Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,
The spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The spirit of counsel and strength,
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,
And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,
And faithfulness the belt about His waist. ~ Isaiah 11:1-5
We usually think of Jesus and His Father as love—and that they are. However, we sometimes forget that justice and righteousness and faithfulness are equally important. It’s popular today to think that God is so loving He wouldn’t condemn anyone to hell, but His Word says He will “strike the earth with the rod of His mouth.” He loves us far beyond what we can imagine, and He gives us every chance to repent and turn to Him. But in the end, His justice will prevail. The evil will be destroyed forever, and those who love Him will rejoice to live with Him in righteousness and justice.
Lord God, forgive me for sometimes forgetting that You are just as well as loving, righteous as well as compassionate. Thank You that those who mistreat others will be punished if they do not repent. Thank You, also, Lord, that if I or anyone repent of my sins, my slate is wiped clean and I am forgiven. Convict me of my sin and lead me to repentance. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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