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Devotional
Weekly Bible Devotion By Books
Aug. 14-19, 2023
Enter the Presence of the Lord
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs are the kingdom of heaven.
(Matthew 5:1-10, ESV)
Confession
Lord, our Forgiver and Savior, thank you for who you are, so that we can stand before you. We praise your love and abundant saving grace. We so often mistake materials and new trends as your blessings. We chase after them with our world. Then we found we lost our center- you. Lord, help us, forgive our weakness and save us from such life patterns. Thank you. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Scripture Reading: Micah
5:2, 4-5 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” 4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. 5 And he will be our peace.
6:9 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.
Thoughts to share: Righteousness, Mercy, Walk with Your Lord Humbly!
Micah lived in a very rarely peaceful time during eventful era of Israel and Judah history. Externally, the Assyria Empire was on the eve of rising to become a threat of Israel and Judah kingdoms. The God’s people had enjoyed peace for almost half century. They were able to advance their social prosperity. But, what about their spirituality in entire society? See, what God observed! Listen, what Micah said!
Socially- those who devised wickedness and worked evil on their beds; those who coveted fields and seized them and houses, and took them away; those who preached “one should do not preach such things; disgrace will not overtake us.”
Religiously- the prophets who led God’s people astray and practiced divination for money; priests taught for a price, those built Zion and Jerusalem with blood and iniquity, those who brought in the foreign gods and godlessness at the altars in the temple. Yet, the sacrifices were zealous and plenty.
Civically- those heads and rulers detested justice and made crooked all that was straight, gave judgment for a bribe
Royally – the kings were corrupt, short-lived, and unstable.
It is indeed very stunning to notice how God watched every level of entire kingdoms and what he said of each through Micah. We can easily sense that moral standards for a God’s people at all levels were eroded to some rather serious degree. Let us put ourselves in that society. Can you image how it is to live in such a time and society? How were your mind, heart, mental state disturbed? How were your families and daily existence impacted? What words can you describe such a time? Recklessness, truthlessness, blindness and deaf to God, who loved them most!
In all confusions, God shouted out his heart for his people: to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God! God’s people is to reflect the only one who they worship and who had saved them. They were far short of God’s glory.
In the age that Jesus has come and his salvation work has completed, the world like Micah’s still come to us from time to time. How do we react to such atmosphere? As Micah suggested, we ought to know whom we belong to, what our identity and mission in the world are. We ought to walk even more closely and humbly with God, to be kind to each other, to remind ourselves to reflect the manners of God’s children in wherever we are and in whatever we do.
Prayer suggestions
O Lord, we understand that your heart for your people is to reflect who you are in our daily small deeds with ourselves and with others. Help us to live the lifestyles that please to you in wherever we are- at home, at workplace, at supermarket, at our family, at our churches. Come, the Holy Spirit, to fellowship with us. Remind us that we belong to you and we have power to do good. Thank you. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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