Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

“We humans keep looking for a religion that will give us acc es to God without having to bother with people.  We want to go to God for comfort and inspiration when we’re fed up with the men and women and children around us.  We want God to give us an edge in the dog-eat-dog competition of daily life.

This willful determination to get ourselves a religion that gives us an inside track with God but leaves us free to deal with people however we like is age-old.  It is the sort of religion that has been promoted and marketed with both zeal and skill throughout human history.  Business is always booming.

It is also the sort of religion that the biblical prophets are determined to root out.  They are dead set against it.  (And we should be, too!)

Because the root of the solid spiritual life is embedded in a relationship between people and God, it is easy to develop the misunderstanding that my spiritual life is something personal between God and me—a private thing to be nurtured by prayers and singing, spiritual readings that comfort and inspire, and worship with like-minded friends.  If we think this way for very long, we will assume that the way we treat the people we don’t like or who don’t like us has nothing to do with God. 

That’s when the prophets step in and interrupt us, insisting, ‘Everything you do or think or feel has to do with God.  Every person you meet has to do with God.’  We live in a vast world of interconnectedness, and the connections have consequences, either in things or in people—and all the consequences come together in God.  The biblical phrase for the coming together of the consequences is Judgement Day.

We can’t be reminded too often or too forcefully of this reckoning.  Zephaniah’s voice in the choir of prophets sustains the intensity, the urgency.” –Eugene Peterson, Introduction to Zephaniah, The Message.

It’s all about God.  Our money can’t buy God or His love.  Our accumulated things do not give pleasure to God.  Our offerings given of obligation without obedience breaks the heart of God.  We cannot buy our way to God or buy our way out of what God will do when God does what He says He will do.  We might spend all we have on a religion that inspires us but what we have at the end of time is only a religion without a relationship with God. 

It’s all about God.  Real Life is our connection to God and to other people He has created and then back to God.  Full circle.  Eternal life is God through Jesus His Son.

The prophet Zephaniah stands to speak God’s message with nothing held back…

Zephaniah 1, The Message

No Longer Giving God a Thought or a Prayer

1 God’s Message to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. It came during the reign of Josiah son of Amon, who was king of Judah:

² “I’m going to make a clean sweep of the earth,
    a thorough housecleaning.” God’s Decree.

³ “Men and women and animals,
    including birds and fish—
Anything and everything that causes sin—will go,
    but especially people.

* * *

^4-6 “I’ll start with Judah
    and everybody who lives in Jerusalem.
I’ll sweep the place clean of every trace
    of the sex-and-religion Baal shrines and their priests.
I’ll get rid of the people who sneak up to their rooftops at night
    to worship the star gods and goddesses;
Also those who continue to worship God
    but cover their bases by worshiping other king-gods as well;
Not to mention those who’ve dumped God altogether,
    no longer giving him a thought or offering a prayer.

* * *

^7-13 “Quiet now!
    Reverent silence before me, God, the Master!
Time’s up. My Judgment Day is near:
    The Holy Day is all set, the invited guests made holy.
On the Holy Day, God’s Judgment Day,
    I will punish the leaders and the royal sons;
I will punish those who dress up like foreign priests and priestesses,
    Who introduce pagan prayers and practices;
And I’ll punish all who import pagan superstitions
    that turn holy places into hellholes.
Judgment Day!” God’s Decree!
    “Cries of panic from the city’s Fish Gate,
Cries of terror from the city’s Second Quarter,
    sounds of great crashing from the hills!
Wail, you shopkeepers on Market Street!
    Moneymaking has had its day. The god Money is dead.
On Judgment Day,
    I’ll search through every closet and alley in Jerusalem.
I’ll find and punish those who are sitting it out, fat and lazy,
    amusing themselves and taking it easy,
Who think, ‘God doesn’t do anything, good or bad.
    He isn’t involved, so neither are we.’
But just wait. They’ll lose everything they have,
    money and house and land.
They’ll build a house and never move in.
    They’ll plant vineyards and never taste the wine.

A Day of Darkness at Noon

^14-18 “The Great Judgment Day of God is almost here.
    It’s countdown time: . . . seven, six, five, four . . . 
Bitter and noisy cries on my Judgment Day,
    even strong men screaming for help.
Judgment Day is payday—my anger paid out:
    a day of distress and anguish,
    a day of catastrophic doom,
    a day of darkness at noon,
    a day of black storm clouds,
    a day of bloodcurdling war cries,
    as forts are assaulted,
    as defenses are smashed.
I’ll make things so bad they won’t know what hit them.
    They’ll walk around groping like the blind.
    They’ve sinned against God!
Their blood will be poured out like old dishwater,
    their guts shoveled into slop buckets.
Don’t plan on buying your way out.
    Your money is worthless for this.
This is the Day of God’s Judgment—my wrath!
    I care about sin with fiery passion—
A fire to burn up the corrupted world,
    a wildfire finish to the corrupting people.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Love God back with all our hearts, minds, and souls.

All that He created us to be is involved in our growing relationship with God.

Money can’t buy it.  Realize the depth of love God has for us that is relentless, unshakable, unchanging, and unconditional.  Then love others like He loves us.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Micah told us simply what is required by God for living our daily lives, “to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God”.  (Micah 6:8 NLT)  Why?  Because God loves us with grace and mercy.  He give us more than we deserve every single day—all because of Jesus.  We can’t buy or work for it.  To walk humbly with God is to be so close that we hear what God says with a readiness to obey the One we love back. 

God gives because God so loves…He gives us the abilities to love generously.

Lord,

Continue to teach us through your prophets who stood up to tell a empire-seeking, money-hungry, power-grabbing world that what you want most is a relationship with your created that is displayed in our connection from you to each other.  Oh Lord, how we mess daily in our mission to love when our arrogant, judgy selves steps up to the front, leaving you behind.  Forgive us.  Keep me focused on You and your love.  Then help me see others around me through your eyes of love and love like you love me.  Unconditionally.  

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever,
I will sing, I will sing,
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever,
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.

With my mouth will I make known
Thy faithfulness, Thy faithfulness,
With my mouth will I make known
Thy faithfulness to all generations,

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever,
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.

This hymn came to mind even before I read the passage today!  I love how the Lord leads us in thought and in deed—when we allow Him.  That’s why I pray before reading His Word.  I ask for our Helper, the Holy Spirit, to come and lead me while I work to be still in my own thoughts so I can submit to His teaching.  I want to grow in His love while acquiring His character traits.  I am learning, though, we must be still, know God and let go of what we think we want for what God knows we need.  Right here, right now in the middle of a current challenging, troubling time for me in this world, God shows His mercy and leads me to what is right on the next step on the path with Him.  Jesus has already saved me from my sins. The Holy Spirit now fills me with peace and joy, the gifts of God, along with the skills for living (wisdom) in this world.  Why?  Because I asked God for it.  Apart from Him; I cannot.

Jesus said, “in this world, you will have trouble.”  But remember that in our troubles, Emmanuel—”God with us” stands ready to defend, protect us, and provide what we need to get through it.  Jesus finishes that line of thinking with, “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:33) God uses the troubles and our responses to them as lessons to build our resolve to rely on Him.  Looking for peace IN the middle of trouble?  Trust the Overcomer, Jesus Christ our Savior, and Lord!  He promises His eternal peace along with lasting joy that supersedes anything the world promises but cannot deliver.

Habakkuk worships God with singing of his mercies even though war to reclaim The Chosen is or will be in full swing. He writes that even though life is not rosy, I will sing of the mercies of God knowing HE is still in control.  I love how The Message Bible states Habakkuk’s joy in singing praises to God;

I’m singing joyful praise to God.
    I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God’s Rule to prevail,
    I take heart and gain strength.

Let us join Habakkuk’s song and sing of the mercies of the Lord—forever and ever, Amen!  Praise and worship of God fills our hearts and strengthens our resolve.

I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever,
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.

God Racing on the Crest of the Waves

^1-2 A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, with orchestra:

God, I’ve heard what our ancestors say about you,
    and I’m stopped in my tracks, down on my knees.
Do among us what you did among them.
    Work among us as you worked among them.
And as you bring judgment, as you surely must,
    remember mercy.

* * *

^3-7 God’s on his way again,
    retracing the old salvation route,
Coming up from the south through Teman,
    the Holy One from Mount Paran.
Skies are blazing with his splendor,
    his praises sounding through the earth,
His cloud-brightness like dawn, exploding, spreading,
    forked-lightning shooting from his hand—
    what power hidden in that fist!
Plague marches before him,
    pestilence at his heels!
He stops. He shakes Earth.
    He looks around. Nations tremble.
The age-old mountains fall to pieces;
    ancient hills collapse like a spent balloon.
The paths God takes are older
    than the oldest mountains and hills.
I saw everyone worried, in a panic:
    Old wilderness adversaries,
Cushan and Midian, were terrified,
    hoping he wouldn’t notice them.

* * *

^8-16 God, is it River you’re mad at?
    Angry at old River?
Were you raging at Sea when you rode
    horse and chariot through to salvation?
You unfurled your bow
    and let loose a volley of arrows.
    You split Earth with rivers.
Mountains saw what was coming.
    They twisted in pain.
Flood Waters poured in.
    Ocean roared and reared huge waves.
Sun and Moon stopped in their tracks.
    Your flashing arrows stopped them,
    your lightning-strike spears impaled them.
Angry, you stomped through Earth.
    Furious, you crushed the godless nations.
You were out to save your people,
    to save your specially chosen people.
You beat the stuffing
    out of King Wicked,
Stripped him naked
    from head to toe,
Set his severed head on his own spear
    and blew away his army.
Scattered they were to the four winds—
    and ended up food for the sharks!
You galloped through the Sea on your horses,
    racing on the crest of the waves.
When I heard it, my stomach did flips.
    I stammered and stuttered.
My bones turned to water.
    I staggered and stumbled.
I sit back and wait for Doomsday
    to descend on our attackers.

* * *

^17-19 Though the cherry trees don’t blossom
    and the strawberries don’t ripen,
Though the apples are worm-eaten
    and the wheat fields stunted,
Though the sheep pens are sheepless
    and the cattle barns empty,
I’m singing joyful praise to God.
    I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God.
Counting on God’s Rule to prevail,
    I take heart and gain strength.
I run like a deer.
    I feel like I’m king of the mountain!

(For congregational use, with a full orchestra.)

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Worship God.

Sing of the mercies of the Lord forever!  Strength, joy, peace, wisdom, insight and understanding flow from God to our hearts, minds and souls as we worship God with all that is in us. 

And add a full orchestra for extra measure!  Habakkuk did!

Lord,

I will worship you all day long!  You are God, we are not.  We need you to come and lead us.  Be in every detail of our lives.  Show us what you know is best for us.  May Your Kingdom come, Your will be done. Thank you for our daily manna today!

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

Who do you think you are?  Have you been asked this question from another human while trying to exercise your skills in a new place at completing an assigned task?  When the questioner sees your paperwork and credentials and realizes you have been sent to do the very thing you are doing, then comprehension, understanding and less first impression judgement takes place.   We go on about the work assigned knowing who we are and what we are supposed to do. It’s all good.

What happens when we ask God the same question?  Who are you, Lord?  What happens when God responds to that question by turning the tables and asks us who do we think we are?  We don’t like that, do we?  Whether we ask or not, God will step into our world that we think we control to ask who we think we are, so we can finally realize who we are not. 

Do we know who we are?  Do we really know what we are doing?  The only thing we can know for sure is we are NOT God.  Only God is God.

Yesterday, Habakkuk pummeled questions at God about their current situation of living in a land of sin.  Humans far from God also questioned God about their circumstances.  They lived in a world where the rich got richer by exploiting the poor.  Peace was non-existent.  No one could be trusted.  Soul empty, self-important people had turned to lifestyles that hurt, maimed, abused, tortured, manipulated, and murdered each other.  Amid these circumstances, God’s people question God.  In this chapter, God begins his response with;

“Who do you think YOU are?”

Habakkuk 2, The Message

What’s God going to say to my questions? I’m braced for the worst.
    I’ll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon.
I’ll wait to see what God says,
    how he’ll answer my complaint.

Full of Self, but Soul-Empty

^2-3 And then God answered: “Write this.
    Write what you see.
Write it out in big block letters
    so that it can be read on the run.
This vision-message is a witness
    pointing to what’s coming.
It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait!
    And it doesn’t lie.
If it seems slow in coming, wait.
    It’s on its way. It will come right on time.

* * *

⁴ “Look at that man, bloated by self-importance—
    full of himself but soul-empty.
But the person in right standing before God
    through loyal and steady believing
    is fully alive, really alive.

^5-6 “Note well: Money deceives.
    The arrogant rich don’t last.
They are more hungry for wealth
    than the grave is for cadavers.
Like death, they always want more,
    but the ‘more’ they get is dead bodies.
They are cemeteries filled with dead nations,
    graveyards filled with corpses.
Don’t give people like this a second thought.
    Soon the whole world will be taunting them:

^6-8 “‘Who do you think you are—
    getting rich by stealing and extortion?
How long do you think
    you can get away with this?’
Indeed, how long before your victims wake up,
    stand up and make you the victim?
You’ve plundered nation after nation.
    Now you’ll get a taste of your own medicine.
All the survivors are out to plunder you,
    a payback for all your murders and massacres.

^9-11 “Who do you think you are—
    recklessly grabbing and looting,
Living it up, acting like king of the mountain,
    acting above it all, above trials and troubles?
You’ve engineered the ruin of your own house.
    In ruining others you’ve ruined yourself.
You’ve undermined your foundations,
    rotted out your own soul.
The bricks of your house will speak up and accuse you.
    The woodwork will step forward with evidence.

^12-14 “Who do you think you are—
    building a town by murder, a city with crime?
Don’t you know that God-of-the-Angel-Armies
    makes sure nothing comes of that but ashes,
Makes sure the harder you work
    at that kind of thing, the less you are?
Meanwhile the earth fills up
    with awareness of God’s glory
    as the waters cover the sea.

^15-17 “Who do you think you are—
    inviting your neighbors to your drunken parties,
Giving them too much to drink,
    roping them into your sexual orgies?
You thought you were having the time of your life.
    Wrong! It’s a time of disgrace.
All the time you were drinking,
    you were drinking from the cup of God’s wrath.
You’ll wake up holding your throbbing head, hung over—
    hung over from Lebanon violence,
Hung over from animal massacres,
    hung over from murder and mayhem,
From multiple violations
    of place and people.

^18-19 “What’s the use of a carved god
    so skillfully carved by its sculptor?
What good is a fancy cast god
    when all it tells is lies?
What sense does it make to be a pious god-maker
    who makes gods that can’t even talk?
Who do you think you are—
    saying to a stick of wood, ‘Wake up,’
Or to a dumb stone, ‘Get up’?
    Can they teach you anything about anything?
There’s nothing to them but surface.
    There’s nothing on the inside.

²⁰ “But oh! God is in his holy Temple!
    Quiet everyone—a holy silence. Listen!”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God is God.  We are not.

God wants us to really listen to Him.  When Jesus, God Son, was transfigured on the mountain in the astonished view of Peter, James and John,  a voice from heaven spoke—“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

When the wedding feast ran low of wine, Jesus performed his first miracle of turning water to wine at his mother’s request.  His mother, knowing who He was and trusted Him, told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”  The servants obeyed and the miracle was complete.

In Exodus 5:2, Pharoah asks, “Who is the Lord that I should listen to Him?”  The rest of the verse in NIV states, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” We all know how that went.  So listening is an important, life-altering, life dependent habit to have!  Pharoah didn’t know the Lord, had no relationship with Him, so he didn’t obey.  So, it seems really knowing God has a lot to do with listening to God.

Jesus clarifies this truth for us.  People who say they know Him but do not really believe in what He says and have no intention of doing what he says are not really listening to God either.  Jesus, while on earth, points out the difference in true and false disciples so there is no misunderstanding:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and, in your name, perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”  Matthew 7:21-23, NIV

We can do good works but if God is not in it and we do it for self and not in His will for His Glory, our works are done in vain.  Listen to Him!

Habakkuk’s last words of this chapter strike a chord in me this morning. 

“But oh! God is in his holy Temple!  Quiet everyone—a holy silence. Listen!”

Take time right now to be quiet, be still, and let go of who we think we are.  Let us surround ourselves with a holy silence so we can really hear God’s Spirit speak words of wisdom to our hearts for this day. May His words transform our thinking and fill our empty souls with all of who He is and wants to be in us.

Listen!

Lord,

I think of young Samuel who woke up from sleep to say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” taught to him by his elder.  Cleanse my heart, renew my mind, refresh my soul, while restoring the joy of your salvation in me.  Thank you for the lesson in listening.  I’m yours.  And I’m listening.  Lead me.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

We all want what is fair—in our thinking.  We demand justice for everyone’s actions but ourselves.  We want answers for our troubles brought on by the world around us.  We want help to avoid troubles brought on by ourselves.  How long, Oh Lord? is the question we often ask when seeking justice that way we want to see it accomplished.

“Here’s a challenge. Find one sincere seeker whom God ignored. Search the Bible for one honest person spurned by heaven. Go ahead. Flip the pages. Examine the Scriptures. Read the stories. Where in the Bible did God turn away the genuine heart? Where in history did God spurn the authentic soul?  Thomas came with doubts. Did Christ turn him away? Moses had his reservations. Did God tell him to go home? Job had his struggles. Did God avoid him? Paul had his hard times. Did God abandon him? And Habakkuk had his questions. Tough questions. Get-down-and-get-honest type of questions.” –Max Lucado, Encouraging Word Bible, Introduction to Habakkuk

Did God tell him to talk to someone else?

No. God never turns away the sincere heart. Tough questions don’t stump God. He invites our probing. And that is what Habakkuk did. He probed. As well as speaking for God, he spoke to God. He dared to ask his own troubling questions.

Habakkuk 1, The Message

Justice Is a Joke

^1-4 The problem as God gave Habakkuk to see it:

God, how long do I have to cry out for help
    before you listen?
How many times do I have to yell, “Help! Murder! Police!”
    before you come to the rescue?
Why do you force me to look at evil,
    stare trouble in the face day after day?
Anarchy and violence break out,
    quarrels and fights all over the place.
Law and order fall to pieces.
    Justice is a joke.
The wicked have the righteous hamstrung
    and stand justice on its head.

God Says, “Look!”

^5-11 “Look around at the godless nations.
    Look long and hard. Brace yourself for a shock.
Something’s about to take place
    and you’re going to find it hard to believe.
I’m about to raise up Babylonians to punish you,
    Babylonians, fierce and ferocious—
World-conquering Babylon,
    grabbing up nations right and left,
A dreadful and terrible people,
    making up its own rules as it goes.
Their horses run like the wind,
    attack like bloodthirsty wolves.
A stampede of galloping horses
    thunders out of nowhere.
They descend like vultures
    circling in on carrion.
They’re out to kill. Death is on their minds.
    They collect victims like squirrels gathering nuts.
They mock kings,
    poke fun at generals,
Spit on forts,
    and leave them in the dust.
They’ll all be blown away by the wind.
    Brazen in sin, they call strength their god.”

Why Is God Silent Now?

^12-13 God, you’re from eternity, aren’t you?
    Holy God, we aren’t going to die, are we?
God, you chose Babylonians for your judgment work?
    Rock-Solid God, you gave them the job of discipline?
But you can’t be serious!
    You can’t condone evil!
So why don’t you do something about this?
    Why are you silent now?
This outrage! Evil men swallow up the righteous
    and you stand around and watch!

* * *

^14-16 You’re treating men and women
    as so many fish in the ocean,
Swimming without direction,
    swimming but not getting anywhere.
Then this evil Babylonian arrives and goes fishing.
    He pulls in a good catch.
He catches his limit and fills his bucket—
    a good day of fishing! He’s happy!
He praises his rod and reel,
    piles his fishing gear on an altar and worships it!
It’s made his day,
    and he’s going to eat well tonight!

* * *

¹⁷ Are you going to let this go on and on?
    Will you let this Babylonian fisherman
Fish like a weekend angler,
    killing people as if they’re nothing but fish?

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

ASK; THEN LISTEN AND LEARN. 

God will answer a sincere heart who seriously desires His response to us that is right and true.  When we desire wisdom from God by asking for His insight and understanding more than seeking His affirmation for what we think is justice; only then will justice take place.  God will answer.  God is faithful.  God knows our hearts and minds. God wants us to learn that what He says is best for us.  God welcomes our questions for it is in questioning that we learn, grow and mature in His love as our minds are transformed to match more closely to how God thinks.

God never turns away the honest seeker. Go to God with your questions. You may not find all the answers, but in finding God, you know the One who does.

Lord,

I know we will never know all the answers in this life, but to know you personally is enough.  You are all I need in this world as I learn and grow, preparing for eternity with you.  Thank you for allowing us to question as part of the process of learning.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

No one can escape falling for lies.  Lies affect everyone.  False claims of a better life seduce people into thinking their lives now are not good right now.  Lies of grander lives cause people to think their lives are less than what they should be living.  Lies cause people to want less of God and more of human consumption of man-made things that give only seconds to no pleasure and wear out as soon as they roll off the “showroom” floor.  Our enemy knows this weakness in humans, for we were born into sin, so he goes for the jugular every time.  His tricks, lies of deception with “bait and switch” are not new but they work so over the centuries, since Adam and Eve, he continues to use these same methods.  Our enemy—The Father of Lies. 

Nahum, the prophet speaking for God, calls out the Liar and exposes the truth of the sins of the people as a result.

Nahum 3, The Message

Let the Nations Get Their Fill of the Ugly Truth

^1-4 Doom to Murder City—
    full of lies, bursting with loot, addicted to violence!
Horns blaring, wheels clattering,
    horses rearing, chariots lurching,
Horsemen galloping,
    brandishing swords and spears,
Dead bodies rotting in the street,
    corpses stacked like cordwood,
Bodies in every gutter and alley,
    clogging every intersection!
And whores! Whores without end!
    Whore City,
Fatally seductive, you’re the Witch of Seduction,
    luring nations to their ruin with your evil spells.

* * *

^5-7 “I’m your enemy, Whore Nineveh—
    I, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
I’ll strip you of your seductive silk robes
    and expose you on the world stage.
I’ll let the nations get their fill of the ugly truth
    of who you really are and have been all along.
I’ll pelt you with dog dung
    and place you on a pedestal: ‘Slut on Exhibit.’
Everyone who sees you will gag and say,
    ‘Nineveh’s a pigsty:
What on earth did we ever see in her?
    Who would give her a second look? Ugh!’”

Past the Point of No Return

^8-13 Do you think you’re superior to Egyptian Thebes,
    proudly invincible on the River Nile,
Protected by the great River,
    walled in by the River, secure?
Ethiopia stood guard to the south,
    Egypt to the north.
Put and Libya, strong friends,
    were ready to step in and help.
But you know what happened to her:
    The whole city was marched off to a refugee camp,
Her babies smashed to death
    in public view on the streets,
Her prize leaders auctioned off,
    her celebrities put in chain gangs.
Expect the same treatment, Nineveh.
    You’ll soon be staggering like a bunch of drunks,
Wondering what hit you,
    looking for a place to sleep it off.
All your forts are like peach trees,
    the lush peaches ripe, ready for the picking.
One shake of the tree and they fall
    straight into hungry mouths.
Face it: Your warriors are wimps.
    You’re sitting ducks.
Your borders are gaping doors, inviting
    your enemies in. And who’s to stop them?

* * *

^14-15 Store up water for the siege.
    Shore up your defenses.
Get down to basics: Work the clay
    and make bricks.
Sorry. Too late.
    Enemy fire will burn you up.
Swords will cut you to pieces.
    You’ll be chewed up as if by locusts.

* * *

^15-17 Yes, as if by locusts—a fitting fate,
    for you yourselves are a locust plague.
You’ve multiplied shops and shopkeepers—
    more buyers and sellers than stars in the sky!
A plague of locusts, cleaning out the neighborhood
    and then flying off.
Your bureaucrats are locusts,
    your brokers and bankers are locusts.
Early on, they’re all at your service,
    full of smiles and promises,
But later when you return with questions or complaints,
    you’ll find they’ve flown off and are nowhere to be found.

^18-19 King of Assyria! Your shepherd-leaders,
    in charge of caring for your people,
Are busy doing everything else but.
    They’re not doing their job,
And your people are scattered and lost.
    There’s no one to look after them.
You’re past the point of no return.
    Your wound is fatal.
When the story of your fate gets out,
    the whole world will applaud and cry “Encore!”
Your cruel evil has seeped
    into every nook and cranny of the world.
    Everyone has felt it and suffered.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Be born again in a new life that is forever by believing in Jesus! Repent of falling for the lies and come to the One who is Truth. Believe Truth and be saved forever from death.  Who do you believe—really believe?  The Father of Lies or Truth?  What we believe will be seen in our behaviors.

Jesus came to earth as Truth to expose the enemy, the “father of lies.” The father of lies had affected all people.  Religion was taught with rules without relationship with God.  The people lived oppressed lives guided by those given temporary power who believed the Liar. Nahum’s words about evil rang true in Jesus’ day as well, “Your cruel evil has seeped into every nook and cranny of the world.  Everyone has felt it and suffered.”

John, the Beloved gospel writer, quotes Jesus;

“If God were your father,” said Jesus, you would love me, for I came from God and arrived here. I didn’t come on my own. He sent me. Why can’t you understand one word I say? Here’s why: You can’t handle it. You’re from your father, the Devil, and all you want to do is please him. He was a killer from the very start. He couldn’t stand the truth because there wasn’t a shred of truth in him. When the Liar speaks, he makes it up out of his lying nature and fills the world with lies. I arrive on the scene, tell you the plain truth, and you refuse to have a thing to do with me. Can any one of you convict me of a single misleading word, a single sinful act? But if I’m telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone on God’s side listens to God’s words. This is why you’re not listening—because you’re not on God’s side.”  John 8:44, MSG

Jesus said, “I am the Way, Truth, and Life”.  Jesus is the Way to the Father, God who gives Life everlasting.” (John 14:6) Jesus wasn’t just telling the truth—Jesus was the Truth and always will be Truth as the person of Jesus.  Our Savior who wants to be our Lord who helps us avoid falling for The Liar. 

God does not lie.  It is not in His character; therefore God detests liars and will not come near to those who lie.

Same verse, John 8:44, in the New Living Translations states clearly, “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

We respond by choosing who we will believe.  Truth or the father of lies.  Choose wisely.  Our very lives depend on our decision.  It is a matter of life or death!

Lord,

I choose You for there is no one else like you. You love us now and forever.  You want the best for us.  You are Truth.  Your Word of Truth is unchanging, unshakable and withstands the test of time.  Why believe anyone else but You?  You are Truth.  I believe.  Thank You for helping us when the lies weaken our resolve.  Be our wisdom, strength, insight and understand so we can tell the difference between truth and lies.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Can you imagine a place of peace with no more war or threat of war between those who want it all and take it and those who are easy prey?  Heaven is that place.  All battles will cease when Jesus comes to end the war with our real enemy and claims His own for an eternity of peace.  No more suffering and pain, no more crying, no more tears, no more death.  We are promised this “no more” by Jesus who revealed it to John, His beloved, in a revelation.  John writes:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”  Revelation 21:1-4, NLT

God is in control of the war between good and evil.  God wins every time.

Nahum 2, The Message

Israel’s Been to Hell and Back

The juggernaut’s coming!
    Post guards, lay in supplies.
Get yourselves together,
    get ready for the big battle.

* * *

² God has restored the Pride of Jacob,
    the Pride of Israel.
Israel’s lived through hard times.
    He’s been to hell and back.

^3-12 Weapons flash in the sun,
    the soldiers splendid in battle dress,
Chariots burnished and glistening,
    ready to charge,
A spiked forest of brandished spears,
    lethal on the horizon.
The chariots pour into the streets.
    They fill the public squares,
Flaming like torches in the sun,
    like lightning darting and flashing.

The Assyrian king rallies his men,
    but they stagger and stumble.
They run to the ramparts
    to stem the tide, but it’s too late.
Soldiers pour through the gates.
    The palace is demolished.
Soon it’s all over:
    Nineveh stripped, Nineveh doomed,
Maids and slaves moaning like doves,
    beating their breasts.
Nineveh is a tub
    from which they’ve pulled the plug.
Cries go up, “Do something! Do something!”
    but it’s too late. Nineveh’s soon empty—nothing.
Other cries come: “Plunder the silver!
    Plunder the gold!
A bonanza of plunder!
    Take everything you want!”

Doom! Damnation! Desolation!
    Hearts sink,
    knees fold,
    stomachs retch,
    faces blanch.
So, what happened to the famous
    and fierce Assyrian lion
And all those cute Assyrian cubs?
    To the lion and lioness
Cozy with their cubs,
    fierce and fearless?
To the lion who always returned from the hunt
    with fresh kills for lioness and cubs,
The lion lair heaped with bloody meat,
    blood and bones for the royal lion feast?

* * *

¹³ “Assyria, I’m your enemy,”
    says God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
“I’ll torch your chariots. They’ll go up in smoke.
    ‘Lion Country’ will be strewn with carcasses.
The war business is over—you’re out of work:
    You’ll have no more wars to report,
No more victories to announce.
    You’re out of war work forever.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God wins because His Son won. Victory is ours for believing.  God’s way of saving us brought us victory of sin and death!  Believe and be saved forever!

Jesus defeated the enemy as he fulfilled his mission to pay for the sins of the world on the cross, died, and rose again to give us hope of resurrection with Him who believe and follow Him.  Jesus is coming back for us.  We have already won.  Isn’t it great to know the victory is ours who believe that Jesus went to hell and back for each one of us? 

Yes, the war has been won, the undisputed Victor is ours who believe.  But, until Jesus comes, we fight daily skirmishes and battles with the enemy who still wants to distract us from God and claim us as his own while leading us to certain death.  Be prepared.  Know God, Know the enemy.  Know yourself and what you believe so you are not surprised by the enemy’s attacks.

Find freedom and overwhelming help when you let Jesus lead the battle for your heart! Scripture makes it clear that Satan will do anything to tempt you into poor decisions and self-defeating mindsets—including anxiety, rage, lust, and despair. The enemy is driven by the same!  The Prince of Darkness is also driven by envy, anger, jealousy and pride against God!  So, Satan wants us to fail, fall, and run from God.  But if we stay firm in our faith, nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love God has for us.

The apostle Paul clarifies for us:

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”         Romans 8:31-38 NLT

But we need help. Help from the inside out. We need the kind of help Jesus promised. “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:16–17).  God’s Holy Spirit resides in all who believe.  His work is to guide us through all the daily battles of this life on earth.  He comforts, challenges, encourages, warns us and guides us. The Holy Spirit is God in us.  God is not just near us, above us or around us. God is IN us. He dwells in the part of us we don’t even know, in the heart that no one else has seen. In the hidden recesses of our being, God dwells, not an angel, not a philosophy, not a genie, but God.

Imagine that. 

Pause to thank God.  Meditate on this thought all day long.  This is true communion with God!

Lord,

Thank you for winning the war forever. Thank you for helping me fight daily battles with the real enemy who thinks he still has a chance to win my soul.  Thank you for encouraging me when I am beginning to fall.  Thank you for saving my soul and making me whole all because of your relentless, unchanging, unconditional love for me.  Help me to tell others always of your saving grace and the beauty of you in us.  Thank you for peace.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen

“All the world’s a stage,” writes Shakespeare.  The stage of history is large.  Arrogant people appear on this stage from time to time, swaggering about, brandishing weapons and money, terrorizing and bullying.  At any given moment a few superpower nations and their rulers dominate the daily news.  Every century a few of these names are left carved on its park benches, marking rather futile attempts at immortality.

Eugene Peterson writes, “The danger is that the noise of these pretenders to power will distract us from what is going on quietly at the center of the stage in the person and action of God.  God’s characteristic way of working is in quietness ad through prayer.  If we are conditioned to respond to noise and size, we will miss God’s word and action.”

God’s prophets are those who stand up above the noise of the world to pay attention to Him, then warn others around them to do the same.  Nahum is one of those called by God to draw people back to who God is and what HE is doing center stage—the main action—at the very heart of the life! 

Nahum’s assignment was to the capital of Assyria, Nineveh.  At that time Assyria dominated which paralyzed God’s people.  Nahum urged people to believe and pray to a sovereign God.  His preaching, his Spirit-born metaphors, his God-shaped words, knocked Assyria off her high horse and cleared the field of Nineveh-distractions so that Israel could see that despite her world reputations, Assyria didn’t amount to much.  Israel could now attend to what was really going on.

“Because Nahum has a single message—doom to Nineveh—it is easy to misunderstand the prophet as simply a Nineveh-hater.  But Nahum writes and preaches out of the large context in which Israel’s sins are denounced as vigorously as those of any of her enemies.  The effect of Nahum is not to form religious hate against the enemy but to say, ‘Don’t admire or be intimidated by this enemy.  They are going to be judged by the very same standards applied to us.’” –Peterson

Nahum 1, The Message

God Is Serious Business

A report on the problem of Nineveh, the way God gave Nahum of Elkosh to see it:

^2-6 God is serious business.
    He won’t be trifled with.
He avenges his foes.
    He stands up against his enemies, fierce and raging.
But God doesn’t lose his temper.
    He’s powerful, but it’s a patient power.
Still, no one gets by with anything.
    Sooner or later, everyone pays.

Tornadoes and hurricanes
    are the wake of his passage,
Storm clouds are the dust
    he shakes off his feet.
He yells at the sea: It dries up.
    All the rivers run dry.
The Bashan and Carmel mountains shrivel,
    the Lebanon orchards shrivel.
Mountains quake in their roots,
    hills dissolve into mud flats.
Earth shakes in fear of God.
    The whole world’s in a panic.
Who can face such towering anger?
    Who can stand up to this fierce rage?
His anger spills out like a river of lava,
    his fury shatters boulders.

^7-10 God is good,
    a hiding place in tough times.
He recognizes and welcomes
    anyone looking for help,
No matter how desperate the trouble.
    But cozy islands of escape
He wipes right off the map.
    No one gets away from God.
Why waste time conniving against God?
    He’s putting an end to all such scheming.
For troublemakers, no second chances.
    Like a pile of dry brush,
Soaked in oil,
    they’ll go up in flames.

A Think Tank for Lies

¹¹ Nineveh’s an anthill
    of evil plots against God,
A think tank for lies
    that seduce and betray.

^12-13 And God has something to say about all this:
    “Even though you’re on top of the world,
With all the applause and all the votes,
    you’ll be mowed down flat.

“I’ve afflicted you, Judah, true,
    but I won’t afflict you again.
From now on I’m taking the yoke from your neck
    and splitting it up for kindling.
I’m cutting you free
    from the ropes of your bondage.”

* * *

¹⁴ God’s orders on Nineveh:

“You’re the end of the line.
    It’s all over with Nineveh.
I’m gutting your temple.
    Your gods and goddesses go in the trash.
I’m digging your grave. It’s an unmarked grave.
    You’re nothing—no, you’re less than nothing!”

¹⁵ Look! Striding across the mountains—
    a messenger bringing the latest good news: peace!
A holiday, Judah! Celebrate!
    Worship and recommit to God!
No more worries about this enemy.
    This one is history. Close the books.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God is.  God was, is and always will be God.  Don’t mess with God.  Believe God.  God will correct what is bad with all that is good for God is Good.  In fact, God is the definition of Good.  God is also love and because of that love, He is Savior.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) 

God created all, is in all, is over all and loves all that He created.  He loves us and wants His very best for us.  He wants us to believe seriously and honestly what He says is really real.  Only then can we begin our intimate, growing relationship with Him.  There is no one like our God!

There will always be the enemy who is against God and wants to be God.  He is easy to spot when we pay attention.  Our enemy is not flesh and blood (each other) but the Prince of all that is dark.  He does his best work under the cover of darkness appealing to our pride.  Be just as aware of what is pulling us away from God as what is pulling us to God.  Our prayer life, our “never ceasing” communion through communication with God, is our best defense.  What the enemy hates most are true believers in God, on their knees, praying in Jesus Name.  When we do this, the enemy flees from us.  So—do exactly that!  Run from the enemy to God!

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  Ephesians 6:12

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  James 4:7 NIV In another translation, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7, NLT

The devil appeals to our pride—God is drawn to our humility.

Lord,

I am so glad You are who you say You are.  I am grateful for your promise to always be with us.  I pray for focused attention on all that is You.  I thank you for Your Holy Spirit living in me to do your work of changing and transforming me to be all you created me to be—yours.  Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me whole.  Lead us not into temptations, but deliver us from the evil enemy of distraction from you.

In Jesus Name, Amen

You might be right in the middle of trouble caused by missteps in judgement, misleading trust in what is not really true, or relying people who told you lies.  You arrive at truth but to undo what you have done will be monumental and costly to you.  We might be down but not out.  According to Micah, God knows and God is not finished with us yet.  As long as we live and breathe, God is always at work. 

God is for us, not against us—even when we make mistakes.  He will help us live through it, help us clean up the mess we made, learn from it and then help us move forward with new wisdom from Him.  Yes, even though overwhelmed for a moment, God’s mercy, grace, compassion, and love lasts a lifetime and beyond to eternity.  Don’t give up, stick around to see what God will do to help us through temporary inconveniences, troubles, challenging finances, family issues with fractured relationships…anything and everything that happens to us will affect what is happening in us.  What does God require of us while He is working in us?

“But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously—take God seriously.”  Micah 6:8, MSG

Micah 7, The Message

^1-6 I’m overwhelmed with sorrow!
    sunk in a swamp of despair!
I’m like someone who goes to the garden
    to pick cabbages and carrots and corn
And returns empty-handed,
    finds nothing for soup or sandwich or salad.
There’s not a decent person in sight.
    Right-living humans are extinct.
They’re all out for one another’s blood,
    animals preying on each other.
They’ve all become experts in evil.
    Corrupt leaders demand bribes.
The powerful rich
    make sure they get what they want.
The best and brightest are thistles.
    The top of the line is crabgrass.
But no longer: It’s exam time.
    Look at them slinking away in disgrace!
Don’t trust your neighbor,
    don’t confide in your friend.
Watch your words,
    even with your spouse.
Neighborhoods and families are falling to pieces.
    The closer they are—sons, daughters, in-laws—
The worse they can be.
    Your own family is the enemy.

* * *

⁷ But me, I’m not giving up.
    I’m sticking around to see what God will do.
I’m waiting for God to make things right.
    I’m counting on God to listen to me.

Spreading Your Wings

^8-10 Don’t, enemy, crow over me.
    I’m down, but I’m not out.
I’m sitting in the dark right now,
    but God is my light.
I can take God’s punishing rage.
    I deserve it—I sinned.
But it’s not forever. He’s on my side
    and is going to get me out of this.
He’ll turn on the lights and show me his ways.
    I’ll see the whole picture and how right he is.
And my enemy will see it, too,
    and be discredited—yes, disgraced!
This enemy who kept taunting,
    “So where is this God of yours?”
I’m going to see it with these, my own eyes—
    my enemy disgraced, trash in the gutter.

* * *

^11-13 Oh, that will be a day! A day for rebuilding your city,
    a day for stretching your arms, spreading your wings!
All your dispersed and scattered people will come back,
    old friends and family from faraway places,
From Assyria in the east to Egypt in the west,
    from across the seas and out of the mountains.
But there’ll be a reversal for everyone else—massive depopulation—
    because of the way they lived, the things they did.

^14-17 Shepherd, O God, your people with your staff,
    your dear and precious flock.
Uniquely yours in a grove of trees,
    centered in lotus land.
Let them graze in lush Bashan
    as in the old days in green Gilead.
Reproduce the miracle-wonders
    of our exodus from Egypt.
And the godless nations: Put them in their place—
    humiliated in their arrogance, speechless and clueless.
Make them slink like snakes, crawl like cockroaches,
    come out of their holes from under their rocks
And face our God.
    Fill them with holy fear and trembling.

* * *

^18-20 Where is the god who can compare with you—
    wiping the slate clean of guilt,
Turning a blind eye, a deaf ear,
    to the past sins of your purged and precious people?
You don’t nurse your anger and don’t stay angry long,
    for mercy is your specialty. That’s what you love most.
And compassion is on its way to us.
    You’ll stamp out our wrongdoing.
You’ll sink our sins
    to the bottom of the ocean.
You’ll stay true to your word to Father Jacob
    and continue the compassion you showed Grandfather Abraham—
Everything you promised our ancestors
    from a long time ago.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Our God is abundant in love and steadfast in mercy. He saves us, not because we trust in other humans, traditions, religious symbols, or ceremonies, but because we trust in a Savior.

Micah lamented because there were no godly people left in the land. Looking for a godly person was as futile as looking for summer fruit after the harvest was over.  Not only was Micah grieved at the corruption of the officials, but also, he was grieved at the unfaithfulness of the common people of the land. You couldn’t trust anybody! Has our society come to this realization?  It seems that way if you do business with the world.

When truth is no longer the standard for society, then everything starts to fall apart; faithfulness to our word is the cement that holds society together. The situation had deteriorated to the point where neighbor couldn’t trust neighbor and friends couldn’t trust each other. 

Micah reached a turning point when he looked away from the sins of the people and meditated on the faithfulness of the Lord. He would “look” and “wait” and put his trust only in the Lord. This forms a bridge between sin and judgment with Hope.  When it all seems hopeless, we need to stand firm with God, and stick around because Hope is at work.

Micah’s final words tell us that there is no one like our God!  He extols God’s character, particularly His unfailing love. God doesn’t ignore our sins, but in His compassion He “sinks our sins” into the depths of the ocean!  Jesus paid the debt of our sins, now and forever.  Believe and be saved.

Hope faces God’s righteous and inevitable judgment but dares to look beyond it, knowing that God always keeps His promise to love us unfailingly.  Yes, there is no one like our God!  There is no one we can trust with our lives but God. Trust Him.  Do what He says—then stick around to see what He will do. 

Lord,

We realize that amid trouble, You have been there all the time.  You know what we are going through and you will provide a way over, around and through it.  I trust you, dear Jesus, with all my life.  I love you with all that is in me.  Be our wisdom and strength today.  Forgive us when we trust in anything not You or in anyone who does not believe in You.  Have mercy on us, Lord.

In Jesus Name, Amen

What do you look for in a person you want to be with these days?  I look for someone who is pleasant, smiles, looks me in the eyes with compassion, loves without conditions, listens, and speaks truth.  Typically, these are trustworthy people.  These people are precious to me and to God. Generally, these are people who trust God.  I trust God.  Therefore, we can trust each other because of our love for God. 

I don’t know what you are looking for in a person to learn from, hang around and enjoy life with, but I’m pretty simple.  I just want others to love me back even though I’m not perfect in every way.  I want to love and be loved, thought about and prayed for on good days and especially on challenging days.  I enjoy praying for others so they can see the glory of God at work in their lives as well as in mine. 

So, where does this longing of belonging and loving come from?  It comes from our Creator.  We are created with the longing to love and relate to God.  When we realize in our growing, intimate relationship with God how much He loves compassionately and unconditionally, we begin to be like Him in our love for each other.  Our love takes on his character in all ways as our love deepens for Him.

And this is what God is looking for—love for Him and love for others.  Jesus taught us that this love for God and for others are the two most important commandments (our expected behavior) delivered from God.  Our love for God that begins with God is expressed in a variety of ways.  Micah narrows the field of understanding of this love and how to respond to it in verse 8, one of my favorites and most quoted verses in the Bible.  Do justice—love mercy—walk humbly with God. 

Micah 6, The Message

^1-2 Listen now, listen to God:

“Take your stand in court.
    If you have a complaint, tell the mountains;
    make your case to the hills.
And now, Mountains, hear God’s case;
    listen, Jury Earth—
For I am bringing charges against my people.
    I am building a case against Israel.

^3-5 “Dear people, how have I done you wrong?
    Have I burdened you, worn you out? Answer!
I delivered you from a bad life in Egypt;
    I paid a good price to get you out of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you—
    and Aaron and Miriam to boot!
Remember what Balak king of Moab tried to pull,
    and how Balaam son of Beor turned the tables on him.
Remember all those stories about Shittim and Gilgal.
    Keep all God’s salvation stories fresh and present.”

^6-7 How can I stand up before God
    and show proper respect to the high God?
Should I bring an armload of offerings
    topped off with yearling calves?
Would God be impressed with thousands of rams,
    with buckets and barrels of olive oil?
Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child,
    my precious baby, to cancel my sin?

* * *

⁸ But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
    what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
    be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
    take God seriously.

⁹ Attention! God calls out to the city!
    If you know what’s good for you, you’ll listen.
So listen, all of you!
    This is serious business.

* * *

^10-16 “Do you expect me to overlook obscene wealth
    you’ve piled up by cheating and fraud?
Do you think I’ll tolerate shady deals
    and shifty scheming?
I’m tired of the violent rich
    bullying their way with bluffs and lies.
I’m fed up. Beginning now, you’re finished.
    You’ll pay for your sins down to your last cent.
No matter how much you get, it will never be enough—
    hollow stomachs, empty hearts.

No matter how hard you work, you’ll have nothing to show for it—
    bankrupt lives, wasted souls.
You’ll plant grass
    but never get a lawn.
You’ll make jelly
    but never spread it on your bread.
You’ll press apples
    but never drink the cider.
You have lived by the standards of your king, Omri,
    the decadent lifestyle of the family of Ahab.
Because you’ve slavishly followed their fashions,
    I’m forcing you into bankruptcy.
Your way of life will be laughed at, a tasteless joke.
    Your lives will be derided as futile and fake.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Micah also expresses what God is NOT looking for in us with what disgusts Him causing Him to put a stop to what is destroying our relationship with God.  Micah knew that sacrifices were outward expressions of inner faith and trust. What God desired most of all was for Israel to relate to him in a heartfelt, personal way—not just in some superficial, ritualistic fashion. 

If our grown children and grandchildren only came to visit us because they felt it was their obligation to do, put a time limit on the visit of one hour, then left gifts because it made them feel like they had fulfilled their requirements us to us, we would know it and feel little to no love from them.  These actions would be unkind and devastating to our relationship.

Real, honest, love, God’s love, should drive every thought and action.  Sincere hearts full of the love from God back to God is what He is looking for—just as parents long to have their children love them back for no other reason, but love for them.  It’s not about the gifts but the longing to spend time with the One who loves you most.  It’s about loving each other like He loves us. 

“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”  2 Chronicles 16:9

God’s love in us, loving Him back with committed hearts, prompts the flow of God’s benefits that He is longing to give to us!  God gives strength, power, wisdom, insight, understanding that produces His compassion for others in us, guidance around or through the tough stuff of life—not to mention provisions enough and protection from the enemy! 

Now we know what God is looking for in us—what are we looking for in life?  Who do we really believe?  Who do we follow?  Who has the best for us?  Who loves us so much He laid down is life for us so we could be free from sin?  The answers to these questions will be shown by our hearts and reflected in our behaviors.

Lord,

What you really want is a personal relationship, not an external connection only. May my life today, all of it, imperfections, and all, be an offering to you today.  I love you with all my heart, mind, and soul.  Cleanse my heart of all that does not belong, renew and transform my mind to think more like you, refresh my soul with Your power and strength and restore the joy of your salvation at work within me.  Then I will be able to love more like you love me—with mercy and grace.

In Jesus Name, For Your Glory, Amen 

About four hundred years before coming to earth, Jesus is described for who He is and what He will do.  There is no one else who can lay claim to their foretelling birth and life in such detail proving that only God is doing the speaking through Micah and the other prophets who speak of Jesus’s coming.  Hope is coming, Israel!  Hope is on the way, world!  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Micah 5, The Message

The Leader Who Will Shepherd-Rule Israel

But for now, prepare for the worst, victim daughter!
    The siege is set against us.
They humiliate Israel’s king,
    slapping him around like a rag doll.

^2-4 But you, Bethlehem, David’s country,
    the runt of the litter—
From you will come the leader
    who will shepherd-rule Israel.
He’ll be no upstart, no pretender.
    His family tree is ancient and distinguished.

Meanwhile, Israel will be in foster homes
    until the birth pangs are over and the child is born,
And the scattered brothers come back
    home to the family of Israel.
He will stand tall in his shepherd-rule by God’s strength,
    centered in the majesty of God-Revealed.
And the people will have a good and safe home,
    for the whole world will hold him in respect—
    Peacemaker of the world!

^5-6 And if some bullying Assyrian shows up,
    invades and violates our land, don’t worry.
We’ll put him in his place, send him packing,
    and watch his every move.
Shepherd-rule will extend as far as needed,
    to Assyria and all other Nimrod-bullies.
Our shepherd-ruler will save us from old or new enemies,
    from anyone who invades or violates our land.

⁷ The purged and select company of Jacob will be
    like an island in the sea of peoples.
They’ll be like dew from God,
    like summer showers
Not mentioned in the weather forecast,
    not subject to calculation or control.

^8-9 Yes, the purged and select company of Jacob will be
    like an island in the sea of peoples,
Like the king of beasts among wild beasts,
    like a young lion loose in a flock of sheep,
Killing and devouring the lambs
    and no one able to stop him.
With your arms raised in triumph over your foes,
    your enemies will be no more!

* * *

^10-15 “The day is coming”
    —God’s Decree—
“When there will be no more war. None.
    I’ll slaughter your war horses and demolish your chariots.
I’ll dismantle military posts
    and level your fortifications.
I’ll abolish your religious black markets,
    your underworld traffic in black magic.
I will smash your carved and cast gods
    and chop down your phallic posts.
No more taking control of the world,
    worshiping what you do or make.
I’ll root out your sacred sex-and-power centers
    and destroy the God-defiant.
In raging anger, I’ll make a clean sweep
    of godless nations who haven’t listened.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Micah continued his prophecies to Judah and Jerusalem. He rebuked the present leaders but promised a perfect future leader, Christ.  Jesus would come as the Prince of Peace.  His reign will be over all, including our friends and our enemies.  God promises that one day all weapons of war will be done away with and God’s people will live in total peace. We are ready for that day, right?!

God has great and mighty plans for you and me. He is recruiting for himself a people who will populate heaven. God will restore his planet and his children to their Garden of Eden splendor. It will be perfect. Perfect in splendor. Perfect in righteousness. Perfect in harmony.  But we are not perfect.  So, how do we enter this splendor?  Jesus. 

Jesus stepped out of eternity into human history, sent by the Father to die for the sins of the world (1 John 4:14). We are perfecting forgiven when we say yes to Jesus, asking forgiveness of all our sins.  He not only forgives, but then wipes the slate clean to be remembered no more.  Done.  It is finished.  Old life of sin gone.  A new life of living for the King, with the guidance of His Holy Spirit begins.  Mistakes will happen along the way, but Jesus, our Advocate and Savior, makes it right again.  No more war within ourselves when the Peace of Christ rules our hearts.  Yes!

It is interesting to note that this is the prophecy that the priests shared with the magi who came to Jerusalem looking for the King (Matthew 2:1–12).  More proof that God is doing the talking!

In Micah’s day, both Israel and Judah were guilty of sins that violated God’s law and grieved God’s heart. Time after time, He had sent messengers to the people to denounce their sins and warn of impending judgment, but the people would not listen.

Are we listening, watching, waiting in holy expectation for the return of Jesus? 

Are we listening to His guidance, correction, leading, encouragement, and challenge to follow in His ways until He comes? 

Do we ask for wisdom in the waiting? 

Are we trusting in what He says, leaning less on our own understanding as our standard for living? 

These are all questions that evaluate our faith in the One who loves us most and wants the best for us.  May we all pause to pray as we reflect, asking for His help for this day.

Lord,

Challenges come daily to draw us away from you.  We think we can handle the “small stuff” until we realize that it is in the small stuff that we learn to lean on you.  You give us exactly what we need when we need it most for you our God who cares and the Savior who redeems us.  You are also Holy Spirit who lives within us to guide us on the path less traveled.  Thank you for being with us always.  Thank you for Peace who rules hearts fully committed to you.  The daily battle it seems is the war within ourselves to choose whom we will serve, worship, love, trust and obey throughout the day.  Help us all, Lord to choose you at every turn.

In Jesus Name, Amen