Justice

“He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.”Psalms‬ ‭33‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Do we really understand how much our God loves justice? Do we merely give mental assent but not embrace this truth? What else does He say about it?

“You twist justice, making it a bitter pill for the oppressed. You treat the righteous like dirt.”

‭‭Amos‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people.”Amos‬ ‭5‬:‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.”Amos‬ ‭5‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God hates presense! Either we fully embrace justice and mercy and live for Him or we pretend and live for ourselves. There is coming a day when we will stand before the king and give an account of our treatment of justice. What will be our record?

“I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’”Hosea‬ ‭10‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Have mercy Lord! Open our eyes and ears to the cries of the poor, the injustice they suffer! Amen!

Hannah

“No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.”1 Samuel‬ ‭2‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If I asked you, “who said this?” You would probably reply, “Samuel or perhaps David!” Right? Wrong! A woman said this, it was Hannah, Samuel’s mother. She prayed the following:

“My heart rejoices in the Lord! The Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because you rescued me.”1 Samuel‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God had answered her prayer for a son and she had brought him to the temple, as she promised, for him to serve in the temple. She was rejoicing and praising the Lord for answering her prayer.

Hannah’s prayer for a son had been deep and heartfelt and Eli the priest saw her, and rebuked her for being drunk. However, when she explained her grief, he prayed for her and a son was born, nine months later.

Hannah was a woman of faith and prayer. She produced one of the greatest priests and prophets that Israel knew. 

May we been known for our prayers and the product of our prayers. Amen!

Who do we fight?

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

People are motivated by the spirit world, either by the spirit of God or the spirits of darkness. When people manifest the flesh they are manifesting darkness, for darkness rules their hearts.

I must recognise when offense comes and reject it, choosing rather forgiveness and prayer. Offense is a nasty spirit that controls much of the church at times. However, when we choose to worship our Lord and follow in His ways offense has little room to move.

I must also recognise when I am affected by spirits of darkness. If my heart is selfish, where have I gone? If resentful, who have I been listening to? If pride is trying to gain entrance I must rebuke it. Pride is what caused Satan to fall. It is what he uses to entice God’s creation. It is subtle and works deviously with offense and selfishness.

If I am feeling smug and self assured, I am in danger from the spirits of darkness. Pride waits eagerly to devour. Humility and repentance is the antidote. 

Stay humble! Amen!

Rest

“For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.”Jeremiah‬ ‭31‬:‭25‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This verse is from a chapter dedicated to a prophesy about the rerun of the people of God to their land from all over the world. It reminds me of current Israel.

Jeremiah had been asleep and dreaming. He awoke just after this verse.

Jesus said these words: “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I have to constantly remind myself, ‘you are yoked to Jesus, His burden is light!’ Yesterday I attended church and comforted the grieving refugees, a few days prior one of their group had taken his own life. I had lunch and then went to meet my translator and went to visit a biomass producer. (We are investigating industry for the poor to sell their agricultural waste and thus make money from rubbish. We talked to several people and they had a lot to say. We then came to my house and did a zoom  meeting with two men God is using to fight trafficking of women and girls through the Terai area here in Nepal. These people are supported by a group based in Australia. They blessed my soul with the work they are doing. We informed them that we want to educated girls and women before it happens. They were grateful for our input also. 
I then had a rest and slept several hours before waking to have Bible study with my flatmates, then back to bed. I can say my rest was good. God does indeed refresh our souls. Now I am praying about all we discovered yesterday and waiting for the Lord’s direction. His way is life! Amen!

Glory

“Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What glory is this? “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.”Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We are God’s image bearers. As we come to realise all we are in Christ we allow that image to shine forth. It shines forth when the spirit is in control, not the flesh.

The world is hungry for justice, truth and mercy. These we carry in the presence of the Hoky Spirit. His presence is the guarantee of our sonship. Allowing Him to shine is our gift to the world.

Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Amen!

Completeness

“You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope.”Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭114‬ ‭NLT‬‬

 This verse comes from Samek, the fifteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The letter is circular representing completeness.

Samekh, the fifteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, signifies support, protection, and completeness. Its circular shape symbolizes being surrounded and upheld, often linked to God's encompassing support in Jewish tradition. The letter also represents the idea of leaning on something for support, like a staff or shield, and can be associated with the shepherd's influence in guiding and protecting. (Biblehub)
The verse before this one  says: ‘I hate those who are double-minded, but I love Your instruction’(113) the verse after says:’depart from me, you evil ones, so that I may obey my God’s commands.’(115)
It is as though the psalmist is struggling against evil doers and perhaps their influence.
My struggle is against wishy-washy people who attempt to water down my dreams and faith in God. There are plenty of reasons why things will fail, but a very great reason why they might succeed, but GOD.
My God shall supply all your needs in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). Yes He shall! Thank you Lord! This past week I had to spend almost all my money on a hospital visit, I could not see how I could I would manage the week until oay day next week. Suddenly there was extra money in my account. It was all I needed to take me through the week. God does this!
As ai research an idea on how to relieve poverty in Sindhulpalchok I rely on God to lead. He is leading, giving me leads to follow.
Lord, may your kingdom come Your will be done. 

Fight

“Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.”Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Fighting is something I m good at, fighting for truth, faith, justice is something I am passionate about. Godly justice that sees captives set free, is the only justice worth fighting for. Selfish justice is a moot cause. 

I have a short life in this world full of injustice, I must make it count for the kingdom of God. When I think of parents selling their children for sex I boil. When I see people screaming for the right to murder the unborn I rage. The innocent need my protection.

Fathers wanting money just to drink make me want to get a bat and swat them. However, I know the best justice is a repentant heart before God. Robbing hell of souls is much more important.