God is Your Defender

Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
   extol him who rides on the clouds;
   rejoice before him—his name is the Lord.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
   is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families,
   he leads out the prisoners with singing;
   but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

Psalms 68:4-6 NIV

The fatherless, widows, lonely and prisoners, all in need of the love of God. I think this describes a whole lot of people in this world. Maybe you...

Wherever you are at, God is your defender. 

Do You See Justice?

For the earth will be filled with
   the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,
   as the waters cover the sea.
Habakkuk 2:14

The prophet saw the corruption of those in leadership and even in those God was using to punish the leaders in Judah. Justice was perverted and the wicked seemed to go unpunished. God's message was that his justice would come around to them. Rage as they may, their end will come.

If you have ever watched a great fighter matched against a very aggressive opponent you know how this works out. The aggressive fighter seems to be carrying the fight as he strikes with relentless furry. The great fighter dodges, blocks and waits for the opportune moment to counter strike. When he finally delivers a blow it is with awesome force and accuracy and quite often ends the fight quite quickly. 

In a way, God's justice is like that. With relentless rage the enemy of our souls strikes away at our lives and we wonder were God is. The wicked seem to prosper and justice is perverted. Just wait. Their turn is coming and God will be glorified. 

What is our responsibility. To wait on God. To do what we know is right, even though everyone around us is doing what is right in their own eyes. Acknowledge God in all you do. Give God the glory. He will make himself known. 

Faithfulness Friday

I will betroth you to me forever;
   I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
   in love and compassion.
I will betroth you in faithfulness,
   and you will acknowledge the Lord.
Hosea 2:19-20 (NIV)

The faithfulness and forgiveness of God never cease to amaze me. The desire of God is always our repentance that leads to fellowship with him. His discipline is to never meant to estrange us from him, it is always his desire that we  would turn to him. That is why Paul encouraged Timothy saying, "If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself" (2 Timothy 2:13).