Isaiah 29:13 The LORD says: “These people come near Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me….”
In so many ways, we are so very different from those to whom Isaiah 29:13 and Micah 6:8 were addressed, but in so many ways, we are so very similar. In my own life, sometimes I’m guilty of asking, in essence, what’s the least I can do and still have God understand how much I love Him? His answer has not changed—He wants all of me, my whole heart.
Micah 6:8 …And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy….
He wants me to act justly—to look beyond the outer circumstances and be just according to the heart. He wants me to be merciful. Christ’s act of mercy on the cross, praying for His murderers as He was dying and they were casting lots, springs to mind here. He wants us to walk humbly, to know that on our own we are incomplete, but with Him, through Him, in Him we are whole.
Micah 6:8 …and to walk humbly with your God.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this verse. The more I study Your word, the more I see that repeatedly, in so many different ways, You tell us the same thing—Love God. Love others. To act justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly—we have to have a heart of love for You and Your people. Love God. Love others. So simple in theory, but sometimes so difficult in practice. Help me, as I go through this day, to do Your will by loving You and loving others. Help me to serve You with my whole heart. Draw me closer. Amen.
Deut 10:12 “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and soul….”
Have a blessed day.