Tag Archives: Israel

DIVINE JUSTICE IS NOT PARTISAN!

divine justice is not partisan

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not relent. Because they have rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed, 5 I will send fire on Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.”

6 This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent. They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of their god. Amos 2:4-8

 

While we rarely care to be reminded, much less own it, History has revealed numerous innate flaws in humanity! Yet, The Creator of Heaven and Earth is not in the least bit hesitant to point our these fickled- fallacious tendencies in an effort to divert us from being repetitively susceptible to and victimized by them as were our forefathers!

As our text unfolds, we see Amos, a little known Sheepherder, is commissioned by God, to leave his home in Judah and travel north to  warn the people of Samaria and the Kingdom of Israel!  Having provoked God’s anger and exhausted His patience and forebearance, Judah and Israel would now suffer the thrust of  God’s impending judgment because of their perpetual rebellion and blatant disregard for His Righteous Commands!

A closer investigation of the text bear witness that after decades of devastating struggles the nations of Judah and Israel were now basking in a time of great prosperity and military success! Having successfully eliminated their traditional enemies, they enjoyed tremendous wealth and infamy. In other words, they were living their ‘best life ever’! Unfortunately, that’s when we’re most vulnerable to forgetting the Gifter and magnifying the giftings!

Much like today, the leaders of these nations, assuming that they were somehow entitled to these exuberant graces, were immune to the sufferings of the least amongst them and took advantage of every opportunity to keep the poor enslaved by poverty, inequality, worthlessness and hopelessness!

Little did they realize that God despises human pride, particularly when it’s rooted in self-righteousness and barnacled in indifference to the welfare of others whom God has Divinely-Positioned them to steward over! WOW! Many a person, blinded by unjustified confidence in personal status, has seen their worldly wisdom reduced to mere foolishness, huh?

This is specifically true for religious leaders who believe that God is impressed with packed-out ‘FAKE’ Worship services that tend to promote ritualistic celebrations but do nothing to produce Repentance nor Godliness in individuals, our communities, culture or society! DON’T SHOUT ME DOWN NAH! #ijs!!!

Beloved, TRUST2KNO, GOD IS IMPARTIAL WHEN IT COMES TO APPROPRIATING JUSTICE! Your last name, birth right, inheritance, bank account balance, educational degrees, zip code, civic, corporate, or political affiliations do not exempt us from the righteous punishment for insidious immoral crimes we commit against our fellow humanity! While man’s justice may remain blinded by race, ethnicity, class, false assumptions of pre-disposed genetic advantages/disadvantages, GOD’S HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUS JUDGEMENT IS NOT! NO MAN IS ABOVE HIS LAWS!

HE WHO SITS HIGH ABOVE THE CIRCLE OF THE EARTH IS NO RESPECT OF PERSON WHEN IT COMES TO DISPURSING DIVINE LEGAL OPINIONS THAT CAN NOT BE OVER-RULED! We must all remember that The Kingdom of God is not a democracy, but it is, was and shall forever remain a SOVEREIGN ETERNAL THEOCRACY!

ZION, BEWARE! The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. (Proverbs 15:3)
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (James 4:7)
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the. 1 Peter 4:17

#DIDJAHEARDAT? GOD IS NOT DISCRIMINATORY OR PARTISAN! HOWBOUTU?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

GIANTS DO FALL!

GIANTS DO FALL2

 

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Then said David to the Philistine, you come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelIn; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the ranks of Israel, whom you have defiled.

This day The Lord will deliver you into my hand; and I will smite you, and cut off your head; and I will give the corpses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hand. When the Philistine came forward to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to me the Philistine. 1 Samuel 17:45-48

 

Life is challenging! No matter how we try to avoid drama, we might as well accept that there’s always going to be something or someone who’s sole mission in life is to challenge your peace, your postion or your purpose on any given day!

There was nothing unusual about this day for David,  an ordinary shepherd boy,  going about his daily chores and obeying his Father instructions  to deliver lunch to his older brothers who were part of Israel’s Army; that is until suddenly, he found himself smack-dab-in-the-middle of an unsually challenging situation!

As David approached the camp, he couldn’t help but notice this 10 ft. Philistine giant, Goliath, yelling out threats to the experienced warriors of God’s Chosen.  Israel’s army was reknown for their courageous military tactics; yet in this instance, most likely because of the monstrosity of this opponent, not to mention the threatening words bellowing from his lips, the Israelite soldiers immobilized with terror and paralyzed by fear, were hiding amongst the rocks. Okay now, don’t act like you would’ve responded any differently!

What was going on? Well apparently, these mighty-men-of valor who were normally confident, relying on their own strength and the effficiency of their arsenal to defeat their adversaries, but when faced with the size of Goliath, had reckoned that the risk and danger of this task insurmountable!

However, David’s perspective was quite different! David was no stranger to seemingly futile confrontations in his past, nevertheless, had victoriously overcome them all. Therefore, armed with his determination that if GOD did it before, HE’D SURELY DO IT AGAIN,  David chose to stick with the tried and proven!

Instead of running away from the potential imminent destruction, David’s memories of God’s Faithfulness enabled him to forge ahead, trusing soley in His God, thorougly convinced that the greater the challenge, the greater the reward! Life had trained David that if GOD be for you, it doesn’t matter who tries to come against you! Faith in God assures you that no matter what it looks like, GOD will turn it around in your favor guaranteeing that you’re always more than a conqueror! (Ref. Romans 8:28, 37)

Unless you were born late last night or just landed on earth early this morning, like David, I kinda believe you’ve racked of a collection of personal testimonies of God’s Miraculous Saving Grace, huh?  Nevertheless, for whatever reason, whenever we’re confronted by a new challenge, rather than relying on your God to work it out, more often than not, you develop a severe case of spiritual amnesia and look for the nearest exit, huh?

But, Beloved, God left us a record of David’s response to model a different spirit! Time and time again, instead of running away from the giants, David stood firmly rooted and convicted that his adversaries were not just challenging him, but they were challengilng David’s GOD!

Saints, you will never overcome anything that you’re not willing to confront! You’ve got to know that we have a common antagonist, Satan, who is intent on challenging you each and every day. Some situations will be easy to handle, however others will be more than you can bear on your own. But keep in mind, God never intended you to! That’s the reason He promised you that He’ll never leave you, nor forsake you. (Ref. Hebrews 13:5) So, no matter how big your problem appears to be, don’t be scarrred! YOUR GOD IS GREATER! (Ref. 1 John 4:4)

As a born-again-blood-washed-Holy Spirit-filled-baptized believer, don’t let the devil find you naked! Every day, strap yourself in the whole Armour of God and go get your victory! (Ref. Ephesians 6:11) God’s gotcha covered!

REMEMBER, GIANTS DO FALL!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee