Sunday, August 16, 2009

Justice and Mercy

I have been thinking about the justice of God lately. I have been thinking about this alot. I asked Marc the question the other day, "Why is God just and what does that mean?" He explained that justice was a question of truth. That truth and justice go hand in hand. So because He is the only Truth He is the ultimate justice. And that goes hand in hand with fairness which is justice without partiality.
It is easy to forget sometimes that the enemy of Truth is lies and deception and that God has no role in the lying and the deception. It is easy to forget sometimes that the enemy doesn't play fair and the variable to justice is our response to the attack of the enemy.
Have you ever imagined a world where justice, truth and fairness have been overpowered by evil, lies and deception? Where the moral compass of humanity has gone missing? Sometimes in those situations we human beings ask, "Why?" Why did this happen to me? God is always just and without partiality. When we say Life is not fair we are in essence accusing God of not being fair. But the truth is that He never changes. He is always just. This is Pastor Susan Living the Everyday Prophetic Life and thinking some deep theological thoughts.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

The Scars that make us Smile

When the girls were young we had an amazing pet named Missy. She was a big ole mutt that was part Manchester Terrier and part I don't know but looked mostly Rottweiler. Missy was a yard dog that the girls loved to play with in the summer and that I would feed and care for the other three seasons. She loved to stand on top of her dog house and put her paws on your shoulders and lick your face. She weighed in her hay day about 80 pounds. One summer day when Missy was getting ready to put her paws on my shoulders she missed and one of her giant dog claws ripped my left hand and wow did it bleed. I remember wondering then if I would have a scar and I did. It just never healed right. Well, Missy has been gone almost 7 years now. And for some reason today, when I looked at my hand I noticed the scar that goes from my thumb to my wrist. And I smiled. Because I remembered a time when the dog was young and the girls were still wanting to play in the backyard and it was summer. Point of the story: Sometimes the things that hurt the worst later become visible reminders of the joys in our life. Missy was a good faithful and protective pet. She watched over the girls and had infinite patience. Summers were fun and I was a stay home mom. The girls were little and still loved the back yard swing set. So my question is: What in your life left a scar but brings a smile when you remember now?
Marc preached last Sunday about Thomas and Jesus scars in His hands and feet. Those costly scars bought our salvation and I am sure that when Jesus looks at them He smiles.
This is Pastor Susan Living the Everyday Prophetic Life.