Do Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly

Micah 6:6-8
6 With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?  7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?  8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Does God demand sacrifices to please Him, even to our firstborn?  No. All the deeds we do fall short of pleasing Him - what He really desires is our heart of obedient, humble, merciful, devoted love for Him.  This is why Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all we have and are, and then to love others as we love and care for ourselves.  The biggest sacrifice is praise to Him in these things, for all comes from and goes to Him.

Abiding in the One From Eternity

Micah 5:2-4  
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”  3 Therefore He shall give them up, until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; then the remnant of His brethren shall return to the children of Israel.  4 And He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; and they shall abide, for now He shall be great to the ends of the earth;

Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, has always existed from everlasting or forever.  He was born as a man of a virgin as told here in order to show God was His Father, that He is God's word become a man to speak directly to us.  Seeing Jesus, we see God.  So He came to bring His people to Himself, first the Jew, then the world. He watches over and keeps us to forever, feeding us of Himself, in which we see a shadow in the taking of the bread and wine until He returns.  This shows His majestic care for us.  We abide in the One from eternity, who always is and was and ever shall be! 

Babel to Pentecost

Acts 2:4-7
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.  5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?

I have always looked at the day of Pentecost as God's calling His people back together who were separated at Babel with diverse languages to keep them from banding together in prideful unrighteous, similar to Eden's banishment to keep us from living forever in sin.  By His Spirit giving understanding of each other again, He showed our calling out together once again - but in Christ safely together for our good and God's glory.

Live Eternally in God’s Name

Micah 4:5
For all people walk each in the name of his god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

Many reject the Gospel, choosing instead to work hard to "make it to heaven" in vain, and others say there is no God or that it does not matter.  But those of us who know Him will never live otherwise because He has so changed us and opened the eyes of our hearts to see and know Him.  No religion of man can bring us to union with God but Christ.  On we walk, pleading with others to be reconciled and reborn with and in Him who made us all.

Taught by God

Micah 4:2  
2 Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.”  For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Hebrews 1:1-4  1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

The promise through Abraham for all nations to be God's shows His Law was to bring us to realize our desperately sin-filled nature which keeps us from walking in His ways.  So His Son Jesus, who shows us God did for us what we could not, speaking the final words of salvation which the prophets only pointed to.  We can only walk in His ways by His sacrifice for us, His presence (Spirit) within us, with a new heart from a new birth as a new creation by God.  We are taught by God (John 6:45, 1 Thessalonians 4:9) to walk in His ways by His Spirit and word.  

False Teaching and Repentance

Micah 3:8, 11  
8 But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.  11 Her heads judge for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon us.”

Israel had many false self seeking and self appointed prophets as they wandered further from God.  But the few God called directed their sight to their sin, and showed they could not rely on being called God's people to avoid judgement and just punishment as a consequence.  So what will God do today if we allow false teaching in the church to go unchallenged?  In love sin must be pointed to in order to allow the chance to turn from it.

Freed at Last!

John 8:34-47 
34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word.  45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 47 He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

We are all sinners, coming ever short of God's standard of perfection.  Yet Jesus offers freedom if we love Him and listen to what He says.  God Himself came as a man to talk to us face to face, yet many still refused to listen, putting intellect and religion above the One who is the source of both.  If we are of God, we listen and believe Jesus Christ; if we are not of Him, we shut our ears, get angry, and reject Him.  Nobody can come to God unless He calls - and we listen.

Fanaticism of Health and Wealth, or Truth?

Micah 2:11  
If a man should walk in a false spirit and speak a lie, saying, ‘I will prophesy to you of wine and drink,’ even he would be the prattler of this people.

As in Israel's days, so now in the church age there are those who set aside the glory and truth of God to listen to any fantastic teaching from any charismatic speaker or writer who tells them something good for the ear as they see it.  Teachers prattle about no Hell, no judgement, no submission or obedience to the Lord who bought them at such a high price in His Son.  They speak of babbling stories as if Jesus is speaking personal comfort, yet it is not Jesus talking, for it is not aligned with the truth of the Bible.  They listen to tales spun of all the good health and wealth "promised" us, yet forget He had no place to lay His head, that the Apostles suffered in many ways - and in all, God alone received all the glory, honor, and praise.   Our kingdom and riches and health are in Christ alone.

Do No Harm

Micah 2:1, 7  
" 1 Woe to those who devise iniquity, And work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand.  7 You who are named the house of Jacob: “Is the Spirit of the Lord restricted? Are these His doings? Do not My words do good to him who walks uprightly?"

God commands us to first love Him above all else, then to love others as we love ourselves - doing no harm to them.  Those who walk over others to get what they want take time to find ways to cheat and defraud them.  But they will face God.  And when His words are heard, they will deny and suffer, or they can find joy and forgiveness in those words as they do to others as they want done - and as God does for us.

Judgement from Heaven Coming Down

Micah 1:2-5  
"2 Hear, all you peoples!  Listen, O earth, and all that is in it! Let the Lord God be a witness against you,The Lord from His holy temple. 3 For behold, the Lord is coming out of His place; He will come down And tread on the high places of the earth. 4 The mountains will melt under Him, And the valleys will split Like wax before the fire, Like waters poured down a steep place. 5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob And for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? Are they not Jerusalem?"

Just as God spoke judgment on Jerusalem and Samaria, to come down from heaven Himself to even things out, both landscape and those in it, so He will at the final judgment - the mountains will fall and even the stars will fall from the sky as Jesus said.  This world must know the gospel is to answer the judgement we all deserve for our disobedient sin, calling us by grace and faith alone in Christ alone, not in anything we can do to earn His forgiveness and relenting of punishment. 

Grace - He Relents from Doing Harm

Jonah 4:1-2.  
" 1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. 2 So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm."

Do we get angry when people who do very evil things are changed by God, such as Dahmler, or do we see past the gross sin to the soul made and remade in God's image?  Jonah saw the Ninevites as godless and evil, and knew for years they did not do what God wanted - yet when he told them they would be destroyed in judgment, they repented - Jonah was angry and wanted to die.  It is as if he did not want to see them saved from sin's punishment, but wanted to see them get what is coming to them.  Do we love the lost and rejoice when God calls them?

Repentance and Forgiveness

Jonah 3:8-10  
"8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?

10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it."

Repentance from the things God has declared to be morally wrong, sin, means to turn from them and toward doing what is right according to His standards (not ours either by choice or vote).  When those of Nineveh saw this, they turned and God chose not to punish them. So in Christ we can be forgiven and the destruction passed over us by His payment for us.  We are sinners in the hand of the angry God apart from Jesus.  In Him we find God's favor forever.

Salvation is of the Lord!

Jonah 2:2, 4, 7, 9  
"2 And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me. ‘Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice.  4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’"   "7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple.  9 But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”"

God hears when I call out to Him, even when I get myself into a situation due to not doing all He says, like Jonah.  This example is here to turn my eyes continually to my Lord, to worship with thanksgiving from my heart.  He delivers just as when I was lost and confessed, repented, and turned to Christ with faith that acted on His promises.  So I act and so I find His faithfulness in the promises to deliver and strength to obey out of love and not turn away from following.  Salvation is of the Lord.

Why Do we Run From God's Work?

Jonah 1:5, 10  
"5 Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep."  10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, “Why have you done this?” For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them."

Do we hide, asleep in the light given us?  Whenever we run from God's calling, we think falsely that it only affects us - not seeing how not bearing witness to the gospel allows the storm of sin to bear down on others, to their destruction.  So we cannot run from God, His presence, nor His will.  Since His will is to make disciples of all nations and to teach them all He taught us in His word, then this is our life goal in the race set before us.

Don't Run from Preaching Repentance

Jonah 1:1-3   
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord."

Do we run from God's command to make disciples of all nations, telling the good news of reconciliation with God in Jesus Christ solely by repentance and faith?  Repentance in acknowledging our sin and guilt before a holy God, and faith in His work on the cross to die for our just punishment - this is good news indeed to find our forgiveness wrapped in grace and mercy, unearned and never found in religious good deeds.  We who are made right with Him should never run from telling others this hope forever in Jesus Christ.

Return on Investment, or Salvation?

Obadiah 1:15-17  
"15 “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you; your reprisal shall return upon your own head.  17 “But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions."

Matthew 7:1-2    1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."

Judgement in the sense of condemning, not discerning, comes back on all but the Righteous Judge, Jesus Christ, to whom it belongs.  He offers deliverance from eternal judgement and forgiveness here and now.  We are to discern for the good of others in humility in the church, leaving those outside with no eternal justification to Him who judges rightly.  So let us be holy, as He is, but humble because we are not Him.

Pride Precedes the Fall

Obadiah 1:3-4  
"3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; you who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’  4 Though you ascend as high as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” says the Lord."

Like Edom, pride makes many trust in their own defenses, arrogantly believing that not even God can level the fortresses built high as a Swiss fort on a mountaintop.  Even if we travel to the stars, we are never too strong for pride to bring us down.  God alone is sovereign over history, nations, and each of us. 

No Escape by Our Will or Work

Amos 9:2. 
“Though they dig into hell, from there My hand shall take them; though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down;"

Just as Israel attempted to escape God's judgement (Psalm 139:8), so many now also try (Matthew 11:23) to bury themselves in hell by living for now, getting all they can and trusting in their own strength in being bad to endure.  Others attempt to do enough good works to earn a place in heaven, also attempting in their own ability to get there.  But the reality is that only God was good enough to earn a place for us, and that through the cross.  We are all evil in our heart motives and all the evil we do is not strong enough to protect us from justice in the end.  Jesus really is the only way, truth, and life for us all. 

Night for Day

Amos 8:9-10 
9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight; 10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, and baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, and its end like a bitter day."

People stopped hearing God's words as in Amos' time, and when Christ hung on the cross, they saw the sun darken in daytime as God's only Son died in their place - not when they listened and turned to Him, but He died while they were not seeking and still sinners.  He does that now as well (Rom.5:8), and brings hope in darkness and new life from us who are dead to Him in sin.  There can be joy and feasting again in Jesus the Christ. 

Acceptable Offerings of Justice and Righteousness

Amos 5:22-24  
22 Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.  23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.  24 But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

If we do not know the God we worship, if we are unrighteous and unjust to Him and others, then all the songs we sing and offerings we give are meaningless to Him.  He wants our hearts and lives.  These are acceptable offerings of justice and righteousness.  His.  Nothing less.  Do we love Jesus Christ as the one way to please God by faith, and do we seek to love Him by treating others in love with justice, mercy, and right actions?  He wants mercy and not sacrifice which is empty. 

Hate Evil, Love Good

Amos 5:14-15   
14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so the Lord God of hosts will be with you, as you have spoken.  15 Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph."

Romans 12:9  Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good."

We are to really despise want is evil if we are ever to become holy as God is and desires us to be.  But this means we need to also really love what is good - not grudgingly say it is good, but enjoy and run after those things God says are good.  This is walking with Him to "always do those things that please Him (Jn.8:29)."  Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with our God. 

We are Brands Plucked out of the Fire of Judgement

Amos 4:11-13 
11 “I overthrew some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; yet you have not returned to Me,” says the Lord.  13 For behold, He who forms mountains, and creates the wind, who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness, who treads the high places of the earth— the Lord God of hosts is His name."

As we are brands plucked out of the fire of certain judgement, rescued as Joshua in Zechariah 3:2 was taken from destruction for God's purpose, so we must turn to Him continually.  This is the God of all living who makes high mountains, makes wind we cannot see, and even knows all we think.  He brings light that is good into darkness and lowers the pride of men and Angels.  His name is holy, and we called by that same name are to be holy just as He is.  How can we not follow after Him as we run the race Paul spoke of?

Zechariah 3:2. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” 

Keep in Step With the Spirit

Amos 3:2-3.  
2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.  3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?"

We who have been chosen and called out in Christ, who believed and received Him, are His children, His family.  So we are like Israel in that we must align to God's word to live with Him - we can only so walk if we are in agreement with His word and will.  This means listening to those also in agreement with His word, just as the prophets of old who walked together with Him did so together.  Let us keep in step with the Spirit. 

Lies Lead Astray, But Truth to Follow and Obey

Amos 2:4.
"Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, lies which their fathers followed."

We must not as before our conversion turn from God's word as commands.  He spoke for us to gladly follow and obey His word, not to ignore or even despise what He tells us because we don't like parts of it or don't agree with it as we align with society's benchmarks.  As Calvin said, "We are not to follow the fathers in error, but must follow the word of God alone."  Just because someone teaches something, it is not to be adhered to unless it is backed by Scripture.  Reformed listening includes finding out if these things are so (Acts 17:11). 

Valley of Decision and Our Calling of Grace

Joel 3:14-16. 
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.  15 The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness.  16 The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel."

In the end, the sun and moon will darken along with the stars; when God finally judges the world after giving so many chances for the multitudes of people to choose life through repentance and forgiveness in Jesus Christ, this earth will be so shaken.  Yet those called out by and to Him will find safe shelter and strength to and through this end - and into a never ending beginning which began in reborn hearts before that time. 

His Spirit Poured Now Into Us

Joel 2:28-32  
28 “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.  32 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls."

As this was fulfilled in the events recorded in Acts 2:17-21, God brought in the time for deliverance from sin in Jesus, followed by His Spirit living in those called out as His - first for the Jews in Acts 2, then to the rest of the nations as promised to Abraham long ago.  God opens our eyes to Himself and gives understanding to His words when we are so saved from sin and regenerated in Christ.  God calls.  We must answer.  Then we are pulled as a drowned man from a living death and breath again in Him with a living life that has no end! 

Turn From Sin to Him!

Joel 2:12-13 
12 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”  13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm."

God's constant call to us is to repent - turn away from doing what He commands not to do (sin), and turning towards Him who eagerly awaits us. A broken heart for our offending God leads us to His mercy and grace, not getting the just punishment we deserve and getting so much we could never even imagine to ask for - adoption as His sons and daughters! 

Repentance, Remission, and Real Life

Luke 24:47-49. 
47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

Acts 1:8. "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Follow Jesus, become a fisher of men.  By His Spirit living in us, we have the ability to bear true and effective witness to the message of repentance to have our sins taken away by His suffering, death, and resurrection.  So His will is simply to go to all the world with this good news of all He has done! The apostles had to wait after Jesus ascended to heaven before they had Him as Spirit living in them; we by our rebirth have Him without the wait - so let us go and tell without waiting, for we know repentance, remission of sin, and real life of abundance in Christ living within us! 

This is Grace.

Hosea 14:1-2, 9.   
1 O Israel, return to the Lord your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity; 2 Take words with you, and return to the Lord. say to Him, “Take away all iniquity; receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips."

"9 Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them."

We stumble and fall in our sin against God, but can and must admit (confess) we have done against Him, asking forgiveness.  He promises to take away what is due for our sin, taking us close to Himself again, and we should respond with thanks and praise to honor Him for who He is and all He does in this.  So wisdom then is to live as He wants from the beginning, to be holy because He is holy as it is written.  But such mercy when we do not with forgiveness that remembers no more.... This is grace.