Posts Tagged: Micah 6:8
“That Don’t Impress God Much”
DTEB, “That Don’t Impress God Much”
“That Don’t Impress Me Much” (Song by Robert John Lange and Shania Twain)
“But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously.”
I rarely think that I hear from God directly. Most likely, that is because I don’t want to hear what God might want to say. I don’t think that God wastes a lot of words on people who don’t want to listen and obey.
However, occasionally, God does get a word end edgewise. I was thinking last night about my tendency to play way too much online chess. I was not particularly praying about it. I’m not that spiritual. However, sometimes God answers even our non-prayers.
“My child,” said God in a gentle voice, “on judgment day, you will not be asked about your rating on chess.com.”
Ouch!
I’m not sure that any questions will be asked on judgment day, but there are some that will definitely not be asked. Judgment day will be a day for God to sum up my life, not ask questions.
But if God were to ask questions, I suspect they might be quite simple.
“Did you trust and love and follow my Son, Jesus?”
“Did you follow the directions I gave to all humankind through my servant, Micah? Were you fair and just to your neighbor? Were you compassionate and loyal in your love? Did you refuse to take yourself too seriously? Did you take me seriously?”
Of course, God will already know the answers.
“Walking Humbly with a Humble God”
“Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD!
Psa. 113:2 ¶ Blessed be the name of the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore!
Psa. 113:3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the LORD is to be praised!
Psa. 113:4 ¶ The LORD is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens!
Psa. 113:5 Who is like the LORD our God,
who is seated on high,
Psa. 113:6 who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
Psa. 113:7 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
Psa. 113:8 to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
Psa. 113:9 He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 113, English Standard Version)
“He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, English Standard Version)
It isn’t easy being humble and walking humbly with God. Perhaps it would be a bit easier if we recognized the humility of God himself. The God who requires us to walk humbly with Him is the God who humbles himself to walk with us. In the ancient Near East, the gods did not generally walk with human beings. Humans sometimes encountered these gods. Sometimes the gods spoke to humans. But these encounters and messages were not usually good news for the human who experienced them. The best thing to do with the gods of the ancient world was to sacrifice to them and not tick them off. The gods of the ancient Near East were definitely not known for their humility.
We sometimes fail to realize how radical the God of Israel was and is. This God is loving. This God is forgiving. This is a God who does not require humankind to serve and feed him. This is a God who provides food and serves humans. This is a God who humbles himself to look at what is in heaven and on earth.
In Psalm 113:4-5, we are told how highly exalted God is. Then, in verse 6, we are told that God humbles himself to look on what is in heaven and on earth. But God’s humbling of himself does not stop with merely looking. God lifts the poor, seating them with royalty, and God takes care of those who can’t have babies. God’s humility requires that God get his hands dirty in human affairs.
What a strange and wonderful God!
“Carried by God”
Sunday, March 31, 2019
“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.” (Isaiah 46:3-4, English Standard Version)
My 12-step affirmation for today is as follows: “Today, by God’s grace, I am allowing myself to be carried in God’s arms. This enables me to walk when and where and how I need to walk.”
I remember when I was little falling asleep in my dad’s car on the way back home from a late night trip. (“Late night” was anytime after sunset for me when I was little. Still is.) It would be hard for me to wake up. Sometimes, I didn’t. I would simply go to sleep in the car, and wake up in my bed the next morning.
At other times, I would half wake up, but my dad would still carry me in the house. Mom would tuck me into bed. And sometimes, I would pretend to be asleep, so that Dad could carry me in.
Sorry, Dad. I hope that wasn’t too much of a bother. Who knows? Perhaps you enjoyed it. I was (and am) a lot less of a dill pickle when I’m asleep.
Today, I have a nasty cold. I’m not going to church today, and I’m having to rest more. I’ve got a lot of important-to-me work to do. It isn’t getting done. And I am not a very good patient.
So, today God is challenging me to let myself be carried in his arms. Hence today’s 12-step affirmation, which I pasted above.
Certainly the Bible, both the Old and New Testament, speak of the importance of walking. Sometimes biblical language speaks of literal walking. At other times, it talks about how we “walk” through life, how we conduct ourselves (Deuteronomy 8:6; Micah 6:8; Colossians 1:10-11; and 1 John 2:6, plus many others. Often, modern translations obscure this very mundane, physical metaphor.) Putting one foot in front of the other for God, people and creation is very important.
But the Bible also speaks of God carrying us, even when were old and gray. And that is important too. Sometimes the best way to walk with God is to let ourselves be carried. God will put us down and let us walk whenever the time is right.
“God’s Requirements” (Micah 6, 8)
“He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?” (NAU Micah 6:8)
So, what is required of me? Micah 6:8 is a verse that haunts me. Micah makes it sound straightforward, if not easy. (It may be straightforward, but it is not easy, as Micah no doubt realized.)
The word for “seeks” is dôrēsh. This is a participle, which suggestions ongoing or continual action, flowing from the character of the one who is seeking. In this case, since it refers to God, it is the One who is seeking.
God seeking us! Now, there is a picture! We sometimes speak of seeking God, and the Bible speaks in that way as well. However, Micah 6:8 speaks of God seeking something from us.
It is not enough that the One occasionally sees me doing what is right and fair, or loving mercy, or walking humbly. The question is this: Does God catch me living in that manner at all times? The question answers itself.
Well, what about today? Will God (“my God”, as Micah says) catch me doing what is right each moment of today? Theoretically, this is possible. However, as they say, the devil is in the details. However, God is also in the details. For some reason, we seem to think that the devil is more involved in the details than God is.
And here is the problem, it seems to me: Other parts of the Bible point out that seeking the LORD God is not so easy, and that, therefore, obedience to what God is seeking from us is not easy. It requires the whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13.) And who of us actually seeks God—or anything, for that matter—with a whole heart? Indeed, there are some Bible verses that suggest that no one really seeks God. (See Psalm 53:2-3 and Romans 3:11 for further details.)
The very fact that God so often commands God’s own people, Israel, to seek God suggests that seeking God does not come naturally.
I am comforted by the teaching of Jesus, who said, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10). Perhaps the bottom line is this: We can only seek the one who has first sought and saved us. Only so, can we begin to fulfill what God spoke through the prophet Micah.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
- DTEB, “Getting Christ and Ourselves Back in Focus” November 11, 2024“Col. 3:1 ¶ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Col. 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Col. 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden […]
- “Search Me!” October 27, 2024“Psa. 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24, English Standard Version) I am participating in a Bible study, and this is a prayer […]
- “Christian Speech” October 26, 2024“Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Foulkes, in his excellent commentary on the Book of Ephesians, writes the following, which I quote at some length: “29. Now the […]
- “God is in the Details” October 11, 2024“The devil is in the details.” (A general saying, often quoted by lawyers, reporters, and negotiators.) “God is in the details.” (Me, almost certainly not original.) “Luke 12:7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Jesus) God does not micromanage, but God […]
- “Grandma’s Pump” October 8, 2024When I was a little critter, I would stay at my grandma’s house for a night or two sometimes. I liked this for a lot for many reasons. One thing I liked about staying with her was that Grandma’s house was much more technologically advanced than ours was. For one thing, she had indoor water—sort […]
- “Wearing the #14 Wrong-Side-Out” October 5, 2024Pete Rose, #14, is dead. Many of the old guys with whom I play softball watched him play and appreciated him greatly. I do as well. He was one of the greatest players who ever played the game. Yes, he admitted (eventually) to betting on baseball. But many of us still regard him as one […]
- “Passing Along the Love (and a Link)” October 4, 2024Several years ago, a friend of mine put me onto a daily meditation by Richard Rohr and friends. I don’t read them all the time, but I probably should. They are good! I thought that today’s writing was especially good, and I also figured that this would be a good way to post something. I […]
- “Witnessing Versus Being Witnesses” September 19, 2024“Acts 1:1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, Acts 1:2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:3 He presented himself alive to them after […]
- “A Bathroom Prayer for Hurting Hands” September 11, 2024A week ago Sunday, my hands were hurting so badly at church that I went to the bathroom to run hot water over my hands. Arthritis perhaps, or carpal tunnel, or general orneriness—I don’t know why my hands hurt, but they do. They have for years. So, while I was running hot water over my […]
- “Waiting and Seeking” September 10, 2024“Lam. 3:19 ¶ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! Lam. 3:20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. Lam. 3:21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Lam. 3:22 ¶ The steadfast love of the LORD […]
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