Daily Devotional

-January 4, 2021-

Good morning, happy Monday,

-God’s Requirements Of Us-

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

(Micah 6:8).

There are requirements in life we must meet, such as getting into college, getting a job, driving an automobile, or in other things. If you do not meet the requirements it can greatly impact you. So it is with God’s requirements. Here in our text in Micah 6:8, there are three requirements: to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. In the NT we see the most important requirements: repent, confess our sins, and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. If we do not meet those requirements we will not enter heaven.

• To do justly – Justice is very important, especially in the way we treat others with fairness, honesty, integrity, and righteousness. As believers we should have no impartiality or prejudice toward others. We are equal before God and under God. In 2 Thessalonians 2:10, Paul wrote of his example, “You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe.”

• To love mercy – To live mercy and to shown it to others is a sign of how God has shown mercy to us. In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees were the spiritual leaders and strictly followed the law but had no mercy on others. They were proud and exalted themselves above others, calling them sinners. Jesus told them in Matthew 12:7, “If you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.’” This is also mentioned in in Hosea 6:6 and Matthew 9:13. It is easy to judge others but way more difficult to show mercy.

• To walk humbly with your God – To walk humbly with God is to depend on Him, give Him all the glory, and do His will without complaining. We are all attracted to humble people who deflect praise to God and others. James wrote, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10). Jesus taught this principle: if we humble ourselves, God will exalt us, but if we exalt ourselves, God will humble us.

May the Lord help us to meet these three simple, yet challenging requirements: to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. When we do, God will be honored and others will be blessed. God’s requirements are always good. If we fall short, we will be blamed and there will be negative consequences in our lives.

Have a blessed day in fulfilling God’s requirements. Stay safe and healthy.

Dean