Guilty AS Charged

Heavenly Father, I thank you this morning for the many blessings you have bestowed upon my family and me.  I thank you for giving me life health and strength.  I thank you this morning for my sight, hearing, and the ability to speak in a soundness of mind.  The many things that we often take for granted, I thank you for this morning.  I pray now that these blessing not only reside with me, but for all of your children who love you.  I pray a blessing on the reader and doer of your word.  I pray a blessing that they continue to practice what thus saith you, and not keep it to themselves but share it.  I pray that your Holy Spirit, rest, rule, and abide in wherever they are.  I pray a blessing of peace upon them.  I pray a covering on their coming and going.  I just pray that we are often rewarded with that of which faith produces.  I pray now Father, which I always pray, that you forgive us of our trespasses.  We give you all the honor and praise, and I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen

I used to live my life without a care in the world.  It was not because I was in a nurturing environment.  It was because I did not care about anybody, unless they were in my immediate circle.  The conditions or the affairs of the community much less the world, was no interest to me.  The friends that I kept were the worst of the worst.  Their thoughts were like my thoughts, and their ways were like my ways.  We were compatible.  We partied hard, we partied in groups, and could not careless who we offended.   A few of those friends did things far worse than me, and did not care.  As I stated before I did not have a care in the world.

Then the expected happened.  I was arrested.  There was no grand jury, nor was there any hearing.  I went from being arrested to facing trial.  There were no jurors selected, just the prosecutor, the judge, and some spectator.  In my eyes, I was innocent.  The prosecutor began to lay out the charges against me.  I was amused, because the charges were when I was having fun.  It appeared that the spectator was amused also.  I sat patiently listening to charge after charge, and began to worry.  I began to worry because the more charges he spouted out, the more serious his facial expression were as though the punishment will be severe.  In my eyes, yeah some were punishable, but does not warrant the outcome this prosecutor is expressing.  I think what bothered me the most is the more serious the prosecutor the more joyful was this spectator.  He definitely was beginning to annoy me.

After all the charges were read, the prosecutor looked at the judge as though waiting for an answer.  I looked at the judge and you can see sadness on his face.  Now I am concerned.  I began to realize how selfish I was.  I did not care about anything else, but I now had care for my outcome.  I had enough conviction to know I do not expect anyone to care since I did not have any care for anyone.  The prosecutor rested his case.  I was relieved, so I can now defend myself since there was no one pleading my case.  There was silence.  I was waiting for someone to say “defense call your next witness.”  I heard none.  There was only silence.  I look back at the spectator and he had this grin as though he knew what was coming next.  The judge then stood up and said “he is guilty as charged.”  I could not believe my ears.  The prosecutor said all of my charges were punishable by death.  At this time the spectator was jumping for joy.  The prosecutor told me to get up so he can lead me to my punishment, then the judge stood up, took off his robe, and said “take me instead.”

Every one of us stands guilty as charged.  Not only how we were before, but even now, and we will stand guilty as charged until the The Day of Judgment.  According to the prosecutor (law), we are all guilty and the spectator (devil) was salivating at the mouth because he wanted to take us. But those who believe in Christ (judge) will never face the punishment we so deserve because Jesus sacrificed His life, so that we can live.  The bible states “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” (1Pet 3:18)  This is not a threat, or a fear tactic, but should cause us to look at how we live now and make adjustments, and if we know people who are not right, it is for us to share why they should.  Amen!