Isaiah 11:1-4 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

This is Jesus Christ. While I abide in Christ and He abides in me, He does not act in this manner. I have the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, and He guides me in all righteousness, His testimony is not in all truth in all matters, but rather only that which is in Christ our Lord.

Having said that, it is so easy for my human part to judge quickly. It is my experience that even after coming to Christ, even after becoming this new creation, even after becoming familiar with the sound of His voice, and knowing Truth intimately, I still like to find fault. If I can find whose fault it is, then it isn’t mine. I am defensive, impulsive, and quick to judge.

Understanding that about myself, how does that affect my relationships? As I see it, Christ has asked two things of me, to love God and to love you. Knowing this about myself does not affect God in any way. He knows me better than I know myself. He is after all the one who has shed His light upon my imperfections. You on the other hand can only know me by word and deed, so it is my responsibility to love you without allowing that part of me to be at the forefront of our relationship.

Revelation 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.

I am want to believe that because Nicolas was chosen according to the requirements of Acts 6:4 that the far reaching consequences of his ministry would have been beyond his ability to foresee. I too have fallen into this mystery of ministry, where my good intentions have led to unintended consequences.

We who serve should be aware that service and growth in Christ work hand in hand. Duty to one cannot and should not be sacrificed to the need of the other.

Allow me to push on to the point of this devotional. While we do not know for sure the actions of Nicolas that led to hateful practices, we do know the results and we do have related warnings. It is such a grace and merciful pleasure to be born in this generation which has not only the complete bible but a treasure troth of studies, commentaries and related testimonies as witness to the errors and consequences of men who fell before us.

I acknowledged my lack of understanding in a thing despised by our Lord. I studied this and came to a deeper appreciation of the grace in which I stand. I shall not judge Nicolas in his actions nor motivations for I was not there and I have no clear record to answer all the questions. I do however have this bible and many wonderful works by learned men to understand the importance of having my quiet time, bible studies, and growth in Christ.

My advice to everyone is not to take anything anyone says as gospel but rather an invitation to check the scriptures for yourselves. Do not rely on me or any man to be your source of truth. You have the Spirit of Truth in you to lead you in all righteousness.