Sharpened Together - Week 19

Key Scripture: 
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

Micah 6 involves an imaginary conservation between God and Israel. Earlier the question is posed: With what shall I come before the Lord? (verse 6).
While Israel may have already known the answer to question of what God requires of His people – verse 8 spells it out for us.

• Act justly – living with a sense of right and wrong, protecting the innocent and not allowing injustice.

• Love mercy – showing loving-kindness. As well as justice, we are to show mercy; both are part of God’s character.

• Walk humbly - our heart attitude toward God. Continual reliance on God. The opposite of pride.

The active response of a godly heart is outward (do justice), inward (love mercy), and upward (walk humbly).

In fulfilling all the Law and Prophets, Jesus lived these out in full. As Jesus followers, we’re called to do the same…

Take a moment to consider how you go living these out day-to-day?

• How can you/we look out for others, especially the marginalised and oppressed?

• How can you/we show compassion and mercy, remembering all people are made in the image of God?

• Where has pride taken root?  Where do we depend solely on our own abilities or in what we have?  The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. We only have what we have because the Lord provides and sustains.

As we embark upon a time of prayer and fasting, let’s consider how we love God and act in response to His courageously loving character.

The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. (Psalm 145:8-9)

Lord God, thank you for who you are. Through your Holy Spirit, please help us to be faithful and act boldy in our love for you, and in actively demonstrating your abounding love for others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.