JUSTICE, MERCY AND HUMILITY

In the Book of Micah, God called all the mountains and hills to witness as He told the people of Israel what is expected of them. “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  (Micah 6:8)

Of all the demands upon the Christian, justice and mercy – not to mention humility – are perhaps the most often misunderstood.

Justice is a hard standard. Justice demands absolute conformity with God’s holy character -- righteousness in our hearts, righteousness in our conversations, righteousness in our conduct, righteousness in our jobs and lives, righteousness in our institutions. Because God is a holy God, He cannot be in fellowship with unjust people.

At the same time, God is a merciful God. He woos His people and calls them back to Himself. But His justice -- consistency with His own decrees -- means that sin has to be paid for with death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)…

Why didn’t God simply forgive and forget and let us begin again? Because His standard of justice, which demanded righteousness or death, could not be put aside.

So God shook heaven and earth, merging justice and mercy at the Cross by fulfilling the demands of justice through the one perfect sacrifice, His only Son, Jesus Christ.

When the Scriptures tell us to do justice and to love mercy, they require of us nothing less than the glorious, full-bodied justice and mercy God Himself showed. 

– Adapted from Charles Colson (1931-2012) in an article entitled “Doing Justice, Loving Mercy, Walking Humbly” in Discipleship Journal, No. 63 

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WHAT A PLEASURE!

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.  This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence.”  (1 John 3:18-19 NIV)

How are you serving the Lord in your home? In your office? At school? At church? In the community? Perhaps more important, what’s your attitude when you serve Him?

John 13:1-30 gives at least four characteristics of an attitude of service if you’re following the example of the Lord:

·      We’re to serve willingly -- when it’s not convenient or even when our service isn’t appreciated.

·      We’re to serve humbly. What job are you too proud to do?

·      We’re to serve obediently. What is your motivation for service?

·      And we’re to serve sincerely.

Psalm 103:20-21 says, “Praise the Lord, you His angels… who obey His word… you His servants who do His will.” What a pleasure to do God’s pleasure! The greatest joy you’ll experience on earth, other than worshiping our Lord, is the joy of working for Him -- willingly, humbly, obediently, and sincerely. 

-- Adapted from Anne Graham Lotz in “Fixing My Eyes on Jesus” 

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THE SPIRIT’S PROMPTINGS

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper… He lives with you and will be in you.”   (John 14:16–17)

Trying to put language around the promptings of the Holy Spirit is no simple task. His movements are mysterious -- felt more than seen, sensed more than explained. They are intangible, yet unmistakably real. And they have been part of the Christian life from the moment Jesus ascended and sent His Spirit to dwell within the believers. That day changed everything.

Jesus had promised, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses…” (Acts 1:8)  Not a symbolic power. Not a motivational boost. But the very power of God taking up residence in human hearts.

It should tell us something about the weight of our calling that Christ didn’t leave us to navigate it alone. He knew the mission was bigger than our natural abilities. So He sent a permanent, supernatural Helper -- One who guides, convicts, strengthens, and speaks in ways that shape our steps.

But what is this power for? Acts 1:8 gives the answer plainly: We are empowered to be witnesses -- living, breathing reflections of Christ in every corner of the world. The Spirit’s promptings are not random nudges; they are divine invitations to join God in His work. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

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THE GIFT OF GRACE

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast.”  (Ephesians 2:8–9)

After centuries of handling and mishandling, most religious words have become so shopworn nobody's much interested anymore. Not so with ‘grace’, for some reason. Mysteriously, even derivatives like gracious and graceful still have some of the bloom left.

Grace is something you can never get but can only be given. There's no way to earn it or deserve it or bring it about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks or bring about your own birth.

A good sleep is grace and so are good dreams. Most tears are grace. The smell of rain is grace. Somebody loving you is grace. Loving somebody is grace. Have you ever tried to love somebody?...

The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you. Here is your world. Beautiful and terrible things happen. Don't be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can separate us. It's for you I created the universe. I love you.

There is only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it. 

-- Excerpted from “Beyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC's of Faith” by Frederick Buechner

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TRANSFORMATION IN CHRIST

“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.” (Romans 12:2 Phillips)

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 3:18 ESV)

I do not at all understand the mystery of grace – only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us. 

-- Anne Lamott  

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