Having No Mercy For Others, Only For Ourselves

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gregjgordon

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Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. – James 2:13

We all have been shown great mercy in our lives. God has shown great compassion and forgiveness towards us in not counting our sins against us. We were in a place were God was ready to punish us and cause us great harm in sending us to hell for eternity for our great sins. Yet he showed great mercy and love towards us, forgiving our sins in his Son. When we therefore show no mercy to others, especially believers, we sin greatly. Warren Weirsbe says, “The most miserable prison in the world is the prison we make for ourselves when we refuse to show mercy.” Such a prison many believers are in not being able to show mercy to others but being a great benefiter of mercy from God. God came down from above as the compassionate one to forgive your sins, yet we cannot show compassion to the sins of another believer. Judgmentalism is one of the great sins in the Church, as we are always faulty in the way we see others, never knowing someones motives and heart (Jeremiah 17:9). When we learn to be full of mercy for others, we start to share the heart of Jesus Christ who did not judge but showed compassion to failing humanity. Look into the eyes of Jesus Christ now and see his wounds where he was pierced for you, can you say to him that you cannot forgive another? Have mercy to another?

The Desert Fathers were those who sought the Lord in a life of prayer in solitude, they sought God for God Himself. These were some of the godliest followers of the Lord in that era of Church history. A story of a Desert Father on not judging says, “A brother in Scetis committed a fault. A council was called to which abba Moses was invited, but he refused to go to it. Then the priest sent someone to him, saying, ‘Come, for everyone is waiting for you’. So he got up and went. He took a leaking jug and filled it with water and carried it with him. The others came out to meet him and said, ‘what is this, father?’ The old man said to them, ‘My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the errors of another.’ When they heard that, they said no more to the brother but forgave him.” If we see our sins as this old godly brother did, we will not judge but show mercy to a fellow believer on this journey with the Lord. If we judged our own selves we would see our failings as great and have great mercy to others. We should find ourselves as the publican calling out to God for mercy constantly (Luke 18:13). Just like the pharisee in the temple praying we can judge our fellow brothers, looking down on the errors of others, but not seeing our own. Lord have mercy on me and help me to be merciful to others. Amen.
 
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farouk

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Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. – James 2:13

We all have been shown great mercy in our lives. God has shown great compassion and forgiveness towards us in not counting our sins against us. We were in a place were God was ready to punish us and cause us great harm in sending us to hell for eternity for our great sins. Yet he showed great mercy and love towards us, forgiving our sins in his Son. When we therefore show no mercy to others, especially believers, we sin greatly. Warren Weirsbe says, “The most miserable prison in the world is the prison we make for ourselves when we refuse to show mercy.” Such a prison many believers are in not being able to show mercy to others but being a great benefiter of mercy from God. God came down from above as the compassionate one to forgive your sins, yet we cannot show compassion to the sins of another believer. Judgmentalism is one of the great sins in the Church, as we are always faulty in the way we see others, never knowing someones motives and heart (Jeremiah 17:9). When we learn to be full of mercy for others, we start to share the heart of Jesus Christ who did not judge but showed compassion to failing humanity. Look into the eyes of Jesus Christ now and see his wounds where he was pierced for you, can you say to him that you cannot forgive another? Have mercy to another?

The Desert Fathers were those who sought the Lord in a life of prayer in solitude, they sought God for God Himself. These were some of the godliest followers of the Lord in that era of Church history. A story of a Desert Father on not judging says, “A brother in Scetis committed a fault. A council was called to which abba Moses was invited, but he refused to go to it. Then the priest sent someone to him, saying, ‘Come, for everyone is waiting for you’. So he got up and went. He took a leaking jug and filled it with water and carried it with him. The others came out to meet him and said, ‘what is this, father?’ The old man said to them, ‘My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the errors of another.’ When they heard that, they said no more to the brother but forgave him.” If we see our sins as this old godly brother did, we will not judge but show mercy to a fellow believer on this journey with the Lord. If we judged our own selves we would see our failings as great and have great mercy to others. We should find ourselves as the publican calling out to God for mercy constantly (Luke 18:13). Just like the pharisee in the temple praying we can judge our fellow brothers, looking down on the errors of others, but not seeing our own. Lord have mercy on me and help me to be merciful to others. Amen.
Hi, Sir; remind me please who the Desert Fathers were...
 

gregjgordon

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The Desert Fathers (along with Desert Mothers) were early Christian hermits, ascetics, and monks who lived mainly in the Scetes desert of Egypt beginning around the third century AD. The Apophthegmata Patrum is a collection of the wisdom of some of the early desert monks and nuns, in print as Sayings of the Desert Fathers. The most well known was Anthony the Great, who moved to the desert in AD 270–271 and became known as both the father and founder of desert monasticism. By the time Anthony died in AD 356, thousands of monks and nuns had been drawn to living in the desert following Anthony's example—his biographer, Athanasius of Alexandria, wrote that "the desert had become a city."[1] The Desert Fathers had a major influence on the development of Christianity.

The desert monastic communities that grew out of the informal gathering of hermit monks became the model for Christian monasticism. The eastern monastic tradition at Mount Athos and the western Rule of Saint Benedict both were strongly influenced by the traditions that began in the desert. All of the monastic revivals of the Middle Ages looked to the desert for inspiration and guidance. Much of Eastern Christianspirituality, including the Hesychast movement, had its roots in the practices of the Desert Fathers. Even religious renewals such as the German evangelicals and Pietists in Pennsylvania, the Devotio Modernamovement, and the Methodist Revival in England are seen by modern scholars as being influenced by the Desert Fathers.

from: Desert Fathers - Wikipedia
 

farouk

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The Desert Fathers (along with Desert Mothers) were early Christian hermits, ascetics, and monks who lived mainly in the Scetes desert of Egypt beginning around the third century AD. The Apophthegmata Patrum is a collection of the wisdom of some of the early desert monks and nuns, in print as Sayings of the Desert Fathers. The most well known was Anthony the Great, who moved to the desert in AD 270–271 and became known as both the father and founder of desert monasticism. By the time Anthony died in AD 356, thousands of monks and nuns had been drawn to living in the desert following Anthony's example—his biographer, Athanasius of Alexandria, wrote that "the desert had become a city."[1] The Desert Fathers had a major influence on the development of Christianity.

The desert monastic communities that grew out of the informal gathering of hermit monks became the model for Christian monasticism. The eastern monastic tradition at Mount Athos and the western Rule of Saint Benedict both were strongly influenced by the traditions that began in the desert. All of the monastic revivals of the Middle Ages looked to the desert for inspiration and guidance. Much of Eastern Christianspirituality, including the Hesychast movement, had its roots in the practices of the Desert Fathers. Even religious renewals such as the German evangelicals and Pietists in Pennsylvania, the Devotio Modernamovement, and the Methodist Revival in England are seen by modern scholars as being influenced by the Desert Fathers.

from: Desert Fathers - Wikipedia
Thnak-you, Sir.
 

Episkopos

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Because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. – James 2:13

We all have been shown great mercy in our lives. God has shown great compassion and forgiveness towards us in not counting our sins against us. We were in a place were God was ready to punish us and cause us great harm in sending us to hell for eternity for our great sins. Yet he showed great mercy and love towards us, forgiving our sins in his Son. When we therefore show no mercy to others, especially believers, we sin greatly. Warren Weirsbe says, “The most miserable prison in the world is the prison we make for ourselves when we refuse to show mercy.” Such a prison many believers are in not being able to show mercy to others but being a great benefiter of mercy from God. God came down from above as the compassionate one to forgive your sins, yet we cannot show compassion to the sins of another believer. Judgmentalism is one of the great sins in the Church, as we are always faulty in the way we see others, never knowing someones motives and heart (Jeremiah 17:9). When we learn to be full of mercy for others, we start to share the heart of Jesus Christ who did not judge but showed compassion to failing humanity. Look into the eyes of Jesus Christ now and see his wounds where he was pierced for you, can you say to him that you cannot forgive another? Have mercy to another?

The Desert Fathers were those who sought the Lord in a life of prayer in solitude, they sought God for God Himself. These were some of the godliest followers of the Lord in that era of Church history. A story of a Desert Father on not judging says, “A brother in Scetis committed a fault. A council was called to which abba Moses was invited, but he refused to go to it. Then the priest sent someone to him, saying, ‘Come, for everyone is waiting for you’. So he got up and went. He took a leaking jug and filled it with water and carried it with him. The others came out to meet him and said, ‘what is this, father?’ The old man said to them, ‘My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the errors of another.’ When they heard that, they said no more to the brother but forgave him.” If we see our sins as this old godly brother did, we will not judge but show mercy to a fellow believer on this journey with the Lord. If we judged our own selves we would see our failings as great and have great mercy to others. We should find ourselves as the publican calling out to God for mercy constantly (Luke 18:13). Just like the pharisee in the temple praying we can judge our fellow brothers, looking down on the errors of others, but not seeing our own. Lord have mercy on me and help me to be merciful to others. Amen.

There is a terrible tendency to judge others outside the faith. Rather than Christians learning to love and leave judgment to God...there is an evangelical mindset to condemn others as depraved sinners who are all going to hell because of a lack of conformity to the religion that they espouse. There is no discernment being exercised, just a blanket condemnation on all who do not identify themselves as "Christian."

The true error of our time has been the reduction of what it means to be holy. We now have a sinful holiness. And since there is no more faith for true holiness...there is the tendency to hijack righteousness away from all people in order to justify this fall from holiness for all who religiously hold to certain doctrinal tenets.

The Great Apostasy is here.
 
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Willie T

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Oh thanks; I have heard of them already.
They are never directly mentioned in scriptures, but it is believed Jesus referred to them about three times. They seem to have come into existence about 150 BC, give or take ten years.
 

farouk

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They are never directly mentioned in scripture, but it is believed Jesus referred to them about three times.
Well, okay. There was quite a hermitic tradition, I believe; although John the Baptist in the desert would unlikely have followed some sectarian code of conduct.
 

Willie T

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There is a terrible tendency to judge others outside the faith. Rather than Christians learning to love and leave judgment to God...there is an evangelical mindset to condemn others as depraved sinners who are all going to hell because of a lack of conformity to the religion that they espouse. There is no discernment being exercised, just a blanket condemnation on all who do not identify themselves as "Christian."

The true error of our time has been the reduction of what it means to be holy. We now have a sinful holiness. And since there is no more faith for true holiness...there is the tendency to hijack righteousness away from all people in order to justify this fall from holiness for all who religiously hold to certain doctrinal tenets.

The Great Apostasy is here.
This is interesting since we do tend to damn all Pharisees, when some were good people. Jesus even received help from some of them.
 
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Willie T

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John the Baptist pointed simply and directly to Christ and practised the baptism of repentance, preparing the way. He hardly seems like a denominational founder or hierarchical enthusiast.
Well, all Jews probably came from under the influence of one "school of thought" or another. The big thing for most of them was to find a Rabbi to follow and learn from.
 

farouk

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Well, all Jews probably came from under the influence of one "school of thought" or another. The big thing for most of them was to find a Rabbi to follow and learn from.
...and so this was why following the Lord Jesus instead was an idea that would have been such a different, radical challenge for many.
 

Willie T

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...and so this was why following the Lord Jesus instead was an idea that would have been such a different, radical challenge for many.
Maybe. But, most of the regular people DID call Him Rabbi, and it was kind of a normal thing to do when the disciples "followed" Him. Remember, the Jews were steeped in traditionalism and fell right in step with those things. That is why the act of baptism was nothing new to them when John The Baptist came preaching and baptizing.
 

farouk

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Maybe. But, most of the regular people DID call h\Him Rabbi, and it was kind of a normal thing to do when the disciples "followed" Him. Remember, the Jews were steeped in traditionalism and fell right in step with those things. That is why the act of baptism was nothing new to them when John The Baptist came preaching and baptizing.
It was really all about repentance rather than simply following a familiar rite.
 

Enoch111

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You will also find them called "Essenes", a Nasserite sect of the church of Mt. Caramel.
Willie,
The Essenes were a Jewish sect. The Desert Fathers were Christian monks and ascetics.

And caramel may be good in toffee, but there may be none on Mt. Carmel, since ascetics have to shun candy.;)