What does God require of us?
Too often, we say what we want of
God, how we want our church services
to be, what we want to do with our
money, and how we want to live our
lives.
In 1 Chronicles 29 we read of
David’s great prayer before the assembly. You may recognise it as the offertory
prayer sometimes used today. Gifts are offered to God, starting with the king
himself, v 3 a top down approach to giving. People gave willingly and freely,
not under coercion.
Peter reminds us in 2 Pet 3:9 that
God wishes everyone will come to seek repentance, he wants us all, v 11, to
live holy and godly lives as we wait for the day of the Lord to come. We are to grow in the grace and knowledge of
God himself.
Finally Micah tells it straight in
Micah 6:8.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love
mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
God does not require endless sacrifices of rams and oil, traditional
rites which may have lost their meaning. No, God simply wants 3 things, firstly
to act justly, God’s moral standards; do we have a Bible based integrity, in
ethical issues?
Secondly, to love mercy, to show mercy, practical help and support to
those in need, even the undeserving. The season of Christmas presents us with
many opportunities to help in practical ways, see church notice sheet for
ideas.
Finally, to walk humbly with our God, to walk, commune with the God of
truth at all times, in constant fellowship with him.
Meditate on Micah 6:8, what
does God require of you?
(Member of Christ Church knitting
group)