Beautiful Reflection

As we say goodbye to 2019, many of us are reflecting on the good and tough times of this year, as well as thinking about what 2020 will hold for us. If you are looking for a passage to pray over and to help you with your reflection, take a read of these powerful words from Micah.
 
"With what shall I come before the Lord
    and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
    with calves a year old?
⁷ Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
    with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God." - Micah 6:6-8

I believe that if we could live out these 3 qualities in the New Year we would be honouring Jesus with our lives.

Have a Blessed 2020 friends and thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts. 

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Answer me

There is nothing more frustrating that sending a message to someone and not getting a reply! I know that we all have done this sometimes, mostly because we are so busy and we forget to reply or it is not a convenient time to send a message back. However, sometimes we just stubbornly refuse to say anything in response to a message.

This is God's big complaint against the Israelites:

“My people, what have I done to you?
    How have I burdened you? Answer me. 
 I brought you up out of Egypt
    and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you,
    also Aaron and Miriam." - Micah 6:3-4

They just don't want to answer God's questions?

As we close out another year, let us ask ourselves if we have responded to all that God has asked of us. Have we responded to God's message of love and grace?

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Lifted up

"Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies,    and all your foes will be destroyed." - Micah 5:9

Let us not just remember Jesus as the baby in the manger, but also as the man who had his hands hammered to a Roman cross and who called out "Father, Forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."

Jesus's hands were lifted up in triumph over sin and death. The last of our great foes (death) is conquered through the birth, life and death of Jesus Christ.

John 3:14 - "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up..."

Living in Grace
D3LM3

I Will

 

Although today's scripture passage seems to be very violent, it struck me that when God promises something He always follows through with his promise. As you read through these verses, notice the "I WILL" parts:

“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“I will destroy your horses from among you
    and demolish your chariots.
¹¹ I will destroy the cities of your land
    and tear down all your strongholds.
¹² I will destroy your witchcraft
    and you will no longer cast spells.
¹³ I will destroy your idols
    and your sacred stones from among you;
you will no longer bow down
    to the work of your hands.
¹⁴ I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles
    when I demolish your cities.
¹⁵ I will take vengeance in anger and wrath
    on the nations that have not obeyed me.” - Micah 5:10-15

As we continue to bask in the glory of the birth of Jesus, remember these words from Matthew's gospel.

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” - Matthew 1:21

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Peace

"And he will be our peace" - Micah 5:5a

Perhaps the most elusive of the four Advent gifts is PEACE. We can experience the other three in small doses during the year - Faith, Hope and Love, but Peace seems to easily slip from our grasp. It is my prayer for each one of us that we would experience Christ this festive season, because ultimately He is our Peace. 

True peace is not some emotion we experience once in a while, but rather a deep seated treasure we can KNOW in our innermost being. And we get to experience this through a person and not from anywhere else.

John 16:33 - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace."

May Christ be your peace.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

God at work

The miracle of Christmas is not meant to only last for one day of the year. The great truth of the Incarnation is that Jesus continues to be at work in our lives long after the Nativity has been packed away and the Christmas tree taken down.

"He will stand and shepherd his flock
    in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness    will reach to the ends of the earth." - Micah 5:4

Do you notice how this verse speaks of God at work - the Messiah continually his great calling?
Standing.
Shepherding.
Giving Strength.
Helping us to feel Secure.

May the knowledge and love of the Son of God be with you always.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

From humble beginnings

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times.”

³ Therefore Israel will be abandoned
    until the time when she who is in labour bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return    to join the Israelites." - Micah 5:2-3

Our world still glorifies the Big, the Rich, the Powerful, the Rock star. When will we learn that God does his best miracles from the smallest, most obscure and seemingly insignificant of places and people?

Jesus's family lineage is traced back to a small clan in Judah. He was even mocked for coming from Nazareth, yet this is how does his best work - God takes people from humble beginnings and he uses them for his greatest Glory.

Wishing you a BLESSED CHRISTMAS. 

Living in Grace

D3LM3