Blog — Justice Collective.

Praying through the Scripture for the covid-19 pandemic

Right now, the world is facing an unprecedented crisis as the Covid-19 pandemic is spreading around the world and forcing quarantines and shut downs on a mass scale. Times like these can make the world as we know it feel unstable. Yet, God calls us, His followers, to live in peace and be salt and light in all circumstances. Along with the extraordinary situation the world is facing comes an extraordinary time to grow our faith and shine His light. We, as Justice Collective, wanted to take a moment to look at how we can use the Bible to guide us in praying in a time like this.

Justice CollectiveMarch 17, 2020Comment

Central and Foundational to the Kingdom of God

When I first started studying what the Bible said about justice topics, I thought I knew exactly how to find them: search for the word “justice.” But there’s a problem with looking for justice in the New Testament. If you type “justice” into a Bible word search engine, it doesn’t appear much. “Justice” appears only 11 times in the ESV translation, 9 times in the NASB, and 8 times in the NKJV.

It’s hard to see that the New Testament values justice when it seems almost silent on the subject.

In the few instances where the word “justice” appears, the word primarily refers to legal justice, which feels distant from the Hebrew shalom-centered ideas of justice in the Old Testament. Verses like “Mercy triumphs over judgment [krisis]” (James 2:13b), or “Judge [krino] not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1) make it seem like justice and judgment are opposite of mercy and, therefore, don’t belong in the New Testament.

Justice CollectiveFebruary 22, 2020Comment

Into the Lion's Den

From the place of intimacy and security, we are invited to join the Bridegroom-King in waging war. Intimacy between heaven and earth creates a courage and power to fight for something. The Warrior King (see Psalm 24:8 & 10), in a state of intimate love, moves out towards darkness, and is moved to do battle with the oppressor.

Justice CollectiveFebruary 1, 2020Comment

When Love Looks Like Costco Socks

I saw him standing on the corner of the narrow downtown San Diego streets from the passenger seat of my friend's enormous white pickup truck. There was something that made that man who calmly stared down an otherwise hectic street that stood out to me. Immediately, I felt like I needed to go offer him socks and a sandwich.

Justice CollectiveJanuary 11, 2020Comment

A Revival That Changes Things

Justice CollectiveDecember 14, 2019Comment

When Evil Men Die: A Response to the Death of Al-Baghdadi

Earlier this morning I heard the news that ISIS leader Al-Baghdadi was killed in a special ops raid. Probably like most of you my first reaction was relief and excitement.

I’ve spent time in the Middle East with victims of ISIS. I’ve heard firsthand the brutal atrocities of this terror group. I’ve looked into the eyes as mother’s told stories of losing children. I’ve prayed for years that this terrorist group would be stopped.

After my first few minutes of delight in this man’s death I sat down with my Dad to watch a news update. They told the story of Al-Baghdadi taking three of his children with him as he fled and subsequently set off his suicide vest effectively killing him and those kids. When I heard the story it struck different. Tears filled my eyes and I heard Holy Spirit speak to me, “Do you delight in the death of the wicked, because I don’t.”

Justice CollectiveNovember 16, 2019Comment

Treasure in the Desert

Almost 8 years ago, my husband, children, and I left our cozy little town of 500 people in the middle of the Australian bush on an adventure of a lifetime. Well, that's what we told ourselves as we saw a door of opportunity open before us for my husband to work as an Environmental Scientist in the gold mines of Northern Nevada. Into the unknown we jumped with three children and five suitcases, placing our lives into God’s hands.

Justice CollectiveNovember 9, 2019 Comment

Western-ish Versus Hebraic Views of justice

Part of the challenge of learning about biblical justice is that our Western-ish views of justice are so different from Hebraic views from the time the Bible was originally written in. When an American Christian hears about justice, the images that we think of probably things like police officers, punishment, and courtrooms (and maybe a great TV drama about all those things). Unfortunately, that can make us reject doing justice now because we think of it through our Western-ish lenses. If God were to love our Western-flavored justice, then that would make Him a law-obsessed, punishment-loving judge. That is so far from what we know about God from the New Testament, so therefore we reject doing justice as Christians out of a genuine desire to reflect the Bible. But that is not at all the right image of a justice-loving God, or how we as Christians should do biblical justice.

So how can we change our Western-ish-flavored views of justice to a more biblical view? A helpful place to start is to get an overview of how different the Hebrew views of justice are compared to the Western.3

Jessica NicholasOctober 28, 2019Comment

God's Grief

A question that stuck with me when I first stared reading about justice in the Bible was: Why does God take justice and injustice so seriously? Is He like a law-obsessed ruler sitting on His far away throne, enjoying throwing lightening bolts at particularly sinful people? That fit the picture I had of Him when I was growing up. But it didn't explain His passion for justice I saw in the Bible, one that seemed profoundly tied to people and relationships.

Let’s go back to the beginning, to what I think is the most important part of thinking about justice: God’s own heart.

Jessica NicholasOctober 15, 2019Comment

Meet Our New Volunteer: Soraia Correia

Justice Collective would like to introduce one of our volunteers this year- Soraia Correia! She will be managing social media projects this year and contributing to the blog, so we wanted to give her a chance to introduce herself. We are excited to have her on the team!

Justice CollectiveOctober 8, 2019Comment

Able or Available?

I recently had the privilege of interviewing two heroes of mine who are working social change in various parts of the world: Baroness Caroline Cox from the UK (see www.hart-uk.org) and Dr. Sasa from Burma (see www.healthandhope.org).

As Jesus followers who have taken seriously His call to partner with Him in righting wrongs in the earth, these two are shining examples of what the Lord can do with a life yielded to Him and His priorities.

Lance JacobsSeptember 30, 2019 Comments

Let Justice Roll

Your last remaining hope is to seek me and live

The God who brought you up out of Egypt

Seek me and live

The God who proclaims liberty to the captives

Seek me and live

The God who is good news for the poor

Thandi GamedzeSeptember 25, 2019Comment

Who Is My Neighbour? Revisiting the Question from the Context of Today’s Global Village

I have always loved the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). In this one story, Jesus manages to break down some very established religious, racial, and cultural stereotypes, while expertly exposing the heart condition of the listener. Jesus told this story in response to the question asked by a lawyer in his audience, “Who is my neighbor?”.

Now although the text suggests that the intent behind this man’s question was not entirely honorable, the question itself when asked with pure intentions, is an important one. One that I believe is essential to revisit within the context of today’s so-called ‘Global Village”.

Thandi GamedzeApril 4, 2017Comment