January 30, 2011

Scriptures for January 30th: Micah 6:1-8; Psalm 15; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Matthew 5:1-12 Theme: What does God expect of us? Song: I Will Trust in the Lord UMH 464

Micah: Many of the Israelites thought of their relationship with God, as one between a judge and the defendant. If God did something that they did not agree with, they would plead their case and ask God for mercy. Perhaps that is why they were asked to plead their case before the mountains. This time there is no mercy. They are dead wrong. They have not kept their promise to God. They have been living in sin, and they must be held accountable for their actions. God has been wronged, not them. What does the Lord require of them to make this right. God doesn’t want our money, God doesn’t want our pity, God doesn’t want our empty promises. God wants us to do the right thing: do justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with God.

1 Corinthians : Last week, Paul addressed the central issue of the Corinthian church – divisions. A refusal to see eye to eye. Finding any excuse to separate themselves. We have to find our unity in Christ. But beyond that, we also need to stop boasting about what we know and understand. In every instance, all of our knowledge is foolishness in relations to the wisdom of Christ. No matter what we have accomplished in life, it will mean nothing on the day that we have to stand before God. If it won’t do us any good on judgment day, what good is it to us today? The only thing that we have to brag about in life at anytime is God!

Questions: When in your life has there been a time when you knew that you were wrong, and that you needed to get right with God? What did you have to do to change things? Did your guilt make you change, or further protect yourself? What are some of the popular wisdom of the day? Is it really in keeping with God’s teachings? What do we need to do in order to really know what God wants us to do?