SUNDAYS WITH JOYCE

 

JUSTIFICATION

 

Proverbs.17:15-- He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them together are detestable to the Lord.

Roman.3:23,24-- For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

Romans.4:6,7-- Just as David also speaks about the blessedness of the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: BLESSED ARE THEY WHOSE TRANSGRESSIONS ARE FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS ARE COVERED.

Psalm.103:2,3-- Bless the Lord, . . . Who forgives all your iniquities, .

1 John.2:2-- And he (Jesus Christ) is the reconciling sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the sins of the whole world.

 

Romans.3:10-12-- As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, together they have become worthless; there is no who does good, there is not even one."

 

Romans.7:18,19-- For I know that no good thing dwells in me, that is in my sinful nature; for the willingness is present in me, but doing the good thing is not in me. For the good that I desire to do, I do not do; but the evil that I do not desire to do, this I keep doing.

 

Psalm.19:12-- Who can discern his errors? Pardon my sins of ignorance.

2 Corinthians.5:21-- He made him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for our sake, so we might become the righteousness of God in him.

 

Romans.5:9-- Therefore, having now been justified in his blood, by how much more shall we be saved through him from his wrath!

 

 

 

The Stonecutter

There was once a stonecutter who was dissatisfied with himself and with his position in life.

One day, he passed a wealthy merchant's house and through the open gateway saw many fine possessions and important visitors.

"How powerful that merchant must be!" thought the stonecutter. He became very envious, and wished that he could be like the merchant. Then he would no longer have to live the life of a mere stonecutter.

To his great surprise, he suddenly became the merchant, enjoying more luxuries and power than he had ever dreamed of, envied and detested by those less wealthy than himself. But soon a high official passed by, carried in a sedan chair, accompanied by attendants, and escorted by soldiers beating gongs. Everyone, no matter how wealthy, had to bow low before the procession.

"How powerful that official is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a high official!"

Then he became the high official, carried everywhere in his embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by the people all around, who had to bow down before him as he passed. It was a hot summer day, and the official felt very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He looked up at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected by his presence.

"How powerful the sun is!" he thought. "
I wish that I could be the sun!"

Then he became the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone, scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers and labourers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth, so that his light could no longer shine on everything below.

"How powerful that storm cloud is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a cloud!"

Then he became the cloud, flooding the fields and villages, shouted at by everyone. But soon he found that he was being pushed away by some great force, and realized that it was the wind.

"How powerful it is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the wind!"

Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off the roofs of houses, uprooting trees, hated and feared by all below him. But after a while, he ran up against something that would not move, no matter how forcefully he blew against it -- a huge, towering stone.

"How powerful that stone is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a stone!"

Then he became the stone, more powerful than
anything else on earth.

But as he stood there, he heard the sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the solid rock and felt himself being changed.

"What could be more powerful than I, the stone?" he thought.
He looked down and saw far below him the figure of a stonecutter.

Benjamin Hoff from The Tao Of Pooh

 

 

'The curse of poverty has no justification in
our age...The time has come for us to
civilize ourselves by the total, direct
and immediate abolition of poverty.'
Martin Luther King, Jr

 

"Power is when you have every justification to kill someone, and then you don't"

 

 

'The modern conservative is engaged in
one of man's oldest exercises in moral
philosophy; that is, the search for a superior
moral justification for selfishness.'