Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

“All the nations may walk in the names of their gods; we will walk in the Name of the Lord our God for ever and ever” ( Micah 4:5 ). This is the kind of commitment the Lord is looking for. We commit ourselves to Him not for our benefit but for this purpose: “so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God” ( 2 Corinthians 4:15 ). As part of this thanksgiving to God, we offer our song of praise to Him: “I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live” ( Psalm 104:33 ).

Micah 6:8 In Micah 6:8, the question is asked, “What does the Lord require of us?” As well as Micah’s answer, there is a New Testament answer to this question.  * “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin” (Hebrews 9:22). God calls us to come to the Cross. That’s where the life of faith and obedience begins.  * “Without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). God calls us to put our faith in Christ. It’s personal faith. Each one of us must come to Jesus - “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.” Faith is God’s gift. Each one of us must receive His gift.  * “Without holiness, no-one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). God is calling us to become more like Jesus. Our life is to be less of self and more of Christ - and we’re to give all the glory to God. Micah 6:8 gives us an Old Testament answer to the question, “What is holiness?”

"The Lord spoke the Word to Micah" (Micah 1:1).  The Word is given to the prophet. This is where true prophecy begins. It begins with God. It does not come from the mind of the prophet. It is given to him by the Lord. In this revelation, given by God to the prophet, there is "the Word" and "the vision." God speaks to us. He draws near to us. Jesus is God's "Word" to us. He is more than the words spoken to us. He is "the Word made flesh" (John 1:1,14). To "all" people, God says, "Listen ... Pay attention" (Micah 1:2). What does God say to us? He speaks "against" us (Micah 1:2). Do we need to hear this? Yes! We do. The Word that is spoken against us prepares us for the Good News of God's love. The more seriously we take the Word that is spoken against us, the more we will give thanks to God for His love. We will rejoice in this - His love reaches us in our sin and triumphs over our sin. ...

"I  will look to the Lord. I will wait for God to save me. I will wait for my God to listen to me" (Micah 7:7). Who is the Lord our God? The answer to this question is found in Micah 6:18-20. we are never wasting our time when we look to the Lord.We are never wasting our time when we wait on Him. He listens to us. He saves us. What wonderful words we have in the last three verses of Micah. God forgives our sin. He overlooks our rebellion. Better than our sin is God's salvation. Better than our rebellion is God's redemption. God is not angry forever. He shows mercy to us. God's wrath was poured out on Christ so that His mercy might be poured out upon us. Jesus took our place. He died for us. He drank, fully, from the cup of our condemnation so that we might drink, fully, from the cup of His salvation. God has compassion on us. He overcomes our wrongdoing. He sees what we are really like. He sees us in our sin. He also sees what we can become. He sees...

MICAH 1:1-2:13 We thank You, Lord, that Micah was a fearless preacher of Your Word. His message was not popular: ‘Let the Lord God be a witness against you.’ He was a forthright preacher of Your Word. He knew that the people wouldn’t want to hear what he had to say to them. He demanded that they listen to him. This wasn’t only Micah’s word. It was Your word, Lord. That’s why Micah said, ‘Hear, O peoples, all of you. Listen, O earth and all who are in it’ (Micah 2:2). Teach us, Lord, that we cannot afford to ignore Your Word. Help us to listen to Your Word. You speak Your Word against us. You say to us, ‘You cannot save yourselves’ (Micah 2:3). You speak Your Word against us so that we might learn to rejoice in Your Word of salvation: ‘I will bring you together like sheep returning to the fold’ (Micah 2:12). 3:1-5:1 We thank You, Lord, for the words that Micah speaks to those ‘who hate good and love evil’ (Micah 3:2). He calls upon them to change their way of livi...

Micah 1:1-2:13 We thank You, Lord, that Micah was a fearless preacher of Your Word. His message was not popular: ‘Let the Lord God be a witness against you.’ He was a forthright preacher of Your Word. He knew that the people wouldn’t want to hear what he had to say to them. He demanded that they listen to him. This wasn’t only Micah’s word. It was Your word, Lord. That’s why Micah said, ‘Hear, O peoples, all of you. Listen, O earth and all who are in it’ (Micah 2:2). Teach us, Lord, that we cannot afford to ignore Your Word. Help us to listen to Your Word. You speak Your Word against us. You say to us, ‘You cannot save yourselves’ (Micah 2:3). You speak Your Word against us so that we might learn to rejoice in Your Word of salvation: ‘I will bring you together like sheep returning to the fold’ (Micah 2:12). Micah 3:1-5:1 We thank You, Lord, for the words that Micah speaks to those ‘who hate good and love evil’ (Micah 3:2). He calls upon them to change their way of ...

"I am filled with the power of the Lord's Spirit" (Micah 3:8). This is what makes true ministry of God's Word so different from 'prophecy' that doesn't come from the Lord. Without the power of the Lord, there can be no Word from the Lord. We need the Word, and we need the power. "Let's go to the mountain of the Lord ...He will teach us His ways so that we may live by them" (Micah 4:2). We are taught by the Lord so that we might live for Him. Teaching and living - they belong together. We do not learn from God's Word so that we can amass more head-knowledge. We pray for a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ - a life-changing knowledge that gives us the strength that we need to live for the glory of God.

"You, Bethlehem ..." (Micah 5:2-4) - a great prophecy of the birth of Christ. As we read the Old Testament, and come across passages like this, we see the hand of the Lord at work in human history. We see God, fulfilling His plan, carrying out His eternal purpose - salvation. "Remember your journey ... so that you may know the victories of the Lord" (Micah 6:5). It is a good thing to recall what the Lord has done for us. This gives us strength to face the future with confidence in the Lord. "The voice of the Lord calls out to the city" (Micah 6:9). God is calling us to be His voice, speaking His Word to the people of our community.

God wipes out the shadow of our past - He “pardons sin” ( Micah 7:18 ). He shines in the light of His future - “We will be “clothed with our heavenly dwelling” ( 2 Corinthians 5:4 ). From this standpoint of privilege, we are called to fulfil our responsibility: to be soldiers of Christ ( Proverbs 21:22 ).