DAILY DEVOTION, January 10, 2022

Ephesians 1:7. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

We sing “Amazing Grace,” and grace is truly amazing. Paul speaks of the riches of God’s grace. Grace brings forgiveness to us through our Lord Jesus Christ, but it does more. When grace floods the soul, worldly fears vanish. Today’s world is full of fear. People fear many things. The loss of a job; what if our marriage fails; fears that surround financial security; fears about health; fear of growing old; fear of being useless; like the song in Old Man River, “Tired of living and feared of dying.” What are you afraid of? A good dose of the grace of God will remove your fears. When God’s gracious love fills the heart, fears are cast out. John writes, There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18).

It is truly wonderful to understand and grasp the amazing grace of God. God has provided to us, the unworthy, a way to find forgiveness and eternal life. If you read Ephesians 1:7 and respond, “Ho, hum,” you have never understood the grace of God. Look long and hard at Jesus as He is revealed in Scripture until the grace of God overflows into your soul.

Father, I thank You for the riches of Your grace. I don’t deserve it. I cannot earn it. It is a gift of Your love. Please help me to understand the riches of Your grace. May Your amazing grace fill my heart, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

DAILY DEVOTION, January 9, 2022

What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

Today I want to finish up my reflections on Micah 6:8, looking at the word “humility.”  To walk humbly with God is a divine requirement. It is to remember that we are not in charge of life – – – He is. It means we are to worship God and serve Him with humility. To walk humbly with God means it is to be our daily routine. We walk with Him today and tomorrow and into all our tomorrows.  Pride cuts us off from God. Humility draws us near to His side.

We walk humbly with God when we go out of our way to be kind to others. We walk humbly with God when we do what we can to generate more justice in the world. We walk humbly with God when our strongest desire is to serve Him, to please Him. We walk humbly with God when we spend time praying for others. We walk humbly with God when we remember that life is not about me. It’s about Him.

Father, I pray that you will help me to see when pride rears up in me. I know that if I am ruled by pride I am headed for a fall. I want to live each day walking humbly with You. In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen. 

Marie’s daily verse: God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). 

DAILY DEVOTION, January 8, 2022

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8).

More on justice. Two people are strolling by the riverside when they see a baby in the river. They jump in, rescue the baby. The next day they see two babies in the river. Again they rescue the babies. The next day they see many babies in the river. They call the Emergency Medical Service and rescue as many as they can, but many of the babies struggle and drown. The first man says to the other, “Isn’t it wonderful that through our faith we are here during this tragic time of need?” “Yes,” says the other man, “but I think we better get moving and go to the head of the river and find out why all these babies are getting thrown into the river in the first place and put a stop to it.” Rescuing the babies is obviously important. It is an act of kindness. But going to the head of the river to stop babies from getting thrown into the river is an act of justice. And we need both. We need to be kind, but we also need to be champions of justice.

Kindness took place when a Caucasian had compassion for a black man during slavery days and provided food or other needs.  Justice occurred when slavery was abolished.

Again, Father, I pray that you will open my eyes to see the injustice in the world, and then vote, pray, do what I can to see that justice prevails. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

DAILY DEVOTION, January 7, 2022

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8, NRSV).

Justice is a much larger and more complicated concept than kindness. Kindness is an individual act. I see a person in need, and, like the Good Samaritan, I try to help. That is kindness. Justice, on the other hand, is the passion that followers of Jesus have for doing what we can to improve wider society – – – especially that they have the opportunity to hear the Gospel and find salvation through Jesus.

There is a difference between acts of kindness and doing justice. Kindness is providing counseling for a woman depressed after having an abortion. Justice is working to change the law so that unborn children have the right to life. Kindness is giving fish to a hungry man. Justice is teaching him how to fish so he can care for himself.  Unfortunately, I fear that often in the church, we are content to be kind. Kindness is great. It is the first step in following Jesus, but it is only the beginning of that journey. It is the bare minimum. We are to love kindness, but we are also to do justice.

Gracious God, help me to see where I can promote justice. Yes, I want to do individual acts of kindness, but I also want to promote justice in the wider society. I am only one person, but if I can promote justice in my world,  guide me, for Jesus’ sake, Amen. 

DAILY DEVOTION, January 6, 2022

Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

OK, I believe in Jesus. What’s next? Micah gives us a good answer in the above text. Let’s think about kindness. Kindness is among the most basic requirements for the believer. Sometimes our acts of kindness meet with only cold ingratitude from the recipients of those acts. That’s all right. We seek to obey Jesus.  How others respond to us is on them. Whether we are talking about how we treat one another in church, or how we treat the waitress who gets our order wrong, or the clerk at Walmart who was rude, or the foreigner we can barely understand who is trying to help us with our computer problem, kindness is the first business of a follower of Jesus. Paul expresses this truth very clearly. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you (Eph. 4:32). God has been kind to us, undeserving though we are. We are to treat everyone with kindness.

If you were given a dollar for every kind word or deed you said or did and then had to give back a dollar for every unkind word or deed, would you be rich or poor? Think about it.   Are you a kind-hearted person? God requires it of you.

Father, help me to receive Your Word about kindness. Help me to put it into practice. I hope when I leave this earth, I will be remembered as a kind person. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.