October 21 – Righteous Judgment…Stand Up for Your Values

"Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?" The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?" Jesus answered them, "I did one deed, and you all marvel. For this reason Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, "Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill? Look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they?" John 7:19-26

Who seeks to kill You? They asked. Didn’t they hear themselves a week or so earlier when Jesus had healed the man on the Sabbath? For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. John 5:18. Those Jews were a fickle group. Jesus knew their hearts—and He wasn’t backing down or running away. Some of the people obviously recognized that He was the Christ—but they weren’t standing up for Him.

Do you stand up for Christ? Do you stand up for any of your values? We are nearing election time and although only you and God know how you vote, now is the time to take a stand and vote for the issues and people that are aligned with your values. Keep your integrity strong. If you don’t agree with abortion, then don’t vote for people who do. Since when is taking a person’s life the right thing to do? It is proper to avoid pregnancy, but once that fetus is conceived, then it is a person. On another issue, if you want to keep marriage strong, then don’t vote to “redefine” marriage. Look closely at the issues before you vote—you have the responsibility to choose wisely. We are taught in Romans 13:1…Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. God is in control, but He allows us to make choices. If you doubt this, read Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar took great pride in the empire that he created, and then God took it away from him, turning him into a wild animal. When he came to his senses and recognized God as all powerful, he was reinstated as king over the Babylonian Empire. Choose wisely.

Dear Jesus—I’m thankful that we can choose our leaders and help determine our legislation, the way our country is governed here in the United States. I stand with You in desiring what is good, true, right, and pure. Help everyone in the US to make good decisions as they consider the candidates and issues in this upcoming election. Bless our nation. Thank you for hearing our prayers.

© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).