A God of Justice – Part 3

by Tim Burt | Articles, Christian Living

In Isaiah 30:1 we read, “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:” And in Psalm 140:7 it says, “O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.”

As we continue to look at and try to understand why terroris happens, it is important to remember that God is merciful and kind. It is important to remember that God does not bring judgment easily or casually.

Judgment comes only after man has rejected and exhausted every attempt of God’s love toward Him, and after he has given himself completely over to wickedness, perversion and doing evil.

In my previous articles we discussed that God wanted Christians to be comforted regarding the subject of God’s wrath coming upon this earth. He said that, “…Jesus, who was raised from the dead, rescues us from the coming wrath.” The tragedy of terrorism is not God’s wrath for the backslidden or lukewarm state of Christians in this country. But, it delivered a wake up call.

I listed two different verses at the beginning of this article. The first was from Isaiah 30:1. God was speaking to His people in this earth. He was warning them that they had pulled back from God. That they had left the place of loving, relying on, and trusting Him. He warned that they began to live their lives without seeking Him for His direction, protection, and blessing. He said that they tried to provide a cover—a way to protect and provide for themselves—but it was not the covering of His protection or provision.

A Heavenly Covering
Most people know little about the covering of God but they should. As you read through the Scriptures, you will read hundreds of verses where God promises to be “a shield” or where He will hide us in His pavilion or in His tabernacle or under the shadow of His wings, etc. These are all promises of God’s divine protection.

Of course as I have always said, the promises of God are only available to a believer—and only by faith in those promises. When we try to make our own way without God, we create our own “coverings” but they are like coverings made out of cellophane.

Angels are meant to be coverings to us. Satan—called Lucifer before his fall through pride—was not only one of God’s chiefest angels, he was to be a covering. We can read about it in Ezekiel 28:16-17. “…I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy spendor: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.”

Psalm 91 tells us how God wants His covering to protect us. Verses 9-11 tell us that angels are part of that covering. “If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the LORD, who is my refuge—then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”

I posted the following passage on my Fresh Manna website the other day: “O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.” You see, God wants to protect us. God does not bring judgment against us.

But, we can see from today’s verse that when God’s people pull back from Him and make their life without Him and without faith in His Word, they walk away from Him and His covering. They build their own covering—a covering about as good as cellophane in a hailstorm. Satan is able to penetrate a false covering—a covering that is not of God.

This was a nation that was founded on the Judeo-Christian principles of God’s Word. It has been the country that has charitably given more than any other nation on earth. It has been a country that had done more to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ than any other nation on earth.

That has been its course and destiny. But, when Christians start chasing after what the world does and the nation gets sidetracked, sin runs rampant and Christians stop living for and worshipping God. This creates a covering with holes and Satan attacks. He attacks individually in our lives and corporately in our nation.

Turning Back to God
Pray and let change begin with you. Speak out and demand changes. Pray for God’s help and covering. We can be a better people and nation. We can be God’s people and a nation after God!

Psalm 91:7-10: “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling—even the Lord, who is my refuge—then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.”

www.FreshManna.org
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Timothy Burt is a pastor, author, and writer. He is best known as the author of Fresh Manna, a daily devotional and online Bible study.

Pastor Tim became a part of the leadership team at Living Word Christian Center in 1984 and was an Associate Pastor from 1989 until May 31st, 2017. He and His wife Renee, also a Pastor at Living Word, resigned after being a part of Living Word for 33 years on May 31, 2017. They felt impressed by God to pursue the tremendous growth of their ministry "Fresh Manna," as well as teaching conferences and seminars and increasing their involvement in the mission field through Tim and Renee Burt Ministries. Tim has a Bachelor of Theology degree and is a Christian blogger who has been writing a daily inspirational and teaching devotion three days a week called "Fresh Manna" for the past 22 years. It has been read in over 227 countries (official countries and territories). Tim was named one of the top 55 blogging Pastors. He is one of the top Social Media influencers in Minnesota with a strong presence on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TimBurt with over 187,000 followers. Between Tim's Fresh Manna Devotional and Twitter influence, he virally averages reaching over 4 million people daily with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God.

Prior to working at LWCC, he worked at Northwest Airlines for 13 years. In 1985 he founded and was President of American Infant Care Products which marketed his patented invention, the first fold-down commercial infant changing table now used worldwide in public restrooms.

In their tenure at Living Word, Timothy Burt and his wife Renee created a Small Group Ministry when the church was about 800 people in size. Under the leadership of Sr. Pastors Mac and Lynne Hammond, the church grew to over 10,000 people. Pastor Tim and Renee led a diverse Small Group Ministry of over 200 groups. Tim also led weekly men's groups and a monthly Men's Breakfast of 250 plus men called Manhood for 27 years. Tim's responsibilities also included oversight over the Visitor and Member Relations Department, Leadership and Volunteer Development, and the Pastoral Care Department. Pastor Tim was also the Minnesota State Director of Christians United for Israel from 2006 thru 2017.

Tim and Renee are the parents of four children and have seven grandchildren. Tim loves to write, golf, run, and walk, and is a master gardener. He is a five-time marathon finisher. He is also a three-time award-winning gardener winning the Grand Prize in his city for his beautiful home garden and is a Master Gardener for the University of Minnesota's Master Gardener Extension Program.

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