Sunday

In church this morning, Sam concluded his look at the book of Joel with a sermon entitled “Justice for Christians.”

He looked at chapter 3 of Joel, which heavily features God’s judgement on the nations of the world for dispersing and enslaving God’s people.

• ~Christians over the centuries have suffered oppression; in the 20th century we saw many atheistic tyrants persecuting believers. In the West today we see many Christians drifting away from their faith, discouraged by the negative image of religion in the media and the prominence given to false prophets. The toll on God’s people is heavy.
  
  
  
• ~Multi-culturalism and political correctness can be a menace. At one local school, there were complaints about holding of the Religious Instruction class. A survey showed that 95% of parents were in favour of the classes, but the 5% managed to get the system changed.
  
  
  
• ~The university pushes its status as a secular institution and makes sure that any Christian proselytizing is low-key. But asked “What about all the Buddhists on your staff?” they fall silent.
  
  
  
• ~The old text about peace is reversed here, where we’re told to beat our ploughshares into swords! [verses 7-8] This is a cry for warriors. Rejecting God means a battle and it’s one that we would lose.
  
  
  
• ~Verses 16-21 end on a high note, with the return of the Lord and the freeing of God’s people. The blessings of God will be on his people, but God’s enemies who shed innocent blood will be devastated.
  
  
  
• ~It is only with the return of the Lord that we can finally expect perfect justice in the imperfect world we live in.

God is good, we come before Him
so that we may sing His praise;
giving thanks for all His goodness,
as we learn His wondrous ways.

God is great, we come before Him
so that we may bow in prayer,
seeking strength to fight our battles,
knowing He is everywhere.

God is wise, we come before Him
so that we may know His law,
learning from the men of old time
how to serve Him more and more.