September 11, 2011

As we look forward to our week of remembering 9/11, I offer the following hymn of peace for your consideration today.

“…and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore;
but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree,
and no one shall make them afraid,
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.” (Micah 4:3-4, ESV)

I can’t believe its coming on 10 years since that day. I think the real message in September 11 is that there is a lot of pain and anger in the world. This world really needs hope and love. This morning I finished reading Philip Yancey’s “Where is God When It Hurts?” and he had something in there that startled me. In India only 3% of the country is Christian, yet Christians in India are responsible for 18% of the health care. In India when you ask someone what they think of when they think of a Christian, they think of love, compassion and graceful health care to the poor. Wouldn’t it be great if it were like that in the United States?

God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world: peace in the hearts of all men and women and peace among the nations of the earth. Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred. Amen.

... Never throw out anyone!

http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=Audrey+Hepburn#/d16vjnm

A really great quote I came across today ...

“People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.”

~Audrey Hepburn

Amen!

the Good, the Bad, the Ugly: The Grace thing revisited ....

Just an observation … I think can be demonstrated again and again, especially what one sees on the news, that what many are comfortable saying to an unbeliever, we aren’t comfortable saying to a Christian. But the bottom line is … The Gospel is for Christians, too! We all love the story of the Prodigal son. Have you thought about what goes on the day after the party? What if the son messed up again in a week? Or even in a couple of days. What if he doesn’t live the life of a grateful son much at all? Or to be more lifelike, what if he sometimes does and sometimes doesn’t act all that grateful? Does that change the Father? Does the older brother get to come back into the story and say “Aha!! I told you so; I was right all along!”

The thing is that our brothers and sisters can be a combination of the good, the bad, and the ugly. And Christ died for the sins of Christians too. And we need to hear that over and over again! We all need that grace to continue on the path of ‘glory to glory’! Grace is a word that describes how you feel before you kiss someone. I think it's like when a bird decides that it can fly. Lets dispense that grace to our brothers and sister so they can realize they are about to take flight!

I will be there for you ...

A quote I just had to share ...

"No one enjoys walking people through dark valleys or through painful reactions, but love says, I will be there for you. I may not know what to do or what to say. But I just cannot let you go through this alone!"

~Wayne Jacobsen

Hard to Get

This song by Rich Mullins, like nearly everything that amazing guy wrote, blesses me and makes me feel more comfortable in my own skin as a believer ...


Hard to Get


You who live in heaven
Hear the prayers of those of us who live on earth
Who are afraid of being left by those we love
And who get hardened by the hurt
Do you remember when You lived down here where we all scrape
To find the faith to ask for daily bread
Did You forget about us after You had flown away
Well I memorized every word You said
Still I'm so scared, I'm holding my breath
While You're up there just playing hard to get
You who live in radiance
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in skin
We have a love that's not as patient as Yours was
Still we do love now and then
Did You ever know loneliness
Did You ever know need
Do You remember just how long a night can get?
When You were barely holding on
And Your friends fall asleep
And don't see the blood that's running in Your sweat
Will those who mourn be left uncomforted
While You're up there just playing hard to get?
And I know you bore our sorrows
And I know you feel our pain
And I know it would not hurt any less
Even if it could be explained
And I know that I am only lashing out
At the One who loves me most
And after I figured this, somehow All I really need to know
Is if You who live in eternity
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in time
We can't see what's ahead
And we can not get free of what we've left behind
I'm reeling from these voices that keep screaming in my ears
All the words of shame and doubt, blame and regret I can't see how
You're leading me unless
You've led me here
Where I'm lost enough to let myself be led
And so You've been here all along I guess
It's just Your ways and You are just plain hard to get.'

Violet Forgiveness

“Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”

~ Mark Twain

Isaiah 61 ~ Oaks

I have some time this evening so I thought I would share one of my most favorite passages of scripture ...

Isaiah 61

"The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me.

He sent me to preach good news to the poor,

heal the heartbroken,

Announce freedom to all captives,

pardon all prisoners.

God sent me to announce the year of his grace,

a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies,

and to comfort all who mourn,

To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,

give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,

Messages of joy instead of news of doom,

a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.

Rename them "Oaks of Righteousness"

planted by God to display his glory.

will sing for joy in God,

explode in praise from deep in my soul!

He dressed me up in a suit of salvation,

he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness,

As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo

and a bride a jeweled tiara.

For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers,

and as a garden cascades with blossoms,

So the Master, God,

brings righteousness into full bloom

and puts praise on display before the nations.

In reading the Gospels I am keenly interested in observing the ministry of Jesus Christ, His attitude towards those who were acknowledged, confessed sinners. To the woman that was brought to Him caught in the very act of adultery, He shows great tenderness, understanding and grace. "Woman, where are your accusers?" "Sir, I guess I don't have any." "Well, neither do I condemn thee, go thy way, sin no more." (John 8) Oh, how tender He deals with her. Then there is the woman at the well in Samaria. Now she wasn't the most moral woman around obviously. She had been married to five different men. And then finally decided marriage wasn't for her and so she was just living with a man. And yet Jesus in His dealing with her was so gracious, revealing to her His identity. Oh, the attitude of Christ towards the sinner was always beautiful! He had good news for sinning man and those that confessed and were aware of their sinful state. "Bouquets of roses instead of ashes" indeed!

Have a blessed evening everyone!~

Tim

Off The Rails

Kind of a downer subject..."The sadness will never go away."-Van Gogh suicide note

I would think that life without God would be kinda lonely, incomplete... Yet Van Gogh did know God... I have to wonder why some push the self destruct button, while others carry on? God made everyone in His image, but do some have more God than others? Is suicide EVER an option?

Depression on this level is something I really don't understand. Rather its only actually feeling it that I don't understand. I know enough to know that it isn't just having a "blue" day or something a person can just get over. God may just chose to heal someone of it, but to just dismiss it, as some do, as something that can just be cured or lost if someone seeks God enough doesn't seem realistic. Nor does it show compassion, which is something we, as a Christian, should have... The reason I bring this up as I've been thinking of a friend at work who committed suicide a couple of years ago. I wonder...where is he now?

I am comforted by Romans 9:39. "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."

I think that as a Christian, we may step out of Gods will, but not out of His care. You know, I praise God I have not suffered serious depression, or feelings of suicide, but if I ever should, I know these will not separate me from the love of God. The victory and the glory of Christ cannot be snatched from Him because I go off the rails, in a matter of speaking.

Just some thoughts ... have a blessed day everyone!

Start Loving

Something I would like to share …


“Our failures. That’s the hardest area, especially when they have affected the lives of our loved ones. As our two children step out into the adult world it is a joy to see many beautiful things in their lives. But it hurts to see areas of need and struggle that stem in part from ways we have failed them. A friend reminded me recently that even those areas are part of the ‘all things’ which God will use to make a man and a woman who will accomplish His unique purposes. So when thoughts of my failures push there way into my consciousness, I let His total forgiveness dissolve my regrets, and go on to praise Him who accepts us just as we are and lovingly works to make us more than we are.


~Colleen Evans, from the book Start Loving


Have a blessed evening everyone! Tim

A Fathers Love

I don't share that many devotionals but I really liked this one!

Tim

Reflections For Ragamuffins - A Daily Devotionalby Brennan Manning Copyright © 1998 by Brennan Manning

ABBA'S LOVE - Sunday, February 8th

The prayer for the poor in spirit can simply be a single word: Abba. Yet that word can signify dynamic interaction. Imagine a boy trying to help his father with some household work or making his mother a gift. The help may be nothing more than getting in the way, and the gift may be totally useless, but the love behind it is simple and pure, and the loving response it evokes is virtually uncontrollable. I am sure it is this way between our Abba and us. At the deepest, simplest levels, we just want each other to be happy, to be pleased. Our sincere desire counts far more than any specific success or failure. Thus when we try and pray and cannot, or when we fail in a sincere attempt to be compassionate, God touches us tenderly in return.

Its all about Jesus

"Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on, do not sin again." John 8:11b

One thing I get from the story this verse comes from is that Jesus didn't shame the woman for her wrongs, but came to rescue her. To turn from longings that were draining her to something that will fill her. Or more accurately would quench her thirst. The stories in the Bible and Jesus' parables are not merely cool stories or literary vessels to hold theological truth. They are the nuts and bolts stuff of Jesus' life here on earth. To his banquets he welcomes the dreaded tax collectors, whores, and various other reprobates. He came for the sick, not the well. He came for the unrighteous, not the righteous. He came even for those who betrayed Him, like Peter, the ones who forsook Him at His time of greatest need. And like in the "Prodigal Son" parable, He responded like a lovesick father!

No matter how far I go into theology and nic picking this verse and that (which as you must know by now I tend to do rather often), it gets back to this. I've screwed up more than my share of times, but the God of the universe and beyond still loves me. He hurts like a father (being one I know how that is) and still offers His grace and love and takes me back ... even with tears. When one really, really realizes this, there can be no turning back. Where else can one go? (John6:68) Its all about Jesus for sure.

http://thundercatt99.blogspot.com/2009/06/divorce-and-woman-at-well.html

In The Tub Being Scrubbed

I Corinthians 6:9, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

**************
Traditional interpretation of this list says if you are a (or an):

evil doer (unrighteous)

goes after the desires of the flesh (fornicator)

worships images (Idolater)

untrue when married (adulterers)

abusers

Homosexual

Thief

Covetous

drunkard

reviler (party animal?)

Extortion (black mailer etc).

You shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. In other words, Go straight to Hell do not pass go …


But I’ve been wondering. Paul goes on to say: “And such were some of you… but you have been washed…”Could it be, that it’s not that they have overcome those sins, but that they are no longer allowing themselves to be identified with those sins? They are not any longer saying I’m these things, but they are saying I’ve been washed, I’m in Christ? That Eternity is based on Who I know and Whose I am, not what I do? That I should no longer identify myself with my flavor of sins, cause according to Romans it’s no longer me that’s sinning anyway? This is in no way to excuse sin in our lives by any means … But more that we are currently in the tub being scrubbed!

What do you think?

When I Need to Fall Apart

When I Need to Fall Apart

We don't always have to be strong.
Sometimes our strength
is expressed in being vulnerable.
Sometimes we need to fall apart
to regroup and stay on track.

We all have days when we cannot push
any harder, cannot hold back self-doubt,
cannot stop focusing on fear,
cannot be strong.

There are days when we cannot focus
on being responsible.
Occasionally,
We don't want to get out of our pajamas.
Sometimes we cry in front of people.
We expose our tiredness, irritability,
or anger.
Those days are okay.
They are just okay.

Part of taking care of ourselves means
we give ourselves permission to "fall apart"
when we need to.
We do not need
to be perpetual towers of strength.
We ARE strong.
We have proven that.

Our strength will continue if we allow
ourselves the courage to feel scared,
weak, and vulnerable when we need
to experience those feelings.

Today, help me to know that is it okay
to allow myself to be human.
Help me not to feel guilty or punish myself
when I need to "fall apart...
but to accept it as part of life
And part of being human...

author unknown

Divorce and the Woman at the Well

Awhile ago I was on a discussion site which was discussion the issue of divorce. It always amazes me how this subject gets so "heated". Suddenly there are those who are supposed to be apostles of grace get right into rule keeping, guilt and condemnation and I find it truly sad.

That said, I am a lot more interested in the big picture of the significance of Jesus than I am the details of any controversial passage. Let me give you an example:

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” (John 4:15-18)

I am not quoting all of this story, because the majority of the people here know it well. It’s one of the great chapters of the Bible, and it is a great “big picture” passage. The woman’s sexual past, marital history, Samaritan ethnicity and gender were of no particular interest to Jesus. What was important? This woman was filling up her life with substitutes for the significance and love of her true husband, Yahweh. She needed living water, and she needed the one who gives water without cost and without deserving it. She needed to believe in God’s messiah, and come to receive from him, eternal life in all its dimensions.

That’s how I understand Jesus. The primary thing is not that I have screwed up my life, and may continue to do so. That’s a given. The primary thing is Jesus himself, and the Gospel that comes to me in him alone.

I used to work at a store where several Christians worked. One of the guys we Christian folk witnessed to was a young man who was divorced and remarried. One evening, another Christian- a Church of Christ guy- and I were talking religion with this fellow, and the Church of Christ guy said that if Harold became a Christian, he would need to go back to his first wife and remarry her!

Yes, you read that right. Now, what was this person thinking of? He was thinking of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 and 19. There had been no adultery. The guys marriage broke up, and he tried again. That did not matter to the Church of Christ guy. The marriage was illegitimate and needed to be abandoned, and the first marriage restored. Then God would be happy, of course, because that’s what God is all about: people repenting correctly.

I think that if the Church of Christ guy had been at the well with this woman and Jesus, he would have listened, and when Jesus left, he would have said, “Lady….let me add a few things to what Jesus said here. Your various arrangements have all been sinful, and if you become a believer in the messiah, you will need to go back to husband #1, if you can find him, and make that marriage work again, no matter what. Repentance is very important to real faith, and we cannot overlook these illegitimate sinful relationships. That would be a bad witness.”

Of course, that would be really stupid, but it would be taking the verses seriously. Not the Gospel, but the verses. The problem with divorce and remarriage is that there is no comprehensive writing on the subject in the bible. What I'm saying is that no writer sat down and wrote an entire discourse on the whole subject of marriage. What you get is bits and pieces in response to particular questions. We are left to put the whole together.

I not against people being convicted against remarriage for sure. I am convicted against drinking for example in my case, but I don't attempt to make it a law for others. But this is the conclusion I've come up with under guidance of the Holy Spirit ...

God hates divorce. Malachi 2:16

He also forgives. 1 John 1:9, John 8:1-11

If you seek answers to divorce according to the law, then you will be condemned by the law.

If you confess your sin…and seek His forgiveness, you will be forgiven by His Eternal Grace.

Your choice: Guilt or Grace!?

Christ died as our punishment. He who knew no sin, became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

How cool is that?!

Another Agape Thing!

I guess one of the most amazing things I find in a relationship with Jesus is coming to grips with agape love. That Christ decided to die for me long before I was born, regardless race, habits, doctrinal positions and anything else that often, we as humans, allow to get in the way. That Gods love is without condition and even if we don't accept Him, he still loves us anyways.Another thing that hits is that this unconditional love, by implication is what we should be adopting when we call ourselves a follower of Christ. This kind of love, in me as far from perfect, makes me pause to think why I got so angry with someone who has a totally opposing view on life as I do. Or someone who goes out of their way to oppose argue with me, or someone I pick little fights with. I've been reflecting in the past week or so since I've been off pain meds, on many of my relationships with people and it becomes so obvious that its much easier to talk Christ than live it. I can reel of theology, life experiences and whatnot, but my life and behavior has really got to reflect this relationship between Christ and me. And the sad truth is that I come up wanting ...

I realize that Jesus is chiseling away the rough stone, smoothing those parts so that He can be reflected more clearly. At this point I wish to apologize to all my brothers and sisters, and others, when my words don't match up to my walk. I apologize when in haste I argue my part in my desire to be understood and ending up hurting someone. May Christ keep me humble, keep us all humble, and allow us to grasp what it really, really means to have the fruit of the Spirit. What it really means to walk without condemnation, in the shadow of the Cross, in His presence. And to be a refection to others what Christ's unconditional agape love is all about.

A blog from Tim... sorta ...

God of Thunder

I shall be going back to 10 hour workdays starting today which makes one a tad grouchy, especially as the week goes on. I was going to write on some positive thing about God, being a Christian or whatever but I'm not in the mood...lol

God is a God of love, as we all know, but there are other attributes as well. God can also get really ticked off! In Numbers 13-14 God was really torqued at the Israelites because of their unbelief and even threatened to destroy them. Then an amazing thing happened as God "changed His mind" after listening to an appeal of mercy from Moses. This is interesting as does God need mortals like Moses to reason with Him and hold Him to His promises? God obviously CAN be hurt by the people He loves.

What I get from this and other parts of the Bible, especially the Psalms and the Prophets, that He wants to engage our minds AND emotions. He wants us to feel fear, alarm at whats around us, the tension of our will against His. He wants us to sense when things are wrong, and wants us to ask and ask again until we find out where that wrong is. Much of God does seems to have the goal of shocking us to our senses. To get to that awareness where we become eventually contrite and humble before Him (repentance) and with others. This is where mercy is found. Grace received does enable grace to be given...

It doesn't seem to be a matter of being nice to a God who could fry you in an instant but being very real with Him. Its not appeasement per say but struggle that gets us to the place of intimacy... (Kinda reminds me of the story of Jacob.) Our God is also the God of Thunder ... and not just this cheesy, wishy washy, always positive wimp type of god...

Just some thoughts ...

Thank God I'm Everything I Never Wanted To Be

This morning I've been thinking about holiness and holy living. What kicked this off was this familiar verse is 1 Peter v. 16 "Ye shall be holy; for I am holy." Therefore our goal in life is not happiness, health or any of these things (these are the things added "unto you") but holiness. Unfortunately I have been less-than-holy so many times! Sheeeeesh!

From childhood I have associated holiness with this long string of do's and don'ts. But seeing holiness as rule keeping really causes some major problems and really limits what Biblical holiness is. OK, the "rules" more likely than not are Biblically based there is this big tendency to obey rules instead of God. And this concern for the letter of the law which cause us to lose its spirit. Then comes this attitude that we can be holy through our own efforts in spite of the fact Paul said that there can be no holiness apart from the Holy Spirit, and its grace that causes us to even want to be holy! Then there are those whose pious efforts at rule keeping, and are even good at it publicly at least. These are the ones who like to point fingers at others, gossip ect. I've been the one who has had the fingers pointed at me and on many occasions. Then it dawned on me "Thank God I'm everything I never wanted to be," you know what I mean? Its obvious I can never live up to it and am totally dependent on grace. I can never make it on following the rules. Rule keeping leads to self righteousness anyways which is the very opposite of true holiness! Its hard to be humble and "esteem our brothers (and sisters) above ourselves" when we are doing it on our own.

This may be a Tim tangent but I think it fits. From Exodus to Revelation we have this imagery of God "pitching His tent" among His people. A truly awesome thought when you think about it for any length of time. In Exodus 29:44-45 "...I will dwell among the Israelites." In John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." And taken to its conclusion, John when describing the new heaven and new earth in Revelation 21:3 "...He shall dwell among them,..." Each time the word "dwell" means to "pitch a tent" in the original language. Now we are getting to what holiness is. God pitching His tent; first in the tabernacle, then in Christ and Christ in us, and then in our future life...

At its base holiness means wholeness. One cannot be whole without a relationship with their Creator. It is living in Gods presence .. He has pitched His tent among us. These are strange verses maybe to quote on this subject from Zechariah 14:20-21. This is a picture of the millennial reign of God. "On that day "Holy to the Lord" will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lords house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. Every pot in Jerusalem and Judea will be holy to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and pans and cook in them." Say what?! Heres what I think its getting at; When God is at the center of your life, then every moment, every commonplace object of your existence is touched by His presence. Visibly true some future day, spiritually true now.

There is this talk of "victory" in the Christian life which I think is kinda skewed. It seems to mean how God will conquer sin for us and is self centered. Sin is not simply the wrong we do to others and/or ourselves. All sin is a root rebellion or offense to God Himself. Its all about Jesus, what we can do to please Him, not what He can do for us. Personal victories may come but is the result, not the object.

I'll conclude with Jesus' parable of the vine and its branches. (John 15:1-8) Holiness is walking with our creator completing us to be what we are supposed to be. In this passage Jesus explained that we do not PRODUCE fruit through our own efforts but BEAR fruit only by abiding in Him and letting Him work through us. Another thing that comes out of this passage is that what we are called to do or be is IMPOSSIBLE! "Apart from me you can do nothing." To grow in holiness is to grow closer to Jesus, knowing Him more clearly, practicing His presence in even the littlest of things, loving Him more, obeying Him more... Even when we seemingly screw up our lives repeatedly, He cleans up and we are back into holiness with our first step of obedience. We are (not will be but ARE) a Holy Nation 1 Peter 2:9...

Enough rambling in one post. Have a blessed day!

Phone Booth Confessions

A few years ago there is this movie Phone Booth which pointed out our culture's growing need for confession, even from a secular viewpoint. What's the attraction all about? Is a new "confession-craze" dawning, or do you see something different, something deeper?

There are even online confession sites, eveen Christian ones like mysecret. tv (Warning: Can be "R" rated):

http://www.mysecret.tv/

Of course confessing your secret to an impersonal, anonymous medium is not Christian confession. There is this probably unintended drawback; the site is voyeuristic. Free "real" entertainment that makes a daytime drama look tame! The idea of confession is to share your sin with a trusted confidant, friend, pastor, etc., not with thousands of people on an anonymous message board where the stories of sin can be laid out like a banquet for the voyeurs!

But the idea is there ... Repentance is good for the soul, and we cannot be Christians without it. Many a "Christian" believes that if he simply mutters his confession into his pillow at night, that is good enough. God may very well hear and forgive, however the sinner robs himself of absolution through Christ's body, The Church. James says in his epistle, "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another that you may be healed." (James. 5:16) "Private" confession to God is nowhere taught in scripture, and this practice is probably responsible for the millions of dollars spent in this country every year on mental health professionals, dealing with "guilt feelings," instead of dealing with the actual guilt through the sacrament. It is important to understand, that if we have trouble confessing our sins to a priest, a fellow sinner, how can we confess our sins to the righteous and Holy God?

Just some thoughts on a Tuesday.

Expounding a Rilke

Just some thoughts in the morning ... I think its important to try to ask Jesus to help us see the root of people's unkindness, actions etc, and see their heart, instead of just the surface things- . There was a guy from the gospel mission who spoke of how this woman came in just totally angry and rude and aggressive. At some point he realized this stemmed from her abuse by men. Once he asked her about it she broke down into tears. We have to be careful not to judge anything but Fruit, and to try to see PAST what others are saying into whether the words are coming from hurt or pain etc. ..

We know with Christ, experience does not a person make, however, a person can become crippled by experience. We need to see the person, love them, ask Christ to help us love them, despite who that person is as a result of dealing with being maimed, crippled etc on an emotional level even. Most people who are the most unlovable need loving the most. Sometimes I don't know why the person is cranky or don't find out, but, that person probably needs kindness the most.

The following is written by Rainier Maria Rilke, in "letters to a young poet""

How should we be able to forget those ancient myths that are at the

beginning of all peoples, the myths about dragons that at the last

moment turn into princesses; perhaps all of the dragons of our lives

are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and

brave. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being

something helpless that wants help ..."

A 17th Century Fenelon

Heres a quote from the 17th century which interesting, accurate and cool:

"Those who correct others should watch for the Holy Spirit to get ahold of them and touch a persons heart. Learn to imitate Him who reproves gently. People do need to see God condemning them, they must realize within themselves that they have done something wrong.

Do not be heavy-handed lest people see God as a judgmental ogre. When you become outraged over a person's fault, it is generally not righteous indignation but your own impatient personality expressing itself. Here is the imperfect pointing a finger at the imperfect.

The more you selfishly love yourself, the more critical you will be. Self-love cannot forgive the self-love it discovers in others. Nothing is so offensive to a haughty, conceited heart as the sight of another one."
-Fenelon