The Bible on God’s Heart for Justice
Psalm 10:17–18You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more. ¶ Psalm 11:7 ¶ For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face. ¶ Psalm 35:10 ¶ My whole being will exclaim, “Who is like you, O LORD? You rescue the poor from those too strong for them, the poor and needy from those who rob them.”
The Just LifeDec 23, 2010
The Bible on the Poor
God’s concern for the poor:Deut. 26:5–9. The Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders; and He has brought us to… this land flowing with milk and honey.The Just LifeMar 7
The Bible On Wealth
Deuteronomy 8:18Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth. ¶ Proverbs 3:9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. ¶ Proverbs 23:4–5 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.The Just LifeMar 7
The Bible on Dying to Self
Psalm 51:17 17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.Matthew 16:24–25 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” ¶ John 3:30 30 He must become greater; I must become less. ¶ John 12:24–25 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.The Just LifeMar 7
TJL Quote List
“To be saved cost us nothing…to be a disciple costs us everything” ~ Unknown“You can’t start a movement, but you can prepare for one” ~ Vincent Harding ¶ “Everything has been figured out, except how to live.” ~ Jean Paul Sartre ¶ “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.” ~ G.K. Chesterton. ¶ “We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” ~ Joseph Campbell ¶ “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.The Just LifeSep 12, 2010
Dikaiosune: and Justice
Did you know that the word justice does not appear in some translations of the New Testament? That could be a bit disconcerting for those…who understand biblical social justice to be central to Christianity. The reality is that God’s heart for Justice is so integrally linked to His Righteousness that the original Greek word used was “dikaiosune,” which has a meaning that fully encompasses the complexity of this characteristic of God (in the Old Testament the Hebrew word is “sedaqah”), but has always been translated into English New Testaments as the word “righteousness.”The Just LifeMar 20, 2006
Backwater Jesus
This Christmas let us all be reminded of the blessed dignity Christ gave to poor oppressed people in dire circumstances living in backwater…parts of the world by being born to poor oppressed parents under dire circumstances living in a backwater part of the world. ¶ Let us reflect on an unwed teenage Mary’s first words of song after she was told that she would give birth to The Savior: ¶ “He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.The Just LifeDec 21, 2013
Why they called us Christians
Have you ever given much thought to why we are called “Christians?” The early church never called themselves Christians. Jesus never gave a…name to his followers. In the Bible the title most often used was “saints.”[1] ¶ The Greek word for saints is “hagios” which means “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious.” It is almost always used in the plural, “saints.” Which reflects not just the individual but the connection to a group of people set apart for the Lord and His kingdom (more on that later). ¶ A name is a powerful thing. Beginning with Adam’s first task of naming the animals, throughout human history and even today, the…The Just LifeFeb 9, 2009