11-23-21 Today in the Word

What God Requires Tuesday, November 23 | Micah 6:6–8 On the Go? Listen to Today's Devotional Did you ever wonder what God really wants from you? In yesterday’s devotional, we learned that the Lord is different from other ancient Near Eastern gods. Unlike the confusion surrounding false gods, the Lord makes His requirements known in simple, understandable language. He has also shown that He is patient! In Micah 6, God again graciously reminds His people what He had already told them just before they entered the promised land some centuries before (see Deut. 30:11–16). God here lists three actions He requires of His people, and together they comprise what Jesus would later summarize as loving God and loving neighbor (see Matt. 22:36–40). First, Micah addresses what Jesus referred to as loving our neighbors. God’s people are “to act justly,” to treat others with equity and justice. Rather than exploiting the vulnerable around them for their own gain, they should protect and care for them. Second, Micah turns to the people’s relationship with God. They are “to love mercy” (v. 8). The word the NIV has translated as “mercy” is the Hebrew term hesed, which refers to covenant faithfulness. God’s people should love being faithful to the covenant He established with them at Mount Sinai (see Ex. 19–24). The people should also “walk humbly with your God.” The special relationship Israel has with the Lord should not cause pride or haughtiness; rather, they should recognize that their relationship with Him is based entirely on God’s grace (see Deut. 7:7–8). Such incredible grace induces humility, not arrogance, and that humility, in turn, causes God’s people to love being faithful to the covenant He established with them and also to act justly toward other people, who, it turns out, are just like them—image-bearers of the wondrous, almighty God (see Gen. 1:26–27). >> Today’s verse is a good one to memorize and maybe to share with others. Perhaps you can ask them, what does this mean to you? What is God asking of us? Pray With Us You do not require us to sacrifice our firstborn; rather, You have offered Your own Son so that, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we are freed to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-16-23 Santa Staleness

Santa Staleness :: By Edwin Tan Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles My one and only trip to Israel had more than a profound effect on my present-day psyche. It might have been three decades ago, but there is more than a lingering aftertaste. It happened smack in the last fortnight of the year. Surprisingly absent were the familiar sights and sounds of the Christmas most people are accustomed to. Hardly any Christmas decorations in downtown Tel Aviv, if not any of the shopping thoroughfares across the Holy Land. Hanukah was a breath of fresh air – not anything resembling a Christmas carol most people grew up with did surface. The Christmas Eve service in a small Protestant church not far away from Jerusalem’s Old City was awesome; songs that truly celebrated the virgin birth of our Lord, which though seemingly unheard of, were a welcome inspiration to many a soul. There was even one sung in Arabic! So it began, my overt disdain for the secular Christmas t...
Read more

9-25-23 The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas

The Farm Chronicles: One Christmas :: By Bill Wilson Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:Bill Wilson, General Articles There are a lot of terrible things going on right now in the world. But we are at the time of the year when we, as Christians, celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We can choose to be impacted by the world around us in its dimly lit arena, or we can choose to let our light so shine. I choose the latter. I want to tell you a little about the Christmas that I had growing up on our family farm in Ohio. I was blessed to be born into a horse and cattle farm that has been in our family for some 200 years. And Christmas, especially Christmas Eve, was a wonderful time for our family. December 24 was my Dad’s birthday. And my Dad was well-loved by his neighbors and friends, so we had a lot going on Christmas Eve. I remember one special Christmas Eve. I must have been about four years old. The night was falling, and the wind and snow were whipping across the barny...
Read more

9-15-23 Miracles 2

Miracles 2 :: By Jim Towers Published on: December 21, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles This story is a continuation of the exciting things God continues doing in my life. I was supposed to have died a while back, and sometimes I feel as though I may do so soon. But since I’m ready to meet my maker, I have no fear of death. In fact, my evangelistic zeal has only increased, especially as I see the fast approaching of the “Tribulation period” mentioned in the book of Revelation. Insofar as my acting career is concerned, I just finished filming a soliloquy featuring Melchior, one of the three Magi who followed the star to Christ lying in the manger, and am preparing to portray a Jewish Priest on stage. Like I said, God is working overtime in my life, and I will be appearing on stage singing Broadway show tunes sometime in March, so I have a lot of rehearsing to do. In the meantime, I will be signing Christmas carols acapella at a park here in Naples. Since it is a spontaneous th...
Read more