SCRIPTURE ------ “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing.” Isaiah 61:8 DEVOTIONAL ------ We see in Isaiah 61 that God defines quite clearly what He loves and what He hates. He loves justice. That means he loves fairness, equality, and balanced scales. And just as much as God loves justice, He hates its’ opposite - robbery and injustice. He hates wrongdoing and inequality and unbalanced distributions. There have been cases of injustice and robbery throughout history. But there is a foundational story of robbery and injustice that the whole earth is groaning under. It happened in the garden. The God of the Universe, who created man to live in peace and unity and safety with Him and each other, was robbed of his dream. He was robbed of connection with His children. He was robbed of being known. He was robbed of co-laboring with his kids to increase His Kingdom on earth. And Jesus was robbed of His inheritance — us! This robbery took place when Adam and Eve surrendered the right to be co-heirs with God and care for the earth. (Gen. 1:26) “What have you done?” God cried. God lost us … and we lost Him. We lost our connection to Him and with that we lost the knowledge of who He is, what He is like, who we are in Him and what we were created for. It was the most devastating and cataclysmic loss of all time. So Jesus came to take back what was stolen. To balance the scales. To ransom the debt. With the precious payment of His life came the restoration of all things. But this task has not yet been completed. From the beginning of God’s vision, we were made to labor from love to spread His kingdom. So now, as his redeemed, we get to fight with God to restore His original dream. There are good works that have been set out for you since the foundation of the earth. Micah 6:8 says, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” To act justly can be translated “to do or create justice.” In Isaiah 61 we see that God calls us his priests and has anointed us with His presence to bring beauty where there are ashes, joy where there is mourning, and praise for despair. We are to rebuild and restore devastated places. We are anointed to CREATE JUSTICE where there is injustice, inequality and unbalance of every kind. When we do this, the earth is set right again with God’s justice and He receives the glory and the splendor He so rightfully deserves! by Anthony & Mary Keith Skinner QUESTIONS ------ Where do you feel called to pray or fight for justice? Where have you grown complacent, numb, or despairing with injustice? Where are you participating with injustice on a conscious or unconscious level? Are you afraid to feel the guilt, shame, rage, fear, or sadness that comes when you look at the brokenness around you and the desperate need for justice? Ask God to help you come to Him in truth with your emotions. What are the good works God set apart for you since before the foundations of the earth? Ask God to give you revelation! If you feel afraid or overwhelmed by this question or anything you might feel He is saying, simply talk to Him about it. PRAYER ------ God, I want to live Micah 6:8. Help me to understand what is good to you and how to do it. Help me to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with you.
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