Pursue Justice and Only Justice

Friday, August 21, 2015
Deuteronomy 16:16-20 KJV 

16 Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed: 17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you. 18 Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the LORD your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly. 19 Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent. 20 Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the LORD your God is giving you.


OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) During his review of the rules for the Passover, what did Moses remind the men of God to do each year, where were they to do this, what feasts were they to do it on, and how were they to appear before the Lord? (v.16-17)
2) Who were the people of God to appoint to rule over each tribe and what were they to refrain from doing? (v.18-19)
3) What were the people of God to follow? Why? (v.20)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Why is fellowship among the men of your local church important?
5) Has the way of truth and justice ever been compromised during a fellowship gathering that you have attended? If so, what was done about it?

LIFE LESSONS
6) The Lord encourages fellowship between His people to keep us encouraged, strengthened and united.
7) Disagreements during times of fellowship are inevitable, but are to be handled justly and impartially to prevent a perversion of truth against the innocent.
8) Our Lord Jesus is the only righteous judge of all matters involving His children because He alone knows the thoughts and intents of every human heart.

Justice: A Joy to the Righteous

Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Proverbs 21:10-15 NIV

10 The wicked crave evil; their neighbors get no mercy from them. 11 When a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom; by paying attention to the wise they get knowledge. 12 The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin. 13 Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered. 14 A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath. 15 When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What do the wicked crave and what becomes of their neighbors, as a result? (v.10)
2) What happens when a mocker is punished? (v.11)
3) Who takes note of the house of the wicked and what does He do to it? (v.12)
4) What happens to those who close their ears to the cries of the poor? (v.13)
5) What soothes anger and pacifies wrath? (v.14)
6) What happens to the righteous and to evil doers when justice prevails? (v.15)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
7) How do you treat the poor when you are around them?

LIFE LESSONS
8) The Lord blesses those who are merciful to the materially and spiritually impoverished.

Justice for the Poor

Monday, August 3, 2015
Psalm 140:6-13 NIV

6 I say to the LORD, "You are my God." Hear, LORD, my cry for mercy. 7 Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, you shield my head in the day of battle. 8 Do not grant the wicked their desires, LORD; do not let their plans succeed. 9 Those who surround me proudly rear their heads; may the mischief of their lips engulf them. 10 May burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise. 11 May slanderers not be established in the land; may disaster hunt down the violent. 12 I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. 13 Surely the righteous will praise your name, and the upright will live in your presence.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What is the psalmist's prayer to the Lord? (v.6)
2) Who does the psalmist declare the Lord to be and what has the Lord done for him? (v.7)
3) What are the psalmist's petitions to the Lord? Why? (v.8-13)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Who (or what) are your enemies? What are your prayers to the Lord concerning them?

LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord expects His children to pray blessings for our human enemies and to pray deliverance from spiritual and emotional strongholds (enemies of our soul).

Justice, Kindness, and Humility

Sunday, July 18, 2015
Micah 6:3-8 NIV 

3 "My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. 4 I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. 5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab plotted and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD." 6 With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What questions does the Lord ask of His people? (v.3)
2) What does the Lord remind them of? Why? (v.4-5)
3) What had the Lord's people asked of Him? (v.6-7)
4) What has the Lord required of His people? (v.8)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you, your family, your local church, and/or your church denomination done what the Lord requires of His people? if not, why not? If so, briefly explain how. 

LIFE LESSONS
6) The Lord is serious about our covenant with Him and our commitment to other people.
7) The greatest sacrifice that we can offer the Lord is the sacrifice of our will for His.