“If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.”
― Marcus Aurelius
2 CHRONICLES 32-33
Hezekiah's leadership encourage the people and ultimately God rescues them...
6He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: 7“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.
Jesus dialogues with Pilate...JOHN 18:24-40
33Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”35“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”36Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”37“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
JOURNAL
This morning I was struck by all of the media exposure of the Brock Turner case. Not the fact of his trial, behavior or sentence but by the absurdity of how we (yes me most definitely included) seem to lust for scapegoats to deter us from our own problems. It is so easy to sit back and look and cast judgement. It is easy to see the obvious wrongs on all sides of the issue and offer opinions. What is hard is to really take a look at our own lives and realize that the same tendencies for horrible wrongs exist within each and every one of us. We don't want to believe that any of us could do the same thing. Yet our DNA will confirm otherwise...for every saint that is in our ancestry so exists an evil muderer. None of us can ever escape that reality. It is precisely why Jesus commands us to take the plank out of our own eye before we remove the speck from another's.
It is amazing as I read through all of the Kings of the old testament and how one will follow God and one won't and these are all Father's and Sons. Great Father's end up sometimes producing terrible sons and likewise terrible father's end up sometimes producing great sons. The only consistent pattern is that those that were obedient to God...were blessed by God...not always in wealth or position or even in long life...but always in the peace that they have in accepting and obeying God.
I think that on this earth that and that alone is my only safe hope. Be content in God's love for me...be passionate in my obedience...and seek to find joy and goodness in whatever circumstances I find myself.
It is amazing as I read through all of the Kings of the old testament and how one will follow God and one won't and these are all Father's and Sons. Great Father's end up sometimes producing terrible sons and likewise terrible father's end up sometimes producing great sons. The only consistent pattern is that those that were obedient to God...were blessed by God...not always in wealth or position or even in long life...but always in the peace that they have in accepting and obeying God.
I think that on this earth that and that alone is my only safe hope. Be content in God's love for me...be passionate in my obedience...and seek to find joy and goodness in whatever circumstances I find myself.
8Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
~ Philippians 4:8-9
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