May the mumbling commence!
God waits. God
encourages us to help the oppressed and to seek justice. It disappoints God when we fail to do
so. But the Lord is there ready to take
up the cause of the poor and oppressed… even at our expense. Read from the end of Isaiah chapter fifty-nine:
The Lord
looked and was displeased to find that
there was no justice. He was amazed to see that no one intervened to
help the oppressed. So he himself
stepped in to save them with his
mighty power and justice. He put on righteousness as his body armor and
placed the helmet of salvation on
his head. He clothed himself with the robes
of vengeance and godly fury. He will
repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes in
distant lands. Then at last
they will respect and glorify the name of the Lord
throughout the world. For he will come like a flood tide driven by the breath
of the Lord.
"The
Redeemer will come to
Jerusalem," says the Lord, "to
buy back those in Israel who have turned
from their sins. And this is my
covenant with them," says the Lord.
"My
Spirit will not leave them, and neither will these words I have given you. They
will be on your lips and on the lips of your children and your children's
children forever. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Verses
15b-21)
God is displeased with injustice. It amazes God that His people do nothing to
correct it. In fact, God’s people help
injustices along!
So the Lord comes clothed in righteousness and
salvation. Vengeance and fury will be
the lot of those who oppose the Lord.
It can be easy to see only the vengeance and fury being
spent on our enemies in distant lands.
That’s what the Scripture says.
But we must read further.
The Redeemer will buy back those in Israel who have
turned from their sins. God will redeem
His people who turn away from their sins… THEIR SINS. Israel, the church, is not without sin. And we must fight daily to turn away from our
sins.
To turn away from sins is part of the process of
redemption. Let’s never forget that fact
so that we might claim the promise of the Lord.
God will never leave us. God’s
Word will be on our hearts and on our lips, from generation to generation. Amen.
May it be so!
Let’s give God the glory. Let’s give God our very best, just as the
wise men did before the child Jesus.
Read from Matthew chapter two:
After this interview the wise men went their way. Once
again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of
them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were
filled with joy! They
entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then
they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense,
and myrrh. But
when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned
them in a dream not to return to Herod. (Verses 9-12)
It’s a joy to worship the Lord. Let’s open our treasure chests and share with
Jesus our best treasures. And where will
we find Jesus? We will find him with the
lonely, the vulnerable and the oppressed.
Let’s find joy in the giving.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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