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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
God’s requirements of Us
“He has showed you, O man, what is good.
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)
This message from the prophet Micah gives us a very succinct template to form our Christian lives. We humans always try to make things more complex. Consider the number of rules the Old Testament people had to adhere to. The impact of the words of our focus passage makes us stop and think on them.
Act Justly
Micah relates God’s thought to us. We need to consider how our actions affect those around us. When we don’t, we act selfishly. I recently had to make a quick decision about something that, on the surface, appeared not to be harmful had I decided to allow the request to come about. When I heard the question, my thought process focused on the lesson this action would teach. The lesson wasn’t a Christian one. I had to say “No” to the request.
Looking back, I realize the person making the request has a reputation of speaking her mind, taking things over, and having things done her way.
Love Mercy
Micah continues by telling us to love mercy. Mercy is not receiving what we deserve. When we love a quality we emulate it. We learn to be merciful once we have received it. (“Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.” Matthew 5:7)
If we practice mercy, we emulate Jesus in the eyes of those around us. We have times when we choose to follow God’s directives and do something the world will not understand.
Walk humbly before our God
He continues by telling us to walk humbly before our God. How does a believer in Christ accomplish this?
Honor Him
We honor God by initially seeking Him out when we have problems, and when we have circumstances beyond our control. When we follow His guidance through circumstances we don’t understand, we honor Who He Is.
Worship Him
Each week, we gather with like-minded believers and pray to God, we adore Him, and we present ourselves to Him. We have our private devotions each day.
Praise Him
We hear others give thanks to God for His protection and for His mercy they have received. We give praise to God for His kindness and love for us. We offer praise to Him throughout the week.
Revere Him
As we grow in our Christian experience, we learn to hold God in great respect. We learn to honor, not defame, His name. At the same time, we teach our children to honor Him.
Emulate Him
Charles L. Shelton wrote a novel about the citizens of a town going through a time of asking what Jesus would do if He were confronted with the choices they had to make. The book, In His Steps, What would Jesus Do? has become a classic. A few years ago it inspired the WWJD movement. Shouldn’t we all try to do things as Jesus would do them had He had to face our trials?
We need to be Jesus to those we meet, as well as those we know. He asks us to live for Him in front of our neighbors; with those we conduct business, with our friends. Other people need to see Jesus in our actions and our attitudes.
As we begin thinking about our goals for the upcoming year, let us think along the lines of the message Micah gives us and how we can apply it to our lives.
Let us revere Christ as we celebrate His Birth.
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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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