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Today: When justice prevails
Passage: 2 Chronicles 16
7 And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. 8 Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” (2 Chronicles 16, NKJV)–emphasis added
On the cross, the love of God prevailed; on the judgment day, the justice of God will prevail
God is looking for loyalty. Today, we see ministry that is ineffective because the goals are not right
Commercialism has got such strong roots into the church and leadership so that almost everything is done is in exchange of something, some “benefit”
We can either put our complete trust in God and do everything that pleases God, or we can please some people and get some benefits
In ministry, there is this practice of pleasing somebody in leadership, securing own chairs and then grabbing some people, for the same purpose. But God, the judge of all, is watching
12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas[a]”; still another, “I follow Christ.” (1 Cor 1, NIV)
Yesterday, a New York City firefighter died in the line of duty. He was committed to his duty. We better learn commitment from the secular world. Many soldiers are dying in their line of duty every day
On the cross, we see commitment at its peak. The love of God prevailed. When justice of God demanded punishment for our sins. the Love (Jesus) took that penalty from us, and bore it himself. On the day of judgment, justice will prevail. That day, love will say to justice: “go ahead”
King Asa, who is mentioned in the scripture for today, started his job very good
2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.[a] 4 He commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to obey his laws and commands. (2 Chr 14, NIV)
But later on, what happens to most people happened to Asa; he messed up. Then he put prophet Hanani into prison for telling the truth
Even today, when we speak the truth, we could be “isolated” and put in the emotional prison; but God is watching.
12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians. 13 Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his fathers.
Asa put his trust in people. It is important that we put our trust in God alone
May God assign and use people to help us. Leave that part to God
Have a blessed day!
BG
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are a God of love and justice. Thank you for your love on the cross, which saved us from condemnation. Help us to live our lives fully committed to you, even to th end. It is hard, but possible. Thank you Lord; Amen
“Short-term gains can end in long-term loss”