A Word from Pastor Stephen – May 9, 2020

“He has told you, O mortal, 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 NRSV)

We never really have to wonder what we need to do to follow God, or to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. The Bible states it plainly and clearly in many places. Here in the Old Testament book of Micah God gave the Israelites three things they can do that would be pleasing in the eyes of God. God actually says that we are required to do them. How do these three areas look in your life right now?

God wants us to do justice. He didn’t say just believe in it, but that we are to “do” justice. At the heart of God’s justice is making things right and bringing wholeness to all the areas of our life. I’m sure we all have aspects of our life where we need to make things right and make things whole. It could be a relationship, or how we use money, or how we treat others, or how we have neglected our walk with Jesus.

We are to love kindness. This kindness is not just being nice and polite. It is having the heart of God for other people, even when they don’t deserve it or don’t love us in return. Kindness is not a trivial thing. It can change a life. The Book of Proverbs tell us, “Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor” (Proverbs 21:21)

Finally, we are to walk humbly with our God. This is not always easy for us to do. We like to lead. We like to be in control. We want to set the pace and determine the destination. However, we must learn to be humble and allow ourselves to be led by God. This may mean going places we did not want to go and doing things we did not want to do. We must trust the love of God to guide us to our final destination in His love. Amen.