Do Right, Love People, Walk with God
Today’s Passage – Micah 5 – 7 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Revelation 7 – 9; Psalms 126 – 130; Proverbs 26)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 3:1
Read the “0926 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8) (Click on the verse to hear it sung by the Clark Family)
A simple but very profound verse of Scripture from the Book of Micah. Do you want to know how you can be right with your God? There is a simple three point outline here in verse eight of chapter six that explains just how to do that. Notice, however, that this verse is written to a people that already know God, so in order to make the application to yourself today you would have to have already begun a relationship with Him through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. If you have already trusted Him as your Savior, then this verse is for you:
1 Do justly – this has as much to do with our relationship with others as well as our obedience to God. We need to strive to be in a right relationship with others; and do the right thing by them. If we have wronged somebody, let’s try to get it right. “Do the right thing”.
2 Love mercy – this has to do with forgiving others who have wronged you. Are you bitter against somebody today? Why not release him from the debtor’s prison in your heart; and forgive him. Look at how God (and others) have forgiven you. Loving mercy could also apply to your love for the souls of men.
3 Walk humbly with God – We need to see ourselves for who we really are – nothing; and see God for who He is – everything. Do you have a walk with Him? Are you spending time daily in prayer, and in the Word? Are you living your life in submission to His will.
Living in a right relationship with God is not all that mysterious or difficult. Jesus said that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. But if we refuse to submit ourselves to His Lordship, holding on to our own will and desire; walking with Him will be impossible. I’m not talking about perfection here: we all blow it at times; but when that happens, we must confess it to God, get back up, and move forward again in our walk with Him.
Posted in Thoughts from Micah by Phil Erickson with 6 comments.
There Is Coming A Day
Today’s Passage – Micah 1 – 4 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Revelation 4 – 6; Psalms 121 – 125; Proverbs 25)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – James 4:10
Read the “0925 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.” – (Micah 4:1-5)
I just want to give you a couple of quick thoughts this morning from today’s passage in Micah. In Micah chapter 4, God is referring to the Millenial reign of Christ on the earth. This future time period will come only after the church is raptured and the world endures a seven year period of tribulation which will separate the sheep from the goats (the saved from the lost). This 1000 year reign of Christ on earth will be a wonderful time of peace on the earth. Christ will physically be here on the earth ruling the affairs of men. All nations will be in submission to Him, and it will truly be a time of tranquility and safety. Everyone will be living according to the principles found in the Word of God, and Christ Himself will be the instructer. What a time to live on the earth.
Obviously, the day that we are living in today is not like this Millenial reign of Christ, but I believe that Christians can do a lot more to make their homes and their churches more like this future time period. We can do this by yielding our lives to the will of God, surrendering our wills to the Spirit of God, and saturating ourselves with the Word of God. We will never be able to control what goes on in the world around us but we can do something about the homes that we live in, and the churches that we worship in. In the the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth…”. We can do the will of God while we are on this earth, and by doing so we will have a little taste of the Millenial Kingdom. Our homes and our churches should be little pictures of this wonderful time described in Micah 4.
Posted in Thoughts from Micah by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
A Simple Recipe – Do Right, Love People, Walk with God
Today’s Passage –Micah 5 – 7 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Revelation 10 – 12; Psalms 126 – 130; Proverbs 26)
Scripture Memory for July – Philippians 2:1 – 18
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 89:1
Read an outstanding article posted at independentbaptist.com – “Revival, Do We Really Want It”
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8) (Click on the verse to hear it sung by the Clark Family)
A simple but very profound verse of Scripture from the Book of Micah. Do you want to know how you can be right with your God? There is a simple three point outline here in verse eight of chapter six that explains just how to do that. Notice, however, that this verse is written to a people that already know God, so in order to make the application to yourself today you would have to have already begun a relationship with Him through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. If you have already trusted Him as your Savior, then this verse is for you:
1 Do justly – this has as much to do with our relationship with others as well as our obedience to God. We need to strive to be in a right relationship with others; and do the right thing by them. If we have wronged somebody, let’s try to get it right. “Do the right thing”.
2 Love mercy – this has to do with forgiving others who have wronged you. Are you bitter against somebody today? Why not release him from the debtor’s prison in your heart; and forgive him. Look at how God (and others) have forgiven you. Loving mercy could also apply to your love for the souls of men.
3 Walk humbly with God – We need to see ourselves for who we really are – nothing; and see God for who He is – everything. Do you have a walk with Him? Are you spending time daily in prayer, and in the Word? Are you living your life in submission to His will.
Living in a right relationship with God is not all that mysterious or difficult. Jesus said that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. But if we refuse to submit ourselves to His Lordship, holding on to our own will and desire; walking with Him will be impossible. I’m not talking about perfection here: we all blow it at times; but when that happens, we must confess it to God, get back up, and move forward again in our walk with Him.
Posted in Thoughts from Micah by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
What Does He Want From Me?
You can access the audio of both of yesterdays messages here.
If you are using a mobile phone you can access them here.
Todays Passages – Micah 5 – 7; Proverbs 26
(Second Milers also read –Revelation 13 – 16; Memorize Hosea 10:12)
To listen to the Scripture passages today just click on the references above.
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” – (Micah 6:8)
I remember as a child that I would sometimes get frustrated with the adults that were over me because I didn’t know precisely what they expected from me. I either didn’t get clear instructions, or sometimes their expectations would change or increase based on the mood of the authority. I remember saying to myself, “What does he want from me?” To be fair, I guess I would have to admit here that I am sure that there were many times that the authorities in my life were rightly frustrated with me also. The point that I am trying to make here is that sometimes we are placed in situations where we simply don’t know what is expected of us. However, God is very clear about what He requires from His children. Notice that I said “His children” for these requirements only apply to those that already belong to Him.
Notice in Micah 6:8 that God gives us a perfect three-point outline of His requirements for us. First, He says that we are to do justly. That simply means that we are to do right. When someone receives justice they are receiving right and fair treatment. That is how we are to live: we are to do right. Now how do we know what is right to do? We have a Book that declares what is right. We are to read and study the Word of God in order to understand what right is from the vantage point of God, and then we are to apply these right principles to the way we live, and the way we relate to the people around us. Bob Jones Sr. used to say, “Do right”; and that is exactly what God is saying here.
Next, God tells us to love mercy. Now mercy is kind of the opposite of justice. Justice is receiving what we deserve, but mercy is not receiving what we deserve. When I get pulled over by the policeman for speeding, I don’t demand justice, I plead for mercy. You get the picture. For instance, we deserve Hell, but because of God’s mercy we can receive the salvation that is offered through the blood of Jesus Christ, and escape the punishment that we deserve. What is God saying here? God wants us to do right, but He also wants us to be merciful to those around us that may have wronged us. Isn’t that exactly how God treats us. He always does right, yet He is also compassionate and merciful to we who are always doing wrong. We need to have God’s heart when it comes to being merciful and forgiving in our relationships with others.
Finally, God says that we are to walk humbly. Humility is a difficult thing for most of us. We are so full of ourselves. However, we must realize that we are absolutely less than nothing without God. The Psalmist said that we are to magnify the Lord. In order to do that we must make ourselves smaller. The smaller we get, the bigger God gets. One of the big problems with our sinful human nature is that so often we are blind to the pride that permeates every fiber of our being. We must constantly ask God for His help in purging this elevation of self from our lives. Christ is our example in this. Though He was God, when He walked the earth He walked humbly among His fellow man:
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:” – (Philippians 2:5-7)
God we know what you expect from us: help us to do right; help us to be willing to show some compassion to the people around us; and help us to realize that we are zero without you.
Posted in Thoughts from Micah by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
What A Day That Will Be
Today’s Passages – Micah 1 – 4; Proverbs 25
(Second Milers also read – Revelation 9 – 12; Memorize – Hosea 10:12)
Click here to listen to Micah Chapter 1; Micah 2; Micah 3; Micah 04; Proverbs 25
Click here to listen to Relevation 9; Relevation 10; Relevation 11; Relevation 12
“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.” – (Micah 4:1-5)
I am excited about the new feature on the website which allows you to listen to the daily Scripture passages while you read them. The Bible says that “faith cometh by hearing”. I think that you can receive more from your quiet time by listening to the Word as well as hearing it.
I just want to give you a couple of quick thoughts this morning from today’s passage in Micah. In Micah chapter 4, God is referring to the Millenial reign of Christ on the earth. This future time period will come only after the church is raptured and the world endures a seven year period of tribulation which will separate the sheep from the goats (the saved from the lost). This 1000 year reign of Christ on earth will be a wonderful time of peace on the earth. Christ will physically be here on the earth ruling the affairs of men. All nations will be in submission to Him, and it will truly be a time of tranquility and safety. Everyone will be living according to the principles found in the Word of God, and Christ Himself will be the instructer. What a time to live on the earth.
Obviously, the day that we are living in today is not like this Millenial reign of Christ; but I believe that Christians can do a lot more to make their homes and their churches more like this future time period. We can do this by yielding our lives to the will of God; surrendering our wills to the Spirit of God; and saturating our lives with the Word of God. We will never be able to control what goes on in the world around us, but we can do something about the homes that we live in, and the churches that we worship in. In the the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth…”. We can do the will of God while we are on this earth, and by doing so we will have a little taste of the Millenial Kingdom.
See you later in church!
PS – Dr. Paul Chappell posted an excellent article, “Six Ways To Lift Another’s Load” on his website, The Pastor’s Perspective.
Posted in Thoughts from Micah by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.