My Bible.com Daily Devotional Read~

It has been a wonderful Saturday so far.  I woke up in the middle of the night to check on my daughter and she had a fever.  I gave her some Children's Motrin to bring her fever down and she has been fine since.  Yes!  I feel like I knocked it right on out of her.  I hate it when she's sick.  God is so good~  Anyway I was starving for the bread of the word today and I decided to take a look at www.Bible.com  This is my go to for the word.  I have learned so much about the Word of God from this website and I would encourage anyone who is seeking God to check it out.  Here is a copy of today's daily devotional from: www.Bible.com Thought I'd share it with you guys.  Hope you day has been filled with Love and Laughter~  xoxo

Always wishing you Health, Wealth and Wisdom~

Monique Bradford~  The WifeyMommyPreneur 

Proverbs 28:17-18 (KJV):
17 A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.
18 Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.

Proverbs 28:17-18 (AMP):
17 If a man willfully sheds the blood of a person (and keeps the guilt of murder upon his conscience), he is fleeing to the pit (the grave) and hastening to his own destruction; let no man stop him!
18 He who walks uprightly shall be safe, but he who willfully goes in double and wrong ways shall fall in one of them.

Thoughts for the Day  

These verses from Proverbs tell us there is a penalty for murder; however, there is a way to be saved, even when someone is guilty of murder. Verse 17 tells us that when a person sheds the blood of someone, they are on their way to the pit (the grave and hell), as a man will reap what he sows. The penalty in the Bible for murder was the death penalty. This verse tells us not to try to stop that process. However, there is one way a man can be saved from going to hell, even if he is guilty of murder. That way is to come to Christ and ask for forgiveness and accept what the shed blood of Jesus did for him on the cross.

Capital punishment is a difficult subject to discuss, as there are many different opinions that all contain some truth about this issue. Some believe it is fair and just to administer the death penalty when criminals take a life or lives, while others think that it is cruel and unusual punishment for civilized societies. Many Christians are divided on this issue as well, with some following the Old Testament law of capital punishment and others choosing the seemingly gentler side of the Bible--the New Testament--as the basis for their opposition to this law. Are these two Testaments in opposition to each other? Since God does not contradict Himself, perhaps we need a deeper understanding of the Bible as a whole.

In many nations murder, treason and other high crimes are punishable by death. Usually the state or governments set the standards for carrying out this punishment. However, before governments established this practice, the idea of capital punishment was first instigated by God in the Old Testament in the Bible.

Genesis 9:5-6:
5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man.
6 Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Why did God institute capital punishment? Why would a loving God who is supposed to love all of mankind issue these edicts? To answer this question, we must understand the overall purpose of God. God knew when He created men with free wills that not all would follow and obey Him. However, He also knew that many would want to love and serve Him. In giving men free will, He also had to establish laws for men to live by. When we look at the Ten Commandments listed in Exodus 20:1-17, we can see that these laws were given for the good of mankind. One of these laws is in verse 13: "Thou shalt not kill." You may wonder if God said "do not kill," why He would then decree that a murderer should be put to death. The reason is that the Hebrew meaning of the word translated as "kill" actually means "murder" or "to slay someone in a violent manner unjustly." So, in the Ten Commandments God is saying, "Thou shalt not murder."

God sanctioned government authorities to enforce laws. God set boundaries on mankind by establishing ruling authorities that would make and enforce the laws He gave. The purpose for this was because He knew unregenerate society, without any restraints, would seek to destroy good men. God's desire is that all men would come to Him and live by His laws. However, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and broke His law, sin entered into the world and was passed down to all of mankind through Adam's seed. God, in His love for mankind, made a way for men to come back to Him, through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. Now those who accept what Jesus did and repent of their sins can find their way, through faith, to be reconciled to God. This sacrifice covers and cleanses men even from the worst of sins, including murder. Now, through Christ, even murderers can be forgiven and restored to a relationship with God, so they can live forever with Him.

Where we find most of our problems with the two sides of capital punishment is that really both sides hold a truth of God. God's law of justice, for the taking of a life, demands that life be taken; yet, God's spiritual law of mercy and forgiveness grants that a murderer can be forgiven and restored. How can we reconcile this? We must understand that God instituted civil authorities to maintain order in the earth. God uses them to restrain evil and they should be obeyed for this purpose. From these verses, we see that governments can elect to practice capital punishment, the harshest form of punishment, and God sanctions it for the purpose of evil being restrained in the earth.

Romans 13:1-5 (RSV):
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
2 Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,
4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer.
5 Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.

For those who refuse to allow His reign in their lives, God has set government authorities in the earth to restrain evil by enforcing the laws of the land. Granted, some are imperfect. However, the alternative would be that evil would overcome those that were good, if there were no laws and no one to enforce them.

Prayer for the Day  

Dear Heavenly Father, The sacrifice of Jesus shedding His blood on the cross so that mankind could be saved is beyond our understanding. It is awesome to think that even a murderer, who comes to You and repents of his sins, can find forgiveness and be made whole. Thank You for forgiving us and fill our hearts with love and forgiveness towards those that have hurt and abused us. May we extend mercy towards others, so that when we need mercy, we will have some in our storehouse. I ask this in the name of our merciful Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.

So what did you think?  Do you believe that a murderer should be given the death penalty?  Or do you think that a murderer has a right to forgiveness and mercy even after taking the life of another?