jury duty....

This week I had jury duty and was, to my chagrin, chosen to be a on a jury.
It was a 2-day trial in which we determined the defendant not-guilty of 4th degree assault.
It ended up being an interesting experience.
As always, I try to look at my experiences through spiritual eyes and ,so, with that in mind I am pondering these things:
1. Who is a jury of our peers?
2. Who is our judge?
3. Who is our accuser?
4. Who intercedes for us?
Hmmm....
Well, a jury of my peers would be my brothers/sisters in Christ. Just as a juror makes a judgment according to the evidence/fruit/lack of fruit, my peers make those judgments about me, when necessary, to show me God's way instead of my way.
Are my jury/peers being judgmental and meddlesome?
Are they sticking their noses where they don't belong?
I don't believe so.
God uses people to bring others back to Him.
Who is my judge?
God is my judge.
His word pricks my heart, when necessary.
We are not to despise the discipline of the Lord for it is to teach us to be more like Him.
Who is my accuser?
Satan.
The bible says that Satan brings accusations upon us and Jesus is our intercessor.
God does not accuse, He redeems, He forgives, He loves.
Satan accuses, Satan condemns, Satan seeks to destroy us.
Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father making intercessions for us continually because He can sympathize with us, being in the form of a man who was tempted in all things and, yet, was without sin.
I think that the role of the Holy spirit is to convict us of our sin for the purpose of being reconciled to the Father, but I also know that we who are in Christ have the Holy Spirit and so we can also be used of God to speak Truth to our peers when they are seeking their own way instead of God's way.
As Iook back at the trial, I consider what events led up to the "crime".
What could have been done to prevent the "crime" from happening?
If he'd sought wise counsel, if he'd had some friends to turn to for guidance, and if he had turned the situation over to His Heavenly Father, it could have been avoided completely.
Isn't that our role, as well, to help our friends to make wise choices in crisis situations, instead of thinking it's none of our business or thinking you might come accross judgmental?
I believe we do our brothers/sisters a disservice when we do nothing but watch from a distance the "slow fade" that can happen when they continually give in to compromise.
God has set the standard.
Not us.
Who will stand in the gap before the Lord to make intercessions for this land?
I pray that I will.
I pray