GET TOGETHER – Help Us Lord!

1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Ro 14:13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.
Samuel was given instructions by God on whom to anoint as the next King of Israel to succeed King Saul. In verse 6 we see that Samuel looked at Eliab and thought that he must surely be the one that God had sent him to anoint: 1Sa 16:6 “So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’S anointed is before Him.” This guy must have looked like a blue chipper, or a five-star recruit. But we know that it was David the little brother who would become King of Israel.
Although there are certainly times that God gives us wisdom on some matters that things that a person may be wearing such as a tee shirt, or some other garment, or a piece of jewelry that may indicate where that person’s heart, or sympathies may lie. We can also be wrong when we attempt to judge people by their outward appearance.
Most mornings I don’t eat breakfast. A lot of the time I make me a shake out of almond milk. One day I put blueberries in my shake. When I got through drinking it, I noticed that some of the fragments of the blue berries were on my teeth. When I looked in the mirror it appeared that I had been chewing tobacco. I brushed my teeth again and flossed them before I went out. One of the main areas that the Lord has called me to serve in is helping people to be free of a life of addiction. When I preach that the Lord set me free from nicotine, I don’t want the enemy to use that to put doubt and mistrust in the minds of those that I am ministering to. On the other hand, if I had not brushed and flossed my teeth and gotten the blueberry fragments out someone could have made a wrong judgment about me because of something that they saw.
I also had bought some breath mints that were in a circular container. J.J. pointed out to me that it looked like I had a container of snuff in my pocket. I immediately took the container of mints out of my pocket. As a person that was delivered from a 2 and ½ packs of cigarette habit over 32 years ago I didn’t want to give the appearance that I had substituted one addiction for another.
Pardon me if I am rambling today. But basically, what I am trying to get across is that sometimes when we judge someone by what we see on the outside we can be very wrong about that person. On the other hand, as believers in Jesus Christ and I am certainly not trying to be legalistic. We do have a responsibility not to be a stumbling block to other Christians. That is where the Holy Spirit comes in. He will give us discernment. And by the way there is a difference in discernment and judging someone based solely on their outward appearance. He will also alert us as He did J.J. and I and help us not to be a stumbling block to others.
So, I guess the best way to sum up what I am trying to say is the two principles that are in the two passages that I shared are this. Let us not judge people by their outward appearance. And let us not be a stumbling block to others that are in the faith. Again, the Holy Spirit will help us in both areas that I am talking about if we will listen to Him.

Let us Pray
Lord, we know that in our current culture that it is easy to let our hearts get hard and to form opinions about people by their outward appearance. Help us to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and to help us not to have a critical spirit. We also ask you to help us to not be a stumbling block to new believers. We thank You for the grace that You give us to help us to become more like You.
In Jesus Name
Amen
We love you all!
Your Friend/Kinfolk
Preston

PS For those in Northwest Alabama our Broadcast Redeeming the Time comes on at 9:30 A.M. AND 9:30 P.M. on Sunday morning and Sunday night. It is on Spectrum Channel 10. In Jasper, I believe it is on TV 16.
Please pray for our broadcast that the Lord will use it to bring sinners into the Kingdom and to edify His people.