For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.(1 Peter 3:18)
Many of us have heard the three, most powerful words in the
English language are, "I love you." That may be so, but I'm pretty sure the three most frequently spoken words are, "It's not fair."
All parents have heard their young ones whine: "It's not fair!" It wasn't fair that they don't get to stay up like other kids. It wasn't fair that they weren't allowed to ride their bikes across a six-lane highway. It wasn't fair they have to pick up their room. It's not fair the world doesn't appreciate them for their brilliance and breathtaking beauty. Summing it up, it's not fair that they don't get to do what everybody is getting to do.
Now if you parents think you're fed up with hearing "It's not fair," think how the Lord must feel as He hears countless humans complaining: "Lord, it's not fair! Why are You doing this to me?"
The truth is it's not fair to blame God for the things that are going wrong in our world. It's not fair because He's not responsible. When God finished His week's worth of creation, He surveyed everything His mind had manufactured and His hands had made. Content, He decreed it was all "very good" (see Genesis 1:31).
If you had been there, you would have noticed fairness as far as the eye could see. But then, because our ancestors thought the Lord was being unfair, the bottom fell out and perfect fairness in this world was lost. Ever since the moment humanity sinned, Adam and Eve's descendants have been shaking their fist at the heavens, blaming God for the results of their sin, shouting, "It's not fair!"
The truth is, all the grasping, all the greed, all the lust, lewdness, pain, prejudice, stealing, sin, sadness, sorrow and searching, have come because humanity has separated itself from our perfect God.
The only Person who can legitimately say, "It's not fair," is Jesus Christ, God's Son, our Savior.
Jesus could say it wasn't fair when the people of Nazareth turned their backs on Him; it wasn't fair when Jesus' family dismissed Him as a lunatic; it wasn't fair He was accused of using Satan's power when He healed the sick, and it wasn't fair when His church plotted His assassination. It wasn't fair when His best friends turned their backs on Him, nor was it fair when one denied Him and another betrayed Him. It wasn't fair when God's innocent Son was nailed to a cross for the sinners who were allowed to live.
No, it wasn't fair, but it was God's plan to save us.
So the Law might be fulfilled and the demands of justice met, it was necessary for Jesus to die. It was an unfairness He endured so that He might see His forgiven brothers and sisters be welcomed into heaven. Today, if you are one of those who are saved, give thanks.
And if you are not, then it is time to hear the Lord's invitation to repent, believe and be baptized.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks Your Son was willing to suffer all of life's unfairness so my sinful heart and soul might be cleansed and forgiven. May I share the wonders of this sacrifice with others. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
The Savior asked His followers to share His story of salvation. Sadly, doing so can be frightening and intimidating. If you would like to learn how to be more comfortable fulfilling the Lord's request, Lutheran Hour Ministries is holding a SENT Outreach Conference in Detroit, covering the dates of July 24-27. For more information, see www.lhm.org/conference.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours, 
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Through the Bible in a Year
Today Read:
Psalms 96:1-2 Sing God a brand-new song!
Earth and everyone in it, sing!
Sing to God—worship God!
2-3 Shout the news of his victory from sea to sea,
Take the news of his glory to the lost,
News of his wonders to one and all!
4-5 For God is great, and worth a thousand Hallelujahs.
His terrible beauty makes the gods look cheap;
Pagan gods are mere tatters and rags.
5-6 God made the heavens—
Royal splendor radiates from him,
A powerful beauty sets him apart.
7 Bravo, God, Bravo!
Everyone join in the great shout: Encore!
In awe before the beauty, in awe before the might.
8-9 Bring gifts and celebrate,
Bow before the beauty of God,
Then to your knees—everyone worship!
10 Get out the message—God Rules!
He put the world on a firm foundation;
He treats everyone fair and square.
11 Let’s hear it from Sky,
With Earth joining in,
And a huge round of applause from Sea.
12 Let Wilderness turn cartwheels,
Animals, come dance,
Put every tree of the forest in the choir—
13 An extravaganza before God as he comes,
As he comes to set everything right on earth,
Set everything right, treat everyone fair.
97:1 God rules: there’s something to shout over!
On the double, mainlands and islands—celebrate!
2 Bright clouds and storm clouds circle ’round him;
Right and justice anchor his rule.
3 Fire blazes out before him,
Flaming high up the craggy mountains.
4 His lightnings light up the world;
Earth, wide-eyed, trembles in fear.
5 The mountains take one look at God
And melt, melt like wax before earth’s Lord.
6 The heavens announce that he’ll set everything right,
And everyone will see it happen—glorious!
7-8 All who serve handcrafted gods will be sorry—
And they were so proud of their ragamuffin gods!
On your knees, all you gods—worship him!
And Zion, you listen and take heart!
Daughters of Zion, sing your hearts out:
God has done it all, has set everything right.
9 You, God, are High God of the cosmos,
Far, far higher than any of the gods.
10 God loves all who hate evil,
And those who love him he keeps safe,
Snatches them from the grip of the wicked.
11 Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God’s people,
Joy-seeds are planted in good heart-soil.
12 So, God’s people, shout praise to God,
Give thanks to our Holy God!
98:1 Sing to God a brand-new song.
He’s made a world of wonders!
He rolled up his sleeves,
He set things right.
2 God made history with salvation,
He showed the world what he could do.
3 He remembered to love us, a bonus
To his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love.
The whole earth comes to attention.
Look—God’s work of salvation!
4 Shout your praises to God, everybody!
Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!
5 Round up an orchestra to play for God,
Add on a hundred-voice choir.
6 Feature trumpets and big trombones,
Fill the air with praises to King God.
7 Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,
With everything living on earth joining in.
8 Let ocean breakers call out, “Encore!”
And mountains harmonize the finale—
9 A tribute to God when he comes,
When he comes to set the earth right.
He’ll straighten out the whole world,
He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it.
Acts 17: Thessalonica
1-3 They took the road south through Amphipolis and Apollonia to Thessalonica, where there was a community of Jews. Paul went to their meeting place, as he usually did when he came to a town, and for three Sabbaths running he preached to them from the Scriptures. He opened up the texts so they understood what they’d been reading all their lives: that the Messiah absolutely had to be put to death and raised from the dead—there were no other options—and that “this Jesus I’m introducing you to is that Messiah.”
4-5 Some of them were won over and joined ranks with Paul and Silas, among them a great many God-fearing Greeks and a considerable number of women from the aristocracy. But the hard-line Jews became furious over the conversions. Mad with jealousy, they rounded up a bunch of brawlers off the streets and soon had an ugly mob terrorizing the city as they hunted down Paul and Silas.
5-7 They broke into Jason’s house, thinking that Paul and Silas were there. When they couldn’t find them, they collared Jason and his friends instead and dragged them before the city fathers, yelling hysterically, “These people are out to destroy the world, and now they’ve shown up on our doorstep, attacking everything we hold dear! And Jason is hiding them, these traitors and turncoats who say Jesus is king and Caesar is nothing!”
8-9 The city fathers and the crowd of people were totally alarmed by what they heard. They made Jason and his friends post heavy bail and let them go while they investigated the charges.
Berea
10-12 That night, under cover of darkness, their friends got Paul and Silas out of town as fast as they could. They sent them to Berea, where they again met with the Jewish community. They were treated a lot better there than in Thessalonica. The Jews received Paul’s message with enthusiasm and met with him daily, examining the Scriptures to see if they supported what he said. A lot of them became believers, including many Greeks who were prominent in the community, women and men of influence.
13-15 But it wasn’t long before reports got back to the Thessalonian hard-line Jews that Paul was at it again, preaching the Word of God, this time in Berea. They lost no time responding, and created a mob scene there, too. With the help of his friends, Paul gave them the slip—caught a boat and put out to sea. Silas and Timothy stayed behind. The men who helped Paul escape got him as far as Athens and left him there. Paul sent word back with them to Silas and Timothy: “Come as quickly as you can!”
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