What does God want from us? (Micah 6:8) Part 1

Part -1 “What does the Lord require of you?"
We spend a lot of time thinking and talking about what we expect from God, and how we should or shouldn't respond when we don't get what we want. We spend precious little of it discussing what God requires of us. Our mantra tends to sound a lot like that old Janet Jackson song, "What have you done for me lately?"

There are indeed things that are required of us. Look with me at what the prophet Micah understood to be “God’s requirements.” Requirements that should be written into our hearts. So that when someone asks, “What does the Lord require of you?” Your response will be, “To do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”

It really sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? “Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.” It almost sounds like the scouting oath. Be fair. Be nice. Be humble.

But when we study the prophet who spoke those words, and we look at the context in which he spoke them and their impact on those who heard them, we soon realize that it is much more than a glib motto.

To understand Micah we must first place him in context of the history of the Hebrew people. So unfortunately, that will require a very brief Bible history lesson:

The Hebrew people were enslaved in Egypt, making bricks and starving, when God called Moses to the top of a mountain and spoke to him from a burning bush. God sent Moses to the Pharaoh with one message: “Let my people go!”

God, through Moses’ leadership, led the people out of bondage to the Promised Land. During this time, God established a covenant with the Hebrew people: "I will be your God and you will be my people.” God’s loving actions of freeing the Hebrew people from slavery and giving them the Promised Land are among the many ways God held up His end of the deal. God promised to continue to provide for them.

But, a covenant relationship, like any other relationship, is a two way street. Both parties have responsibilities and required (expected) behaviors that sustain and maintain the relationship.

It is just like a marriage covenant, where two people promise to love each other, to care for each other, to respect each other. Most of us have at least heard of those promises: "To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, til death us do part." We agree to the requirements of a marriage covenant because we love somebody and want to commit our lives to them.

Well, God made just such a covenant with the Hebrew people. “I will be your God and you will be my people.” And what were God’s requirements of the Hebrew people? Here’s a summary…two "simple" commandments. “Love me and yourself and others like I have loved you.”

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and all your strength.” [Deuteronomy 6:5] and “love your neighbor as yourself.” [Leviticus 19:18]

God added some other specifics like: Don’t murder, don’t lie, don’t steal, be faithful to your husband or wife, don’t be jealous of your neighbors and want their stuff. All of these seem pretty clear requirements for good relationships. And God added another reminder. In Leviticus 6: 12 He said, “Be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

What God is saying here is that once you get comfortable in the Promised Land and begin to enjoy a life of freedom and the abundance of the land, don’t forget about me and our relationship. Don't forget the things you need to do to maintain our relationship. Don't forget that this is a two-way street. When you are free and safe and fat and happy, remember me.

Our prophet today is named Micah. His name means, “Who is like Jehovah?” Micah held an high idea of the holiness, righteousness and compassion of God.

The heart of his book is expressed in the closing chapter: “Who is a God like You?” (Micah 7:18). And the unspoken answer is…None!”

[ more this week...]

(originally posted 3-14-11)

Romantically Challenged

This applies to everyone, not just men. I think these are concepts that we need to carry over into all of our relationships and interactions. Life and love are not just about me and getting what satisfies my needs. I have major responsibilities to those I have something real going on with. I need to give at least as good as I get. In a relationship class recently taught by our pastor, he used a term which I have come to embrace ...."Relational Justice."

Our daily question and charge should be, "How do I bless those I love and care about today?"

What does God want from us? (Micah 6:8) Part 4 / Conclusion

Today, we will finish this 4-part series about Micah and “What does the Lord require of you?

I. HE WANTS OUR ATTENTION.

A. He wants us to not forget Him…!

Deuteronomy 8:11-14,17 – "Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today,

"...lest; when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them;

"...and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied;

"...when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage....

then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.'"

B. He wants us to listen to Him…!

Matthew 4:4- "But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'""

II. HE WANTS OUR LOVE

That fact has always amazed me, and I don’t think I am alone in my amazement. Why would an omnipotent God want a puny human's love?

Psalms 8:3-5- "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and
honor."

He wants our undivided, unreserved love!

Deuteronomy 6:5- "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."

Matthew 22:37- "Jesus said to him,” 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'"

III. HE WANTS OUR OBEDIENCE

An obedience that grows naturally from our love.

Psalms 51:16-19- "For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart; These, O God, You will not despise...

Love is the underpinning for obedience.

Mark 12:33- "And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.""

IV. HE WANTS OUR LIVES

God should control our lives.

Galatians 2:20- "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Colossians 3:1-4- "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are …where?…above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."

God does not want an on again, off again, relationship. God does not want a some sort of wise, warm, and fuzzy relationship...

He wants all of you. And what is the practical expression of this?

How do we do this?

Ephesians 4:22-24- "that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."

Philippians 3:13-14- "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

I continue to press on toward the goal…

V. HE WANTS YOUR "COMPANY"

Surrounded by angels, He wants you there with Him. Once again, I am awe-struck by this, but the testimony of scripture supports it...

Look at what God has for us.

John 14:1-4- "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way."

Note, though, this homecoming is for people who have responded to what God wants from them!

In Revelation 14:12-13- we see "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' " "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.""

The question that you need to ask yourself is this: “Am I walking humbly with my God?”

Maybe the best answer you can come up with right now is, "No, because you don’t have a relationship with God."

Perhaps you have never begun a walk with Him. Maybe you aren’t currently walking with Him. Perhaps you used to walk with God, but you have tried to do your own thing and walk on your own, your own way.

Maybe your answer is, “No, because my walk isn't all that humble." You may chafe at the thought of submitting to His will and His direction for your daily life, and you aren’t recognizing His position as sovereign Lord of your life. Perhaps you are too self-absorbed to see the needs of those around you.

I don’t know how you are doing with these "simple," painfully obvious, and easily overlooked things about our relationship with God, but perhaps you're beginning to think you need to change some things.

Well, this is the time, this is the dance, and there is no time like the present.

You can change whatever needs to be chaged in your life so that you will be abe to say, "Yes, I am walking humbly with my God!"

Justice, kindness and humility. Not a bad three words for the day...

Amen...

What does God want from us? (Micah 6:8) Part 3

Part 3-“What does the Lord require of you?

When we understand the messages of the prophet Micah, we realize that Jesus didn’t just make all this stuff up as He went along. He stood in the long line of Hebrew prophets who called their people to "walk humbly" with their God.

“What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”

The God whom Jesus called “Abba,” “Father,” has the same expectations of us that God had of the Hebrew people in Micah’s day. As Christians who have received the gracious gift of God’s love, we too have been delivered from slavery, from bondage to all that could have kept us from living as Jesus lived and loving as Jesus loved.

And if Micah were here today, I think he would ask us if we have forgotten our covenant with God.

I think Micah might say to us: You have been delivered from slavery and arrived in your version of the promised land. You enjoy a life of freedom and the abundance of the land, but you have forgotten God and your relationship with God and you have forgotten what you need to do to maintain that relationship.

As He said to the Hebrews, God says, “When you are free and safe and fat and happy, remember me.”

And like the Hebrew people, we would protest. We’d probably say something like, “Gee whiz God, I go to church every Sunday. I support my church’s ministry. What more do you want from me?”

And then we are reminded of Micah, who would say, “What does the Lord require of you?” And you would now have to answer: “To do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”

He would say, “It doesn’t matter where you are on Sundays, if you are not walking humbly with your God on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday. And we might even counter, “But God, we live in a Christian nation. Our leader is compassionate. We boldly proclaim our Christianity to all the world.”

And Micah might come back saying, “It doesn’t matter if you post the Ten Commandments on all your public buildings if only the rich can afford justice in your courts. It doesn’t matter that you stand up for prayer in schools, if you deny poor children the health-care that all children should have access to.

It doesn’t matter if you are pro-life and demand that no fetus ever be aborted, if you refuse to provide the resources and the tax dollars, to keep them fed, and healthy and educated once they get here.

It doesn’t matter that you shout loudly when somebody wants to take “In God We Trust” off your currency, if your whole life is consumed with consuming and acquiring, with buying the things that those dollars can get for you!"

“What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”

What must we do to walk humbly with our God? What does that mean in practical every day terms?

We must be vigilant in our personal and political lives to make sure that every child of God is treated equally and fairly.

We must be certain that no child of God is left behind in slavery to the forces of greed.

We must live as Jesus lived and love as Jesus loved.

“What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”

Jesus said it this way in John 13:34-35 (from the NIV translation)

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

And how do we love one another? We do justice, we love kindness and we walk humbly with our God.

Is the stuff of justice, and kindness, and walking with God important enough to alter our walk? Is it important enough to alter the way we live?

[ more later...]

What does God want from us? (Micah 6:8) Part 2

Part 2- “What does the Lord require of you?"

Micah had a deep sensitivity to the social ills of his day. He spoke with courage about the sins of his day and called for the people and the leaders to return the principles of God. We don't know much about him beyond chapter 1 of his book.

Micah preached during a period in the history of the Hebrew people when things were really going pretty well, both economically and politically. This is a period when they had forgotten, or at least neglected, their covenant with the One who had delivered them from slavery. Micah condemns the leaders of his people for injustices perpetrated against the poor and powerless. The leaders were complacent and wanted to pretend that nothing is wrong. When Micah confronted the leaders of the nation with these injustices, their response was to change the subject.

They said, “Hey we are good Jews. We go to the temple every Sabbath. We offer sacrifices and we give generously to the temple’s coffers. What does God expect from us anyway?”

And this is where Micah comes in. “What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”

So our first issue is justice. What did “justice” mean in that context?

The word “justice” means fairness, fair play and evenhandedness within the human family. In the mindset of the Old Testament, to do justice involved the basic needs, requirements, or even the rights of people living together in community. Justice, then, was and is decidedly social in nature. The practice of justice, means to set things right or to fix the imbalances of a society that allows some people to be oppressed to the point that they were deprived of their basic human needs, requirements, and rights. They were deprived of the things that would have allowed them to function as part of the community.

God’s covenant required that the people whom God had delivered from slavery, should never treat others the same way they had been treated in Egypt. To do so would be to violate the very promise that God made to the Hebrew people. Doing justice then, would involve both personal and social responsibilities. It would mean that they (we) never act in ways that might produce injustice.

There are nine words that are most often associated with the word, “justice,” in the Bible. "Widow," "fatherless," "orphans," "poor," "hungry," "stranger," "needy," "weak" and "oppressed."

In this list of words, you do not find the word, “rich.” Indeed, rich is frequently associated with injustice. You don’t have to worry about the rich, because the rich will be able to afford to "buy" justice. We need to worry about the widows, the fatherless, the orphans, the poor, the hungry, the strangers, the needy, the weak and the oppressed. They are still with us!

God requires that we work for fairness for the "little" people of our world. God requires a commitment to the poor, the oppressed, and the powerless in a society where the "little " people have no voice of their own by which they can remedy the injustices that marginalize them as human beings.

Second.....What does “loving kindness” mean in the context of Micah’s message?

This is from a Hebrew term “hesed,” which is roughly translated as “kindness,” and “mercy.”

"Covenant faithfulness," "compassion," "loyal love," "loving devotion," and "steadfast love" are all attempts to translate this term into English. It is often used to describe God’s faithful actions throughout history on behalf of His people. It also means that the people were expected to respond to God with a unwavering loyalty and love that reflected the compassion and grace that God had demonstrated to them.

This word, "hesed," then, is a relationship term. It is not a warm-fuzzy-feeling kind of love, but the commitment and unfaltering dependability that arises from mutual respectful relationship. To love "hesed" was to be committed not only to God who had demonstrated "hesed" to the people, but was also to live in community in such a way that "hesed" marked life together as God’s people.

To love "hesed" was to be committed to a quality of life that was governed by the principles of mutual respect, helpfulness, and loving concern.

Third.....What did Micah mean when he said “walk humbly with your God?”

"Walking a path" is a common biblical metaphor for living a certain kind of life. "Walking humbly with God" is a call to do more than to come to God with offerings thinking that we can buy His favor. It is a call to live our lives with God in ways that would work out in every aspect of life. It implies a sensitivity to the things of God. To allow our hearts to be broken by the things that break the heart of God.

It is a deep desire to see the world through the eyes of God and to act in the world as God would act. When this final requirement is placed alongside the first two, "walking with God" becomes synonymous with having a heart for justice and compassion. In this sequence, "walking with God" is actually the overarching category for doing justice and loving "hesed." They cannot be separated, because walking humbly with God, living all of life under God and in relationship to God, will result in both.

How can we walk humbly with God?

I often find it helpful when I’m trying to figure out a biblical metaphor, to look at other places in Scripture which use the same metaphor.

Here are a few:

“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 119:1).

“We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

“If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1st John 1:7).

“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

“Walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us” (Ephesians 5:2).

If we want to walk with God, then let us walk in these things.

“To do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.” The God who led the Hebrews out of slavery and into the Promise land requires the people who have been blessed to be a blessing to others.

We are blessed so that we can be a blessing. To walk with that God means to live a life of steadfast love for others, especially those whom Jesus called “the least of these.”

[more later...]

Peace, a fruit of the Spirit / Matisyahu- One Day

Think of this as an opportunity to broaden your horizons...





Yes, he is an Orthodox Jew, using reggae-style music to spread the message of love and peace. A message that is the property no single religion or denomination. We have to look beyond the things that divide us, and look to that which unifies us. We have but two commands, "love God and love each other".

Are we not ALL looking forward to that "One Day," when peace will reign over our lives and our world?

Peace, a fruit of the Spirit:

The apostle Paul cautioned Christians to "walk in the Spirit" and if we do, then we will "not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16.) So how do we walk in the Spirit? Paul goes on in the next five verses to tell us what the "works of the flesh" are and then he answers the question of how we go about walking in the Spirit when he says: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV.)

Let’s take a look at ‘peace’ which is the third in the list of the fruits of the Spirit.

The Greek word for ‘peace’ in this verse is ‘eirene’ [i-ray'-nay] which means peace, harmony, tranquility, concord, unity, contentment. This Greek word corresponds to the Old Testament Hebrew word ‘shalom’ which means basically the same thing. The words ‘shalom’ and ‘eirene’ were commonly used as greetings. But, peace as a fruit of the Spirit is much more than a greeting. It is a supernatural state of inner tranquility.

But, there are things that can rob us of peace.

When Jesus was talking to the Pharisees, He said: "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" [John 8:44]. The Tormentor, Satan, is the wicked one [Matthew 13:19, 38], the ruler of this world [John 12:31], the god of this age [2 Corinthians 4:4] and he has deceived the whole world [Revelation 12:9]. We have been influenced by him to hate, compete, war against and to kill one another.

Sin is one of the things that can rob us of our peace. Isaiah the prophet said: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy. That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear [Isaiah 59:1-2]. Isaiah also records, "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked" [Isaiah 57:21].

When we sin and do something wrong, it produces guilt, which works on multiple levels of our consciousness and can cause mental and physical distress and disease. The road back to peace is to confess our sins with the purpose of abandoning it. The apostle John affirmed: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" [1 John 1:9].

If we sin, our fellowship with God is affected, causing us inner turmoil. We must repent and confess to God in order to get back to a condition of inner peace.

The apostle Paul quoted Isaiah in saying, "The way of peace they have not known" [Romans 3:17]. The writer of the Book of Hebrews says that we are to "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" [Hebrews 12:14]. This is a word of warning: if we don’t strive for peace, then we will not see Jesus when He returns, and we will not rule and reign with Him in the Kingdom of God.

Isaiah recorded a prophecy declaring Jesus would be the Prince of Peace: "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace [Isaiah 9:6]. Jesus talked about peace to His disciples on the night of His last Passover before He was crucified saying, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid [John 14:27]. "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" [John 16:33].

The apostle Paul told the brethren in Philippi: "The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus [Philippians 4:7].

When I think of ‘peace’, I think of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in which He said: "Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God [Matthew 5:9]. We can see from this verse that if we want to be a child of God, to be a part of the God Family, then we must be peacemakers. One of the ways that we can be a peacemaker is to keep God’s Commandments. David wrote, "Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble" [Psalms 119:165].

Another way to be a peacemaker is to watch what our tongues, watch what we say. Words can wound and damage people. Arguments and disagreements can spiral into envy, strife, hatred and murder. We need to think of one of Solomon’s proverbs, "A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger [Proverbs 15:1].

To be a peacemaker we need to be humble and meek. Notice that there is a reward for doing this: "But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace" [Psalms 37:11]. This is a reference to the coming Kingdom Age in which peace will prevail and they will beat their swords into plowshares and nations will not learn war any more. [Isaiah 2:4].

God’s purpose for mankind is that we enjoy eternal life in peace with Him. God is the author of peace [1 Corinthians 14:33], He has called us to peace [1 Corinthians 7:15] and we are to live in peace [2 Corinthians 13:11]. We need to be peacemakers with our families, fellow churchgoers / members, co-workers and neighbors. We need to go in prayer and ask for the fruit of His Spirit: peace.

The Jesus Creed

The Jesus Creed from DanStevers.com on Vimeo.

The yearly calendar is racing ahead. Fortunately, for those of us in the northern part of the states, the doldrums and darkness of winter are about to end. Amen. For the church calendar, this means that we begin the season of Lent (for those who observe it), and move on toward Good Friday and Easter.

What is Lent? I'm glad you asked. The Easter season actually begins 40 days before Easter Sunday, on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

Today is Ash Wednesday. The 40 days of Lent are meant to correspond to and symbolize the time that Jesus spent being tempted by Satan in the desert before his public ministry started. This occurred immediately after His baptism by his cousin, John the Baptist.

During Lent, we are intended to examine our hearts, be more observant of our behavior and increase our diligence about putting away our sinful behaviors. Many people give something up for Lent, like chocolate or cursing, or something along those lines.

This period is a reminder that following Christ means that we should be "dying to ourselves every day."

Let us take this opportunity to look deeply into our hearts and scrutinize our lives. Are we where we want to be in our spiritual lives? Do we like who we have become?

Christ left us with ONLY two commands, love God and love others.

What would it look like, how would our days feel, if for the next 40 days, we really made an effort to go the extra mile to show some love to and for each other?