Meditation

03/15/2022

“With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God! Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 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 6:6-8)

Beloved, people do many things to please God. Micah raised the question of priority for all who desire God’s acceptance. God gave a clear answer. Pleasing Him requires a person to be rightly related to others. Nothing we bring to Him will be acceptable apart from a life characterized by property motivated justice in relation to others. Our actions must result in justice for all people, not special privilege for a few. Our hearts must love mercy rather than demand justice for self. Every act must come from a relationship to God, making Him Lord and us His humble servants. God requires this of every person. The people of God are to be loving and merciful in all of their relationships. In this way others will recognize the people of God.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Precious Abba, often we think we must bring something of great value or sacrifices or whatever we seem to think might be valuable to You. This reveals that we don’t really know You at all. You place value on the relationships with Your people, those that understand that You are the real value for all of us. We are to come humbly to you, seeking a relationship with You that is not an occasional thing, but a regular part of our lives every day. This we pray in Jesus’ precious name, that we live our lives in our words and actions towards others, that clearly reveal that You are our only God and that we serve only You. We also offer up prayers for those who are suffering in body, mind, and/or spirit, with friends, family, for those we don’t know, especially those in Ukraine. Amen

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“Father, lift our eyes to rise above my circumstances and to see the bigger picture of our calling on earth—-to help save the lost in Jesus name. Amen”

KNOWING GOD:

“I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way (Early Christians were known by several names: ‘the Way,’ ‘Nazarenes,” and “Christians.’). I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteousness and the wicked. So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” (Acts 24:16)

Government and/or religious opponents may call Christianity a dangerous, heretical sect. The church sees itself as the fulfillment and continuation of the people of God begun with God’s revelation to the fathers—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked is affirmed, though not asserted as boldly as it is here. The biblical emphasis is upon the hop that believers have by virtue of a promised resurrection of the righteous. The fact that the same sentence asserts resurrection for both the righteous and the wicked does not require that both occur at the same time. Some interpreters believe that other passages suggest an interval between the two.

I AM:

“No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.” (Revelation 22:3)

Worship and service are very closely related. “His servants will serve him” could readily be translated “His servants will worship him.” In this context, worship and service are interchangeable descriptors.

2ND THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan!’ For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” (Matthew 4:10)

Commitment and obedient service is a prominent aspect of true worship. To worship (Greek – proskuneo) means to fall down with face to the ground in humble adoration. The outward act expresses an inward attitude of reverence and humility. To worship is to serve (Greek – latreuo). This Greek term originally referred to wages paid laborers. It came to mean service without wages, then service in the worship place. It may be translated “serve” or “worship”. Genuine worship involves committed serve. Committed service grows from a committed heart. Jesus, quoting Deuteronomy 6:13, emphasized the Judaic tradition that God alone is worthy of worship. Prayer should be directed to no one else.