The Journey 184
Tuesday, July 3
Read: Psalms 119:9-16
         A very strange but an interesting judgment was passed last week by a  judge in South Carolina .  The news agency Christian Post, reports that Circuit Court Judge Michael Nettles of Rock Hill decided to sentence Cassandra  Tolley,  for driving under the influence of alcohol, to  eight years in prison. The charge against Tolley was that  he drove on the wrong side of the road,  and crashed into another car, thus seriously injuring two men.  According to the law enforcing agencies, at the time of the accident, Tolley's blood alcohol level was 0.333, which is over four times the legal limit.  Thus the sentence to undergo the prison term. But what is more interesting and surprising about the sentencing is that, the convicted person Tolley,  has also been asked to undertake a bible study while serving in  the prison.  What Cassandra Tolley has been assigned,  is to read  through the Book of Job and then write a summary on the Old Testament. There has been some concerns by a few people about the constitutional validity of the sentence, but according to local media, Tolley's lawyer has explained that the defendant has no issue, on the contrary is thankful for the biblical sentence.  Who is this judge Michel Nettles?. The news agency reports that in the biography page of the South Carolina Judicial Department web site, Judge Michel Nettles, is an active  member of the Lake City First Baptist Church, where he serves as a Deacon, a Sunday School Teacher and also a member of the Missions Team.  I don't know the legal validity of the sentence, but I presume since the Judge is a Sunday school teacher, here is a reformatory step that brings correction in the life of a convicted person, rather than just sentencing him without bringing in the reformation or the change that the sentence should actually bring. This sentence and the perspective of the judge focus on how the Word of God can be a source of transformation in the life of people who move and drift away from obeying not only God's laws  but also the laws of the state.
This week we are meditating on the theme " Transformation in my Community". The portion that we are using for our meditation is from Psalms 119: 9-16. This is one of the Psalms, where David emphasizes on the importance of the meditation of the Word of God. The whole objective of David is to help the person, live a life that is pure, pleasing to God and also to the community at large. There are four things that David highlights which brings transformation in the life of an individual. Firstly In v: 9 , he says that we should live according to the principles of the Word of God. Then later in v: 10, David say that we should seek the Lord with all our heart. Thirdly in v:11, David says that we need to keep the God's word in our heart and finally in v: 15, we are asked to meditate on God's precepts which will help us to consider the ways that we walk. I think these four aspects are very powerful in the life of any individual, and is the source of power to become transformed and also become agents of transformation in the community. I am sure the Judge Michel Nettles may also have the same objective while sentencing the convicted person. God is convicting us today and is passing also a sentence on us stating that if we need to be blessing in our life and society, the regular study of  His Word has to be done by all of us.