Justice For All

 

Justice is turned back,

And righteousness stands far away,

For truth has stumbled in the street,

And uprightness cannot enter.

Isaiah 59:14

Who cares about all the people who get locked up in prison?  Who cares if they are guilty or innocent?

In the United States the plea bargain is the tool of choice to make sure suspected criminals are locked up, without a trial and regardless of whether or not they are guilty.  Most defendants are charged with multiple crimes, whether there is evidence of their guilt or not, and then the prosecutor suggests that if the defendant pleads guilty to a few of the charges, the rest will go away. The prosecutors’ logic is that plea bargains save money because the government does not have to pay the cost of a trial.  I am not sure what a trial costs, but it costs about $30,000 a year to lock a person up in a state prison. 

As rampant as injustice is in the United States, it is worse in other parts of the world.

We pray that uprightness will enter into the justice system around the world, and those men and women who face prosecution and persecution will receive justice.

The Lord Surrounds His People

 

Those who trust the Lord

Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

So the Lord surrounds His people

From this time forth and forever.

Psalm 125:1-2

God does not call us to abandon us.  He is always with us and cares intimately for us.  His care goes beyond anything we might expect from mankind.

We trust the Lord and the Lord surrounds us and protects us.  We are His and He is on our side.

Redemption Is Ours

 

But what does it say?  “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” – that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  

 

For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

Romans 10:8-11

God’s plan for man’s salvation is a simple one.  We do not have to do penitence or give a million dollars or shave our heads. 

All we need to do is to confess Jesus is Lord and believe God raised Jesus from the dead. 

Redemption is ours for the asking and it is free.

We Are Good Enough

 

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.  Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

 

1 Timothy 1:15-16

Paul, the apostle, wrote this.  He was previously known as Saul and his occupation was persecuting Christians.  In fact he held the coats of the people who stoned Stephen (Acts 7:58).  Saul was an evil person.  Right up to his conversion, he terrorized Christians (Acts 9).  He was so evil that he had a tough time selling himself as Christian after accepting Jesus as his Savior.   

Paul preached that if God would save a man as evil as him, then God would save anyone who asked. 

When we ask Jesus into our heart and lives, we are forgiven.  And, that settles it for eternity.  We are all good enough.

 

And, all of this is because God loves us. 

A New Spirit

 

And I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. They will be My people, and I shall be their God.

Ezekiel 11:19-20

This promise was given to the people of Israel, and it is still for us today.

When we come to Jesus, God creates in us a new spirit. He softens the hardness of our hearts, and leads us in His ways. We become God’s people and He becomes our God.

 

God Holds Things Together

 

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Colossians 1: 16-17

Man in his finite wisdom tosses around all sorts of theories about the creation of earth, mankind and the universe. Some scientist would have us believe that theories are truth. The truth is theories are theories and although man has searched and searched, there is not concrete proof of any one theory of creation.

What I see is that things seem to work pretty good together. I don’t think gravity just happened, neither do I think that we just happened. I think that God planned it all. I don’t know whether or not it was literally a seven day project. What I do know is what the Bible says: “all things have been created through Him.”

No matter how hard man tries to mess things up, in the end, God holds things together.

A Gift From God

 

I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

There is nothing wrong with treating yourself and your family to a little fun.  It does not have to cost a lot of money; it can be as simple as a picnic at a park and playing with your children or relaxing with friends. 

Take time to have fun.  It is a gift from God to enjoy the profits of your work.