Today’s Reading: 1 Kings 21:1-4
Isaiah 3:10-11 — Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
God promises justice. Sometimes it seems as though the wicked prosper and do not suffer while the righteous suffer and do not prosper. Some Christians envy the prosperity of the wicked or are angry that God does not punish the wicked. But God is a God of absolute justice, and the unrepentant will be judged by God.
King Ahab was a wicked man who worshiped idols and refused to obey the words God sent to him by the prophets. Ahab became vexed and sullen because Naboth refused to give up a vineyard to him. Ahab’s wicked wife Jezebel schemed to have Naboth killed so that Ahab could take the vineyard. God promised that Ahab and Jezebel would be judged for their wickedness, and they were.
Jesus told the story of the rich man and Lazarus who both died the same night. Lazarus, who suffered during his lifetime but worshiped God, was received into Paradise. The rich man, who prospered during his lifetime but did not worship God, faced eternal torment.
Our concern for people should be about whether they are lost or not. There are only two kinds of people in the world: the saved who are going to heaven and the lost who are going to hell. The saved have received God’s grace for salvation and have been given Christ’s righteousness to wear as a royal robe. The lost are naked. They have not received God’s covering of grace and righteousness, and they are children of wrath.
Believers living in third world poverty often have richer faith than first world believers. Believers suffering persecution under communist or Muslim dictators often experience deeper relationship with Christ and His joy than those who live in places where they can worship freely. It is better to be righteous and poor or persecuted than to be wicked and prosperous and free to live like hell. God is just. Righteousness is its own reward.
10/29/2024 Devotional
"GOD IS JUST."
Suffering from endless misunderstandings from those close to me. I am not able to communicate at all with the closest person I see every day. Anxiety about the future. Endless prayers for my children to live righteously before God... My life, where I struggle every day to have confidence in these things... Pain and suffering make me suffer in various ways. However, if I can go to the Lord every day because of these things, isn't this pain but rather a blessing!
Isaiah 41:10 NLT
" Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with…