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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
God, What Does He Want From Us?
“And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8 (NIV)
We read certain passages of scripture and we tend to overlook the meaning of the words and phrases. In our culture in the USA, we tend to read something, say ‘That’s nice,’ and hurry onto the next adventure, the next business deal, or fun thing to do.
As young people, we sat around campfires singing “Kumbaya” possibly thinking we were where we needed to be with Jesus. Looking back on those days, if God would have actually come to that gathering, I believe some of us would have been petrified.
Present day, do we want God to come onto the scene or do we want who we think God is to join us? As Christian people, we are faced with the onslaught of circumstances that distract us from God’s plan for our lives.
God’s Word tells us we are to act justly. We are not to ‘play favorites’ when we make decisions. The outcome of each circumstance that we face in our lives and our response forms our character. If we choose an unjust resolution, we may be thought of as ‘people pleasing.’ If we belong to God, we have to live our lives to please Him and Him only.
As God’s children, we are to love mercy. Now this can be a difficult one thing to do. We have to decide what mercy is—the undeserved love of God. He tells us to exercise mercy as we walk through this world. Are we to excuse any unusual behavior because God says to show mercy? I think not. God permits us to be angry at the things that anger Him. We show mercy to the ones who are wronged. Even discipline of those who inflict hurt on others can be seen as a merciful act. Do you remember the cities of refuge in the Old Testament? (Numbers 35:10-15)
God tells us to walk humbly with your God. We are to be mindful of His presence and His guidance as we go through each day.
On our block, we have a house whose resident had not mowed the grass for weeks. My husband noticed the woman was outside one day trying to get the lawnmower started. It wouldn’t start. As I write this, I am thankful to say that somehow the lawn got mowed. I noticed it as I got out of my car on Wednesday. Yes, I had said a few short SOS prayers about this overgrown yard.
Whenever we hear sirens in our neighborhoods or on our streets, we should pray for the need that brought the first responders our and we should pray for their safety. When we hear of needs or have a need ourselves, we should pray FIRST. By doing this we invite God into the circumstance from the start.
I love this verse. Recently, I have read several writers’ interpretation of it. Each person wrote of how it applied to their work. How can you apply this verse to where you are in the kingdom of God?
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.
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