God's Righteousness and Justice

 

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to His deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory, and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil....

Romans 2:4-9

The righteousness and justice of God means that He treats His creation with fairness. He rewards those who follow Him and obey His commandments, and provides a means for salvation to all human beings through acceptance of His Son, Jesus, as their Lord, Master and Savior. God being righteous and just gave His Son, Jesus, as the final sacrifice for man’s sin, and the triumph of good over evil. The free gift of God is salvation through Jesus.

On the flip side, because God is righteous and just, He makes no bones about punishing evil. This punishment extends beyond any punishment which man may inflict on man, to eternity – in that there is no place in heaven for those who refuse God’s call to redemption.

The ultimate testimony to the righteousness and justice of God is His open invitation to all humanity to come to Him.

(With Acknowledgement to Henry Clarence Thiessen, Author: Introductory Lectures in Systematic Theology. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI. 1949.)

 

Love Your Enemies

 

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. 

For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ...

Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus asks us to do hard stuff.  And this, loving our enemies, is one of them.  

I think the reason why we need to love our enemies is so that we do not become like them.  Think about it.  Chances are our enemies have a lot of hate, not just for us but also for other people and things. 

Do we want to be filled with hate?  No.  So, the solution is obvious - love.  We do not have to like what our enemies do or how they behave or what they say, but we have to love the person.

And, I think this is also because God wants us to know that those people who are the least lovable are the ones who need His love the most.

Doing What Is Right

 And keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.  For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.   

1 Peter 3:16

What do you do when the boss or your spouse or your friend tells you to do something that is wrong?  

There are a couple of choices - you can say, "I am not going to do it." or you can do nothing and say nothing, or you can slow role your involvement and hope the issue corrects itself.  Or, you can come right out with it and tell them why what they want you to do is wrong.  

These may not help your standing, but at least you maintain your values.  And, standing up for what you believe to be right may cost you your job, or your spouse, or your friend.  Not to mention that it may result in some not to nice gossip about you.  I call it gossip because the truth about what actually happened may well be distorted.

Peter says it is better to suffer for doing what is right than for doing what is wrong.  And he is right, because if you cannot look yourself in the mirror without feeling guilty, then you are in a sad state.   

 

The Words Of My Mouth

 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart

Be acceptable in Your sight,

O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

I am a talker.  Some find my chatter amusing, others find it annoying and tell me so.  I am not mean about things, but I do like to keep the conversation going.  

Once in a while I overstep and step on someone's toes - like when discussing politics.  So, I try to avoid discussing politics with those who I know disagree with me.  Still sometimes.... 

Over all I try to keep things encouraging and above all kind. 

Whether you are a talker or not, you, like me, can keep in mind to keep your words acceptable in God's sight.   

And, in doing so, help bring a little kindness to those around you. 

Seek Knowledge

 

An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

Proverbs 18:15

We do not know, what we do not know.  

When I was working for a local government office, one of the more seasoned employees told me that when I was asked a question for which I did not know the answer the correct response was, "I don't know, but I will find out."  

This acknowledged that the person seeking information was heard and that their question was valid.  And, it served as an opportunity for me to learn something I did not know.  

Likewise, we as Christians sometimes meet people who are curious about our faith.  We can prepare to talk to people about what we believe by studying the Bible.  We can independently study or join a group to learn more.  A few minutes a day studying the Bible can greatly increase our knowledge of God's word.

We seek knowledge so we can become wise.

Things Will Get Better

Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

James 1:12

Christians are not exempt from life’s ups and downs, but we are guaranteed that God is with us through it all. All we have to do is buckle up and hang on.

My friend, Georga, was always upbeat, even when her life was on the edge of being a wreck. One time when one thing after another was going wrong, she said, “Sometimes when you get something going; you just have to ride it out to the end.”

Georga was right.  God promises us that when life is a mess, things will get better. 

Even if we don’t feel victorious, we need to remember God’s promise: if we remain faithful to Him, we will triumph in the end.

Who Will Separate Us From The Love Of Christ?

 

Who will bring a charge against God’s elect?  God is the one who justifies; and who is the one who condemns?  Christ Jesus is He who died, yes rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.

Who will separate us from the love of Christ?  Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Romans 8:33-39

 

When the Apostle Paul wrote this, he was most likely in jail.  Paul was constantly harassed and harangued and arrested because of his faith, and, ultimately martyred by the Romans.  

 

Paul tells us it is not our circumstances which define our relationship to God.  God defines our relationship and He says he loves us no matter what.  

 

Knowing this we can face anything that comes our way with confidence that God is on our side and we succeed not by our might, but by the grace of God through His Son, Jesus.   

 

"Who will separate us from the love of Christ?" The answer is no one.

 

Have faith, be strong, God is on your side.