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No one would dispute the desire for justice, except, perhaps for those who know they are guilty. Even then, the guilty often find some reason to justify their actions. It’s easy to play the blame game. I wouldn’t do this if they hadn’t done what they did. Or, “Yeah, maybe I’m guilty of this, but what I did isn’t nearly as bad as what they did.”
The fickle attitude of society seems to gravitate towards an idea that ‘justice is that which gives my opinion, my people group, my passion the advantage’. Justice in our society changes with time and is often dependent on the general attitude of society. Things that seemed ‘wrong’ 25 years ago are socially acceptable.
True justice transcends time and opinion of man. The good news is true justice never changes and benefits mankind because of it’s stability. The bad news is that true justice, while beneficial over all, is inflexible. God speaks through his prophet Amos and reminds us that true justice is the plumb line of God’s word. There is no wavering.
Many may see that as intolerant but God’s law is governed by love. Perfect love, like true justice, casts out fear. Living according to God’s law brings stability, a sense of purpose and reassurance based on the promise that God is love. Even when we fail him he reaches out to us and offers forgiveness.
You can trust the true justice of God because you can trust God’s promises. We live in a world of turmoil now, but someday his justice will be the unmistakeable law of the land.
At first it may sound like the whole prosperity gospel thing; Name it and Claim it! You know, the idea some hold to that all you have to do is claim it and God will give it to you. God wants you to have what you want, what your heart desires. The reason you don’t have is you don’t have enough faith; you haven’t claimed it!
Sounds great if only it were true. God does want you to succeed. God does want to give you the desires of your heart. But only when those desires match his desires Desire is fickle. Desire is deceitful. Desire can trick you into seeing all the ‘good reasons’ to have something. But desire forgets to include God plans become frustrated.
Take Jonah for example. He was called to go to his worst enemy and preach the gospel. There was no good reason for him to do so. His life and his principles would be compromised. Heading the other way made perfect sense in his heart. Desire triumphs!
God had other ideas and when Jonah aligned his heart to God’s an entire city was spared. When you draw near to God and allow his Spirit to control your desires, your success is guaranteed. Not because you got what you wanted, but because you got what he wanted. He never promises us an easy time on earth, but the things he has planned for us for eternity will make the struggles of today seem minuscule.
God’s idea of success is opening your heart to complete submission to his will.
I remember it vividly. I’d had my eye on a certain truck at the local car dealership for some time. I couldn’t afford it, but had all sorts of good ‘ministry’ reasons to buy it. Finally I went in to talk to the dealer. He gave me a deal I chose not to resist. A deal that was right out of my budget range. You don’t get deals like that everyday! I signed the papers and drove it off the lot, completely ignoring the knot in my stomach. God never yells. God’s soft voice is often drowned out by the voice of desire.
Fast forward…i remember watching the repossession guy hooking my truck up to his truck and watching my dream truck being pulled away down the street.
Today is the first day of 2019! Many will be making resolutions to lose weight, eat better, spend more wisely and the list goes on. Goals are good. Plans are good. But the missing ingredient in many of our planning sessions is the ultimate question of ‘Where is God in my plans?
Each week we say the ‘Lords Prayer’ at our church. Each week we say “thy will be done” but in reality, our hearts are saying ‘my will be done.’ When our hearts are in tune with God’s heart our plans will naturally gravitate towards his desires and not our own.
Make 2019 the year that God shows himself mightily to you because you are close to his heart. Draw close to him and he’ll draw close to you.
Back in the 1990’s there was a clever marketing campaign which, I believe, was a true attempt to remind people of our original calling: To live by example the good news of the Gospel as personified in the life of Jesus Christ.
Many a T-shirt, can cooler, visor, and bracelet were sold with the initials, WWJD. Today, the question is as valid as it was then. What would Jesus do? I doubt he would lash out at Caesar for his handling of the Roman Empire. Judging from his treatment of the woman guilty of adultery, I”m guessing he would not condemn those who live a life contrary to God’s original plan for family.
Jesus Christ found the perfect balance between reaching out to the ‘deplorables’ while at the same time standing for the standards of his Heavenly Father. How unfortunate that 2000 years ago people of ill repute sought Jesus out and today they tend to scoff, run or hide from the mere mention of his name.
Now more than ever, we who are ‘little Christs’ (the original implication of the title ‘Christian’) ought to strive with every word, with every action, with every attitude, to exemplify the life of the one who called us from darkness.
Be a light. Shine like Jesus did.
Next week, an annual phenomenon will occur. All across the country people will make decisions regarding healthy eating and exercise. Fitness centers will see a huge increase in memberships. In fact, the industry will often offer sign-up savings to coincide with the new year. It’s a good deal for them because more than half of these members will not come in, meaning more profit!
At the same time, church attendance will decline after the annual increase of attendance to do people making their annual Christmas visit. Kids school work, sports, work and family time will be the main excuses for ‘just not having time for church.’
Most people put far more time into taking care of the physical body than they do the spiritual. Jesus addressed that when he reminded his followers that just pursuing the physical is meaningless if you don’t add the spiritual dimension.
Don’t emphasize the temporal at the expense of the eternal.
