August 25, 2021
“Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, a river of righteous living that will never run dry” (Amos 5:24 NLT). For many the recent guilty verdict in the case of the state of Minnesota vs. Derek Chauvin has been a source of great jubilation and a time of celebration. For this Pastor it is a time of reflection and prayer. We live in a time of superficial religion, and complacency, where there is the oppressing of the poor and a failure to acknowledge God. This Pastor can remember the murder case of Emmett Till and the Rodney King assault case. When we as a people fail to honor and value human life, irrespective of race, (ethnicity), there has to be the realization that everyone answers to God. All people, every person will have to account for their sin. Derek Chauvin will have to account for his sin, his inhumanity to George Floyd. While this one case is a step in the right direction, our heavenly Father has said He wants to see a “mighty flood of justice”. Dear ones, to have that kind of justice we must turn to the “Just One.” Let’s start here: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5, 6). For there to be a “just” judicial system there must be a “river of righteous living that will never run dry”. Let me close with this: (1 John3:7) “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous even as He is righteous.”
Pastor J. Amos Jones
with an intriguing question. You see, it was the intent of the young man to embarrass the old man who was known for his wisdom. The young man came to the sage and said, “Old man, the bird I have in my hand, is it alive or is it dead?” The young man had said to himself, “If the old sage says the bird is alive, I will immediately crush it, and it is a dead bird and if he says the bird is dead, I will open my hand and allow the bird to fly to freedom.” The old sage answered with the wisdom that only comes from God, “Young man, the life of the bird is in your hand. You control whether the bird is alive or if it is dead.”
“Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?” (Amos 8:5) These merchants kept the religious holidays, but not in spirit. They couldn’t wait for the holidays and Sabbaths to be over so they could go back to making money. Their real interest was in enriching themselves. In the text, the Lord God is spelling out the hypocrisy of His people Israel and He is holding them accountable for their actions. This passage of scripture literally reverberated in my spirit as I listened to Gov. Greg Abbot announce he is lifting the states coronavirus restrictions. To quote the governor, “Open Texas 100 percent.” Effective Wednesday, March 10, businesses across the state will be able to open at capacity. Additionally, the statewide mask mandate is being lifted. While we all want to go back to what we perceive is normal, it is the opinion of this Pastor that this is not the time to relax the coronavirus restrictions, particularly the mask mandate. It appears to this Pastor that the governor’s actions were callous in light of the 516,000 lives that have been lost to COVID-19. In his announcement the governor said “This does not remove personal responsibility, personal vigilance is still needed to contain COVID.” Let me emphasize the need for personal responsibility.