In fact, we are to look first for the log in our own eye before we point out the splinter in the eye of a friend. He doesn’t tell us to judge or condemn others, to find fault or to force our will onto those around us. God has called us to love our neighbor, and to use our freedom to serve one another with love. As witnesses our role is to make sure that we share what we have witnessed with others. What exactly does that mean for us? What have we witnessed, and what are we called to do with this information? When we witness something significant, it is typical for us to share that information. King’s quote and the importance of actively defining and working for justice rather than passively waiting for it to happen * Click here to read Michael Denzel Smith’s article “The Truth About 'The Arc Of The Moral Universe,'” examining the history of Dr. Guide me to the most effective ways I can use my specific gifts to share your saving character with others. The prophet in Isaiah 43 said, on God’s behalf, “you are my witnesses.” How can you use your influence on the side of God’s saving purposes?ĭear God, there is no Savior besides you, and you call me to be one of your witnesses. * As Pastor Hamilton often reminds us, when God wants something done on earth, God most often sends God’s people to accomplish that. often said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Apparently, he shortened and paraphrased an idea from an American abolitionist preacher in 1853. How can you maintain your trust in God’s saving presence even when things do not immediately turn out the way you would wish? Yet, as Isaiah showed, that confidence survived even times of terrible defeat, slavery and suffering. That did not exclude salvation from trouble or despair but spoke less frequently to those concerns. In the Hebrew Scriptures, God as “deliverer” or “savior” most often meant deliverer from slavery, oppression and earthly enemies.As Israelites returned from Babylon, he pictured God triumphantly announcing, “There is no savior besides me. The prophet the scholars identify as “second Isaiah” (chapters 40-55) spoke to conditions 100 or more years later, after the exile ended. The prophet most mainline scholars call “Isaiah of Jerusalem” (chapters 1-39) wrote confidently that God would deliver Israel even when defeat and judgment loomed ahead of their stubbornly rebellious kings and people. I act, and who can undo it? Reflection Questions Let them bring their witnesses as a defense The people living there will be forgiven their sin. Daily Scripture TUESDAY 7.5.22 Isaiah 33:21-24, 43:9-13Ģ1 The LORD’s majesty will be there for us:Ģ4 And no inhabitant will say, “I’m sick.”
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