I have been talking with the Father a dimension of life that is not very familiar to me, that is Divine justice. I have spent 16 years of my life seeking to help people heal from the damage of the wounds, lies, and losses that have ravaged their hearts and distorted their identities. Growing up without a father from age 6, loss became like a familiar but unwanted friend. A Heavenly Father who is not only full of grace but also love seemed to be the answer for people who had been devastated by loss. Yet life at times seemed to be like body surfing when the sets of waves would just pound you one right after the other while you nearly drowned from exhaustion. Everywhere as I look around, I see loss, struggle, brokenness, and need. I have spent a portion of my life feeling like I was a victim of others choices and even as I healed no longer seeing myself as a victim, I still carried a sense of loss. The Holy Spirit began to reveal to me that my father was a man who was saved yet the lies, the disconnection from family, an orphan heart, dreaming apart from God, fear, hopelessness, isolation, and an impending sense of death led him to take his own life. Now I see that he was murdered! The enemy was behind the lies, the disconnections from loved ones, an orphan heart, dreams that didn't involve God, the lies of hopelessness, being cut off from love, and finally making death the only way out. The family members of a murder victim often cry out for justice for their loved one, justice is at the core of our beings. It is easy for this sense of violated justice to turn toward fear that it be brought about which leads to anger, bitterness, hatred, and finally unforgiveness. In Luke 18:6-8 says "And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” In Matthew 12:18 the words of Isaiah the prophet are reiterated about Jesus, "BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES." We see the theme of divine justice throughout the Old Testament, for example Moses is raised up to deliver the nation of Israel from the oppressors in Egypt and as they are freed the people are given spoils from Egypt due to the injustice they suffered. In Isaiah 61 we see God promising the nation of Israel a double portion for the shame that has been visited upon them. Many believe that since we are under God's grace that justice was part of the Law, yet the passages I have cited are all New Testament passages about the ministry of Jesus. I would like to propose that Jesus went about bringing justice to the enemy and the Kingdom of darkness through deliverance, healing, and freedom. In 1 John 3:8 says, "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil." This is divine justice on the one who lied to Adam and Eve in the Garden. The Holy Spirit revealed to me one day as I was studying that the enemy of our souls was never called a thief, until Jesus proclaims him as the thief in John 10:10 and exposes his purpose to kill, steal, and destroy. One day I had a dramatic unveiling of John 10:10, I had a couple in my office who were arguing vehemently non-stop. I interrupted them and pointed out that there was another force at work and that was the enemy who came to kill, steal, and destroy. It was his work to divide this marriage and family. Within a 15-20 minute period of saying this, I later discovered that the passenger side window of my car was being shattered by a thief who stole my stereo and an MP3 player. The enemy (the thief) did not like my exposing him and came against me. Some would say this was coincidence but I don't believe in those because Romans 8 tells me that God causes all things to work together for my good. I believe Jesus in exposing the enemy as the thief was doing what the Father was doing, He was exposing the enemy and his works so he would be brought to justice. I sat across from a friend who is an attorney at a delightful little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant and I asked him if he thought my dad had been murdered by the enemy and what would restitution be for this crime. He acknowledged that my dad had been murdered by the enemy and that restitution would be beyond what I could imagine. I have been asking the Lord for revelation of what restitution would be for the murder of my father.
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