DEVOTION: Micah 6:1-8 (ESV)
The Indictment of the Lord
6 Hear what the Lord says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord,
and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against his people,
and he will contend with Israel.
3 "O my people, what have I done to you?
How have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised,
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord."
What Does the Lord Require?
6 "With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with[a] thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of 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 told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,[b]
and to walk humbly with your God?
The rhetorical question at the end of this is the important thing to remember in all of it. What does the Lord require of you? Do justice. Love kindness. Walk humbly with your God.
These three things come as the fruits of faith. When you have faith in Christ, you will do these things. When you have faith you will do justice (do what is right). When you have faith you will love kindness. You will want to be kind, because you know the kindness and mercy of Christ. And, knowing that you are a sinner just like everyone else, and having faith in the God who has mercy on you despite that sin, you will walk humbly before your God.
The Lord doesn't care about your empty deeds done outside of faith. He doesn't accept offerings done to gain His favor. If you trust in God you already have favor with Him? Just as a father loves his children no more when they do everything he says as when they don't listen to a word he says. He might not like them very much, and he might be disappointed in them, but he still loves them and he will not forsake them or disown them.
So when Micah says these things, he is saying nothing less than this "What does the Lord require of you? Trust in the Lord!"
Prayer: Lord, help us to trust in You, to have Your mind and will in us, and to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with You. Amen.
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CALENDAR
Tues- Quilting 9-2
Wed-Worship at Oak Pointe 10am; Choir 7
Thurs- Board of Stewardship meeting 6pm; Lutheranism 101 6:30pm
Fri- Assemble Newsletter
Sat- Worship 5pm
Sun- Worship 8:30 and 11; Sunday school and Adult Bible class 9:45
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WORSHIP WORKERS FOR THIS COMING WEEKEND:
Acolyte- 8:30- Cierra Figura 11- Adddie Hoelscher
Ushers- Alan Hofeldt, Tim Linke, Rich Talbert, Don Turnure
Altar- Set up- Marilyn Foster; Clean up- Lois Boeger
Elders- Sat- Charlie Figura; 8:30- John Hachtel; 11- Dave Winter
Greeters- 8:30- John and Joanne Hachtel; 11- Marv and Molly Hendershot
Lay Readers- Sat- Sandra Perricone; 8:30- Jennifer Figura; 11- Karen Benton
Piano- Molly Hendershot