More Than Sunday
"And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God." - Micah 6:8
All God wants is to have a relationship with us. He died for that! And this is all He requires from us in that relationship. It's pretty simple. Nothing big. It doesn't matter what we call ourselves. It's not about having a name or title. What matters is our walk with God and our relationship with Him. Our faith is our own. So value it. Take God seriously. Because it's the most important relationship in our lives. It's not something we live out at church, Bible study, around a certain crowd, or when we feel like it. It's more than Sunday. It's a lifestyle.
Act justly. Just because we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8) does not mean we can do whatever we want. If we choose to follow God, He calls us to live in righteousness (1 Peter 1:16). He didn't save us so that we would live in sin. God is in the life-changing business. There is no way that we can put your faith in Christ and not be changed. Allow Him to work in our lives and practice righteousness by obeying God. After all, we should strive to be Christ-like (1 John 2:6).
Love mercy. This is worship. Jesus says "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice'" (Matthew 9:13). The Great Commandment is to love God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40) As God showed mercy towards us, show mercy towards others. Show compassion. Be willing to give. Not just to those who we want to. That's easy. Show love towards everyone.
Walk humbly with your God. Walk with God but recognize how great He is and show reverence towards Him. Obey Him. (Ecclesiastes 12:13) Give glory to Him because He's the one who deserves it, not us. The amazing thing is that He even allows us to walk with Him! How tight is that? God who is well, God, walking with us, mere humans, who disobey Him all the time. We definitely do not deserve it.
Focus on the relationship we have with our Creator. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8). If we are committed to God and seek Him, we will grow in our relationship with Him. It's a two-way relationship just like any other relationship, but much better. Some people feel like they have to do great works, or going to church or being part of a Christian group makes them Christian or brings them closer to God. No. What we do should be a result of our heart condition. We can make it seem like we have a strong relationship with Him or do this and do that, but where is our heart at? All He wants is our heart. That's what it comes down to. If we give Him our heart, He will change us. He will renew us (Ezekiel 36:26). That's what makes us act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. That's what makes us experience Him more fully. That's what makes us want to do His work and be a part of the Church. Give Him our hearts. Present tense. It's not a one time thing. Some times is not enough. We must do it all the time. Know that we are His. It's the correct response to His love. As King, He comes first before anything.
Lord, You have my heart.
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." - Psalm 51:17
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God." - Micah 6:8
All God wants is to have a relationship with us. He died for that! And this is all He requires from us in that relationship. It's pretty simple. Nothing big. It doesn't matter what we call ourselves. It's not about having a name or title. What matters is our walk with God and our relationship with Him. Our faith is our own. So value it. Take God seriously. Because it's the most important relationship in our lives. It's not something we live out at church, Bible study, around a certain crowd, or when we feel like it. It's more than Sunday. It's a lifestyle.
Act justly. Just because we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8) does not mean we can do whatever we want. If we choose to follow God, He calls us to live in righteousness (1 Peter 1:16). He didn't save us so that we would live in sin. God is in the life-changing business. There is no way that we can put your faith in Christ and not be changed. Allow Him to work in our lives and practice righteousness by obeying God. After all, we should strive to be Christ-like (1 John 2:6).
Love mercy. This is worship. Jesus says "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice'" (Matthew 9:13). The Great Commandment is to love God and love your neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40) As God showed mercy towards us, show mercy towards others. Show compassion. Be willing to give. Not just to those who we want to. That's easy. Show love towards everyone.
Walk humbly with your God. Walk with God but recognize how great He is and show reverence towards Him. Obey Him. (Ecclesiastes 12:13) Give glory to Him because He's the one who deserves it, not us. The amazing thing is that He even allows us to walk with Him! How tight is that? God who is well, God, walking with us, mere humans, who disobey Him all the time. We definitely do not deserve it.
Focus on the relationship we have with our Creator. "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8). If we are committed to God and seek Him, we will grow in our relationship with Him. It's a two-way relationship just like any other relationship, but much better. Some people feel like they have to do great works, or going to church or being part of a Christian group makes them Christian or brings them closer to God. No. What we do should be a result of our heart condition. We can make it seem like we have a strong relationship with Him or do this and do that, but where is our heart at? All He wants is our heart. That's what it comes down to. If we give Him our heart, He will change us. He will renew us (Ezekiel 36:26). That's what makes us act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. That's what makes us experience Him more fully. That's what makes us want to do His work and be a part of the Church. Give Him our hearts. Present tense. It's not a one time thing. Some times is not enough. We must do it all the time. Know that we are His. It's the correct response to His love. As King, He comes first before anything.
Lord, You have my heart.
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." - Psalm 51:17
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