With Him

Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Do you like going to the movies alone? Do you like going to dinner alone? Would the movie be any better if seen with a friend? Would the dinner taste better with a friend? So what does it matter if you do these things, or anything alone?

There is a tendency to read the word, believe the word and do the word alone. That is being obedient, that is receiving instruction, that is doing justly and loving mercy, but it isn’t walking humbly with God.

We think within Psalm 139:24 the words “lead me in the way everlasting” indicates that God is leading and we are following. The first part of that verse is a request to look into our hearts to see if there be any wicked thing. God is first concerned with the condition of the heart.

When is the last time you were in your prayer closet and the Lord said, “Leave here and go to 2939 Justin Lane, Austin and speak to Sarah in apartment 3214. She is afraid and is about to hurt herself if you don’t show up to show her she is not alone.”

God doesn’t work that way does he? What happens is more like us going about and doing our business and God whispering in a still small voice, stop, turn right or wait. Sometimes His influence isn’t even as clear as that still small voice. Sometimes you are in the middle of a situation when you realize God is at work.

Hebrews 8:10b I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

Having a heart after God allows God to be with us wherever we go, and the humility to allow Him to do His will there.

 

Being Me

Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

I’ve come under attack recently for my faith. This individual says “I can do all that without God.” I’ve been accused of being deluded, suffering under an illusion, being stupid and worthless. To all that and more that has been insult after insult, all I can answer is “To God be the glory.”

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

My accuser is angry. He cannot see that he has missed out on the grace of God by denying Him. I am at peace and remain at peace and I so not answer back with bitterness or resentment. I do not even hint that I am saddened by his actions. All I can do is be me.

I am not the man I was, this is my witness. God has changed me for the better. His grace has been a healing ointment on the self-inflected wounds of my life. If I am called weak because I have surrendered my will to His, so be it. I can live with that. I can live because of it.

2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.