DO NOT JUDGE

DO NOT JUDGE!!


Jesus says: “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned” (Luke 6:37)

We’ve all been there… When we say! "I will never do what he or she did"! "I will never put up with what they put up with"! And then, we find ourselves doing and putting up with the same things that we said “ I Will Never Do Or Put Up With” (That’s where the saying comes from… Never say, Never!) At times when we pass judgments on someone else and we don’t even know what’s going on in their lives or why they are going through that particular situation. This brings to mind an old saying, "Do not judge a man, unless you have walked a mile in his shoes"!

I also love this saying also! And one we should always apply to everyone... “NEVER LOOK DOWN ON ANYBODY UNLESS YOU’RE HELPING THEM UP!!”

What a different world this would be, if we instead of judging, criticizing, and talking behind people’s back … We would extent the love of Christ to them and instead of kicking people when they are down… We would pick them up, help them out, and give them encouragements from the word of God!! Do you know how many lives would be healed, saved, and transformed by the "LOVE" of the living Christ? All of this can happen by just doing what the Lord has taught us to do..."Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:31)

Jesus says:

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1-2)

Note: We must be very careful on how we pass judgments on others and how we talk about people! Because according to the Lord’s own words… The judgments that we pass on to others will come right back on us!! Knowing that, we must think twice! Before rushing into passing judgments and criticizing others.

We just have to stop and think! If I were in that situation, what would I like to hear? What would I want someone to do for me? If it is encouragement, then encourage. If it’s a listening ear that you would need… Then be a listening ear for them too! Jesus says: "SO IN EVERYTHING, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 7:12)

In the book of Romans the Apostle Paul says:

“You, therefore, HAVE NO EXCUSE, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” (Romans 2:1)

Note: The Apostle Paul is telling us through the book of Romans that when we judge others… We are condemning ourselves! The Scriptures say, that we who judge others… Do the very same things that we just talked about, criticized, and judged another person on! This is called Hypocrisy, my friends! This is not what Jesus Christ has taught us to be like!

The Lord taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves and to treat people the way that we would like to be treated! (Mark 12:31- Matthew 7:12) This is what Jesus says: “ If you love me, you will obey what I command.” “ Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ” (John 14:15- Luke 6:46) So if we truly love the Lord like we say… THEN we will show it by obeying HIM!

The Lord was compassionate towards people when He was here on earth! Whenever Jesus saw a need… HE was there to help! Where there was sickness, He healed! The hungry, He feed! The Lost, He saved!  Praise the Living God for His Compassion, Mercy, and Grace! Because He is good to all! … "He has compassion on all he has made!" (Psalms 145:9)

Let me give you a couple of examples from the Bible on how Jesus treated people…

Jesus met Zacchaeus at the sycamore-fig tree! And the Lord said to him… “ Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today ”… (Watch the crowd’s reaction to Jesus dinning in Zacchaeus house) “ All the people saw this and began to mutter (to complain or grumble), He (Jesus) has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner’ (This is the miracle that happens when we love people like the Lord commands! Watch this don’t miss it...) “ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “ Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”(Wow, this is what happens when we love people instead of judging, criticizing, and looking down on them!!!
God’s ways are always THE best way to Go! Always!) Jesus said to him, “ Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. (Thank God for this part...) “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:1-10)

The next example is found in the book of Mark…

“During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “ I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.” His disciples answered, “ But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?” “ How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “ Seven,” they replied. He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When He had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them.”

Note: Mark tells us that Jesus fed about four thousand people with just seven loaves of bread and a few small fish…Wow! (What a miracle the Lord performed for that crowd) “For nothing is impossible with God!” (Luke 1:37) And the Holy Scriptures say: that the people ate and were satisfied. (Mark 8:1-9) What a loving and compassionate Savior we serve! And this, my friends, is how we should treat our fellow man with love and compassion!! And NOT with judgments and criticisms…

“WHOEVER CLAIMS TO LIVE IN HIM MUST WALK AS JESUS DID” (1 JOHN 2:6)

GOD BLESS YOU NOW AND ALWAYS!
YOUR FRIEND,
VICKY RIVERA

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

In the book of Luke the Lord tells: “The Parable of the Good Samaritan”

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

What is written in the Law?” he replied. “ How do you read it?”

He answered:“ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, Love your neighbor as yourself.’

“ You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “ Do this and you will live.” (Meaning you will inherit eternal life if you love God and love your neighbor)

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “ And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “ A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest (One who suppose to be a man of God) happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. (The Levites are ordained for the priesthood and to serve in the temple of God)

But a Samaritan (The Jewish people did not associate with the Samaritians ... They did not get along with one another), as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘ Look after him.’ He said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” (Mercy is when you see someone needs help, and you help him or her)

Jesus told him,” Go and do likewise.” (Luke10:25-37)


If we are prejudice or racist against a people or nation, we are sinning against Our God. We are willingly breaking the command “ Love your neighbor as yourself”. One designer created all the peoples of the earth and His name is the Lord.

The Bible says:

For by him (Jesus Christ) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. (Colossians 1:16)

In the book of Genesis says:

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. (Genesis 1:27-28)

We all came from one source, Adam and Eve. We are all connected, we are all brothers and sisters, and we all have one Creator. As believers we should not let other people, the media, or your co-workers lead us into a path of destruction. Disobedience to Our God will bring a curse upon us. We are not supposed to be people pleaser but God pleasers.

“Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. (Acts 4:19) If we love all people, like the Lords commands regardless of their ethnic background, then we will be placed in the side of the sheep. (Matthew 25:34-40) but if we do not love all people like the Lord commands then we will be placed in the side of the goats. (Matthew 25: 41-46) Which side would you like to be placed on? If your answer is in the side of the sheep, then "WE MUST OBEY THE LORD"! “ LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF”

If you are prejudice or racist against people who are not of your race…Well let me tell you something heaven is not for you. In the Kingdom of God there are Chinese, African Americans, Hispanics, Caucasian, and many other races. (Revelation 7:9-10) If we can’t get along or love one another here on earth, what makes us think we will be any better in heaven? When we disobey the Lords commands, we are not acting like children of God but of the devil’s. Let me show you where God says this…

1 John 3:7-10

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

1 John 4:20

If anyone says, “ I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.


Recently, in the media, we have seen attention being drawn the subject of illegal aliens in our country. This recent problem has caused racism against many that are of Latino decent, whether they are illegal or not. I myself, as a Puerto Rican, have experience this first hand. Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States. Because of this, people born on the island of Puerto Rico are born citizens. Many times ignorant people will discriminate against Puerto Ricans or other Latin American groups that are citizens and/ or born in the U.S. because of the media or other people’s influence. These “Ilegals” as the media and people call them; these are our brothers and sisters. We are all God’s children.

As I started writing this blog, I witnessed another disturbing news on CNN. A policeman arresting a 15 yr old, who happened to be African American girl that broke a curfew law? She bit the officer, but I question does that justify the action he took, by punching her in the face and then pepper spraying her in the face also. He is a grown man and she is the child. I believe he could have handle this differently. Check this out on the web at www.MSNBC.Video.com Judge for yourself, if his action was right in dealing with this 15yr old teenager.

My friends, the Lord does not want his children divided. What parent, likes to see their children, not getting along and not loving each other? This behavior between siblings is heart breaking for parents to go through. The Lord wants his children united and loving one another. If this is something you been feeling against your brothers and sisters, ask God for forgiveness, to take away prejudice and racism from your heart and fill your heart with a sincere and genuine love for all your brothers and sisters around the world.

Who is my neighbor is the title of this blog and the answer is every human being living on this earth is our neighbor. And we must obey the Lord’s command to “ Love your neighbor as yourself”


The Lord says in John 15:12, My command is this: "LOVE each other as I have loved you."



GOD BLESS YOU ALL NOW AND ALWAYS,
YOUR FRIEND,
VICKY RIVERA