You've heard it said, "Don't judge me!" Even in the church, we remind one another, "Now don't judge that person. Only God judges." Usually, this statement follows a lengthy bit of gossip or a historical tidbit that reveals the person in question past. (It's okay as long as I finish it with "But I'm not judging." Right) We qualify our potentially sinful thoughts with that secret phrase, "I'm not judging."

I think we've lost the meaning and the message!

Until recently, I blindly followed this church "theology" like all the other dutiful lambs. Then, I turned to the scripture, 1 Corinthians 2:14-16, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."

Wow! That makes things a little different. The spiritual, reborn man or woman makes judgments--spiritual judgments, according to the Spirit, about all things. These judgments aren't vocal or handed down from a high horse. It's talking about discernment! As the mind of Christ is renewed in us, we have the potential to judge matters quietly for ourselves.

So what judgments do we make? We can learn to hear a truth, or a lie. We can discern strongholds and potentially bad situations. We can discern heartbreak and the need of the individual. We not only judge a matter, but we consider it the way Christ did and does.

Beloved, judge all men with love and grace. That is the way of Christ!
M.L. Bullock

It takes more than the turning of a calendar to have a new beginning.  Each year folks make their resolutions, turn the calendar, and believe they have a new beginning.  New beginnings are much deeper than the turning of a calendar.

The fresh start I’m speaking about is the result of a brand new manifestation of the MIND OF CHRIST!  As you walk in the mind of Christ the rest of your life becomes the very best of your life.  Thinking as Christ would think about each circumstance puts life in a different perspective.

Take up the challenge; you are God’s creation!  Make the decision right now to have a new beginning.  It’s within your reach; you can make it through any difficulty.  A new beginning will demoralize every enemy and release your harvest.  No weapon formed against you will ever succeed.  God is “for you;” nothing can stand “against you!”

With a fresh baptism of the mind of Christ, you can now have a future brighter than any yesterday you can remember.  Be encouraged and enjoy this new dimension of living!