Justice Rolling Like a River
Greetings in the Lord!
A month ago as the Lord was preparing me for the next place He would send me, I recall having a dream in which I parachuted down from the sky looking at a pleasant hilly land below me. While most of it was covered with trees, I also saw cliffsides and cleared areas of land where someone had cut away a portion of a hill, exposing the rock and leaving level ground of muddy dirt and uprooted trees. That is now my view as I look out the townhouse window!
Yes, the cutting away of the hills and clearing of the trees is because of housing developments--everywhere! I am living along the great Mississippi River, in the rolling hills south of St. Louis. It is an area of small, sleepy country towns...now being overrun by crafty businessmen who are developing areas that no one can see how the local economies will support. And for the "leaders" of these communities, they don't seem to mind. Why? Because many profit handsomely from selling these areas of land, people's inheritances!, for short-term profit. Whole subdivisons are being built and named for the people's farms they used to be---family farms, for generations.
In the next part of my dream, I recall walking carefully in the muddy soil, watching for snakes or any other critter hidden in the dirt--this was a treacherous place. Under one tree was a partially eaten animal. Surely this animal was native to this area and killed, with the good portions of the flesh being torn off and eaten and the rest left to rot.
"They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance." (Micah 2:2)
For the past month the Lord has been having me study and understand what He is saying about this area from the book of Micah. General themes of the book deal with social injustice, with corrupt leaders accepting bribes, stealing land, and oppressing the poor. False prophets prophesy peace and prosperity, but they deny justice or mercy to the poor.
"If a liar and deceiver comes and says, 'I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer, he would be just the prophet for this people!'" (Micah 2:11)
Interestingly enough, the "Word of Faith" movement is big here, and also the growing mega-churches are on the scene...however, the Lord has not lead me to them. In fact, I tried to attend one such 'mega' church recently and the Spirit convicted me so strongly I had to leave. No, the path the Spirit paved for me to follow was one to a much small congregation. It is located in a little strip mall and has maybe 30-40 members---but wow, what an annointed assembly!
One older man and his family there used to travel the world as missionaries, setting up churches and schools, outreach programs, and the like. He used to get invited to speak all over this region too, teaching at conferences and speaking in front of large assemblies. But not anymore...the Lord gave him an unpopular word and now he is shunned by most of those big congregations. But before I knew his story and the word the Lord had put on his heart, the Lord had already spoken from Micah 3:9-11:
"Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right; who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness. Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the Lord and say, 'Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.'"
Yes, what the Lord had put on this man's heart was unpopular indeed...but true enough.
"But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" Amos 5:24
Be blessed and be a blessing~
A month ago as the Lord was preparing me for the next place He would send me, I recall having a dream in which I parachuted down from the sky looking at a pleasant hilly land below me. While most of it was covered with trees, I also saw cliffsides and cleared areas of land where someone had cut away a portion of a hill, exposing the rock and leaving level ground of muddy dirt and uprooted trees. That is now my view as I look out the townhouse window!
Yes, the cutting away of the hills and clearing of the trees is because of housing developments--everywhere! I am living along the great Mississippi River, in the rolling hills south of St. Louis. It is an area of small, sleepy country towns...now being overrun by crafty businessmen who are developing areas that no one can see how the local economies will support. And for the "leaders" of these communities, they don't seem to mind. Why? Because many profit handsomely from selling these areas of land, people's inheritances!, for short-term profit. Whole subdivisons are being built and named for the people's farms they used to be---family farms, for generations.
In the next part of my dream, I recall walking carefully in the muddy soil, watching for snakes or any other critter hidden in the dirt--this was a treacherous place. Under one tree was a partially eaten animal. Surely this animal was native to this area and killed, with the good portions of the flesh being torn off and eaten and the rest left to rot.
"They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance." (Micah 2:2)
For the past month the Lord has been having me study and understand what He is saying about this area from the book of Micah. General themes of the book deal with social injustice, with corrupt leaders accepting bribes, stealing land, and oppressing the poor. False prophets prophesy peace and prosperity, but they deny justice or mercy to the poor.
"If a liar and deceiver comes and says, 'I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer, he would be just the prophet for this people!'" (Micah 2:11)
Interestingly enough, the "Word of Faith" movement is big here, and also the growing mega-churches are on the scene...however, the Lord has not lead me to them. In fact, I tried to attend one such 'mega' church recently and the Spirit convicted me so strongly I had to leave. No, the path the Spirit paved for me to follow was one to a much small congregation. It is located in a little strip mall and has maybe 30-40 members---but wow, what an annointed assembly!
One older man and his family there used to travel the world as missionaries, setting up churches and schools, outreach programs, and the like. He used to get invited to speak all over this region too, teaching at conferences and speaking in front of large assemblies. But not anymore...the Lord gave him an unpopular word and now he is shunned by most of those big congregations. But before I knew his story and the word the Lord had put on his heart, the Lord had already spoken from Micah 3:9-11:
"Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right; who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness. Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the Lord and say, 'Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.'"
Yes, what the Lord had put on this man's heart was unpopular indeed...but true enough.
"But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" Amos 5:24
Be blessed and be a blessing~
Comments