How to Improve Your Vision: Matthew 9:27-31

Today's Reading: Matthew 9:27-31

There was a story on the news one night about a man who could echo-locate. You know like the way bats do. He was born blind. They way he got around was by making a sucking "Click" sound. You can find the article here. Basically he claims that he can "see" better than anyone else. Think about it, if you and he were in a completely pitch black room with obstacles to traverse. Who do you think would be safe? Of course, then blind man.

Jesus encountered two blind men while He was traveling. The ironic thing about this is that the men recognized Jesus as being the "Son of David". How did they know? It's not like they recognized His voice or remembered a picture of Him. They simply BELIEVED that the man approaching WAS Jesus, the Son of David. Being called the Son of David was taken to be meant in the sense of the Davidic covenant that the Messiah would be a descendant. So by calling Jesus Son of David they were recognizing Him as the promised Messiah. Jesus calls this FAITH and by this He touched their eyes and healed them. But then Jesus tells them NOT to tell anyone. Do you think that they could have kept it a secret? How long do you think they contained their emotions? That's right! They went right then and spread the news about Him.

What if something miraculous happened to you, how long you contain yourself? What if you were blind and then a person touched your eyes and now you could see? Wouldn't you go out and tell everyone you could find about it? Of course you would! You wouldn't want anyone to miss out. 

You know you did experience something miraculous. You were blind and now see. So what are you waiting on? Go spread the News about Him!

What would you do to get to Jesus? Matthew 9:18-26

The following is an article from Wikipedia:

According to Wikipedia*, "Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (July 1, 1818 - August 13, 1865) was the Hungarian physician who demonstrated that puerperal fever (also known as "childbed fever") was contagious and that its incidence could be drastically reduced by enforcing appropriate hand-washing behavior by medical care-givers. He made this discovery in 1847 while working in the Maternity Department of the Vienna Lying-in Hospital. His failure to convince his fellow doctors led to a tragic conclusion, however, he was ultimately vindicated.

Semmelweis realized that the number of cases of puerperal fever was much larger at one of his wards than at the other. After testing a few hypotheses, he found that the number of cases was drastically reduced if the doctors washed their hands carefully before dealing with a pregnant woman. Risk was especially high if they had been in contact with corpses before they treated the women. The germ theory of disease had not yet been developed at the time. Thus, Semelweiss concluded that some unknown "cadaveric material" caused childbed fever.

He lectured publicly about his results in 1850, however, the reception by the medical community was cold, if not hostile. His observations went against the current scientific opinion of the time, which blamed diseases on an imbalance of the basical "humours" in the body. It was also argued that even if his findings were correct, washing one's hands each time before treating a pregnant woman, as Semmelweis advised, would be too much work. Nor were doctors eager to admit that they had caused so many deaths. Semmelweis spent 14 years developing his ideas and lobbying for their acceptance, culminating in a book he wrote in 1861. The book received poor reviews, and he responded with polemic. In 1865, he suffered a nervous breakdown and was committed to an insane asylum where he soon died from blood poisoning.

Even as Jesus made his way to touch a dead girl, he came into contact with another threat to his ritual purity. According to Old Testament law, a woman having her monthly menstrual period was unclean for seven days, and anyone who touched her would be unclean "till evening" (Lev. 15:19-33). This woman, with her continual bleeding, would have been considered continually unclean, and was probably a social outcast. She acted boldly to come into close contact with a revered teacher. But she also limited her action, touching the edge of his cloak to minimize the likelihood of making Jesus unclean. In fact, she did not even want Jesus to know she had put him at risk.

This woman was another of the desperate, helpless people cataloged in Matthew 8-9. She was willing to go beyond the bounds of culturally acceptable behavior to draw on help from outside herself.

What would you do to get to Jesus? Would you go against the norm? Cultural barriers? What would you do about telling someone about Jesus? Would you go against the norm? Cultural barriers?

Are you Lamenting or Celebrating Jesus? Matthew 9:14-17

Today's Reading: Matthew 9:14-17

The original intent of a fast is to mourn or to lament. This was done usually after a loved passed away or when a catastrophic event took place in the city or country. They would deny themselves food to concentrate on the promise of God for a deliverer. If you had ever fasted before whether by choice or not, you have experienced a dependence on Provision. We have all kinds of distractions that keep our focus away from God and to do that we forget His promises. 

John's disciples and the Pharisees fasted because they were waiting/lamenting the fact that they were still without their DELIVERER. So when the disciples of John came to ask Jesus why didn't His disciples fasted they were in a way asking if He was the One that John talked about. 

Jesus uses an interesting illustration. During a wedding, if you haven't noticed, there isn't anyone lamenting (ok no bad and corny marriage jokes). Everyone is celebrating. They are celebrating the Joining of two individuals by an ACT of God. If the groom were to be taken away from the wedding then the celebration would stop and lamenting would commence. 

Jesus also uses the illustration of a patch and a wine skin. First, if a new patch were to be sewed onto an old garment then as soon as it was washed then the patch would shrink differently and the garment would be ruined. Same with the wine-skin. If new wine was put into an old wine skin then it would ferment and expand causing the old rigid wine-skin to burst. Both were illustrations showing the listeners that the teaching of Jesus was incompatible to that from the Pharisees. 

Think about this as your day goes on; Are you Lamenting Jesus? Or are you Celebrating Jesus? Are you still "waiting" on Him? 

The Call of Matthew: Matthew 9:9-13

One day I received a call from a person whom I recognized. He was trying to pull a prank call on a random number and dialed mine coincidentally.
"Is you refrigerator running?" he said.
"Phillip? Why do want to know about my refrigerator?" I answered.
"How do you know who this is? Who is this?" he answered with a puzzled voice.
"You called me remember? How do not know who you called?"

Jesus had just left the house in which He healed the paralytic man and saw a man who was a tax-collector. He said two words to him. "FOLLOW ME." That must have been enough because Scripture records that he got up and followed Him. We do not know the background story but we know that Jesus simply spoke a few words and Matthew obeyed.
Jesus is then seen sitting with other tax collectors (likely Matthew's friends) and other "sinners". Tax-collectors have always received bad raps from people and it was no different in this day. They were considered "cheats", "sinners", "traitors", and just plain dirt. They were the ones that collected money that was sent to the Empire as taxes. Often the collectors would take more than what the citizens were required to give. This is why they were not looked on with favor.
While reclining and hanging out with these type people, Jesus was approached by the Pharisees. They pointed out that He was in the presence of these people and enjoying their company. This was done possibly to sway the disciples away by discrediting Jesus. But Jesus answered back: "Those who are well don't need a doctor, but the sick do. Go and learn what this means: I DESIRE MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE. For I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Jesus was giving his disciples an example of evangelism and I would suspect that Jesus was evagelising the house. You see it is one thing for Christians to gather around and worship God and enjoy fellowship. It is another to actually GO OUT and "hang" around sinners and be the reflection of Christ. It is sinners that need the grace and MERCY of Jesus. Everywhere we turn we can find soemone who needs Jesus. Have we adeqately told them about Him?
Homework for today;
1. First, do what Jesus said and find out what is meant by "I DESIRE MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE" from verse 13. You may have to dig a little into Scripture.
2. Next, find someone who doesn't know Jesus and strike up a conversation with them and ask God to provide a way to turn the conversation into "spiritual" things. Then start by telling how you came to know the Lord. Yes your testimony.

The Faith of Friends: Matthew 9:1-8

Today's Reading; Matthew 9:1-8

Have you ever seen the commercial that shows people seeing the good deeds of another person then doing one themselves? One person sees another open the door for a mother that has her hands full. Then that person pick up something that was dropped by another. Then so on and so on.

Jesus finishes His trip across the sea and ended up into His own town. First thing that happens is a group of people carrying their friend stops Him him and scripture doesn't record them saying anything. In parallel gospels they record that the friends went so far as to tear the roof up and lowered the man.

Matthew writes that Jesus saw the faith of the FRIENDS. Not anything about the paralytic. What we can learn in that we must realize that our faith or lack of faith has an impact upon the lives of others.

Know Jesus or No Jesus: Matthew 8:28-34

Today's Reading: Matthew 8:28-34

If Jesus were to pass you by in your normal life would you recognize Him? I mean if you were at work and Jesus is walking around in the background, you catch eyes with Him and He waves, would you know that it was Jesus at all? Chances are probably not. You couldn't know that it was He if you never met in person. Our passage today accounts of two demon possessed men that recognized Jesus for exactly who He is. “What do You have to do with us, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" They called Him "Son of God"! They know exactly WHO He is! and they tremble at the thought of the coming Judgement.
If the demons know and tremble so much how much more should we? What if we were given a choice to follow Him or face the same Judgement? That's right! We do have a choice. But it is much more than recognizing who Jesus is. It is following Him and making Him our Savoir by accepting His sacrifice for our sins. The demons do not have this offer of grace, hence they reason they tremble. They know Him just like we know Him but do not follow.
Have you you made this decision? You can know all there is to know about Jesus and be like the demons OR you can intimately KNOW Him! If you have not please do not hesitate to make this commitment now.
If you have made this commitment then who have told?

The Only True Airbender: Matthew 8:22-27

Today's Reading: Matthew 8:22-27

Ok, so I admit I like watching Blackbelt Theater. IF you don't know what it is, it is basically Chinese made movies that have kung-fu and a fantasy type story-line. These were quite popular during the 70's and early 80's. More recently, a movie called "The Last Air-bender" was out in theaters. It is about a boy who could manipulate air but supposedly could also manipulate water, fire, and earth as well. The story goes that the fire-country was taking over and this boy was still learning how to move water. I will not spoil the ending for you if you decide to watch it.
In today's passage, we pick up from yesterday and remember that Jesus was getting into a boat to escape the crowds that was forming around Him. A short time after that He goes to a part of the boat and starts to take a nap. Well, just then a storm rises up which was common in this area and it was tossing the boat around quite violently. Get this... the disciples had to WAKE HIM UP!!! During my time in the Navy, I took a cruise on a Amphibious Assault ship and sailed the North Atlantic. It too is known for high waves sometimes up to 50ft. Unlike Jesus, I was awake through the night for fear of my life. I could relate to the disciples very much. They were scared for their lives and were a little irritated that Jesus was still sleeping.
Then there is Jesus' reaction. “Why are you fearful, you of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm." He was still trying to teach them how to have faith. Even after this the disciples were amazed at His power and said "What kind of man is this?—even the winds and the sea obey Him!”
We go through bad times in our life and we can call our storms. Sometimes we go through them but we can be assured that Jesus is still with us. Think about this; there were other boats in the area that could easily set sail and get close to Jesus. Maybe He sent the storm to get away for a while to get some rest?
The bigger point and application is this. Sometimes Jesus sends storms in our lives so that our faith could grow. The disciples has the Creator of EVERYTHING in the boat and they still felt like they were going to die. When they saw Jesus speak to the wind and waves and they obeyed they got a glimpse of the stories of their own heritage when Moses spread his arms to split the Red Sea to allow the deliverance of the nation of Israel. That same power that separated the seas was the same power that calmed the sea.
Today as you go about think about some times that you were in one of life's storms and how God spoke to the elements and brought you through it.

Jesus and the Paparazzi Matthew 8:18-22

Today's reading; Matthew 8:18-22

Jesus just finished with a healing service that probably lasted all night. Picture it... people from all over the country that have traveled MILES just to see, and hear Jesus. People brought Him sick and diseased people. Imagine listening to Jesus teach and everyone around you is probably coughing or has open sores. Kinda gross huh? Now finish the thought with Jesus healing everyone. Do you think that He would have some people that would want to follow him wherever? OF COURSE!!! In fact, Jesus had so many people around him that he could barely move. So he gets into a boat just to distance Himself a little.

As He was getting into the boat a scribe, yes the same scribe(s) that Jesus was rebuking earlier, came and made a statement. He said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you will go." First, he called Jesus a TEACHER. By doing this he acknowledged that Jesus has authority and coming from a known scribe (they were known for being very knowledgeable in Scripture) was extraordinary. 

I love Jesus' reply: “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” WHAT?!?!? You mean that Jesus was refusing to have him follow? Not at all!! Jesus was merely trying to put things into perspective for him. He was telling the scribe that following Him was not going to be easy. Although while food and clothing are physical necessities for human survival, an established home is not. However, part of human emotional make-up is a strong drive for the security of a home. Jesus' demand for his followers was not impossible, but it was lofty enough that only the most committed would accept it. We are not told whether the scribe followed Jesus or not.

Next we see that another person that was ALREADY following Jesus said that he must go and bury his father. Jewish tradition was that the eldest son was responsible for the care and burial for the parents. This came from the commandment to "Honor thy mother and father." It was not known whether his father was dead already or not. It took one year from the time of death to fully bury a corpse. This was so that the bones, that were in the care of the eldest, could be placed in an estuary. 

Jesus' reaction? "FOLLOW ME, and Let the dead bury their own dead." Jesus saw this tradition and the way the disciple used it as an excuse. There is no excuse. 

Bottom line and thought for today;

Although it is no easy task to follow Jesus there is no excuse not to. What are some hindrances to FULLY follow Him? 

What is it about the Healing Touch? Matthew 8:14-17

Today's Reading: Matthew 8:14-17

I have heard it said that the touch from another human is like a healing touch. We crave to be touched as if we need to be accepted and consoled. If you have ever noticed when a person is sick in the hospital and they see a loved one, they will reach out to touch them.

The religious leaders in Jesus' day were known to never touch a woman because they did not want to find themselves defiled and unclean if they were in their menstrual cycle. But Jesus often found Himself touching people, man or woman, to heal them. He was not afraid of defiling himself because it was impossible. Jesus could not be defiled if he made the disease leave.

In this passage Jesus went to Peter's house. He saw his mother-in-law who had a fever. He touched her and the fever left. And the scripture says that she got and started to serve Him. Later that evening, people were bringing to Him demon-possessed and sick people. The contrast is that He spoke to the demons and touched those who were sick. I do not believe that this was Jesus only mode of healing people, however, it is significant that He spoke directly to the demons because He had authority over them. He touched diseased people because of the compassion and desire to make people whole.

Today meditate on the fact that Jesus has authority over our weaknesses and diseases. He is able and willing to make us whole.

Recognizing Authority

Today's Reading; Matthew 8:5-9

I wished I had a parallel story on this but quite frankly I do not. I guess sometimes you should just let the story speak for itself.

Here we have a member of the Roman army and not just any leader. He is a Centurion. He probably was entrusted with around 60-125 troops, hence the name centurion. This is where we get our word for century or 100 years. He must have heard the message of Jesus at some point. 

1. The Centurion PLEADED with Jesus. Roman soldiers were not known for pleading with anyone. They were given authority, especially over the Jews, to act in the place of Caesar. But this one was different. He obviously had compassion for his troops because he was concerned about his servant. "My servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible agony."

2. The Centurion recognized the Rank of Jesus. Or more appropriately he recognized that Jesus has AUTHORITY. He wouldn't let Jesus come to his house to heal his servant. But instead he says to Jesus that if He were to just say the word it would be sufficient. His basis was by Jesus' authority. Then he talks of his own authority by saying that what ever he says it happens, "I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my •slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” So just like the Centurion has authority and gives commands Jesus has authority and gives commands.

3. Jesus recognizes the Centurions FAITH. Jesus answered the Centurion with a tremendous statement. "I assure you: I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith!" Yes! He said this IN FRONT OF OTHER JEWS! The Jews already did not have high regard for Roman soldiers. But when they heard this imagine what they must have thought? The Sermon on the Mount must still have been fresh in their minds and the teaching on faith was being reinforced here. Jesus points out that this man who just simply asked for Jesus to say the word and heal his servant without going to his house. But it was much more than this... The Centurion BELIEVED that Jesus could do it. 

How many times have we asked Jesus to do something for us but we expected Him to be there as well? Or, how many times have we prayed for something but not fully believe that it would be fulfilled. Is it a problem with our faith? Would Jesus say about us that He has not found anyone in Texas, Georgia, or _(fill in your place)____ that has greater faith?

Faith In Action Matthew 8:1-4

In the last series of devotionals, we took a close look at "The Sermon on the Mount". Jesus gave His listeners (that includes us by the way) some pointers for them to live as Christians. Most of which tore down traditions that have been built up and enforced by the Jewish leaders.
Now we have come to the point where Jesus has just finished His sermon and is now walking away from the mountain area. A man approaches Him who probably listened to the whole thing. He was a leper. Lepers were NOT supposed to be in public. They were banished from the city to a quarantine area better known as a Leper Colony. They were not allowed to leave even to get food and water. They did eat because family members would travel to the colony and leave food and water by the entrance. They were not allowed to worship either because they were considered "unclean" and had to wrap open sore with strips of cloth. Remember the verse in Isaiah? "All our righteousness are like filthy rags"? Those filthy rags that it refers to are these rags that are wrapped around a leper's sore. I will not get into the gross details but I think you get the picture. This man not only had faith to come and listen to Jesus and risk causing a scene but he knew that this man Jesus was no ordinary man.
Look at the passage and see what he says, "Lord if you are WILLING. You can make me clean". The leper man not only breaks away from being isolation but seeks out the one whom he knows can make Him clean. That took FAITH!!!
Also, this man must have been there when Jesus said "Ask and you will receive". So he did! And the Scripture says that Jesus was so full of compassion that He did not hesitate and touched the man. The Bible says the the disease IMMEDIATELY left him. Two things to note here. First, Jesus touched a leper. The transmission of the disease was by touching. Jesus was so filled with compassion that he knew the man needed a human touch. He had probably had not been touched in years. Second, Jesus had the power over the disease and it IMMEDIATELY left him.
Then what did Jesus do? He told him to "NOT tell anyone but go and tell the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed as a testimony." Why? So that his healing would be accepted among his people and he could worship again. This man was made whole just by asking.
Have we asked to be made whole? Sometimes we need to ask!

The Foundation for Kingdom Minded Warriors Matthew 7:24-29

Today's Reading Matthew 7:24-29

Just after graduating from Naval Aircrewman Candidate School, I was sent to SERE school (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape). The "survival" portion of the school was part of my favorite. During this phase we learned how to scrounge for the basic needs for life. FOOD, WATER, SHELTER. Food was scarce but we picked leaves and searched for bugs. Water was everywhere because it was Maine during January and it had just snowed. Only we learned to keep our canteens in our inner part of jackets otherwise it would freeze. When that happens you had to wait till it thaws before getting to drink. Building or finding a shelter was the toughest part. You wanted one that gives enough cover that you would EVADE from the enemy but also strong enough to battle against the elements. So naturally it could not be near a dried creek bed in low land or out in a field where it's hard to camouflage. It had to be under a fallen tree, under a rock, and it had to stand the test. We were "graded" that night when the instructors would hike through the forest and try to find us. We passed if our shelter was hidden and strong.

Jesus said that the person who hears what He is saying and does nothing is like the person who builds his shelter on the sand. You see if you build on the sand it usually meant that it is near a water source or in low lying land. If it rained the waters will rise and soften the ground causing your shelter to fall apart. Jesus says this is what the foolish man does.

However, if your shelter was built properly. It could stand the test of a rainstorm. Jesus used this to illustrate that what He just finished preaching about was a foundation to His ministry and is our foundation to being Kingdom minded. If we listen and ACT upon it we will be like the sensible man who built his shelter upon the rock.

This was the last verse in chapter 7 and it ends Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount". The last two verses are what is unique and is a transition from this scene to the next. The people who were listening were astonished because He spoke as authority. Even higher authority than the scribes.

Go about today and think about the Points of Jesus' sermon.
The Beatitudes
Believers Are Salt and Light
Christ Fulfills the Law
Murder Begins in the Heart
Adultery in the Heart
Divorce Practices Censured
Tell the Truth
Go the Second Mile
Love Your Enemies
How to Give
How to Pray
The Model Prayer
How to Fast
God and Possessions
The Cure for Anxiety
Do Not Judge
Keep Asking, Searching, Knocking
Entering the Kingdom
The Two Foundations

How to Spot a False Prophet and survive the narrow gate.

Today's Reading Matthew 7:13-21

One of the murals on the walls at the US Navy BUDS classrooms reads "The only easy day was yesterday".  Meaning that what you did today is NOTHING compared to what you are going to do tomorrow. They have the mindset that the body is capable of doing much more than what the mind tells it can. A SEAL team member chooses to go through the toughest situations so that he can be the best and able to save lives in challenging situations. This is the key to developing a strong minded and effective soldier. You would not want a person who chooses the easy way out. He would be ineffective and too self-absorbed. Imagine yourself involved in a situation where you needed rescuing. Would you choose a person who has not experienced hardship firsthand and only read it in a book? Or would you choose a person who willingly took the time to go through worst-case scenarios and hardships just to gain the experience?

Jesus taught that the easy way is not the good way. It leads to destruction and that MANY go through it. The Way to life is "narrow" and few people find it. Why can't they find it? The next few verses tells us. False prophets lead people astray. They do it by preaching in Jesus' name but adding to the Gospel. They preach a message that makes you "feel" good inside and even tell the congregation that you will be happy and prosperous if you have enough faith. How do you get faith? Send me a small monetary gift and we will pray that God will answer your prayer! (sorry couldn't help that). This is an example of the wide and easy gate that Jesus was referring to. 

These false teachers are sometimes hard to spot because they guise themselves as genuine Men of God! (7:15) They do it so well that many have deceived themselves! (7:22) So how do we know that they are false teachers? Here is what Jesus says:

You'll know them by their fruit (7:16)

       a. An apple tree produces apples. It can not produce an orange. So if they are evil then their deeds are going to show them as evil.

       b. A thorn-bush cannot produce any good fruit. Remember what the fruits of the Spirit are? Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

In general, the false teacher will not have any of these "fruits of the Spirit". You might remember watching the news or read an article on a popular televangelist that is arrested for indecency or tax-fraud. These ARE false prophets.

As for the Christian, we are to stay focused on the narrow road. If we are then it is hard to meander off and get distracted with worldly desires. Jesus said that we will face persecution for His name. But the path WILL lead to life. The only easy day here on earth was yesterday but it is good to know that we have the Holy Spirit as our Guide, Jesus as our Savoir, and the Promises of the Father. 

 

Something to Think About

Ever thought about the reasons why Jesus picked a few people to be His close followers? Well, the obvious ones were that He picked 12 symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel, He did come to save sinners, and he was considered a Rabbi and therefore had disciples, but why have a few to hang out with?
If you look at at of the teachings from Jesus that were directed specifically to the disciples they were mostly about developing Christian character. After all they are the Patriarchs of the Christian faith and had to develop the image. Sort of being Brand Marketers. The most important aspect of this training Jesus gave them was Personal Evangelism. 
How is your personal evangelism experience? Have you talked to anyone about Jesus? If it is like most and it happens almost none of the time then you are not alone. Perhaps you don't know how to go about doing it? Or maybe you experience fear of rejection? Either way we are commanded to tell others. 
I'm in the process of developing an online training course to teach and show how to share your faith without fear. 
In the meantime, be in prayer about this process and that it develops into a user friendly course that will assist those who need it. Also, pray for opportunities for you to share your faith and start by building those relationships. The easiest way to start is by fulfilling someone else's need.
Email or comment here if you have any questions. 
Carry On!

Being Persistent - Matthew 7:7-12

My Mother told me when I was young that I should never accept "No" from someone who has the ability to say "Yes". This was in reference to asking girls out on a date and I was VERY shy. She always wanted me to be persistent is asking for what I wanted, without being annoying, until I either received what I asked for or there was an acceptable compromise.The saying stuck and I believe it is applicable to different situations. 

In this Passage Jesus was urging the listeners to be persistent. Ask for what you say? Look back at the context. He was on a point that was teaching how to improve the Christian behavior to become Kingdom minded. Also, He is probably NOT referring to materials things because of the section about treasures. So what do you think Jesus is referring to? RIGHT! The treasures of Heaven. These are perfect gifts that help us carry on our mission with God. 

Today ask God what are the things that you need for your mission. Is it BOLDNESS? WISDOM? ENERGY? Then ask Him to equip you and guide you on your mission.

Excuse me sir! You have something in your eye!

Today's Reading: Matthew 7:1-6

Pointing out sin is not an easy thing to do. Especially if the person is not a Christian. Usually if you do the other person is VERY defensive and argumentative. Then they will try and quote Scripture. "Do not judge" they will say and this will most times shut the mouth. A close examination of this particular Scripture and a correct hermeneutic will reveal what is actually being said.
First, we are NOT to judge, yet. What I mean is Jesus says that we should look at our own life first then we are able to point out sin in others lives. Look closely to the sequence.

1. "Do not judge, SO THAT you won't be judged, AND with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." If we are willing to expose sin we should also be ready to be exposed ourselves. We are held to a higher standard (conduct wise) than those who do not know Jesus. I have once heard a good saying. "You can't expect an unsaved person to ACT saved". In other words, they do not know that some of the things they do are wrong and do not have the Holy Spirit to convict them of the sin.

2. "Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye but don't notice the log in your own eye?..."
If we are quick to point out sin we should be willing to be exposed as well. Suppose that you see someone lying and you are sure of it, you must not be known to lie yourself. But how to I rectify this if I am commanded to expose sin (remember the lesson on 'Being the Light of the World'?)

3. Jesus says that we are to "First take the log out of your own eye then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." Even though we are saved does not mean that we cease to sin. Christians are being watched whether we know it or not. As soon as one slips into sin, especially those who hold church offices, they are exposed with great fervor. When this happens the testimony is tainted and the reputation has to be reconciled. This process may take a LONG time but it is necessary in order to carry out exposing sin.

Jesus ends the thought by saying "Don't give to dogs what is holy or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them with their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces." The salvation that we have been given freely is not to be treated like a "GOTCHYA" to those who do not possess it. We must live our lives and maintain our reputation and testimony so that the unsaved see us and want what we have. It is too valuable to throw it in their face only to have it trampled and torn.

Today, examine your own life and pray to the Holy Spirit to expose sin in your life. Then, "take the speck out of your own eye".

Don't Worry About Worrying

Have you ever watched the TV show "Life without People"? It's w show that speculates what the world would be like if all of the people on earth just vanished leaving only the wild animals to rule. Do you think that there would be a problem with extinction? Sometimes I disagree with interfering with nature to "preserve" a species. The instincts that animals have allow the species to Move, Adapt, or die. They do not mope around the woods wondering if food is going to be available. They search for it. They do not worry where is their next bed is going to be. They simply bed where they are.
Jesus says that we too are not to worry about where our next meal or shelter is coming from. Or even wiry about the clothes we wear. In this passage Jesus lets us in on a little known sin that everyone commits to varying extents. It is a sin to worry. Why? Because people who do not know Christ as Savior do these things. If we worry and seek after things then our faith is in question. But Jesus tells us how to rectify this; "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don't worry about tomorrow,because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Its like this... we have the richest most loving Father in the entire universe who knows us better than we know our self and we can know that He will give us everything that we need for His purpose. Just as he provides for the animals and plants how much more He gives us. How cool is that. Ever played "My dad is richer than hour dad?" I think ours tops everyone dad.
As you go thought pray think about how much we really depend on God. Food, money, job, house, and try to list them on a 3x5 card. Carry it around with you for a while and add to it as God reveals to you the things He provides.

True Valuable Treasure

Years ago in the news there was a story about a man who stole money from his boss a little at a time. It took him about 15 years to amass what he thought to be the equivalent of $1.5 million. He would be set for retirement and decided one day to quit his job take the money and move to a place where no one knew who he was. After informing his boss of his plans he retrieved his loot that was kept in a box under the house crawl space. He opened it only to find dust and remnants of old bills.

Jesus speaks of keeping treasure. He speaks of the corruptible treasure that we keep on earth and that we should not be concerned with it. Our treasures here can be and will be destroyed or stolen. But instead Jesus tells us what is more important, treasures in Heaven. 

In the middle of this thought it seems that Jesus says something unrelated to treasure "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness—how deep is that darkness!" Could this mean that what ever we see will determine what we will treasure? Sort of. You see, our eyes are the gates to our soul. If we guard what we see then that will determine what we value. Looking viewing or taking part of sinful things seep into our lives and become our treasures. However, if we are on guard then we are more apt to see what is truly valuable and store treasure in heaven.

Since we cannot have two masters we are either on guard or we are influenced by evil. Either we concentrate on what is incorruptible or what is destroyable. 

As you go through your day today, guard your eyes to what you see. Pay attention to what is a true treasure and what can be stolen or destroyed.