Pressing Olives
“With what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on High? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil?
“’Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?...
“’So also I will make you sick, striking you down, desolating you because of your sins. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied, and your vileness will be in your midst, you will try to remove for safekeeping, but you will not preserve anything, and what you do preserve I will give to the sword.
“’You will sow but you will not reap. You will tread the olive but will not anoint yourselves with oil; and the grapes, but you will not drink wine.’” Micah 6:6-8, 13-15
God’s ways are not our ways and sometimes, probably often, what is happening in our life escapes our understanding. So, too, God’s people throughout history forgot how precious their relationship was with their almighty and merciful Father.
Micah was the prophet God used to speak with His people who had wandered away misunderstanding the basics of the relationship. They had come to believe that somehow if they just gave more, sacrificed more, that everything would be right again.
God wants our hearts, not our sacrifices and our rituals. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and needs nothing. What He wants is changed lives! He wants His people to be fair, just, merciful and humble.
God wants us to become visible reminders…living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2), not people focused on doing religious deeds, but living rightly (Jeremiah 3:3, Hebrews 8:14). We learn over time that it is impossible to live such a life consistently without God’s transforming love in our hearts. What a blessing we have!
Take care with love, especially His, from Darlene, who still prays for you each day.
PS: You can also find the devotions on line/ on your mobile phone here: www.weakdaydevotion.com .
NOTE: I choose to believe the Bible because it's a reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They reported supernatural events that took place before, of specific prophecies; and claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.
Find my full statement of faith: https://especiallyhislove.blogspot.com (where you will also find a series of Bible studies). For the books, go to Amazon books. For prayer requests/ updates, email: darlenerichard@gmail.com