Power and Control

A series on the book of Micah
Week 2 – God's hatred of sin
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Micah 2-3 

[In the book “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, Robert Louis Stevenson explores the struggle between good and evil in human nature. “Two sides of the same coin”, if you will. Similarly, Micah contrasts God’s hatred of sin but his love for sinners. In this series, we will look at both sides of God’s character and what that means for us today.]

  

Power and control! We all want control over our lives. One small way that you can see my desire for power and control is through how I keep my desk and office. They need to be well organized, not looking like a tornado had just blown through it. It helps me feel in control and I have the power to do it.

 

However, the problem with power is that it can corrupt. You’ve probably come across at least one person where that’s been true. Think of a mall security guard who is overzealous to enforce the rules; or a supervisor who micromanages; or a paper-pushing bureaucrat who enforces the rules capriciously.

 

Micah spoke out against those who were not only rich and powerful, but also used it to take advantage of the poor and downtrodden.

 

² When you want a piece of land,
    you find a way to seize it.
When you want someone’s house,
    you take it by fraud and violence.
You cheat a man of his property,
    stealing his family’s inheritance.       NLT   Micah 2

 

Also, in order to show how the leaders of Israel had no respect or compassion, Micah charged them, figuratively speaking, of cannibalism.

 

^2b You skin my people alive
    and tear the flesh from their bones.
³ Yes, you eat my people’s flesh,
    strip off their skin,
    and break their bones.
You chop them up
    like meat for the cooking pot.  NLT   Micah 3

 

Is it any wonder that the Lord judged Israel and Judah. God declared that He was "devising disaster" against them; a disaster that they couldn’t escape. Micah prophesied God’s judgment which came true when they were invaded by foreign powers. The result? Israel and Judah were exiled from the Promised Land.

 

The Lord hates sin, but he loves the sinner. He always provides a way for redemption. Even with these abuses of power, he gave Israel the promise of a future deliverance and restoration.

 

¹² “Someday, O Israel, I will gather you;
    I will gather the remnant who are left.
I will bring you together again like sheep in a pen,
    like a flock in its pasture.
Yes, your land will again
    be filled with noisy crowds!      NLT   Micah 2

Today, he still provides a way for redemption. Despite our sinfulness he gave you and me the promise of deliverance and restoration through Jesus Christ. Paul put it like this.

 

²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!     NIV    Romans 7

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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Who Are You!!!

A Series on the “I Am” statements of Jesus
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 7:53-8:12 

[Moses encountered God at the burning bush where the Lord gave His name as “I Am”. Jesus used that same name for himself, thus claiming to BE God. In this series, we’re looking at the “I Am” statements of Jesus to learn about him and about God.]

 

Networking. I hate it. Basically, you immerse yourself into a group of people of whom you might know one other person. The idea being that you mix and mingle to get to know who the other people are. Or, at least get to know their name, who they work for and what they do.

 

Generally, people aren’t so blunt as to say, “Who are you anyways”? But that is pretty much the idea. To find out who in that room of strangers might provide a mutually beneficial relationship. A relationship that might bring “Cha-Ching” to both of your businesses. “Who are you”?

 

Despite rumors of Jewish leaders plotting to kill him, Jesus decided to attend the Festival of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. During this annual celebration which required all Jewish males to attend, Jesus taught in the temple. This led to discussions between Jesus and the religious leaders about who he was.

 

In an attempt to trick Jesus, the Pharisees and scribes brought a woman to him who had been caught in adultery. They asked Jesus if the Law, which prescribed death by stoning, should be adhered to with the woman.

 

Jesus didn’t fall into their trap but countered with, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” When they had all left without lifting a hand, Jesus told her, “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

 

¹² When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”            NLT

 

Clearly, he had brought life-giving light to the woman caught in adultery. But he also brought light to the religious leaders. Light that they didn’t want. This led to more arguing which escalated to the point where the Jews demanded an answer to this question, “Who are you?”

 

The argument between Jesus and the Pharisees and scribes continued to increase to the climactic point where Jesus finally claimed to be God.

 

⁵⁸ “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!”       NLT

 

For those attending the Festival of Tabernacles, the big question that seemed to be on everybody’s mind was, “Who is Jesus”. Some believed he was just a rabbi from Galilee; some thought he was demon possessed; some thought he was the Messiah. Yet the question persisted. “Who are you?”

 

To a world lost in darkness, Christ offers Himself as the light… and the truth… and the I AM. His claims don’t allow us to be neutral. We either find grace and forgiveness, like the woman caught in adultery; or we pick up a stone to kill him.

 

Which will you choose?

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

Amazon

The Lord is… my deliverer

A Series from the Psalms

Psalm 116

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20116&version=NIV;NLT

 

You’ve seen their vans and trucks driving on your highways and through your neighborhood. They’re bringing shoes, small kitchen appliances, movies and jewelry. Virtually any merchandise that you can buy at a brick and mortar store, you can buy online through Amazon. Not only that, it’s delivered direct to your door step; sometimes within the hour.

 

Amazon is successful because they hear your call and deliver; but this isn’t new. The psalmist wrote about these same elements in reference to the Lord.

 

¹ I love the Lord because he hears my voice
    and my prayer for mercy.

⁸ For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling,
⁹ that I may walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.            NIV

 

The word deliver, or save, is used several times in this psalm. In fact, it is the overarching theme of the psalm. But don’t misinterpret it to mean that the Lord is your own personal “genie in a bottle”. Keep in mind that He has his own timing for when things will happen.

 

Consider that Israel was in bondage in Egypt for 430 years despite their desperate pleas. They were in exile for 70 years; a lifetime for many. And Paul begged the Lord to remove his “thorn in the flesh” multiple times, without the desired results.

 

You may be facing your own kind of bondage or exile or thorn in the flesh. Call out to the Lord for him to save you; to deliver you; and keep calling even if nothing seems to be happening.

 

You know that He loves you; is always with you; and always at work in your life. You know that the Lord hears your prayers. He may not answer them today, next week, next month, or even next year. But He does have a plan for you. Therefore...

 

² Because he bends down to listen,
    I will pray as long as I have breath!   NIV

 

 

 

 

 

The Power of THE Unbalanced Force

Matthew 6:5-13

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A5-13&version=NIV;GNT

 

 

Newton's first Law of Motion reads like this:

 

“An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”

 

According to teachertech.rice.edu, “This means that there is a natural tendency of objects to keep on doing what they're doing. All objects resist changes in their state of motion. In the absence of an unbalanced force, an object in motion will maintain this state of motion.”         

 

Newton’s three Laws of Motion are the foundation of classical physics. I hated physics! It just didn’t make any sense to me. Apparently though, the main goal of physics is to understand how the universe behaves. Now that interests me, because we as humans are a part of the universe.

 

If you apply Newton’s first Law of Motion to people it might read like this:

 

Every person has their own beliefs, attitudes and habits which will remain the same unless acted on by an unbalanced force. The result is that our human nature resists change.

 

Like Newton’s physical laws, there are spiritual laws at work in our world, and in our hearts.

 

²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:21-25 NIV

 

Because of this battle with us, it is critical for us to pray in the way that Jesus taught his followers including, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Or from the Good News Translation: “Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.”

 

In other words, “Lord, please be that unbalanced force that redirects my life; that

engages me where I am at; that leads me through trials and temptations; that delivers me from evil; that protects me from myself and from the evil of the world; that changes me into the person you created me to be.”

 

But, if you pray this prayer, be ready for THE unbalanced force.

 

  

 

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Other related verses you might want to read:

James 1:13-15

1 Corinthians 10:13

James 4:7-8