Tag: justice

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Benched

Daily Reading

Deuteronomy 30-31

Daily Thought

When words are repeated, they are often significant. In Deuteronomy 30, “heart” (vv 2, 6, 10, 14, 17), “soul” (vv 2, 6, 10), “command” or “commandment” (vv 2, 8, 10, 11, 16), “turn” or “return” (vv 2, 10, 17), and “life” (vv 15, 19, 20). The message is clear: When God’s people turn from their sins and return with all their heart and soul to God, obeying his commandments, they will enjoy life as only God can give. When they don’t, they won’t. The choice is theirs.

My junior high P.E, coach would watch the class playing dodgeball. At the end of each game, he’d call out several names, and those boys would step forward. “You boys are removed from the rest of the games,” he’d inform them. “You cheated. Go sit on the bench.”

The boys would often object, “You’re kicking me out of dodgeball?!”

“No, I’m not kicking you out. You’ve removed yourself.” countered Coach. “You made it clear you no longer desire to play when you broke the rules. I’m simply granting your wish.”

Daily Prayer

Lord God, Your ways are good. I have choices and I am baffled at how often I choose something other than You. It never works out. God, thank You for Your Word. May I keep it treasured in my heart, ready in my memory on any occasion, to guide me toward righteousness

Thank You for life, for making me alive again when I was born again by Your Son. May I listen, obey, and follow You, as Your Spirit speaks to me. May I always choose life in You.

Amen

Daily Question

Do you find that breaking the rules makes you more successful or less successful?

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The Path of God

Daily Reading

Micah 1-7

Daily Thought

Micah, like ever so many prophets of God before and after him, called out God’s word to God’s people, “Hear, you people, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it” (Micah 1:2). It was a message of judgment, a message repeated as often as needed, which is why there are seventeen books of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible. The prophets rebuked the people and the people rebuked the prophets, “One should not preach of such things; disgrace will not overtake us” (Micah 2:6). 

Actually, it will, and it did–the Assyrians destroyed Israel in 722 BC, the Babylonians took Judah into captivity in 586 BC. “Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight” (Micah 3:9)–you had it coming. 

But every prophet of judgment brings a prospect of hope, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths” (Micah 4:2). Micah urged the people of God to take hold of the heart of God.

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel” (Micah 5:2). 

When God considered Christmas, when God thought about entering into our world, sending his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, he made an amazing decision about the home of his birth. It was not to be a palace, fit for a king. It was not to be a mansion, worthy of his glory. It was not to be a temple or a church, a place you might expect to find God. God’s choice of a home for Christmas was a cold manger in a dirty stable in a little town called Bethlehem. 

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” ~Micah 6:8

To walk with God is to walk in justice and kindness and humility for that is the path he chooses.

Daily Prayer

Lord God, let me never take life for granted. May I never forget that each day is a gift from You and rejoice and be glad in it. May I store up treasures in Your Kingdom, may I be heavenly minded, may my first love always be You and may I always walk humbly, display kindness, pursue justice, fully showing your love to others. 

Then truly will I have life and life to the full. Then truly will I eat, drink, and be glad.

Amen

Daily Question

In what ways has God made you into a different and better person?

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More Than Justice

Daily Reading

Ezekiel 18-20

Daily Thought

Justice is matter-of-fact: “the soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4), or if “he is righteous; he shall surely live” (Ezekiel 18:9). Plain and simple, and just. 

This is a problem, however–a problem for us. 

The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one. ~Psalm 14:2-3

Do we really want justice? Ezekiel began listing Israel’s sins, “defiles his neighbor’s wife, oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, lends at interest, and takes profit” (Ezekiel 18:11-13). He could keep going, and he is listing our sins, as well.

God saw Israel’s sin and ruled rightly, “I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them” (Ezekiel 20:8, 13, 21), yet, time and again, God gave mercy, “I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name” (Ezekiel 20:22). When Moses asked God his name, God told him, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). God defines justice but justice does not define God. God is who he is, and while he is just, he is far beyond. When God looks down from heaven and sees our sin, justice is due, but God came down from heaven and, for the sake of his name, brought more than justice, and that is the Gospel, that is Jesus, that is “the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

In Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, Jean Valjean took shelter in the Bishop’s home. He also took the silver. When he was caught by the Constable, Valjean was returned to the Bishop for justice. “He claimed that you gave the silver to him,” mocked the Constable. “Yes, of course I gave him the silverware,” replied the Bishop. “Thank you for bringing him back. Release him.” Then turning to Valjean, the Bishop handed him more, “You forgot the candlesticks, Jean Valjean. They are worth 2,000 francs. Why did you leave them?”

“You shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.” ~Ezekiel 20:44

The Bishop glared with terrifying love, “Jean Valjean, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver I’ve bought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred. Now I give you back to God.” More than justice, this is mercy. This is love.

Daily Prayer

My Lord, my God, You have shown a love unimaginable. You bought me with Your love, a love that sacrificed what is most precious to You. You made Your Son sin, not sin of His own doing, but my sin and the world’s sin. He bore it all, sin and the just consequence. He died, separated and forsaken by You, because You cannot look upon sin. But sin could not hold Him, and He rose again, the first of more to come, of which I am one, I will be raised again to eternity.

I am Yours, God, bought fully by the blood of Your Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ. I welcome the rain of justice upon me because I have the reign of Jesus over me. I am, therefore, a living sacrifice to You, showing the world Your good, pleasing and perfect will. 

Amen

Daily Question

Which do you prefer to receive: justice or mercy? Which do you prefer to give: justice or mercy?

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The Path of God

Daily Reading

Micah 1-7

Daily Thought

Micah, like ever-so-many prophets of God before and after him, called out God’s word to God’s people, “Hear, you people, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it” (Micah 1:2). It was a message of judgment, a message repeated as often as needed, which is why there are seventeen books of the prophets in the Hebrew Bible. The prophets rebuked the people and the people rebuked the prophets, “One should not preach of such things; disgrace will not overtake us” (Micah 2:6). Actually, it will, and it did–the Assyrians destroyed Israel in 722 BC, the Babylonians took Judah into captivity in 586 BC.

“Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight” (Micah 3:9)–you had it coming. But every prophet of judgment brings a prospect of hope, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths” (Micah 4:2).

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel” (Micah 5:2). 

When God considered Christmas, when God thought about entering into our world, sending his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, he made an amazing decision about his home for Christmas. It was not to be a palace, fit for a king. It was not to be a mansion, worthy of his glory. It was not to be a temple or a church, a place you might expect to find God. God’s choice of a home for Christmas was a cold manger in a dirty stable in a little town called Bethlehem. 

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” ~Micah 6:8

To walk with God is to walk in justice and kindness and humility for that is the path he chooses.

Daily Prayer

Lord God, Lest I say to myself, “I have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry,” may I never forget that each day is a gift from You. May I store up treasures in Your Kingdom, may I be heavenly minded, may my first love always be You and may I always walk humbly, display kindness, pursue justice, fully showing your love to others. Then truly will I have life and life to the full. Then truly may I eat, drink, and be glad.

Amen

Posted on

More Than Justice

Daily Reading

Ezekiel 18-20

Daily Thought

Justice is matter-of-fact, “the soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4), or if “he is righteous; he shall surely live” (Ezekiel 18:9). Plain and simple, and just. There is a problem with this, though, a problem for us. 

The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one. ~Psalm 14:2-3

Do we really want justice? Ezekiel began listing Israel’s sins, “defiles his neighbor’s wife, oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, lends at interest, and takes profit” (Ezekiel 18:11-13). He could keep going, and he could have been listing ours.

God saw Israel’s sin and ruled rightly, “I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them” (Ezekiel 20:8, 13, 21), yet, time and again, God gave mercy, “I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name” (Ezekiel 20:22). When Moses asked God his name, God told him, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). God defines justice but justice does not define God. God is who he is, and while he is just, he is far beyond. When God looks down from heaven and sees our sin, justice is due, but God came down from heaven and, for the sake of his name, brought more than justice, and that is the Gospel, that is Jesus, that is “the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

In Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, Jean Valjean took shelter in the Bishop’s home. He also took the silver. When he was caught by the Constable, Valjean was returned to the Bishop for justice. “He claimed that you gave the silver to him,” mocked the Constable. “Yes, of course I gave him the silverware,” replied the Bishop. “Thank you for bringing him back. Release him.” Then turning to Valjean, the Bishop handed him more, “You forgot the candlesticks, Jean Valjean. They are worth 2,000 francs. Why did you leave them?”

“You shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.” ~Ezekiel 20:44

The Bishop glared with terrifying love, “Jean Valjean, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver I’ve bought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred. Now I give you back to God.”

Daily Prayer

My Lord, my God, You have shown a love unimaginable. You bought me with Your love, a love that sacrificed what is most precious to You. You made Your Son sin, not sin of His own doing, but my sin and the world’s sin. He bore it all, sin and the just consequence. He died, separated and forsaken by You, because You cannot look upon sin. But sin could not hold Him, and He rose again, the first of more to come, of which I am one, I will be raised again to eternity.

I am Yours, God, bought fully by the blood of Your Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ. I welcome the rain of justice upon me because I have the reign of Jesus over me. I am, therefore, a living sacrifice to You, showing the world Your good, pleasing and perfect will. 

Amen

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God and Grandma

Daily Reading

Exodus 22-24

Daily Thought

I hear it all the time, “All sins are the same in the eyes of God.” It is said with good intentions, I suppose. No one is worse than anyone else. God loves us all the same, like Grandma. Ask Grandma whether she loves you or your brother best. “I love you both the same,” her answer every time. God and Grandma–they don’t pick favorites. 

No one is better, therefore no one is worse, they say, and point to James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” See! No one sin is worse than any other. But is that what this verse says?

Every sin, no matter how big or little, is equally effective in separating us from God. That is the point of James 2:10. Why? Because the standard is “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). It does not matter if you miss  by an inch or a mile, you missed. Whether you sin badly or not-so-badly, you miss the standard, and you need saving and you need grace and you need Jesus.

On the scales of God’s judgment, however, we find disparity. Some sins weigh heavy, others not so much, and it may surprise us to see which sins are punished most severely. Exodus 22 is a lengthy list of crimes and punishments. In the first 15 verses, every one who does wrong gets fined. In the next nine verses, they die. The punishments increase because the sins worsen. All sins are not the same, the worse the sin, the greater the punishment. Look what happens when you mistreat aliens or orphans or widows. “My wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless” (Exodus 22:24). Ouch!

Tells you something about the heart of God, doesn’t it?

Daily Prayer

Almighty God, Your ways are truly so much higher than mine. I’m amazed that You are concerned about me, who I am and what I do. You care about my everyday life. It is so good to know what is right and what is wrong, how You expect us to treat each other, what is pleasing in Your eyes. Thank you, Lord, for showing us Your laws that lead to the good life–a life marked by right living. Help me God to remember how personal you are, that You are very close, and that You will lead me. I need to follow!

God, make me keenly aware of those who most need my attention. Give me a heart of compassion for the outcasts, the weak, the poor, and the helpless.  

Amen