Devotion
Just Mercy
David Jacobs
I recently read a book called Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson that touched me deeply. In the book, Mr. Stevenson, a lawyer, sets up a non-profit organization in the southern states of America with the aim of protecting people that have no means of protecting themselves. The stories of some of his legal teams' cases are shocking: many of the inmates given the death sentence were given horribly unfair trials. Some of them were clearly innocent, some of the cases involved the police tampering with evidence and threatening witnesses, and some of the convicted criminals had severe mental and physical disabilities and would never be able to healthily survive in the American legal system. I truly believe that Mr. Stevenson is doing admirable work and his efforts have improved the American legal system. There is still so much work to be done.
In the first verses of Habakkuk, we read the pleas of a desperate man, crying out to God, wondering why God is not listening. I have certainly felt like my prayers were falling on deaf ears at times. Christ himself even wondered in the gospel of John why his Father had forsaken him. We all have our doubts, especially when faced with immoral, unjust, and evil people. Habbakuk cannot believe that God would stand idly by as the wicked rule his nation. As is the case in many countries and Mr. Stevenson's book illustrates, if the people responsible for "justice" are unjust, the law is broken. If bad people are the ones passing judgment on the good, wrong judgment and evil prevails.
The final verse speaks of work, and that is the responsibility of all Christians.
Prayer
We have been given God's moral compass in His word; we have received the teachings of Christ and the disciples; we have no excuse not to stand up to the injustices that prevail in many of our nations. If we work as one, we cannot fail: God is on our side. He will hear our prayers.
Devotion
Abraham is Father of All
Frances Taylor
There are questions in every age about the importance of the Old Testament for Christians. Abraham is considered to be the Father of Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims. We forget that it was Abraham who believed in the doctrine of only one God. It is through him and his descendants that this tradition comes down to us. Another fact that we can overlook is that Jesus was Jewish. He was born a Jew, lived as a Jew, died, rose and ascended into heaven as a Jew. Because we believe that he was the Messiah, the Christ, and we follow him, we are called Christian. Without the Old Testament, we wouldn't understand the promise of salvation; we wouldn't understand why it was important for Jesus to be of the family of King David. We would not understand his teaching either, because Jesus quoted from Scripture – the Old Testament – frequently. He told us that he came to fulfill the Scriptures, not to abolish them. In the same way, we can ...
