Welcome to Monday! Welcome to Heart Notes! Today is the first Heart Notes post for October, so it is appropriate that I offer you the October FREE printable. Because fall is my favorite season, I wanted the October printable to have a fall theme. I searched for pictures to use, and finally found one I really liked. It is my hope that you like it, too. The October verses pack a powerful punch, so I hope you download and print the printable to use in your Scripture memorization efforts. Here it is:
Today’s verse is one that is simple, yet all too often I fail at getting it right. I have been guilty of trying to make the simple complex. You, too?
In the sixth chapter of the book of Micah, God has brought charges against His people, the Israelites. They have failed to keep His covenant, and now He, through Micah, was announcing forthcoming judgment. Micah reminded the people, one more time, of how simple it is to please God. Consider our Heart Notes verse for today:
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 (NKJV)
Three things the Israelites of antiquity needed to do to please God. Only three:
- Act justly
- Love mercy
- Walk humbly with God
Each of these should flow out of an intimate relationship with the Lord. If you and I are walking closely with Jesus, we will have the mind of Christ, and will treat other people like Jesus would…justly, and with mercy. Selfishness, jealousy, seeking revenge, and hatred….none of this is pleasing to God. Instead we should treat others as Jesus would treat them. We should show mercy and unfailing love to other people. We should literally show Jesus to them through the way we live our lives.
Then, we should walk humbly with Jesus, bending our knee to His plan and His purpose for our lives. This means that we don’t walk ahead of God, thinking we know it all. Neither do we walk behind God, dragging our feet in procrastination. We walk humbly with Him. When He stops, we stop. When He moves, we move. When He says, ‘No’, we are obedient. We let God be God, and remember that we are not God.
I am still a learner when it comes to these three. My pride gets in the way of my relationship with Christ far too often. I don’t always offer extra helpings of mercy to those around me, and acting like Jesus…well, it just doesn’t always happen. But, thankfully, Jesus always acts like Jesus. He always offers us mercy and grace.
How are you doing in the area of pleasing God? Are you acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with
