes all darkness (sin)..but since the light is pretty much just flickering these days, Gods glorious presence is limited/rare.

So all that to say this, as Christians , yes God says to not judge or therefore you will be judged. What

people love to do is take those "judging scriptures" out of context to make their sinful life seem more acceptable to others, so people automatically back off when someone says that "don't judge me" nonsense. God instructs us in the book of John, to judge each other in righteousness. So for example, if your friend is doing something that you know is contrary to the Word of God, as Christians, God instructs us to correct them in righteousness according to His Word.

So, Yes, God in a sense is the only who can judge you and He sure will on judgement day (minus the stipulation God gave us above), however, to think that your rightful judgement won't come since "God can only judge you" is simply ignorance.

Besos,

Kay Godd <3

The College Student: New Semester = New Me and New Opportunities

As each new semester draws near, we tend to approach it how we approach the New Year. Statements like "New Year, New Me" or "I'm ready to make some changes in this New Near" fill the mouths of hopeful people that this year will be better than the last. We look to create healthier lifestyles for ourselves which includes going to the gym more and cutting back on oily, saturated foods. We long for more opportunities in this New Year.

......Fast forward to March and we are already back to our old habits. What happened to cutting off those relationships that only stunted our growth and held us back? What happened to putting down those cheeseburgers and choosing healthier entrees so that we could live long, meaningful lives? We promised ourselves that we would cut back on spending money frivolously and start investing in our future.


These same tendencies we seem to do and say when the New Year begins, happens for us college students. In the beginning of a new semester, everyone is filled with excitement, vigor, and hope. Declarations fill my Twitter and Facebook timeline including statements like: "I am going to get a 4.0 this semester!" ,"I am going to create relationships with people who have goals", or "I'm going to seize every opportunity and expand my network". BUT just like our New Years resolutions, reality kicks in and March rolls around....and things start getting hard. Midterms are in full swing, projects are due left and right, organizations and extra-curricular activities are consuming your time and by the time you know it, it is May and you are looking back wondering where time went because you barely accomplished what you set out to accomplish in the beginning of the semester. Let's face it, school can be verrrryyy overwhelming and stressful!

However do not fret! There is hope! Let's look at some things we can do to help us maximize our semester and with God's help, see our dreams and goals come to past this semester and the semesters to come! (Not in any order of importance).

1. Humble yourself- What do I mean by this? One might say "I am humble, I am the most humble person I know". Are you? By that statement alone it does not sound like it. Humble yourself, in the sense of humbling yourself to Jesus. Submit and humble yourself to God's authority. Do not think to highly of yourself. 1 Peter 5:6 says, "So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor." God says he opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). If we humble ourselves, God will lift us up in His perfect timing. So when your waiting for that internship/full time job offer, continue to humble yourself and seek God asking for HIS favor. Seek for HIS elevation, not elevation from man.
2. Become a servant- I always see on my timeline people saying "I just want to be great" and that is a great statement because God has put that innate desire within us to be great. God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and to have DOMINION over the Earth. So that desire in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing, but it becomes a problem when we try to be great in our own strength and without Jesus. God said if you want to be great, Become a servant.  Mark 10:43 states, "Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant". In Matthew 23:11 it says, "The greatest among you must be a servant". So you want to be great? Learn to serve. Community service is a great start!
3. Seek first the Kingdom of God- Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." We gotta be seeking God, day and night; seeking God on what classes we should take, seeking Him on what professors we should chose, and what sections. Our eyes have got to be focused on God and God alone, nothing else matters! Once we do this, God will do His part. It's a promise!
   
4. Speak life- Words are very powerful. It says in Genesis that God created the heavens and the earth by SPEAKING it into existence. Since we are made in His image and likeness, our words have power! Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences." You want that 4.0? Speak it and believe it! You can't expect to get a 4.0 if you are always saying "I'm dumb or I can't do this". NO! YOU CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS YOU!
5. Pray- Ask God to help you in every area of your life, whether that area be something as small as helping you lose weight. No prayer is every too stupid for Him. He cares and wants to know every last detail of how you are feeling (even though He already knows ;) )
6. Watch your company-You say you want to be around better people and have more positive friends, yet you continue to associate with those who continually speak negatively, have bad attitudes, and pretty much do things that are not advancing their life in any way. How are you guys friends again? You must have something in common. In the book of Amos it poses the question of how can two walk together unless they agree? How can you walk with these people unless you agree with their bad habits?.....In some way, shape, and form you do. Remember the saying, one bad apple spoils the bunch? 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, "Don't be fooled by those who say such things, for "bad company corrupts good character."" It may be time to cut those off who are not adding nothing but baggage and a whole lot of regret to your life. Easier said than done, but not impossible.
   
7. Don't stress!- Be anxious for nothing, but with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving make your request known to God! (Philippians 4:6) Don't stress! I know it's easier said than done, but if you think about it, what does stress really do for you? Doesn't it just make you feel worse about the situation? Instead, why not pray about that exam  and presentation that is coming up and trust that God has your back! Why not rest in the fact that God wants you to have peace in every situation, including academic situations?
   
8. Sow good things- To think that we could trick God! HA! Galatians 6:7 says, "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap."  So I have good news and bad news for you. If we are sowing good seeds, like helping others and putting others before ourselves and forgiving others, God will do just the same to us. He will return to us what we have planted, our harvest should be plentiful! However, if you sow bad things, do not expect a good harvest.
9. Be happy- For Pete's sake! Be happy! Don't walk around with a chip on your shoulder every day. Enjoy this wonderful life. Don't let school consume you, that you forget to take advantage of the little things in life. Decide to participate in extra-curricular activities that you may not have chosen before. Take advantage of the array of programs and clubs while you are on campus. Encourage others as your walking on campus throughout the day. You never know what someone else is going through, so one smile may change their whole day! 
   
10. LIVE - Our worth in life does not amount to how many books we cram down our throats in order to prepare for a test the night before or the project that we have been working on for about three weeks. Our worth is in God and He longs to give us a life of freedom that is not bound by the things of this world. Yes, it's important to get our work done, however when your "work" becomes your idol in a sense, God is not pleased. John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." Jesus came that we might have life and have it more ABUNDANTLY !  Abundant means: existing or available in large quantities; plentiful. God wants us to enjoy this life, so enjoy it! 

Some of you may be saying to yourself "uhhhhgg, why is she using so much scripture". Well, the Bible is thee book of life. It's a book that shows us how to live the most best possible life ever! The Bible is a way of life; a lifestyle. That being said, in order for you and I to maximize each new year and new semester, we MUST read this book (along with other things, like praying, etc) and meditate on it daily! We say we want all these blessings and to live a life that is pleasing to God, yet never read at least one scripture per day? THATS WEAKKKK!

I did not create this list to exhaust you and make you feel like omg I have to do all these things to please God! MMMM yes and no. These things do honor God, however God does not have a checklist in His hand thinking to himself Sally didn't complete #5, therefore she ain't getting blessed today! That is farrrr from the truth. This list is simply a guide to show you all that God longs to do for your life and how you can access that wonderful life that He has already planned for you! That 4.0 you long for, that healthier body you strive for, and that internship that you crave are all great things and God wants to do that for you, but He can't do that if some things in your life aren't in check.

So what can we do? A good start is to read just one verse a night and by getting to know God, you will start to develop a relationship with Him. By having a relationship with God, you will begin to understand what God wants to do for you in this new semester and the many doors HE will open for you in order for HIS perfect will to be accomplished, not your will.

So let's make a vow to ourselves that this semester will not be business as usual, but that we will seek change and opportunities and that once the semester is over, we will look back in wonder at all of things God did for us.  When the end of the semester approaches, let us hope that we all can  say that this semester's mantra was truly New Semester = New Me and New Opportunities! Care to join me?




Besos,

Kay Godd <3