3 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 1:3-6
We sometimes begin things we don’t finish.
Thank You, Lord for this precious promise that You never leave a job half done. And here’s a simple poem . . .
Getting There, by Deb Feller
a
We thank You, Lord as we joyfully pray for
You are faithful and working always in our lives
finishing what You’ve begun ’til we’re no long “in progress”
but complete, with Your Son.
Amen.
Deb Feller has a good blog of great poetry at http://iftodaywehear.wordpress.com/
“He has told 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?”
Micah 6:8, ESV
“The principal thing is to stand before God, with the mind in the heart, and go on standing before Him unceasingly day and night until the end of life.”
Theophan, 1815-1900 (Russian writer and monk)
This intense moment is almost always present tense. We have yet to experience the future, and the past has already been ‘played out.’ The present is this moment right now, and we live in this time.
There is a certain simplicity to all of this. What happens ‘right now’ is crucial in our walks with Him. Anxiety and guilt can be a result of not living right now. These are obviously to be avoided. The past with its guilt, and the future with its anxiety can corrupt the now.
Micah was given a simple commandment to proclaim, it involved this ‘arena of goodness.’
To do justice, right things
to be in love with kindness,
and then to walk in a humble way.
All of these are to be done in the presence of God. We’re called to this simple way of life. For the person who is living somewhat confused and chaotic this is good news. Those of us who are mentally ill understand chaos. Life becomes complicated when we try to juggle more than this.
This should be a certain relief for many a weary pilgrim. These things Micah declares can be liberating when seen in this moment. There is a freedom for each who follow. If it seems like we’re trying to juggle chain-saws we are doing something wrong.
18 “Where is another God like you,who pardons the guilt of the remnant,overlooking the sins of his special people?You will not stay angry with your people forever,because you delight in showing unfailing love.
19 Once again you will have compassion on us.You will trample our sins under your feetand throw them into the depths of the ocean!”
Micah 7:18-18, NLT
These verses speak of the sin and guilt of God’s people. But even more importantly we hear of the extravagance of God to forgive so readily. Micah speaks directly to us who need to understand exactly what has been done for us. He knows what God is really like, and encourages not to give up hope.
I find that people as a whole understand sin. As they survey their lives, they are conscious of many flaws and shortcomings. Although we resist the label– ‘sinners’– we all admit a certain failure. It is this that Micah is speaking of. The Bible tells us “that all have sinned.” From the lost wino to the president of the United States, we are all cut from the same cloth. All means everyone. And we each have the same problem.
We are all in need of someone who will save us from our sin. These verses speak of the greatness of God to intervene. Without His intervention we are all buried in our sin. In a colorful way (so typical of Micah), we visualize God trampling down our iniquities, and forgiving us of so much sin. This is no small task. Generally, people are grateful for the intervention.
Like intertwined and tangled vines cover a marble statue, completely enmeshing it, we plead for release. There are many attempts at extricating ourselves. (Some rather heroic efforts). But nothing ever really works.
The wonder is that God has already done this. He has cut us free and trampled our sins underfoot. He has gathered up all our iniquity and dumped it in the Marianas Trench. We are now free to go. Our sin is forgiven. What a wonderful God!
Upon release we are free to help Him free the others. Isn’t this is what ‘evangelism’ is all about? What a noble task it is to assist the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve.
“The LORD’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.” Micah 6:9, KJV
“The voice of the Lord calls to the city, and the wise person honors him. So pay attention to the rod of punishment; pay attention to the One who threatens to punish.” Micah 6:9, NCV
There is necessary train of thought we all must board. It involves traveling to a destination that we deep-down, absolutely abhor. It is that idea that we are open and vulnerable, especially to his analysis of us–that we are more open than we think to His eyes.
We’ve entered into a spiritual transaction that doesn’t mollify our personal desires. We are confronted by such a personal evil that just seems to percolate out of our hearts. There exists something akin to “Pharaseeism,” where we project righteousness when we are really graves or tombs of the dead.
Micah announces that we must “hear the rod.” Pay attention, become aware, understand deeply– there is a rod (a whip) that pounds everyone who comes to him. Granted, the only thing necessary is to be aware that this difficult process exist. We step up, and enter the grinder, with great fear, not really convinced of its efficiency and its capability.
There is no question of his deep and profound love for us. He is fanatically absorbed in you. There is a hungry passion for your attention and focus. You are behind his shield. You’re treasured far, far beyond what you think. He sacrificed His own Son, to save your soul.
“Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.” 1 Cor. 15:23, ESV.
There is a mandatory factor that informs us that we cannot continue moving through life intoxicated. Smashed on the wine of pride, stupefied on the brandy of selfishness. We are called to sober up, and start living a truly terrific Christian life. In Micah’s words– to listen! Perhaps that is our greatest weakness in the Church today. We have become deaf to the voice of God.
I guess that means we must make some adjustments. To take up our Phillips screwdriver, and start ‘tweaking.’ We need to start the solid work of “tuning in” and becoming aware. There is a rod, and the Father will use it on those who he loves. A few whops from that rod will usually bring us to an awareness.
Broken Believers 