Bringing Justice to Your Unjust Situations

^{Psalms 19:7-14}

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the [whole] person; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

⁸ The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure and bright, enlightening the eyes.

⁹ The [reverent] fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, even than much fine gold; they are sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb.

¹¹ Moreover, by them is Your servant warned (reminded, illuminated, and instructed); and in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can discern his lapses and errors? Clear me from hidden [and unconscious] faults.

¹³ Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then shall I be blameless, and I shall be innocent and clear of great transgression.

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer.

Background
When we have good laws that help citizens become better, be safer, be empowered, be free-it is worth being praised. This is what David says about God's laws!I heard something worth thinking about from a preacher on Youtube. He said the angels in heaven are constantly declaring "Holy, Holy Holy" do we know why? They are acclaiming not only the being, the composition of God but also His acts, every single one of His Acts are Holy, Perfect, Just, Worthy of praise! So in heaven the angels aren't saying Holy, Holy Holy as a chant, in rhythm following a beat-but more like as declaring, as and when the acts occur, not in unison but perhaps, what I can think of is, like kids answering a question when a teacher throws a question at the whole class and its an answer everyone knows! But only in a continuous process, forever, non-stop! With wonder, with Awe, With admiration! Whoa Holy, Holy Holy the angels declare! That's how wonderful God's Works are on this earth.


Lessons
These verses in Psalm come from David, a man who after being anointed to be king did not really become king the very next day.  The Bible records in the book of Samuel how he went through struggle every single day of his time of preparation with Saul trying to kill him for no fault of his own except that Saul was jealous of David. How crazy is that!!! Yet God gave him twice a chance to take out Saul but David maintained that he would rather have God's justice for his situation rather than exercise his justification by himself!
The Laws of God have the ability to

1. Restore a person and make him complete in every way
2. Giving you wisdom
3. Bring rejoicing in your heart( a permanent thing)
4. Enlightening your perception-increasing your ability to observe the situation on a grander scale
5. Fear of the Lord makes a person clean!

How can we receive God's Justice through His Laws

1. Just by observing ONE THING-keeping yourself Holy before a Holy God - in mind, in heart, in words and in deeds that means making a very painful but conscious effort to have/harbor no evil thought towards the person or group who has wronged you!

David does exactly that - He asks God to clean him up of everything evil, even hidden sins, presumptuous sins. Stuff we do without knowing. David considered it important, very important to be clear of everything. Now when God looks at David, He sees no offense in him and is ready to bring His Perfect Justice into His circumstance! So when Justice is delivered you are clear of it!


Conclusion
So, there will always be people or groups who will despise you! Seek to do wrong to you even though there is nothing you have done to offend or hurt them! Take heart and make effort and ask God to help you clear up every malice from your heart, every bitterness toward them, every single thing that is not of God, so when God's justice is dealt out, you will observe it- standing and beholding and your spirit will cry out "Holy Holy Holy are the works of my God towards me!"

Fight the Good Fight

Background:After a long list of kings who did evil in the eyes of the Lord. God directs Elisha to send his servant to anoint Jehu, king of Israel. He would be the one to purge Israel of all the remnants of Jezebel's followers, baal worshippers and to avenge the blood of all Lord's servants (2Kings 9). While reading of the accounts of kings from 2Kings 9 onwards until 2Kings 13, I find that, there were people who longed to be kings and queens of Israel and Judah and were willing to do anything for it. However when they went into power, they didn't care about following the Living God, they did what they desired, they sinned against God, they worshipped idols, turning their face from God. One of the kings mentioned in 2Kings 11 is Joash. Joash organised the task of repairing the temple of the LORD, but when the Aramean king came to attack Jerusalem he gave away all the gold from the temple, that had been dedicated to the Lord, to the enemy???

There are quite a few lessons I have learnt from reading about these kings, and find some bit of myself in their behaviour.

1. Is it easy to follow God in hardships, or during prosperity ?-I've noticed in my life, that my spiritual life has grown more during troubled times, than during times when I was well-fed. The learnings I got through the valley, were the ones, that changed my life. It brought meaning to my relationship with the Lord. Those times are the times, when I no longer learnt by listening or observing, but by experiencing God's amazing Love. His power to forgive, His power to provide, His power to heal, His power to help me live righteously before God. In order for us to be in our best behaviour during prosperity, we would need to be trained in difficult times, else we would never appreciate what we got, if we had it all easy.
2. Never give away, what has been dedicated to God, Fight- We are more than conquerors, we are a royal nation, a holy priesthood. For Joash, when the Aramean king came to attack Jerusalem, instead of fighting against him, he paid him with dedicated items from the temple of God!!! How often, we do that. Of course our battle is no longer against flesh and blood, but you know our battle is more subtle and spiritual and moral. The Bible says, we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we are not ours but were bought with a price and Jesus our Lord dedicated us ,so to speak, to the Father in heaven. When satan throws in a scene, or a picture, or some people in an attempt to attack our spirit, how many times have we given away our eyes, our ears, our mouth,the instruments of God from the temple of the Holy Spirit, to the enemy!!!
3. God still has room for forgiveness-In 2 Kings13 I read about a king, who wasn't actually living the kind of godly life, but "4 Then Jehoahaz sought the LORD's favor, and the LORD listened to him, for he saw how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. 5 The LORD provided a deliverer for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before." God never leaves us alone to face the difficulties or the attacks that satan makes on our lives. He is well aware of the oppressions we face and is more than willing to forgive and provide deliverance.

Conclusion: No matter what satan throws at you, to attack your spirit, run to God, cry out to Him for He is able. The biggest lie that he tries to blind you with is that "you can't do anything about this ". I don't believe that, I am more than a conqueror in my Lord Jesus Christ. I am a royal nation, a holy priesthood, a people separated for my God and I am not going to give from the temple of the Living God, what belongs to God, even His people. God has given me the armour for spiritual battle, not to stand around doing nothing and compromising, but to fight the good fight. The fight of faith.(1 Timothy 6:12) And as I know how God rescued Lot, " 7and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.(2 Peter 2:6-8 )

Mercy

In the book of 1 Kings 16 onwards we have been reading through the life of Ahab. I am now on the 22nd chapter of 1 Kings. In the readings I find Ahab a very fickle minded person and disobedient to God, unless it was something that would benefit him.

• He and his evil wife Jezebel killed the prophets of the Living Lord
• He started following the gods of his wife Jezebel , baal, ashtoreths, asherah ..etc
• He takes over Naboth's vineyard by false means and killed Naboth
• Leading the nation of Israel to sin before the Living God by making them follow gods other than the Living Lord.

Then the word of the Lord came to Ahab through Elijah -" 20 Ahab said to Elijah, "So you have found me, my enemy!" "I have found you," he answered, "because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD. 21 'I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free. 22 I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.'
23 "And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: 'Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of [a] Jezreel.'
24 "Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country."
25 (There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the LORD drove out before Israel.)"

The Bible says "27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly. "

In spite of all the Ahab had done all his life, God saw his change and took him seriously and the Bible says "28 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 "Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son."

Lessons I learnt

God took notice of Ahab's humility, God noticed!!! And not for anything else but our God being the source of all mercy, who sits on the mercy seat, who looks down from above to see whom He can bless, God shows His mercy.

David constantly cried out for God's mercy for every situation of his life and God kept him safe in his arms. I went through Psalms and I find that David continually asked for God's mercy. He knew Whom he was approaching. Even Job humbled himself during his troubled times and said "Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy.Job 9:14-16 Job was living a righteous life yet he did not consider that a big deal, he let everything in God's hand that he could not demand God his healing his restoration on the basis of his good works so far, but on God's mercy. Oh that brings God honour, knowing that God has mercy on us, not for our sake but because it is His nature, it is His discretion, it is His choice. The moment we start depending and counting on our own deeds for seeking God's mercy, we elevate ourselves in the position of demanding from God, yet this is not so. Just because our God is a Loving and Wonderful Friend to us, doesn't mean we forget His Position, His Power and His Authority over us. "It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy".Romans 9:15-17

• God's mercy is from everlasting to everlasting-Psa 100:5 "For the LORD [is] good; his mercy [is] everlasting; and his truth [endureth] to all generations. " "Psa 103:17 "But the mercy of the LORD [is] from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; "
• The merciful shall receive mercy-"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" .Matthew 5:6-8 .
• Mercy is better than sacrifice-"For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.Hosea 6:5-7

Keep up the Good Work!!

David's life now becomes interesting, on the one hand Ziba, Mephibosheth's (Jonathan's son) steward comes to bless David with food and supplies for his journey and on the other hand there is Shemei from Saul's clan come out to curse David. However David goes on with his journey and reaches his destination.

In the meanwhile, Absalom has gathered up his people at Jerusalem. Now a word about Ahithophel "23 Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel's advice."(2 Samuel 16:23) . Yet when God had decided to thwart Ahithophel's plan nothing in his status remained and Ahithophel's plan wasn't considered by Absalom. Later on we read Ahithophel committed suicide because no one honoured his plan. Then there was a battle between David's men and Absalom's followers and Absalom was struck down by David's men even when David had asked them not to kill him and David mourned.

When David returned to the City, all the people who had left him came to meet him, Shimei who had cursed David when he was fleeing, Mephibosheth who had hoped he would get the kingdom when David dies and the likes, David did not treat them as they deserved but forgave them and let them stay in the kingdom. Later on the people of Judah (who had given David refuge while he was fleeing) and the Israelites( who had been following Absalom when he was alive) had an argument and they split. People of Judah remained with David but the Israelites left him.

Lessons I learnt

1. It didn't matter to David who treated him how at his low times, he kept doing the right thing-If we read the account of David fleeing from his son Absalom for fear of being killed and the people who supported him and the people who didn't I find that David did not deal with the people in revenge or the way they treated him. He treated all of them with kindness, whether they deserved it or not."Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Our good deeds should not be dependent on how the other person behaves towards us, but on how our connection is with our Living Lord.
2. Forgiveness- Though we don't see David explicitly forgiving anyone who hurt him, we do see in his actions that his works showed that he had forgiven them and cared for them anyway."4Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.[c] And lead us not into temptation.[d]' " (Luke 11:4) Isn't this one of the main things our Lord Jesus taught us to pray?

Conclusion: Even David's life talks about things that our Lord Jesus wants us to learn, a message from New Testament. To love one another, to do good no matter what the weather condition at your surroundings. Dear God, help us to learn this lesson in our lives, to do good and forgive even as You did not deal with us the way we deserve, but died for us while we were yet sinners. How much more we need to learn from You Lord Jesus. Please teach us to become more and more like You. In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.

Relentless Surrender

David's sin of 'stealing' Bathsheba and killing her husband Uriah, brought him consequences, just as God had said. In 2 Samuel 12:11 we read "11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.' " " Now thats a pretty strong statement from God regarding, and now we even see some of the consequences. The events that take place in David's life from this point(when he sinned) on are events that bring him disgrace, dishonour and shame. Firstly his firstborn through Bathsheba dies then , Amnon (David's son) misbehaves with his sister (Tamar) (though they may not be from the same mother, atleast they were brothers and sisters from the same father), due to this incident a number of killings take place(Absalom (Tamar's brother kills Amnon),and Absalom flees. David longs for his son Absalom. Well in a course of time, Absalom does return to David, only to start plotting to take the kingdom away from him, even though David welcomes him home with a kiss and love. How much more can David take, I wonder. For once his life was going well as a king, yet now he has serious family problems, and David flees from Absalom "14 Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, "Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin upon us and put the city to the sword." (2 Samuel 15:14). Even at this point, David does not fight his situation, he tells the priest Zadok "25 Then the king said to Zadok, "Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD's eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says, 'I am not pleased with you,' then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him." (2 Samuel 15:25)

Lessons I learnt

1. Sin brings death, but God has taken that away, the after effects still remain- Now what does that mean? Didn't Jesus die for our sins and take it away, so I may not have any problems, you may ask. Yes thats true, but thats not a guarantee for us to sin more. Its like, you want to get some place and got into the wrong train, and you've gone a whole way in the opposite direction than, to where you were supposed to go. No money, no time, no one to help, no place to stay...because your place of stay was booked at your original destination. Thats when Jesus can help you out to get onto 'the' way and get you back onto the right path to get you to your original destination. Well it might take a while for you to get back but then, you will surely get back if you follow His directions. In the process, the amount of distance you travel to get back on track as the consequences you might face due to the wrong path taken earlier. Thats what happened with David (2 Samuel 12:13) "13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, [a] the son born to you will die." When we ask for forgiveness, our sins are definitely taken away, we're free from it, yet if we've done something that will drastically, change our present and our future, it may take a while before we get everything back in order. (For eg killing for money,taking drugs..etc which have long lasting effects..unlike telling lies, or badmouthing a person). However God's grace and mercy is with us, to help us overcome the after effects of sin.
2. Relentless surrender-thats how David made it through all that trouble- David's response teach me that, he knew that the only way out for him through all the trouble that had come upon him due to his sin, was through his only Saviour, Lord God Almighty and so he was open to whatever God would decide for him. "25 Then the king said to Zadok, "Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD's eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. 26 But if he says, 'I am not pleased with you,' then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him." He had learnt over time, no man could help, he knew his position as a child of God, hence he could take a stand like this one. If there was anyone who could help David, David knew that it was God Himself.
3. Confidence in God's decisionthrough remembering God's goodness-David's surrender of self, could not have come out of nowhere. When he was young, he spent lots of time shepherding the sheep and making melody to the Lord, he had developed his relationship with the Lord and He was confident that God would be the ONLY one in favour of him. God would be the only one to rescue him. Not only this, but also that He remembers what God had done for him in the past. Remember the psalm he wrote "1BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name!
   2Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits-- 3Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases," (Psalms 103:1-3)

Conclusion: For us who have slipped in life, David's life demonstrates hope and strength in our Living God. We may not be able to go back into the past and change the wrong decisions we might have made, but we sure can stay connected to our Living and Loving Heavenly Father in the present to avoid making mistakes in the future and therefore like David, become the kind of people God planned for us to be. The key, as seen from David's life is, not to dwell in sin, but to get up, seek forgiveness and let God help us out of it. The lesson is to build the confidence in God's plan, like David had, so God may bring out the best in us. That confidence which comes through a continual connection with the Almighty.This confidence will take us through. Therefore let us hold fast to the confession of our faith, for He who called us is Faithful.

Fallen-Restored-Still Loved

There is no believer who has not sinned either before knowing Christ or after knowing Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Everything in David's life was going pretty smooth, he was obedient to God, God had blessed him all the way in everything he did. He is king and his subjects are happy to be in his kingdom, because he deals in righteousness and does what is good for his people.
In spite of such a good record, David slips, he sins against a good man named Uriah and acquires his wife, after plotting his murder in the battle field. God is disappointed with David's actions, and David loses the son he has through Bathsheba (Uriah's wife). David sinned!!! However, he was quick to ask for forgiveness and get right with the Lord. Later he did have to face the consequences of the sin.
We are so glad to receive all that we want, from God, however there are times, when we compromise our stand in the Lord, for petty pleasures/wants. Yes faith works, but that is not all that God wanted us to learn, He would love to have children who are well built in character,

Lessons I learnt

1. Anything outstandingly good in our behaviour, can come ONLY through a relationship with Jesus-David was a wonderful king, a successful king because God was with him, so also if there be anything good that comes out of our life, its because of our Loving Lord Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.So also, for us who believe in Jesus, we are prompted and encouraged to do good, even to people who hurt you, through our Lord Jesus."22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." So if we thought goodness is inherent of a human being, its not. Yes we can easily do good to people who hurt, to people who are equal in our status, people who are good to us, but can we like David, be good to a person's kid, who continuously tried to kill him? Now these are good deeds, which will be remembered forever.
2. Sin is falling short of God's mark and also not doing what we're supposed to do-"There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". David is a wonderful mentor for someone who wants to be a man after God's own heart, however he too sinned. You know why David sinned, because in this record, David was NOT DOING WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO. "1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men .......But David remained in Jerusalem. "If David would have gone for war, he wouldn't be strolling in his palace aimlessly. God has a plan for us, but if we think of taking a break for a season, we might as well be strolling aimlessly even though we think we got it all figured out.
3. Lets not take advantage of God's goodness-When a child of God sins it brings contempt to his/her Father in heaven-"because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, "( 2 Samuel 12:14) It is a serious thing, to make our enemies show contempt to our Living God. Just because our Lord is Loving and forgiving, doesn't mean we take advantage of His goodness.
4. There is hope for all who repent-The Word of God is frank about David's sin, because there is a lesson for all, it is true David sinned, but it is also true that he repented sincerely. The Bible mentions " 13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. "( 2 Samuel12:13) God forgave David, instantly upon his repentence, so does God for us "1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." not from some sins, but from all.

Conclusion: This episode from David's life is a very serious one, however it brings out the essesnce of human failure and God's love. "22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."( Romans 3:22-24) The Good news is, God does not hold this sin against David forever because David repented, though the consequences remain, the relationship of God and David grow stronger. David now has learnt that though he is a king and a great man as people see, he is a small human being with faults before God. So also, for us if it was ONLY to be good on the outside what would the world have been? Can you imagine? Our God molds us into good people, inside and out. People whose lives are transformed by His divine light and direction. Lives that are so transparent before God, that when God shines on them, His light shines right through them and they become God's reflection, God's light and salt for this world. Lets be one too.

Power of the Cross

Colossians 2:13-15 "13And you who were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (your sensuality, your sinful carnal nature), [God] brought to life together with [Christ], having [freely] forgiven us all our transgressions, 14Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us (hostile to us). This [note with its regulations, decrees, and demands] He set aside and cleared [a]completely out of our way by nailing it to [His] cross. 15[God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross].

We were once a people who had a written note against us- saying"GUILTY". You know what happened at the cross because of that note against us? God took the notes that were against us, and nailed it to the cross-thereby tearing it and declaring, from this day (of the crucifixion) forward, my children are no longer guilty. They are free.

And to them (the principalities and powers) which were against us and wanting to destroy us. God made a public spectacle. Can you imagine? When satan came against us with our guilt tag, God took it and tore it and threw it on his face and said. "Thats my child, she believes in me, she's mine. I have paid for her, IN FULL" God made a bold display on our behalf. He did'nt do it in a secret cave. He went right up there on the mountain where all could see. Declared, "My child who believes in Me is not guilty. My judgement of my child says -Not Guilty- can anyone dare bring any allegations on them?"

Romans 8:1 says "THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.(A)"

It fills my heart with sheer reverence and joy that God would do such a wonderful thing for me and for you who believe in Jesus. That place, where the enemy joined forces to make fun of me for my guilt, God made a spectacle of them and not of me. I can almost picture, how heaven would have made sheer joke of the enemy satan when he thought he had us, but was so totally, utterly defeated at the cross. I feel like saying hurrah for Jesus my Lord and Saviour that I enjoy this good life because you made it possible for me.

If you do not know the Living Lord who loves you so unconditionally, Romans 5:8 (Whole Chapter) says "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Take time today to know God, He loves you more than you can ever imagine, more than you have ever been loved by anyone. Reconcile with God today.