* OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL * * SUNDAY 3 JULY 2016

* OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL *

* SUNDAY 3 JULY 2016

THEME * GUILTY OF INJUSTICE? *

* MEMORISE * Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. JAMES 5 : 6.

* READ * AMOS 8 : 4 - 10 *

4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

7 The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.

* MESSAGE *

Injustice has been in existence with mankind since the fall. The unfortunate thing is that God hates injustice because He is the God of justice and equity. In our Bible reading for today and in several others verses of the Bible, we see that God vehemently abhors injustice. This injustice is all-inclusive, because it is found among traders through false measure, the employers of labours who do not pay the correct wages or delay it unnecessarily and the employees who cheat on their employers by not putting up their best for the wages they earn. James 5:4 says :

“Behold the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.”

It is injustice when an employer keeps the wages of the labourers unpaid or holds back some of the wages meant for the workers. God says He will not take it lightly with whoever is guilty of this act. In the same vein, when an employee uses the time meant for his employer to do something else, it is injustice. This is why many employees do not have anything tangible to show for the wages they earn. When a man works for fifteen days put together in a month and he is given a salary of thirty days worth, at the end of the month, the value of what he will use the money for will not be more than his actual wage for fifteen days. Many traders are fond of using false measures to sell their merchandise. Only ignorance makes people indulge in such practices, because the God of justice will always bring judgement upon such businesses.

“Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgement, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.” Leviticus 19 : 35 - 36.

The consequence of the above injustice is written in our text for today :

“The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works… And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.” Amos 8 : 7 , 10.

Beloved, beware of injustice of any kind so that you are not found guilty of practicing that which the Lord hates. The Bible says :

“Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord; and a false balance is not good.”
Proverbs 20 : 23.

* ACTION POINT *

Examine your life; if you are in any way indulging in injustice, repent today and restitute your ways.

* BIBLE IN ONE YEAR * 
ACTS 20 : 17 - 22 : 21 AND SONGS OF SOLOMON 5 : 10 - 6 : 9.

* AUTHOR * Pst E. A ADEBOYE.

* HYMN * TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE

1. Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

2. Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3. Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.

4. Take my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine. 
Take my heart, it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne.

6. Take my love; my Lord, I pour
At thy feet its treasure store. 
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.