Exercising lovingkindness, justice & righteousness on earth delights our God!
God’s Children should NEVER be for sale!
Something happened this past week which has me pondering my Heavenly Father’s heart and passages that declare who He is and what He is constantly at work doing in our world.
We must remind ourselves of the absolute, unchanging goodness of our God when the news of evil abounds, and with its sewage, Satan works tirelessly to tear at our faith. Satan loves nothing more than working to erode our faith so he can get a wedge of doubt between us and God. We must not let him! We must keep that shield of faith up and the verses like the ones I will share close to our hearts, protecting our minds.
Micah 6:8 has been resurfacing in my heart and mind often. It says, “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 (circumspectly) with your God?”
There is so much packed into those few words of instruction and warning. Each phrase helps to define and expand and also check the next. Justice without kindness can just be cruelty in disguise. Kindness without justice can be license to act approvingly of things God doesn’t approve of —things He knows destroy our precious lives. Both doing justice and loving kindness must be subject to walking humbly with God in a personal, committed and obedient relationship with Him. To walk humbly and circumspectly before our God is to remember that we are totally accountable to Him for all we say and do, or don’t do. It involves looking round about us, listening to His Word from the heart and living accordingly.
Micah 6:9 goes on from there to say, “The voice of the LORD will call to the city—and it is sound wisdom to fear Thy name…”
I hadn’t memorized that last part, but I pray that the voice of the LORD will resound in every city, crying out for repentance. And that He will do what He does best, exercising “lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth” (Jeremiah 9:24). May the fear of His name prevail. Oh, how our world needs the lovingkindness, justice and righteousness of God, and our God assures us through His prophet Jeremiah that He delights in these things!
James 1:16-18 reminds us, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be as it were, the first fruits among His creatures.” Every single good thing we experience and are given during our entire lives has come down from “the Father of lights”! There would be no beauty, no soft, green blade of grass or strong oak tree. No gently flowing stream —no water, period. No sunshine, no cotton-like clouds of bright white against that cobalt blue sky. No air to breathe. No music. No fluffy, spunky kittens, no best friends, no smiles. Nothing good, without our heavenly Father bestowing it so freely. And, the good work He does inside of us, makes us the first fruits. We’re supposed to be the taste of the Lord’s goodness that helps others open their hearts to Him as well.
So, what did I see recently that slapped me in the face with the darker realities happening on this planet? There were two things, but I can only share one of them. When I was in the Seattle airport last Monday, I was faced with a poster taped inside the bathroom stall. It boldly proclaimed “God’s Children Are Not For Sale”. What I read broke my heart. It was exposing the horrors, and unimaginable numbers, of children being abducted and used in the sex trafficking trade. I’m still trying to verify other details shared in the poster, but just like the movies “Sound of Freedom” and “Priceless”, it got my attention in a way I can’t shake. It is fueling my prayer life to keep these precious captives in my prayers daily. I never want to stop interceding for them. I believe that Jesus Christ truly is the Deliverer, the Rescuer and the Savior! I urge you to see the 2025 Human Trafficking Report - The Exodus Road for testimonies of victories and practical ways you can help stop the atrocities happening on our watch. It is not the organization that put out the flyers, but it is one that I trust. Another organization that I trust and highly recommend is International Justice Mission. You can find out more at Trafficking & Slavery | International Justice Mission or 25 Year Anniversary | International Justice Mission.
I’ll end with this warning from Jeremiah 22. It is a warning originally directed to kings at the cusp of Jerusalem’s fall and Judah’s 70 year captivity in Babylon, but the principles it contains cut across time and social status, across cultures and national boundaries. I believe on one hand it is meant to help us know the Father’s heart, and on the other to be a strong warning to all those who are practicing lawlessness and cruelty.
“Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness and his upper rooms without justice, who uses his neighbor’s servants without pay and does not give him wages, who says, ‘I will build myself a roomy house with spacious upper rooms, and cut out its windows paneling it with cedar…”
“Did not your father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him.He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?” Declares the LORD.
“But your eyes and your heart are intent only upon your own dishonest gain, and on shedding innocent blood and on practicing oppression and extortion.” God reveals what will happen to the “kings”, the powerful, who live like this. “He will be buried with a donkey’s burial, dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.” (Jeremiah 22:13-19)
Lest we think that is some outdated time of judgment reserved for those in the Old Testament, the poster I saw quoted Jesus in Matthew 18:6. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone (turned by a donkey) be hung around his neck, and he be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Our God is fiercely GOOD! He sees and will judge completely and perfectly.
1 John 3:7-8 proclaim, “Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose that He might destroy the works of the devil”! Let’s pray mightily, in Jesus Name, that our Lord’s light will expose the wickedness where it is holding these little ones, teens, and women captive, arrest the cruel criminals and set the captives free. May He restore the souls of these abused and exploited ones; may we find ways to help Him do so!
In Genesis 3:15, God warned of the consequences of the fall and prophesied of the deliverer who would (AND NOW HAS) come. Satan was cursed and enmity was placed between him and Eve, whom Satan had deceived, “and between [Satan’s] seed and her seed”. The prophesy went on to say that the seed of the woman, referring to Jesus, would crush Satan’s head, which He did decisively at the cross and through His resurrection.
Jesus’ crushing blow at the cross will reverberate forever. May the Lord continually rebuke Satan and push the darkness back.
May God’s Kingdom come and His will be done on this earth as it is in heaven. We are exhorted by Jesus to pray these prayers! There is a multitude of little ones counting on us to pray for the breakthrough God longs to give them. Remember, we are exhorted in Micah by these words. “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 (circumspectly) with your God?” He loves to partner with us to bring about the lovingkindness, justice and righteousness that delights His heart!
Please consider giving to Freedom Collective - The Exodus Road or IJM at More Ways to Give | International Justice Mission.
Thank you.
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Here are some similar posts, calling you to shine His light:
Different types of light - How will Jesus use you today? — The Hopeful Buttercup!
Be a Prism - A Prayer for His Light to Shine Through His People! — The Hopeful Buttercup!
A Christmas Reflection — The Hopeful Buttercup!
Tending the fire, drawing others to Jesus’ light — The Hopeful Buttercup!
To see my new Bible study release Early Rains or to find out about my devotional Journey into Trust please click here: The Hopeful Buttercup!
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Photo Credit of family silhouette: A family holding hands on the beach at sunset photo – Free Beach Image on Unsplash
Paola Garcia @paho
