I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
What Does God Want?
“What is God’s will for my life?”
“What is my purpose and calling?”
“What can I do to please God?”
In the New Testament, Jesus provides the answer to those questions by telling His followers to love God and love people. In the Old Testament, the prophet Micah—empowered by the Holy Spirit—summarized God’s will for Israel by saying:
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Micah 6:8 ESV
These words were penned during a time when God’s people were trying to please Him with sacrifices, offerings, and going through religious motions—while living lives of deception, violence, and pride. But as the prophet Hosea writes, “I [God] desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6 NIV)
God is after our heart motives, not our outward religious activity or begrudging obedience.
Let’s break down what God desires of us:
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DO JUSTICE. Doing justice requires faith and actions working together: helping the hurting, defending the weak, dealing fairly with the people we encounter, and speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. In other words, to do justice we must love others as we love ourselves.
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LOVE KINDNESS. The mercy of God is an extreme kindness. And because we’ve been shown undeserved kindness by Him, we can show undeserved kindness to others. God desires these things more than endless “I’m sorry” speeches. God is kind to the grateful and the wicked (Luke 6:35), so we should be, too.
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WALK HUMBLY. Be teachable. Be moldable. Remember: You’re not God. You have limitations. You need a Creator and Savior. You’re only here because God spoke you into existence. So confidently embrace who you are, and who you are not, because it’s when we live fully surrendered to God that He does incredible things through us.
Seeking justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly—that is what God wants from us. So in a world that’s saturated with injustice, hatred, and arrogance, let’s be people marked by these three things.
Worshiping a Good God
At the time of Isaiah writing this verse, God had already done so many things for the nation of Israel. He brought them out of Egypt, rescued them from some evil nations and kings, blessed them with some great leaders (and challenged them with some not-so-good ones). And that was just the beginning of His providence and provision. Israel had a lot to be thankful for.
As readers of this passage now, thousands of years in the future all across the globe, we can confidently say that God has done and continues to do wonderful things, especially sending His Son, Jesus, to die and rise again, saving us and giving us eternal life.
Even in the face of unimaginable tragedies, fear, anxiety, depression, and whatever else the devil throws at us, we still have a lot to be thankful for. Because God will never stop doing wonderful things—that’s just who He is. And He who called us is faithful (1 Thessalonians 5:24 NIV).
