July 30th, 2020
Stephanie Faust, Office Manager
As our country contends with enduring disorder in response to racial tension and injustice, the best remedy is to turn to the Bible. The message of Micah forewarned judgement was coming but also contained hope of restoration for Israel and all nations who repented. Micah witnessed idolatry, evil business practices, bribery, cheating, poor civil government, dishonesty, violence, heated conflict, corruption, and a belief that personal sacrifices satisfy divine justice. God plead through His prophet “He has shown you, O mortal, 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 6:8 NIV) This scripture pertains to today as much as it did to the Israelites.
I love when words are clear, straight-forward and I understand exactly what I need to do, what is expected of me or what action I need to take. When my husband and I married, we soon agreed that our family motto would be Micah 6:8 because it was simply and practically laid out for us on what the Lord required of us to do to give people a glimpse of heaven. This paradigm makes it easy for us to examine our own actions and motives and become conscious of our own character. The application of doing this is important. We know this because similar verses about harmony & humility are repeated in the New Testament by Paul (Romans 12:16 & Philippians 2:3-4). So, the Faust family of three eventually formed twenty questions where we could check on ourselves periodically. Some of our questions are: How am I treating others? Have I cheated anywhere? Do I show mercy to people who have hurt me? Or to people who offended me? Or people who are poor? Or to people who I feel are different than me? Or when I have it in my power to help someone? Am I being of service to others? Do I see material blessings as a means to bless others? Can I change my schedule to make more time to grow closer to God? Am I making a decision on how it will benefit me or how it should benefit God? Does my life match up with the motto God gave Israel through Micah? We know we can always improve.
God hated injustice, mercilessness and arrogance in Micah’s time and God still hates it today. He wants us to repent. Let’s put God’s commands into practice in our unjust world, our segregated communities, our divided nation, our culture that acts as if some people’s lives matter more than others. If we don’t start here and now and apply these words in our homes, our short earthly lives will have no muscle to bring about the change in the unbelieving world around us. We want to always be a part of bringing God’s Kingdom to earth. God loves our justice, our thoughtfulness, our complete dependence on Him.
Would you take some time today to ask yourself some hard questions? Would you then work on the things that God shows you? Please always remember that we can ask the Holy Spirit for help. Let Micah 6:8 be the groundwork for God to build upon and His plan for you will supervene.
P.S. If you are reading this and do not know the Lord, today I offer you His invitation. If you want or need to respond to that invitation and if you need help with that please reach out to me anytime at 856.227.6567 | stjohns.office@discoverstjohns.org
As our country contends with enduring disorder in response to racial tension and injustice, the best remedy is to turn to the Bible. The message of Micah forewarned judgement was coming but also contained hope of restoration for Israel and all nations who repented. Micah witnessed idolatry, evil business practices, bribery, cheating, poor civil government, dishonesty, violence, heated conflict, corruption, and a belief that personal sacrifices satisfy divine justice. God plead through His prophet “He has shown you, O mortal, 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 6:8 NIV) This scripture pertains to today as much as it did to the Israelites.
I love when words are clear, straight-forward and I understand exactly what I need to do, what is expected of me or what action I need to take. When my husband and I married, we soon agreed that our family motto would be Micah 6:8 because it was simply and practically laid out for us on what the Lord required of us to do to give people a glimpse of heaven. This paradigm makes it easy for us to examine our own actions and motives and become conscious of our own character. The application of doing this is important. We know this because similar verses about harmony & humility are repeated in the New Testament by Paul (Romans 12:16 & Philippians 2:3-4). So, the Faust family of three eventually formed twenty questions where we could check on ourselves periodically. Some of our questions are: How am I treating others? Have I cheated anywhere? Do I show mercy to people who have hurt me? Or to people who offended me? Or people who are poor? Or to people who I feel are different than me? Or when I have it in my power to help someone? Am I being of service to others? Do I see material blessings as a means to bless others? Can I change my schedule to make more time to grow closer to God? Am I making a decision on how it will benefit me or how it should benefit God? Does my life match up with the motto God gave Israel through Micah? We know we can always improve.
God hated injustice, mercilessness and arrogance in Micah’s time and God still hates it today. He wants us to repent. Let’s put God’s commands into practice in our unjust world, our segregated communities, our divided nation, our culture that acts as if some people’s lives matter more than others. If we don’t start here and now and apply these words in our homes, our short earthly lives will have no muscle to bring about the change in the unbelieving world around us. We want to always be a part of bringing God’s Kingdom to earth. God loves our justice, our thoughtfulness, our complete dependence on Him.
Would you take some time today to ask yourself some hard questions? Would you then work on the things that God shows you? Please always remember that we can ask the Holy Spirit for help. Let Micah 6:8 be the groundwork for God to build upon and His plan for you will supervene.
P.S. If you are reading this and do not know the Lord, today I offer you His invitation. If you want or need to respond to that invitation and if you need help with that please reach out to me anytime at 856.227.6567 | stjohns.office@discoverstjohns.org
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