God is Righteous and Just

Today in my time in God’s Word, I was presented with the righteousness and justice of God. Let’s not succumb to the idea that because God is love He is only forgiving. He does those things: loving and forgiving. However, He is also jealous and holy.

This is a hard subject to broach in today’s Christian churches. We focus on His salvation and love and caring spirit to attract others to the hope of salvation. However, if we leave out the part about separation and disobedience, what is there to be saved from? Let’s not be fooled into thinking that saying we believe in Jesus is enough. Even the demons believe in Jesus. Let’s not be fooled into thinking that God will save us and provide everything we want, just because we profess Him as Lord.

His plans are unsearchable to us. What we want may have nothing to do with His plans. As I discussed last week, our prayers need to be in line with His will. Our behavior also has to be in line with His will. His will is that we are intimate with Him. Not just saying the right things and sounding good, but truly knowing Him and serving Him. This doesn’t just happen because we prayed some prayer (although that’s a good start). Knowing Him means communicating with Him. Two-way communication. It’s not just praying to Him. And it’s not just reading His Word and listening for His Holy Spirit’s guidance. Both of those behaviors are essential for really getting to know Him.

Part of knowing Him is realizing that He’s a jealous God. He wants nothing or no one to come before Him in our lives. He does discipline those who fail to make Him the priority of their lives. I’m not just talking about those who are not Christians. He disciplines each and every one of us – possibly especially those who say they follow Him – when we don’t make Him the priority in our lives. The discipline can be harsh. In Old Testament times it meant He pruned away some of those He called His own. His character does not change. He will also prune away some of those that He now considers His own in faith. He does what is best for His plan.

I don’t pretend to understand exactly what He’s thinking. I just know He’s not easily fooled by good sounding words or self-serving service. We can volunteer at church, pray publicly in restaurants. We can proclaim Him to others, sound like we know the way. We can read His Word and study the commentators. We can be teaching Christ to our families, sharing Him with our friends. Yet we can still place other things before Him, and He will know. He is a jealous God! We need to examine our hearts and minds. We need to be doing all these things for His glory. We need to have no other “gods” before Him. He is righteous and a just judge. He will not be fooled by our thoughts, feelings, actions, or minds. He will discipline, even to the point of death, any who put other things ahead of Him.

Answered Prayer

On Tuesday, I will have/had hand surgery. Nothing major, however, it will prevent me from making posts for a week or so. I usually write my blog articles on Tuesdays and scheduled them to be posted on Thursday mornings at 2:00 am. This week, I’m writing this on Monday and scheduling it to be posted on Thursday. I don’t know when I will be able to post again but I’m aiming for a couple of weeks.

I’ve been reviewing some key passages of Scripture with a friend the last few weeks. With that review comes Scripture memory review of some foundational verses. The first one is entitled “Assurance of Salvation.” I shared that verse last week in my article about how to do Scripture memory. This week the verse is “Assurance of Answered Prayer.” John 16:24 says, “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.” The key is in asking according to His name and abiding by His standards and will. When we ask for the things He’s promised us in the Scriptures, He will answer. When we ask for things that are actually good for us, He will probably answer (however, sometimes the things we think are good for us may, in fact, be harmful for our walk and worship with God). When we ask for God’s will to be done, and trust He will work things out according to His plan, He most definitely will answer.

I’ve found the promise in this verse to be true. When we ask in His name, my joy is made full. I find peace and contentment in my life. I find things for which I am thankful. I am abundantly filled with rejoicing and praise. My life is grand and there is so much to look forward to. I wait expectantly to see just exactly how God answers my prayers.

There’s another reason I wait expectantly for the “answers.” Romans 8:26 tells us that the Spirit is praying for us when we don’t even know what to ask: “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Since I don’t even know what to be praying for, and the Spirit is praying for me, I may get answers I never expected.

So, I will do what John 16:24 says and pray in Jesus’ name. Then I will wait expectantly to see the grand answers God gives me.