Monday, January 12, 2009

He Has Shown Me

Today I'm reading in the book of Micah, which can be found near the end of the Old Testament. Micah was a prophet, and his name meant, "Who is like Yahweh"? Yahweh meaning: the sacred name of God; the self-existent one.
Micah answers the question of "what does God want or expect from me"? He says in Chapter 6: 8, " He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require from you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God".
What does it mean to act justly? Isaiah tells us in chapter 1:17 : "Learn to do right. Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow".
Jeremiah also tells us in chapter 22:3: "This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor, the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place".
The last part of Micah's answer to us says that we are to walk humbly with our God. Back to the book of Isaiah, chapter 57:15, God himself tells us through Isaiah, how he lives right here with us, exactly where we are, if we choose to let him be Lord of our lives: "For this is what the high and lofty One says - he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ' I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite'.
Again we see a reference to the holy and sacred God, Yahweh. And to think that He wants to be a part of our life - to have daily communion with us and walk through our lives here with us - it is astounding if you just sit back and think about it! He will teach us to act justly; he will give us mercy and show us how to give mercy to others; and he will walk with us, guiding our way.
I pray that I become more merciful - to extend to others, mercy instead of judgement - to make a difference in the life of someone who is oppressed and alone.
As we begin another week, I pray too, that you will ask Yahweh - the holy God - to walk with you and teach you to be a humble servant.
Blessings - Janelle

1 comment:

Farmhouse Blessings said...

Just reading those scriptures is humbling ...

Lea