Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Wisdom”
Our Bible verse for today: “Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “A wise person understands what it is that the Lord really wants.”
The Christian world today is filled with what I call “modern day Pharisees”. These are people who, like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, attempt to practice their faith by observing a long list of rules and regulations. For themselves and for others they have a long list of do’s and don’ts, checklists of acceptable behavior, rituals, dress codes, and much more. Usually much of it is based upon tradition, personal bias, and personal opinion rather than on scripture. And then they become dogmatic about it. They insist that everyone else should believe and practice as they do and they become stern and judgmental in their dealings with anyone who doesn’t.
In the middle of all that Old Testament religiosity, the prophet Micah clued the people into what it is the Lord is really looking for from His people. He is looking for people with a humble spirit, a quiet faithfulness, and a commitment to justice, mercy, and compassion. We know about the freedom in Christ that the New Testament teaches. We understand the message of salvation by grace which Jesus made possible and which Paul so eloquently taught in Galatians. And we’ve been instructed, especially by Jesus and James, that true Christian faith will be evidenced by works of kindness, mercy and compassion. But that same message was also woven all throughout the Old Testament as well. Micah was just one of many prophets who preached and taught this. So we have to wonder “how did they miss it?” For that matter, how do we?
Why do so many of us get caught up in codes and creeds and rituals – thinking the Lord is pleased with all that, when the message of both Testaments is so clear that what God is really looking for is a person with a humble heart, a quiet but sure faith, and a commitment to go out into the world and bless others in His name? How do we keep missing that?
Over the years I’ve noticed that those who are truly wise in the ways of the Lord are precisely those who have learned and practiced this lesson. The truly wise ones are seldom the overbearing pulpit-pounders, or the prim and proper church lady whose girdle is apparently too tight, or the stern and dour deacon with the big Bible and the sour look on his face. No, the truly wise ones are humble and kind, gentle and joyful, filled with mercy and compassion, always seeking to find a way to bless others.
What is it the Lord is really looking for in His people? To act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God. The wise ones know this.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 