How to Forgive When It’s Hard

Most of us are familiar with the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples. We pray it together, saying “Forgive us our debts—or tre Image result for image of praying woman spasses—as we forgive our debtors—or those who trespass against us.”

If we grew up in the church, we’ve probably prayed it so many times that we often don’t hear what we’re saying, but in those words, we clearly set the standard for how much we want God to forgive us.

Indeed, in the following verses, Jesus says that if we don’t forgive those who have offended us, then “neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Mt. 6:14-15).

That’s drastic.

And yet, how often, when we’ve been offended, do we let the offense roll around in our thoughts, stirring up our emotions?

We don’t want to forgive until the other person understands the hurt they have inflicted, admits their wrong, asks forgiveness, and/or suffers in like manner.

And so we hold out, unwilling to forgive until we see justice meted out to our satisfaction.

But, if we hang onto those negative thoughts and feelings, it infects our whole being. Harboring unforgiveness leads to greater hurt in our lives.

We may blame the other person, but it isn’t the original offense, but our unwillingness to forgive that causes rottenness in our hearts. Like a little worm in an apple or a pear unforgiveness eats away at our soul, making it rotten from the inside out.

Our unforgiveness quickly turns to bitterness toward that person, then toward others who remind Image result for Bitter Old Ladies us of them or who inflict a similar offense. Then our souls become so infected with unforgiveness, bitterness, and anger that our whole view of life is affected.

(And who enjoys being around a bitter person? . . . Not even the person him/herself.)

We lose sight of God’s blessings and the many things we have to be thankful for because our focus is on the negatives of life.

The solution is simple. If we forgive, we will be forgiven, and our souls will be renewed.

The answer is simple, but doing it is sometimes difficult. The hurt may be deep. The offense may be ongoing, with no hope of change. Others (well-meaning friends?) may encourage negative feelings by agreeing with them. Furthermore, the devil doesn’t want us to forgive, so he’ll keep stirring up the pain to keep it fresh, making it more difficult to forgive.

If you’re in bondage because of unforgiveness, you don’t have to stay there. A few steps can lead to freedom:

Choose to forgive. Do you want peace and joy, or to stay in bondage? Some people have lived in unforgiveness so long they don’t want to change. Consider your options, and choose freedom.
Then repent. Ask the Lord to forgive you for holding on. Ask Him to help you find freedom—and peace and joy.
Speak (out loud) words of forgiveness. Be specific. “Lord I forgive (name) for (action) and for (the specific pain(s) you felt). I release him/her into your hands for You to deal with them as You see fit. You take care of bringing any justice that is needed.”
If you aren’t yet willing to pray that prayer, pray, “Lord make me willing,” and pour out your heart to Him about why it’s hard. Close your time with Him with a commitment to forgive, such as, “Lord, I forgive (name). I choose to forgive, and I ask you to work it out in my heart.” Forgiveness is a choice. The feelings often follow.
The next morning, when you wake up, before you get up, pray again, “Lord, I forgive . . ..” And the next morning, and the next, and the next . . . until you wake up and no longer feel negative toward that person. Keep it up, even if it takes a month or two.
When the person re-offends: repeat the forgiveness, the dialog with God, the whole process. As you forgive them for the new offense, it is wise to repeat the forgiveness for the original offense. When we’re reminded of the original offense, we often need to forgive again—up to 70 times 7 times (Mt. 18:22)! Don’t be satisfied until you are freed and experience new life and joy.

When we don’t forgive, it creates barriers between us and God, family and friends, and even within ourselves. Nobody enjoys an angry bitter person. Furthermore, they don’t enjoy themselves or life.

The deeper the hurt and more difficult it is to forgive, the greater the release and f Image result for image of chains breaking reedom will be upon truly forgiving. Jesus died so that we could enjoy righteousness (right relationships), peace, and joy, but we can block the flow of those blessings if we don’t forgive.

Our Lord forgave us when we didn’t deserve it. We can do the same. Press forward to be saved and free to be enjoy life in Christ.

Combatting the Enemy’s Secret Weapon

We are at war. In last week’s post, Satan’s Secret Trap, we saw how Satan tries to destroy joy and peace in our relationships by stirring up judgment between us and important people in our lives. It is a major strategy to defeat God’s children.

Image result for image of marching combat boots When we hold onto judgment, it grows in our hearts like a dark cloud. It leads to bitterness, making us, well, bitter—to ourselves and to others. The sourness from judgment is damaging. It drags us down, destroying relationships with family, friends, and co-workers.

It also affects our relationship with the Lord, making it more difficult to worship, to hear or see Him, and to daily walk in His strength and grace. It robs us of love and life.

Consequently, Jesus told us not to judge, warning that we will be judged in return. (Matt. 7:1-2).

Paul told the believers in Roman, “In whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things” (Rom 2:1). He then asked, “Why do you judge your brother?” and added, “for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Rom. 14:10).

He told the Ephesians, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:31-32). As bad as this list of negatives sounds, they are all things that grow from judgment, often without our knowledge.

Nobody wants these things in his heart. We don’t wake up one day and decide to give the enemy permission to steal our joy and peace and wreck our relationships. We want to live in the righteousness, peace, and joy that is available to all who are children of God.

However, it’s not always easy to simply quit judging because you decide to. Therefore, the next step is to learn how to combat a judgmental spirit.

Steps to fight a judgmental spirit:

Take the log out of your own eye (Matt. 7:1-5). The other person may be in the wrong, but you have no right to judge, neither can you help them, as long as your vision is being blocked by sin in your life. Deal with yourself first.
1. Ask God to search your heart and to show you any unrighteousness in your heart (Ps. 139:23-24).
2. Repent of sin in your life, including taking God’s place as you judged the other person/people (Acts 8:22-23).
Forgive the other person for wrong(s) they have done.
1. Forgive them in your heart and before God, so that God will forgive you for your sins (Matt. 6:12, 14-15).
2. If it will not cause harm, ask their forgiveness for wronging them. If tensions have been strong and obvious in a close relationship, this could be important, greatly reducing the time it takes for an evil-for-evil relationship to be restored (Matt. 6:23-24).
Pray and give thanks for them daily (Matt. 5:44).
1. Bless instead of judging. Bless through praying for God to bless them, but also seek the Lord for a special way to bless the person–through serving or a gift (1 Pet.3:8-9).
2. Give thanks and guard your mind from negative thoughts. For each negative/critical thought that comes to mind about that person, think of two or three things that you are thankful for about that person. (Phil. 4:8, Eph. 6:18-20).
Be still. Wait on God. Work on your own heart (your responsibility) and trust God to do His work in you and in the other person (God’s responsibility). It will likely take time to completely surrender your heart for change. Only then will you begin to be successful in changing your thought patterns, so be patient!
Trust in the Lord. He wants the best for you and desires that you be freed from the bondage of judgment and bitterness even more than you do. You can trust in Him.

He has allowed the other person/people in your life for a reason. Could it be that they are tools to shape you into His image? Could it He is allowing you to go through this hard time so you can experience greater freedom, fuller life, and richer communion with Him than you’ve ever experienced before?

The freedom and life you will find is worth the battle. Endure. Fight to the end for kingdom life, trusting the Lord to do His work in you.

Satan has been defeated. The war has been won. You don’t have to be weighed down because of the enemy’s wiles. You can reign in life through Jesus Christ and enjoy righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

———————

The story of my struggle with judgment and bitterness and how I overcame it is available through the free e-book, The Judgment Trap, available for download in the side bar at the top of the page.

Satan’s Secret Trap

Satan has a secret weapon that he uses to defeat Christians. Through it, he steals joy and peace, stir up anger and strife, destroys friendships and marriages, as well as spoiling our witness. It’s a hidden trap.

Image result for image of a gavel It isn’t really a secret because God warns us against it. But because we aren’t alert to the danger, it sneaks up and drags us down without us even being aware that we are in bondage.

That secret weapon is judgment. We get caught in the trap because when something isn’t right we recognize it as wrong, unfair, dishonest, selfish, evil, or any other number of things. Consequently, we judge the person involved.

We’re often right in our judgment, but wrong in our judging—because it isn’t our place to judge another person. It’s God’s. When we judge, we get between the other person and God, making it harder for Him to get their attention and correct them.

(As a parent, how many times has one of your children made it difficult to effectively discipline another one, because the first one made such a ruckus about the offense that they got in the way? We do the same thing when we judge.)

Matthew records Jesus’ words, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Matt. 7:1-2).

Invading God’s space and acting as judge is bad enough, but a relationship becomes really tense when the person you are judging turns and judges you back. You feel the edge, react in judgment, and tension escalates.

The pressure and contention spiral upward while the friendship spirals downward and an evil-for-evil relationship unfolds. Before you realize what’s happening, you find yourself lacking joy and peace, especially when you think of that particular person.

Even more alarming, judging often spreads. Once it takes root, it invades another relationship and then another, until unpleasant undertones, if not conflicts, develop with several of your close friends or acquaintances.

If you’ve been wondering what happened to once healthy friendships, take note of the signs that judgment may have caught you in its trap.

Signs of judgment:

You are easily irritated by a person, or quick to get angry.
You have a negative, critical attitude when you think about them.
You quickly see what they do wrong, and are slow to appreciate the good in them.
There is tension in the relationship. You feel guarded around them, as if walking on pins and needles to not offend.
It seems that nothing is good enough. You can’t seem to please them.
Trust in the relationship has been broken and you no longer like the person.
You have an evil-for-evil relationship, with quick negative reactions to small slights or misunderstandings.

Even if you have tried hard to act righteously and hide your negative thoughts and emotions, if you are experiencing several things in the list, you are likely guilty of judging another. If so, even your best efforts at responding correctly likely sound hollow and insincere.

If a friend tells you that have mumps, but they have little red spots a Image result for image of measles ll over their body it doesn’t matter what they tell you, if you spend the day with them, you’ll get the measles, not the mumps. They may tell you a different story and try to hide the truth, but you can see through the words.

In like manner, the negative feelings that we try to hide by using gracious words are more visible to others than we realize. When we judge, it can be felt, and we will be judged in return.

Matthew goes on to say,

³ “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?

⁵ “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye (Matt. 7:1-5).

The first step in overcoming judgment is to deal with your own heart. Ask God to search your heart and show you any unrighteousness that is lurking within.

Your joy and peace is not dependent on another person and cannot be destroyed by them. Clearing up your own heart and getting yourself right with God is necessary before joy and peace return, and certainly necessary before any effort with the other person will be fruitful.

Next week, I will give some steps toward forgiving the person and getting rid of the bitterness. In the meantime, don’t give the enemy permission to steal your joy and peace and ransack your relationships.

Jesus Christ has defeated Satan. Through Him we can reign in life, enjoying righteousness, peace, and joy, free from the destruction of bitterness.

———————

The story of my struggle with bitterness and how I overcame it is available through the free e-book, The Judgment Trap, available for download in the side bar at the top of the page.

Anger Is Infectious

Michelle had a very rough childhood. In her attempt to escape the pain caused by regular abuse, she began use of alcohol and drugs at the young age of 11. But she couldn’t get rid of her simmering anger.

Michelle became very aggressive. She liked being angry. More specifically, she liked having angry explosions. She said the anger would build and build, and when she exploded, it was a terrific release of inward pressure, almost like a high. She was addicted to anger and the release she experienced when she lashed out.

She has been made new, has overcome her anger, and is a powerful witness to the power and goodness of the Lord.

I asked how she saw that anger was bad and how she got rid of it. Her answer broadened my view of the effects of anger.

Michelle said, “I changed because I saw that anger infected people, not just affected them.”

She added, “And once you do it [infect others through your anger] you can’t take it back.” She likened it to giving someone HIV. Once they’re infected, you can’t take it back.

Studies show that anger is harmful to the person that is angry. It negatively impacts personal happiness and well-being, and relationships with others, as well as spiritual and physical health. Recent studies at Harvard University indicate that an angry outburst even increases the likelihood of having a stroke or heart attack within two hours. Anger affects and infects every area of his or her life, causing destruction that is often unseen.

Anger infects others too, and like the flu, can be spread by simple contact or by an explosion—like a cough or sneeze that spreads germs throughout the room.

Even mild expressions of anger can infect others with, fear, pain, resentment, disrespect, anger, bitterness and more. It leads to stress, confusion, disharmony, and strife. The infection is not limited to the target of the anger. Like a fog, it that settles over everyone within its reach, creating tension, disrespect, and fear of moving forward for fear of escalating the anger. It quashes freedom of speech and dampens interactions and progress—of building relationships, finding understanding, or meeting an agenda. In short, it is very damaging in many ways..

As the intensity of anger rises, infection escalates and can be crippling. Bitterness, a common by-product of living in an angry environment, lingers, spreads, and breeds anger in others. Left unchecked, bitterness and anger spread like an epidemic, infecting all areas of life—and leading to the infection of others.

It’s flu season. We’re constantly being warned to get the flu shot, wash our hands often, and keep our hands away from our faces. We try to avoid flu because it’s debilitating and once it comes in the home, it spreads to the family. We don’t want the flu and we don’t want our loved ones to get it.

We need to take the same precautions with anger, because it is contagious too. Once the infection is loosed, it’s hard to regain control and get rid of it.

The best way to guard against infecting others is to get rid of anger.

If you struggle with anger, you can find freedom in Christ by applying His Word to your life. Uprooting Anger: Destroying the Monster Within will help you identify the roots of your anger and get rid of the infection. You don’t have to be dragged down and be a source of damage to those you love. You can experience victory in Christ!

In the book, you can also find ways to restore relationships that have been damaged by anger. Buy the book now.

It’s Worth It All

For the last month, my life has revolved around home repair and remodeling. Normal duties have gotten cursory attention because of the chaos and distractions caused by remodeling. One day, meal preparation was so distracted that I forgot to season any of the dishes I prepared.

One of our projects was to replace the floor in the bathroom. We knew we had to pull up the old, lay down a backer board and put tile on top of that. We didn’t know that the old floor had twice as many nails in it as necessary, making it very difficult to pull out. Neither did we know that we would find rotting wood that required us to go even deeper.

We spent over a week preparing that floor for its transformation. (One 12-inch long, inch-and-a-half board had 13 nails in it.) As we labored, I realized how much upgrading a hundred-year-old house can be like making changes in our lives. I couldn’t help but compare it to a difficult time for me.

I went through a period when I was impatient and easily angered at Robert. I couldn’t seem to help myself and asked the Lord to fix me. The process was much like the bathroom. It consumed my life. Even when completing tasks at hand, my mind was distracted by chaos and upheaval. I wanted to avoid the pain and restore order and normalcy.

While knowing change needed to be made in my heart, that the old man would need to be removed. I didn’t know there was rot that needed to be dug out from deep within. Nor did I realize how painful and prolonged the process would be. I became hopeless, depressed, confused about who I was. It seemed God had deserted me.

But it was me that had deserted Him. God was faithful. He was working on me the whole time. He not only stayed beside me, He didn’t quit until His light revealed the rotten spots in my heart—the judgment and bitterness that were destroying my relationships.

He didn’t just cover them up and put a new tile on top, so I would look fixed. He went deep and dealt with the rottenness that was eating me up.

It was the most difficult time of my life. It hurt and I thought it would never end, but I’m grateful for every minute of it, because I love the transformation.

Not only did I get rid of judgment and bitterness, but I gained the ability to see when I’m tempted to judge or get bitter today. I don’t want to go down that path again, so I’m quick to work through those attitudes. Consequently, it’s easier to walk in righteousness in those areas. As a result, my relationships with God and others are sweeter and richer.

Because of that time, I am also more confident of God’s love for me. He really does work all things together for good—even when it feels like our very insides are being torn out.

We’re delighted with the new tile floor. We wish we had done it long ago. When we get a fresh coat of white paint on the cabinets and install the new window, it will look like a new room!

The same is true with transformation in our lives. The end product is always good if we hang in there and cooperate with Him until it is finished. It’s worth it all.

How Heavy Is Your Glass?

A Facebook post this week communicates a good lesson for life. It’s making the rounds, but I’m copying it in case you haven’t seen it.

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she enquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?”

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

She continued, ‘The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.”

Remember to put the glass down.

The psychologist was teaching on stress, but the same is true for unforgiveness, bitterness, and judgment. The longer you hold them, the heavier they become. They paralyze.

Then they erupt in anger.

It may be difficult to lay them down. But it’s harder to hang on to them without unwanted consequences.

Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt. 11:28). Part of coming to Him is giving Him the load that you’ve been carrying. Give Him your unforgiveness, bitterness, and judgment.

He will carry the heavy stuff for you. “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls” (Mt. 11:29). When you put on His yoke, you give Him the load and let him carry the weight for you.

Picture Jesus in the yoke with you and place your burden on Him.

And where do you find rest? “For your souls”–your mind, will, and emotions—the location of unforgiveness, bitterness, judgment, and anger. Give the Lord your heavy load so anger won’t control you.

If you’re weary from holding a half-full glass, heed the words of Jesus. His “yoke is easy, and [His] load is light” (Mt. 11:30).

“Come to Me, . . ., and I will give you rest” (Mt. 11:29).

Four More Things That Steal Peace

I forgot about a radio interview this past week, scheduled for noon. My phone reminded me at 11:50. I scrambled to get rid of noise makers that might interfere, find information on the person interviewing me, and locate the telephone number.

I called in just two minutes before show time—only to reach a recording that said, “Your program is 1 hour 1 minute and 53 seconds away. Call back . . ..”

When the recording stopped, the line went dead. The set time had arrived, but there was nothing I could do but call back in an hour.

The frantic panic passed, but peace alluded me. I couldn’t work, because I couldn’t focus. Instead, I used the time to reconnect with God and find peace so I’d be ready for the interview.

An hour later, I was ready, called as instructed, and reached a person this time. He asked, “Is this _____?”

“No. I’m Kay Camenisch.” He didn’t seem to recognize my name, much less expect me. He said to call back in an hour. After we hung up, I called back and listened to the program as he interviewed someone else for fifteen minutes.

Then I had 40 minutes to brush aside my questions as to what was going on and to nestle into God and place my trust in Him before I placed the call again.

In retrospect, it all makes sense. The day before I had posted a blog listing Three Things That Steal Peace. Now I had a “life” illustration to accompany the listing of four more things that rob us of peace. I had already started today’s blog.

Four more things that block our peace are:

1. Bitterness

Bitterness leads to destruction and a lack of peace (Rom. 3:14, 16). When we’re bitter, we’re unhappy with the things God has allowed in our lives and thus cannot enjoy fellowship with Him. Therefore, God tells us to put away all bitterness (Eph 4:31).

2. Judgment

“There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? (Jam. 4:12). When we judge those around us, it destroys peace because we are competing with God for His place as judge.

3. Pride

“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1Pet. 5:5). The Lord designed us to depend on Him. When we think we can run our lives without Him, that’s pride. If we leave Him out, He will oppose us. However, when we humble ourselves before Him, we find grace and peace.

4. Doubt

When we doubt the goodness, care, and provision of God, our peace is replaced by fear and anxiety. However, when we have been “justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). This applies to daily life as well as to salvation.

It’d be easy to say I lost my peace because I forgot the interview, or because somebody messed up on what they told me, or that I can’t trust other people to get things right. Maybe there is an element of truth to some of that–especially that I was in a bind because I forgot.

However, my real issues were pride and fear.

I’d blown it, and I didn’t want to mess up. I want to impress the host and the listening audience. That’s pride. In addition, I was depending on myself to make it right. As I scrambled, I prayed that God would help—but I wouldn’t have been so frantic if I’d expected Him to work it out.

Once again, the Lord came through. The call was not late. Furthermore, I had time to settle down and turn my eyes and hope back on Him. I had time to replace pride and doubt with humility and faith. What looked like a delay in the appointment was God’s provision for me to find peace in Him.

The interview went well, even though it seemed obvious that the host had hurriedly gotten information about me from the internet. He was not familiar with the book at all, but he was very gracious and professional.

I lost my peace momentarily, but I quickly returned to a place of peace, because I generally experience peace in my life. I’m far from perfect in my walk. I still fail, but the Lord is faithful.

If we learn to recognize the traps and run to the Source of peace when we fail, He will always be there for us.

When you find yourself out of peace, what do you do?

Holding On To Anger

Two birds battled in our driveway. The beak of one clamped firmly on the leg of the other. The captured bird wrestled frantically to break loose. They jerked, thrashed, and rolled as each fought to gain advantage.

I spotted the birds as I was leaving to run an errand. The birds blocked my path for almost ten minutes. I finally slowly rolled forward. When my front tire was about a foot from them, the assailant finally released its grip, and the two birds flew away, free.

The battle reminded me of a time my husband, Robert, and I struggled. We looked like those birds. Conflict threatened to destroy our marriage as we thrashed and tumbled, trying to gain advantage. At every turn, one—usually both—of us was hurt. I thought the emotional bumps and would never cease and bruises never heal.

Struggles in relationships are often lengthened because, like the birds, neither gives in. We hold on, refusing to let go. We don’t realize that as long as we maintain our grip, we are trapping ourselves too. We’re wounded along with the one we won’t release.

The Key to Peace

Throughout my struggle with Robert, I never guessed that I held the key to stopping the conflict. Freedom finally came after I realized I was holding onto Robert’s leg through judgment. My judgment had destroyed the peace and joy we once knew.

Where the Conflict Began

The conflict began when I didn’t approve of a decision Robert made and was afraid our family would suffer. My fear led me to be too forceful when we first talked about my concerns. Consequently, nothing changed. Later, even as I tried to be respectful and supportive, I was thinking, “you shouldn’t be doing that,” and “You ought to . . .” I held him by the leg with my shoulds and oughts and continued to judge his decisions.

However, I was blinded by my fear of the consequences we might suffer from his choices. I wasn’t aware of my judgment.

Robert’s Side of the Story

Meanwhile, it felt to Robert like I didn’t respect him and like he couldn’t do anything right. Even when I didn’t say anything, he sensed my underlying judgment. It was hard for him to hear God because he was overwhelmed by fear of my reactions.

A Vicious Circle

As the conflict continued, my greatest concern was Robert’s lack of seeking the Lord. How could we expect God’s blessing if we didn’t seek His direction? What I didn’t realize was that I was in the way. I was standing between my husband and God. He was so afraid of my reaction that he couldn’t find the Lord.

God’s Truth

Jesus said, “Do not judge lest you be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you” (Mat 7:1-2 ). As long as I remained judgmental against my husband, I felt judged by him because he didn’t seem to listen to anything I said. The consequences of my judgment were worse than those from his decisions. For months, we scrambled like two birds in the driveway.

Freedom from Strife!

When I released Robert from my shoulds and oughts and trusted God to work out His purposes, Robert and I were both freed. He was free to hear God, and we found peace with God and with each other.

It doesn’t matter who we struggle with. Instead of holding on, we need to release people and circumstances into God’s hands. After all, He is the judge. When we act as judge, we are acting as god.

“Therefore you are without excuse every man of you who passes judgment, for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself, for you who judge practice the same things” (Rom. 2:1 ).

Learn More

Jesus said, “judge with righteous judgment” in John 7:24, and “Do not judge lest you be judged” in Matthew 7:1. How do you reconcile these seemingly opposing Scriptures? Find the answer in the free e-book, The Judgment Trap.

Robert & Kay Camenisch encouraging and equipping relationships

1. Bitterness

2. Judgment

3. Pride

4. Doubt