Hope Chest #45 pt 2: Justice and Mercy
Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>
THE HOPE CHEST: Ideas and Inspiration for Home Education
Issue #45 part 2 / October 2001
Justice and Mercy
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This is part 2 of 4 for this issue.
DIGGING DEEPER: Justice and Mercy in Scripture
IN MEMORIAM: Dave Mankins, Mark Rich and Rick Tenenoff
Three Missionaries in a Place of Abundance
by Virginia Knowles
TATTLE TAMING by Chautona Havig
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DIGGING DEEPER: Justice and Mercy in Scripture
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This is just a SMALL sampling of verses about justice and mercy,
taken from the New International Version.
GOD IS FULL OF JUSTICE AND MERCY
The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for
judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern
the peoples with justice. Psalm 9:7-8
He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever
confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Proverbs 28:13
"Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I
delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the
nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the
streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he
will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will
not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In
his law the islands will put their hope." Isaiah 42:1-4 (speaking of
the Messiah to come)
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is
near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his
thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on
him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. Isaiah 55:6-7
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone
through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to
the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is
unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who
has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without
sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so
that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of
need. Hebrews 4:14-16
MAN, SINFUL FROM BIRTH, CANT BECOME RIGHTEOUS IN
HIMSELF, DESERVES GODS WRATH, AND NEEDS GODS
MERCY FOR SALVATION.
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the
cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.
Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of
his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with
Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace
you have been saved. Ephesians 2:3-5
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and
enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in
malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when
the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us,
not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his
mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by
the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through
Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace,
we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:3-7
GOD WANTS US TO BE FULL OF JUSTICE AND MERCY
He has showed you, O man, 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. Micah 6:8
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. 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 righteous. Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may
live and possess the land the LORD your God is giving you.
Deuteronomy 16:18-20
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He
will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of
your cause like the noonday sun. Psalm 37:5-6
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who
conducts his affairs with justice. Psalm 112:5
The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have
no such concern. Proverbs 29:7
But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing
stream! Amos 5:24
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you
have neglected the more important matters of the law -- justice,
mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter,
without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a
gnat but swallow a camel. Matthew 23:23-24
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God
rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Matthew
5:7
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law
that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown
to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over
judgment! James 2:12-13
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IN MEMORIAM: Dave Mankins, Mark Rich and Rick Tenenoff
Three Missionaries in a Place of Abundance
by Virginia Knowles
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Saturday morning I had the privilege of attending a memorial
service for Dave Mankins, Mark Rich and Rick Tenenoff. Many of
you have prayed for these men since they were kidnapped in
January 1993 from their New Tribes mission station in Panama by
Columbian terrorists. For family, friends, and the Christian
community, it has been eight and a half long years of waiting and
researching. Now we know that the three men were killed in mid
1996, after three and a half years in captivity.
In the margin of my Bible on April 11, 1996, probably about the
time they died, I jotted a note that Psalm 66:5-12 summed up my
prayers for these men: Come and see what God has done, how
awesome his works in man's behalf! He turned the sea into dry
land, they passed through the waters on foot -- come, let us rejoice
in him. He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations --
let not the rebellious rise up against him. Selah. Praise our God,
O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved
our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested
us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid
burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went
through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of
abundance.
I do believe that God answered those prayers. It may seem that
wasnt just and merciful to his dedicated servants when he put
them through what they suffered. But God is righteous in all his
ways. They have received their reward. From the recorded
messages that were transmitted by radio, we know that they were
grateful for the gracious care of their Sovereign God even during
their years living in the jungle with terrorists.
What struck me about the memorial service is the absolute
contrast between our modern culture and the lives of these
courageous men, who were devoted to the gospel of Christ at all
costs. Are the things we pursue bringing glory to our Redeemer,
or shame? How we spend our time, money, energy, intellect --
these things show what is truly important to us. I am spurred on to
be more wholehearted in my faith and to lay aside those things
which hinder me. I desire to raise children who love and serve
God passionately. Even dedicated home schoolers can get
distracted from focusing on discipleship by all of the other
demands on our attention. I think we often forget that we are
engaged in spiritual warfare, not only for the lives of our own
children, but also for our impact on the culture at large. Though I
fall so short in this area, I still I believe that home education
provides us the ripest opportunity for an emphasis on Scripture,
prayer, and service. May God help us purify our hearts and
simplify our lives so that our children will be equipped for whatever
He would call them to do!
For more information on this story, and for updates on Martin and
Gracia Burnham, who are being held as hostages by Muslim
terrorists in the Philippines, please log on to the New Tribes site at
http://www.ntm.org
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TATTLE TAMING
by Chautona Havig
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[Virginias note: I saw this posted on the Moms Board at
http://www.titus2.com and asked Chautona, who I already know
via e-mail, if I could include it in the Hope Chest. Chautona and I
have something interesting in common -- we are both moms of six
daughters and two sons each! Chautona has a lovely
dressmaking business. Youve just got to see her web site at:
http://www.wardrobeclassics.com]
Tattling is a personal pet peeve... In our home we do not allow any
tale bearing (the Biblical term gossiping works well too) on each
other unless the person is in imminent danger. PERIOD NONE.
Lets say Sally is getting into the pantry. Janie sees her. Janie is
required to say something like this. "Sally, we are not allowed in
the pantry without permission. Please stay out of the pantry." Sally
now has two options: she can receive the reminder of the rule, or
she can reject it. Receiving it just means that she leaves the pantry
and sins no more -- well, for right now anyway! If Sally is in a
contrary mood, she might just ignore Janie or get ugly with her. So,
Janie has one more option. Janie says, "I asked you to stay out of
the pantry and you didn't; please go talk to Mommy about it."
Now Sally is in a spot. SHE HAS to come talk to me or immediate
discipline result, even if she did nothing wrong. PERIOD. If Janie
is out of line and didn't handle the situation correctly, thats too
bad, but still Sally must come talk to me about it. So, Sally now has
two choices: she can come confess or appeal Janie's sending her,
or she can refuse and that leaves Janie with one more recourse. If
Sally comes, Janie is out of the loop -- completely -- assuming I
don't have questions for her or that Sally doesn't quite understand
why she was sent. Sally comes to me and says, "Mommy, Janie
asked me to talk to you because I was in the pantry." Now, if Sally
doesn't come, Janie takes her final step. Janie comes to me and
says, "I asked Sally to come talk to you." At this point I wait a
minute. Sometimes the person with the information gets there
sooner than the person requested to come. I usually mentally
count to 10. If the culprit isn't by my side at 10, I send a different
child to get their sister or I go get her. When she comes, I tell the
child that she gets discipline for not coming to me when requested.
Period. THEN........ I ask why Janie asked her to talk to me. Then
the culprit will CONFESS their own misdeed and no gossiping
happened -- just confession. Occasionally I have to get witnesses,
but there isn't that spirit of wanting to get the other in trouble as
much. This is because it is too involved for something that isn't
serious. The kids just don't WANT to deal with the problem if it is
the age old "Sally looked at me" thing. Warning: after awhile, they
will try to skip the first corrective step, or turn it into bossiness.
This
gets quickly dealt with. I discipline that corrector immediately for
abuse of the system. After a couple of these situations, they go
back to the original plan. ANY time a corrector abuses their
position, they are in trouble. PERIOD. I have even forbidden a
couple of my children to send ANYONE to me for short periods of
time because they were using it for trivial stuff. The person MUST
be breaking a RULE, or endangering themselves or others to send
the other child to me.