Monday, January 28, 2013

What Does the Lord Require of Us?

Beautiful blue doors by Jeanne Henriques --  Collage of Life

“He has shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God” Micah 6:8 (KJV)?
 
           My angry teenager yelled at me as she stormed into her room. “You would be happy
 
if I stayed in my room all the time and had no friends at all!” 

          That was definitely not what I wanted from her or for her. (Parenting teenagers is a

most challenging profession, but that's another story.)

Her accusation reminded me of the children of Israel’s to Micah.  They wanted to know if the Lord would be pleased with sacrifices of thousands of rams, rivers of oil, and their first born children. (See Micah 6)  Of course that was not what God wanted.  Micah stated that God had shown them what was good.
God brought the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, parting the Red Sea for their safe passage, and took care of them in the barren desert.  You would think they would have always remembered these mighty acts and His gracious acts of mercy.  Such was not the case.  God called for the mountains to be His witnesses against the people of Israel, and asked the people to testify to explain their disobedience to Him.  Had they forgotten all He had done for them?
We might ask ourselves the same question.  Have we forgotten all that He has done for us?
Sometimes I think we make serving God more mysterious and difficult than it actually is.  God doesn’t want extravagant sacrifices.  He wants obedience.  In my opinion, obedience greatly simplifies our lives.  He wants us to do justly (do the right thing), to love mercy (be kind), and to walk humbly with Him (aware that He is our God).  God does not ask for impossible sacrifices. Obedience is doable. 
And He never asks us to do anything that He hasn't equipped us to do. (See Timothy 3:16-17)
 
Do you think God's children today are sometimes as obstinate and histrionic as teenagers can be?
Delightful photo by Eileen DeCamp

Jesus said, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mt.11:30).

Help us LORD to do all you require of us and give us opportunities to testify of the wonderful things you have done.

I'd love to read your thoughts on today devotion.  Consider leaving a comment below by clicking on the pencil icon or the word comment.  Thank you so much for visiting Write Moments with God.  God bless you.   


4 comments:

  1. Great devotion Rose. We make something that is simple into a monumental task sometimes.

    Jason

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    1. Thank you Jason. I appreciate reading your comments every week. May your day be simply wonderful.

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  2. Oh yes! We can be every bit as silly (obstinate and histrionic) as teens. Most of us are just grown-up teenagers ourselves. We're all human, fallible, and when we're not walking with the Lord as we should (as you said, remembering our blessings), we're all prone to be immature children spiritually. It's something to guard against always. (I speak as one decidedly over 50.)

    God bless you. I enjoy your blog.

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    1. Lou Ann, you've really brightened my day. Thank you for taking the time to comment on today's devotion. I like how you write this--prone to be immature children spiritually. It is something to guard against, even when we've walked with the Lord for a very long time. Be blessed and please come again. So glad you enjoy Write Moments with God!

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