God has taken His place in the divine assembly;
He judges among the gods: “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and needy;
save them from the power of the wicked.”

They do not know or understand;
they wander in darkness.
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.

I said, “You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High. However, you will die like men and fall like any other ruler.”

Rise up, God, judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to You. (Psalm 82)

God is more than just a casual observer. But He also expects us to be more than a casual observer. He is watching and will act. But we also should act on behalf of those who cannot act for themselves, or who are put down for the benefit of others. We cannot change the whole world, but we can change our part in the world. God will eventually make things right. Let's just make sure He isn't having to make those things right that we have let go on as wrongs.

Christian researchers say that as many as 400 Christian leaders will resign during church services today because of revelation that they were members of the AshleyMadison extra-marital affair website. These are pastors, worship leaders, Sunday School teachers, elders, deacons, etc. It is easy to treat this group as one type of person, hitting them all with one judgment. The large majority of these will be men. Here are some things to remember...

Some of these made a quick mistake in a lustful moment that will have long-term effects in their lives. Others were actively and regularly seeking sexual activity outside of their marriage.

Some were hypocrites, just playing a game in church. Others were genuine believers who fell for the oldest trick in Satan's book.

Some had already come clean with their families prior to this public leak of information. For others, this morning's revelation will be the first admission.

Some will be confessing as a genuine step of repentance, moving on to live lives of purity before God and their spouse Others will simply be sorry they got caught, but will continue a promiscuous lifestyle.

Some have already lost their spouse and family to the tragedy. Others will lose their spouse in the days to come. Some will save their marriage through hard work and spiritual intervention.

Some will be restored to a position of leadership ministry. Others will never lead again, either by their own decision, or because their church body will not let them.

Some will move on to an abundant redeemed life. Others will sink into depression, turn to alcohol or other drugs, struggle with thoughts of suicide, or actually take their own life.

Some will never fall into moral failure ever again, finding victory over lust and sexual sin. Others will find victory for a season, but eventually return to emotional or physical adultery.

Many other Christian leaders are not part of these 400 or so. There are also many leaders who for some reason or another were not outed by the recent hack, and will continue in sin. Some who were somehow spared the hack revelation will hear that 'wake-up call' and repent, never returning to that lifestyle.

Many more leaders were not registered with that site, but are still bound by pornography and lust. No one knows, and maybe no one will ever know. But they know. Some of those drowning in sexual sin and the guilt and shame that comes with it will seek God and find forgiveness and victory. Others will continue down that road to destruction in this life, and the next.

Many who sit in the pews this morning listening to their leader confess to sin and resign are guilty of the same thing, or something similar. They will feel bad that their leader was involved and caught, but glad that their own sin is not revealed. Some of these will repent, others will just feel lucky and continue down a bad road.

In all, this will be a difficult Sunday for many. It will be crushing. It will reveal that the enemy has won some battles in our camp as we were playing in his. But it not a day to roll over. It is not a day to submit to defeat. It is not a day to despair.

Today is a day that will test what we believe about confession, forgiveness, redemption, transformation, and restoration. Today we will begin to answer some core questions...

Are these concepts just thoughts we have about tax collectors and prostitutes, or are they real and available for fallen leaders and Pharisees?

Do we believe sin is sin regardless of who performs it, or is sin worse when a leader is overcome by it?

Is our hope found in people, or in Christ?

Will we lose faith in the Church because people in the Church are as susceptible as we are?

Will we be agents of restoration or gossips, and snipers?

Can we forgive like we want to be forgiven?

Here are some verses that apply to the conversation...

“You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28)

“Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered, nothing hidden that won’t be made known.  Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” (Luke 12:1-3)

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

“Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Romans 8:1)

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

This piece is not to suggest that we judge. It is not a warning to not judge. Judgment is in sin. This is just a reminder that sin is real. It targets no demographic. No one is immune. All have sinned. Grace is real. No one is outside of its reach. All can be restored. Trust in Jesus today. Pray for those who will confess their greatest failure before their family today. Be a part of the ministry of reconciliation whether the sinner is a career offender or a saint who has lost their way.

Some people call Sunday the Sabbath. But it isn't. The Sabbath has always been the 7th day of the week. It still is. So in America right now, it is the Sabbath. So I think back to the first Sabbath.

"So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. By the seventh day God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all the work that He had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested from His work of creation." (Genesis 2:1-3)

Rest. Rest. Rest. If God can rest, you can rest. Rest today.

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

"Hatred stirs up conflicts, but love covers all offenses." (Proverbs 10:12)

Is this true in my life today? Is it true in yours? Of course it is true. But which path will we take? Just read the verse several times until you can walk away from the computer dressed in it.

We each have the power of both in our hands today. Whether we are typing on Facebook or reaching out to someone, we choose to hate or love. Choose well. Love well. Live well.

Check out Robert Mitchum in the video below describing the battle between hate and love tattooed on his knuckles.

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

I don’t think it is a secret that the world is messed up. We are now at the point where even the most optimistic person wakes up each day wondering what tragedy will steal the headline. And that headline is likely only to last a few hours.

Yesterday morning on the way to work I was detoured around a crime scene. The night before a man had drawn a gun on police standing on an overpass. They returned fire, shooting him in the leg. He then went off of the overpass onto the highway before, dying a couple of hours later at the hospital. I thought that would be the headline for the day.

But as I winded my way through the detour another tragedy was being played out in Virginia. A racist disgruntled former news station employee was arriving at a live interview to shoot two news journalists, and put the woman being interviewed in the hospital with a gunshot wound to the back. Beyond that, he actually recorded his evil deed to post to social media. Yes… he recorded himself drawing a gun on his targets and shooting them at point blank range. He later died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds acquired while speeding away from the police.

Later in the day a Louisiana police officer was shot dead.

And 3000 babies were killed through abortion yesterday as well, though that didn’t make the news.

The world is going to hell so fast, it doesn’t have time to get into a hand basket.  It is almost overwhelming at times. We rightly hate these things. Even the most gracious and forgiving person has to shake their head at the depths of wickedness pouring forth. These activities are not new, but they are picking up in frequency and observance.

The book of Proverbs in the Bible is a collection of wise sayings and teachings. Here is a section from that book…

“The Lord hates six things; in fact, seven are detestable to Him: arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet eager to run to evil, a lying witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16-19)

There are billions of things the Lord sees every day that He does not like. But apparently there are 6 things He hates and actually 7 that are detestable. This may be a good list to memorize. Perhaps these are the things that cause Him to turn things over. Are they in your life?

·         Arrogant Eyes

·         A Lying Tongue

·         Hands That Shed Innocent Blood

·         A Heart That Plots Wicked Schemes

·         Feet Eager To Run To Evil

·         A Lying Witness Who Gives False Testimony

·         One Who Stirs Up Trouble Among Brothers

That’s an interesting list I think most of us are free and clear on some of those. I think some of those would make most everyone’s list of the things they hate. But how powerful is it that ‘a lying tongue’ is right next to ‘hands that shed innocent blood’? Arrogant eyes? Really?!? God hates them? Does He really hate arrogant eyes like He hates people who rush to do evil things? Well, apparently so.

I think all of the things God hates are connected in the sense that all of these activities leave victims. One of the most painful things to watch yesterday was the news reporter being shot. She was simply doing her job. In that sense, she was innocent. She wasn’t bothering anyone. She never saw the shooter coming. He walked up, stood a few feet away from her, pulled the gun, and shot her multiple times. He had arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, blood-thirsty hands, an evil-plotting heart, feet that ran to do bad things, a history of telling formal lies to government agencies, and obviously stirred up conflict between people. He was the total package in this regard.

But it all starts with a look. Watch your eyes today. Watch your mouth. Watch your hands. Watch your feet. Watch your heart. Any one of us can be or become the worst person in history. But not if we stay away from those things God hates.

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]

Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.