A Note from Michael Gossett
How to Properly Measure
“Measure twice, cut once” is a saying that my dad ingrained in me as a young kid. However, when I was ten years old and helping with a project, my dad realized that you can measure ten times, but it’s only helpful if you know how to read a tape measure. Measuring specific cuts on a project can be quite simple if you understand how to use said tape measure. This sounds insignificant but measuring properly will not only prevent you from wasting material, time, and patience, but it will also help finish the product with accuracy. How you measure matters. But what about measuring things that are a little more complicated. How can you measure value or significance? How do you measure love? There are some things in life that are simply difficult to measure objectively. In fact, BBC Earth attempted to place objectivity to “the financial value of nature,” based on what they described as an “Earth Index.” For example, here are the estimated monetary value for aspects of the earth.
A spokesman for BBC Earth commented: “When you see the figures in black and white it’s illuminating to see that the annual revenues of the world’s most successful companies…. All pale in comparison to the financial return from natural assets to our economy.” Another specialist concluded, “what this unequivocally shows is the major contribution makes to our health, wealth, and security.”
It is interesting to think through the valuation in this way. Obviously, even in the best attempts, there would be no way to remove all subjectivity from the equation of valuation. This is what makes measuring so difficult. What about for you and me? How are we to measure one another, if at all? Jesus says this in Matthew 7:1-6, “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. 2 For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use. 3 Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye. 6 Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.”
Jesus knew that properly measuring was going to be difficult and potentially dangerous to the Kingdom, so He addressed it straight on. Jesus knew there would stillbe tendencies and struggles for true disciples in their interactions with the world. The caution from Jesus is for disciples of Jesus to not exert any position, power, or authority over anyone lest they ruin their witness and to be cautious in their measurement of others and their mismeasurement of themselves. This has been a common thread throughout history, especially today. We are all tempted to place ourselves in the seat of the Judge when that seat only belongs to God Himself.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer says this: “Judgement is the forbidden objectivation of the other person which destroys single-minded love. I am not forbidden to have my own thoughts about the other person, to realize his shortcomings but only to the extent that it offers to me an occasion for forgiveness and unconditional love, as Jesus proves to me. If I withhold my judgement I am not indulging in tout comprendre c’est tout pardonnner (to understand all is to forgive all) and confirm the other person in his bad ways. Neither I am right nor the other person, but God is always right and shall proclaim both his grace and his judgement.”
The caution in measuring properly is to understand that we are not in the position of setting up our own measurements which could be applied to others. In reading Matthew chapter 7, we cannot understand it to mean that you are only capable of calling out sin in someone’s life when you have achieved perfection. This is certainly one of the ways “proper measurement” has been applied. It is not, however, the intention of Jesus’ words. The warning that Jesus is applying to each of our lives is to misuse judgment toward others while dismissing our own shortcomings. The point of measuring properly is to maintain accuracy across both measurements of personal and public judgments. It would be unwise to use a meter stick against a brother or sister in Christ and a yardstickagainst yourself. This places the individual in a seat of piety rather than in an equal seat of the same judgment. This never ends in the way we intended. We are not called to turn a blind eye toward our brothers in sisters who are in need of correction, but we are to do so with the same degree of grace as we look to our own sins and to the way Jesus deals with us in our sin. Jesus wants us to measure properly based on His mercy and His grace so that our mercy will not be abused, nor our severity will not be misunderstood.
Measuring our brothers and sisters is not a practice that is talked about often in the church. However, edification is necessary for the building up of God’s church for the purpose of maintaining an effective witness for Christ. Measure twice, cut once. Measuring twice will help us examine our own hearts for bringing up someone else’s shortcoming so that we know when we have the conversation (make the cut so to speak) will be done with love, patience, gentleness, kindness, self-control, and filled with grace in the same way God deals with us so graciously.
PEANUT BUTTER DRIVE ENDS TODAY! Please make your contributions to the East Texas Food Bank to help those in need. We are in a friendly yet competitive competition with Longview to see who can raise the most peanut butter. You can drop off your peanut butter at any local Brookshires, or you can purchase directly from East Texas Food Bank HERE. The competition ends today so make those last-minute purchases to help support a great cause to help east Texans in their time of need.
On Wednesday, I was honored to attend a celebration for Georgia and Percy Andrus. At the end of the year, Georgia is retiring from teaching Bible Study and leading a Connect Group at Green Acres for 58 years. Yes, you read that right…FIFTY-EIGHT years! Because of her commitment to teaching God’s Word and shepherding the ladies in her Connect Group, she has made a great impact on the Kingdom! If you see Georgia and Percy this week, please give them a hug and thank them for serving so well!
I want to invite you to join my wife, Katie, and me on a journey of a lifetime. We are going back to visit the sites primarily focused on Paul’s second missionary journey,October 26-November 4th, 2025. I have mentioned these sites in my sermons from Philippians because it was on Paul’s second missionary journey that the Lord brought him to Philippi. However, there is much more on this trip! Here is the itinerary of all the places we have planned to visit.
DAILY ITINERARY
DAY 1 (OCT 26): BEGINNING OF YOUR TOUR: Depart from DFW for an overnight flight to Thessaloniki, Greece. Bus to/from DFW is included in the price.
DAY 2 (OCT 27): INTO THE FOOTSTEPS OF PAUL: Arrive in Thessaloniki. Meet with the guide and transfer to the hotel. Dinner and overnight in Thessaloniki.
DAY 3 (OCT 28): THESSALONIKI/KAVALA/PHILIPPI: Begin the day traveling near the port of Kavala, where Paul landed with his disciples, Timothy and Silas. This port was also a destination for Luke the evangelist when he sailed from Troas. See a Byzantine castle, the Roman Aqueduct, and the ruins of an acropolis. Follow the Via Egnatia, a remnant of Rome’s highway system, viewing Roman and Greek tombs. Next, stop in Philippi, where Paul preached his first evangelical sermon and sowed the seeds of Christianity. Among the ruins located on the rocky ledge above the town’s main road is the prison into which Paul and Silas were thrown. Meander down the riverbank to the site of Lydia’s baptism, the first baptism on European soil. Return to Thessaloniki, where Paul planted a church that would later receive two New Testament epistles. Visit one of the most beautiful basilicas in the city, St. Demetrius. Dinner and overnight in Thessaloniki. Lunch included.
DAY 4 (OCT 29): THESSALONIKI/BEREA/KALAMBAKA: In the morning, spend time in the ancient city of Thessaloniki. Explore the ruins of the Roman Forum and see the Rotunda. View the triumphal Arch of Galerius and continue along the waterfront to the massive White Tower. Next, travel to Berea (Veria) to see the ancient bema, where Paul spent many hours sharing the Gospel. Head south to view the awe-inspiring rock formations of Meteora. Dinner and overnight in Kalambaka.
DAY 5 (OCT 30): METEORA/THERMOPYLAE/ATHENS: Take in the striking monasteries of Meteora that seem to hang in the air, crowning the summits of these pinnacles with their wooden galleries and corniced rooftops. Dangerously hanging over the stunning abysses, these primitive dwellings compose one of the most fascinating sites on earth. A special treat awaits with a visit to one of these timeless monasteries to see the exquisite specimens of Byzantine art on display. Journey through the amazing countryside, taking in the beauty of Greece. Stop at the mountain pass of Thermopylae, the location where the Greeks victoriously fought for their freedom during the Greco-Persian wars in 480 BC. See the statue of Leonidas, king of the Greek city-state Sparta. Continue to Athens for dinner and overnight.
DAY 6 (OCT 31): ATHENS/LAVRIO/MYKONOS: Begin the day with a drive to the Port of Lavrio and step aboard The Discovery to start a 4-day Greek Islands cruise. Spend the afternoon exploring the Island of Mykonos, world-renowned for its lovely windmills, small cobblestone streets, and countryside. Return to the ship for dinner and overnight. Lunch included onboard.
DAY 7 (NOV 1): EPHESUS, TURKEY/PATMOS, GREECE: Step off the ship at Kusadasi and into nearby Ephesus, Turkey, Asia Minor’s greatest archeological site. This Greek and Roman city has been remarkably preserved. Step along the broad marble where Paul walked. Gaze at the Temple of Artemis (Diana), the Temple of Hadrian, and The Celsus Library. Marvel at the massive theater where Paul was opposed for speaking boldly about Christ. In the afternoon, enjoy cruising aboard The Discovery to the island of Patmos, built on a mass of volcanic rock. The island marks the site where the apostle John was exiled. Visit the Monastery of St. John and the cave where he received the vision he recorded in the book of Revelation. Return to the ship for dinner and overnight. Lunch included onboard.
DAY 8 (NOV 2): CRETE/SANTORINI: Arrive in Crete, the largest of the Greek Islands and the cradle of the Ancient Minoan Civilization. This island is where the Apostle Paul spent time as he was being transported to Rome as a prisoner and where Titus remained to help the churches. Take a leisure walk through Heraklion, the capital of Crete, and enjoy the shopping and local culture. Board The Discovery for an afternoon cruise to the famous island of Santorini, formed by the half-submerged crescent of a volcanic caldera. Perched atop high cliffs, savor the island’s breathtaking views from Oia. Dinner and overnight on the ship. Lunch included onboard.
DAY 9 (NOV 3): ATHENS/CORINTH: Early morning arrival in Athens to begin the day’s excursion. Proceed to Corinth through the Bay of Salamis and the Saronic Gulf. This city was home to the apostle Paul for over a year and inspired two of his most familiar letters. Spend time at the Corinthian Canal, then tour the ruins of this ancient city. Return to Athens to view the world-renowned Acropolis and marvel at the ancient glory of the Parthenon, built 2400 years ago. Gather at Mars Hill, where Paul addressed the intellectual men of the most informed city of the time, pleading for the cause of Christianity. Dinner and overnight in Athens. Lunch included.
DAY 10 (NOV 4): ATHENS/USA: Transfer to Athens airport for your return flight to the USA with your heart full of memories from spectacular views and unforgettable experiences.
Come and join us on this incredible trip! You can sign up by clicking the image above! Space is limited, so please sign up as early as possible.
THIS SUNDAY! We continue our series in Philippians, In Christ. This week we are going to study Philippians 2:12-18 and the title is, “God’s Purpose.” Have you ever considered what is God’s purpose for your life? It is going to be a great Sunday to gather together as we worship, see baptisms, see new members, see new believers, and to serve Him faithfully!
THIS WEDNESDAY, join us at WEBS (Wednesday Evening Bible Study) starting at 6:00pm as Jim Little teaches on the Doctrine of the Trinity. This will certainly be a challenging study that you will want to hear!
You are loved and prayed for!
Michael Gossett