PSA 77:11-15 ESV
I will remember the deeds of the Lord ; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
PERSONAL COMMENTARY
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In the face of news of ISIS continuing their murderous ways of slaughtering and torturing Christians – with news of their plans to behead adults and burn children alive – I find myself hoping for either the hand of God or for judgement to finally arrive.
It is hard to understand the ways of such mad men who would do these things, who would let such deep and dark evil overcome their lives and carry them to the depths of depravity.
Yes, I believe in forgiveness, mercy, and love.
Yes, I hope that all might find salvation.
But I know that the Lord makes some vessels for His holy use, and some vessels he makes with the intent of destruction – to demonstrate His power. Who are we to question why one is created for life and another for destruction? His ways are above my ways and I don’t rely on my intellectual understanding of all things spiritual, but I trust in God – this is faith.
And I leave the wrath in God’s hands, but I do not ignore that we are to defend and protect each other. We are the body of Christ. I do not believe in personal revenge for a wrong committed against my person, but I do believe that God can show His power through us as a body of Christ and as a society protecting those that are in harm’s way – and yes, even in dispatching those who are causing such harm.
We followers of Christ are to love. Many times loving others means caring enough about them to hold them accountable for their wrong actions. If I did not teach my daughter discipline, that would not be very loving, because an undisciplined child is going to be a terror and burden to others and is going to encounter all kinds of trouble in their life.
So I pray for discipline that is appropriate for these actions and atrocities committed by these agents of terrorism and inhumane atrocities – and those that are so far gone within the clutches of evil that they will never yield to the will of God – Yes, I pray for destruction, wrath, and judgement – because at some point a life can become worthless and useless other than for a demonstration of God’s power and holiness and wrath and judgement against those things evil.
Lord help me to remain under grace and mercy in your loving hands – it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of God’s wrath. But we will all face one or the other. Yes, we are all vessels with a purpose – to demonstrate God to others. We will either demonstrate His grace and mercy and forgiveness and the resulting repentant and fruitful life – or we will demonstrate the death and destruction and desolation that result in a life of slavery to sin, fruitless wandering, and life lived without purpose other than self, empty and alone, facing judgement.
Stand strong and firm against the evils of this world, saints. Do not be afraid to pray for God’s wrath and judgement against those who are vessels created for destruction and demonstration of His power. Do not be confused about protecting others and handing out discipline as a society and nation – because even bullets and bombs can be weilded by the body of Christ to provide discipline and instruction and resistance against these unseen enemies – when it is not done as personal retaliation, but as humanely as possible as a direct response to a threat.
So please, wipe this scourge from the earth. There is no place for a people that will brutally and in humanely torture men, women, and children who are not combatants and who have no crime against them but who are being killed because of their beliefs. Level this place of evil to the ground, even flattening the mountaintops, drying up the waters, and leaving the land desolate and uninhabited as a reminder of the discipline deserved by those who would sink to such levels of depravity.
Let it be swift and exacting.
Yes, let us see the power of God move today against the evils of this world.
And we should hope for the same type of victories in our own hearts today. We should seek overwhelming victory over those things in our life that are not honoring God.
Let’s see the evidence today of your amazing victory both spiritually in our own lives, and physically against those agents of terror and evil who oppose God and who commit such atrocities.
Redeem your children from their attackers, oh merciful and mighty God.
Harold J. Ballinger 