Bible Study: The Call to Justice

The source of this study is the International Justice Mission’s devotional As You Go.

A suggested approach to this study is:

Begin in a spirit of prayer, asking for the gift of God’s guidance, wisdom, and love.
Enter into a brief period of quiet meditation, seeking to actively listen and submit to God’s Spirit and God’s Word as you open yourself to whatever God wants to communicate to you.
Consider, contemplate, and reflect on what God is giving you as you read and meditate on Scripture. Look for how it may be personalized and integrated into your life. You may want to record your thoughts in a journal.
If you are doing this Bible Study with a group, share your individual reflections.
God sends us into the world to be active agents of His love and transformation. Identify one or two actions you take on behalf of those seeking justice. Pray! – advocating to God on behalf of the suffering and asking for your own wisdom and strength to exercise a heart for justice.

Read and Reflect

Exodus 3
Make a mental note of any words, phrases or verses that especially resonate in your heart and mind.
What type of suffering are God’s people experiencing in Egypt? How does God feel about their suffering? (v. 7-8)
What is God’s plan for rescuing His people? (v. 10)
What is Moses’ initial response to God’s call? Can you relate to his feelings of reluctance? Fear? Inadequacy? Recall a time when you responded similarly and reflect on that experience. What was God asking? Why did you hesitate? What was God’s response?
How does God respond to Moses’ reluctance? (v. 12, 14-15)
After reading, pause and ask God if there is anything He especially wants you to notice.
Now repeat the reading and notice what comes to your heart and mind this time. Is it the same or something new?

Matthew 5: 14 – 16
Listening to what God might be saying to you about your role in His work of justice.
In verse 14, who does God say that we are? How do you feel about this?
What do you think it means, practically, to “let your light shine before men”? (v. 16) What is the effect of letting our light shine?

Micah 6:6-8
Contrast what we consider to be religious activity and what God asks of us.
What “religious activity” fills up your life before the actions of doing justice?

Matthew 23:23
In your own words, paraphrase what Jesus was saying to the Pharisees.
Do you find yourself in a similar position to the Pharisees? Take some time to confess those things that you have not properly prioritized or the matters you have neglected that are important to God.

Reflecting on all the readings:
Do you notice anything that makes you uncomfortable, anything that is refreshing or disturbing, or anything that you are particularly excited about?
What did you notice about God’s calling to His people?
How do you think God is specifically calling you? Are there specific people to whom you feel called?
What stood out to you as you read the scripture passages?

Reflect and Act

What are the one or two action steps you feel God would prompt you to take in the next 24 to 72 hours
as you explore God’s calling to justice?

Pray

As you lift to God those who suffer, ask that He would remember His love for them and His promise of deliverance.
As you lift to God those who suffer, ask that He would restrain the hand of the oppressor and the powerful dynamics of oppression.
As you lift to God those who suffer, pray that truth would overcome the deception of lying lips, and that people of powerful influence would rise up on behalf of those suffering to stop the hand of injustice.
As you lift to God those who suffer, ask that the perpetrators of injustice would be held accountable for their actions so that they cannot harm others.
As you lift to God those who suffer, ask that God would draw you ever closer to His heart and grant you wisdom and courage to become the answer to these prayers

Justice For Life