What the Lord Requires

Every society experiences injustice. Corruption is always on the brink of consuming humanity. Israel was not immune to the struggles of a fallen humanity. Injustice had become a way of life. Merchants were using false weights, widows and orphans were being taken advantage of, parents were sacrificing their children to false gods. Darkness was everywhere.

The Lord rose up and challenged his people. His words in Micah 6:1-5, call the people to remember is loving faithfulness. They call them to turn from their rebellion, and to see the foolishness of their ways. Micah, the prophet, is allowed to utter the question in hearts of his listeners: "What does God require?" (see Micah 6:6-7).

The context suggests that Micah's audience felt God demanded to much. As they rattle off items they think will appease him, the offerings grow in size and magnitude. Will there ever be enough? Their quest to appease God doesn't appear to be sincere. It is more of a pay for play theology. They are suggesting that God name the price it would take to overlook their sin.

Again, the prophet speaks, ""He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8).

If we want to do what God requires, we must: act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. That leads me to three questions:

1. What does it mean to act justly? It means to live righteously, and to live righteously we must live by faith. To act justly means that we are walking in obedience to the Lord. It is to value life. It is to defend the weak. It is to let your "yes," mean yes, and your "no," mean no.

2. What does it mean to love mercy? It means that we do more than show mercy. We cultivate it. We rejoice in its display.

3. What does it mean to walk humbly with God? It means we realize that God is God and we are not. It means our confidence is not in our abilities, but in God's grace. It means we stop seeking our own kingdom, and instead pursue his.

If we want to do what God requires, we will act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God? Are you willing to do what the Lord requires?

Seeking to Please God

"May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer" (Ps. 19:14).

In this verse, David reminds us of the heart-mouth connection. The heart is another term for inner man. Jesus tells us, "For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:45; Luke 6:45; see also Mark 7:20-23). The heart is the source of problems. As Jeremiah reminds us the heart "deceitful above all things" and "beyond cure" (see Jer. 17:9-10).

If the meditations of our heart are to be pleasing to the Lord, then we have to begin with a new heart. The Lord is the source of our new heart (see Ezek. 36:25-29). The Bible calls it a lot of things: circumcision of the heart, new birth, or putting on Christ to name a few. The important thing is that we become new creatures (see 2 Cor. 5:17).

Once we have come to the Lord in faith, we have to determine to please the Lord. Like David, we have to make pleasing the Lord the central focus of our lives.

The next step is to follow through. David had determined to please God, and he took kept at it. He fixed his mind on God, so that the ordinary things of life drew him into praising God. David's prayer was for the right thoughts that led to the right words.

Finally, we must rest in God. David called on the LORD, the God of the covenant. He was expressing his faith in God's faithfulness. He looked to God as his Rock, a source of strength and shelter. He saw God as his Redeemer ready to rescue him.

David gives us a good framework for seeking to please God. He reminds us that God desires a pure heart, and that only God can give us that heart. How do you seek to please God?