Notice what the Preacher wants to do!
"Wherewith shall I come
before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? "
Micah 6:6
He wants to approach God!
The verb "come" translates "qadam" and means
"to meet" or "to be in front of" someone! One Hebrew Grammar
says that the word usually implies "meeting" someone "for help!"
Here the verb is in the Piel stem, showing us that earnest,
dramatic, fervent activity is being expended!
Yet there is something a little unusual about
this verb. It, if "pointed" slightly differently ... if
different vowels are included, has a root meaning that implies
the "east!" It means "come with haste!" The idea is "to arrive
early!" There is real eagerness in Micah's heart to meet with
the Lord!
He is "hungry" for God!
Jesus said of such men,
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6
Then look at what the worshipper needs to do!
"And bow myself before
the High God!"
This verb is "kaphaph" and means "to curve"
or bend one's own back. It is here formed as a niphal verb,
usually implying that it's passive in voice. If one ever really
gets in the Presence of God ... he or she will bow! It's an
automatic response! You don't have to do that for yourself!
Daniel long ago bowed as did Peter many years later and even
John on Patmos and so will everyone else who ever enters the
Presence of our great God!
Then, lastly for now, notice the Name used
for God here.
He is the "high" God!
Of the eleven times God is called the high
God in the Old Testament, the majority of those times (six) He
is "The Most High God," using El Elyon, one of His Proper Names.
But in Daniel, and Daniel alone, He is four
times the High God! In Hebrew "illay," an adjective in the
superlative degree, means the very "highest!" There is none like
Him!
Same meaning but a different form!
Then we come to Micah 6, the last of the "High
God" references.
Here our adjective is radically different!
"Maroom" is derived from a root verb that
means "to rise" or "to go up" or "to be exalted!" It pictures
One Who is constantly being more and more highly elevated! To
our estimation God is bigger every day! In reality God is
perfect and omnipotent eternally! It's just our comprehension of
Him that's growing!
The term "High God" here emphasizes the
Lord's Dignity and Reverence!
The first time "maroom" is used in Scripture,
late in the Bible to be a "first mention" I might add, is 2nd
Samuel 22:17. Here David is praising the Lord and says:
"He sent from above,
he took me; he drew me out of many waters; He delivered me from
my strong enemy, and from them that hated me: for they
were too strong for me."
The God Who lives Above, in Heaven, helped
David!
Sounds like Jesus' Lord's Prayer
Introduction: "Our Father Which art IN HEAVEN!"
Micah here sure has the right heart!
He wants to gain God's ear!
He longs to know how!
Lord willing, more tomorrow!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 2, MAY 24, 2006:
The Prophet Micah is asking a question.
"Wherewith shall I come
before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God?
Micah 6:6
He longs to know how to approach God!
Surely such worship would require "bowing"
before Him!
I just noticed a another particular nuance about the
word for "bowing" here.
Yes ... the Holy Spirit here uses an unusual
word for "bow." It is spelled "kaphaph" and is only used five
times in the whole Bible! While the generic "bow down" is used
two dozen times, this specific Hebrew word is nearly unique in
its infrequency of occurrence.
In fact, in Isaiah 58:5 it is found in a
hypocritical sense! The Jews there are fasting, but they are
also being selfish and living wickedly! This kind of "bowing
down" is not acceptable before the Lord!
And again in Psalm 57:6 David is being
persecuted by the ungodly. They have so tormented him that his
soul is "bowed down."
Now let me make an announcement.
True humility before God is proper and
acceptable, even pleasing unto Him.
But some man-made self-righteous religious
act, whatever it be ... including "bowing down" cannot gain
acceptance before God!
In fact, it is ... "Not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to
his mercy he saved us." Titus 3:5
God is not worshipped through our posture ...
but through careful approach to His great Throne of Grace ... by
means of the Blood of Jesus!
It is not in a religious ritual ... but in a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ that we find true
Satisfaction for our souls!
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3, MAY 25, 2006:
The Prophet Micah wants to "approach" God!
He longs for fellowship with the Almighty!
And, in a theoretical and didactical manner,
he asks a series of questions.
"I know," says Micah.
Surely the way to God is "to come before Him
with burnt offerings!"
Here's our verse:
"Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself
before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt
offerings?" Micah 6:6
The expression "burnt offerings," is used 86
times in the Old Testament. Its counterpart, the singular "burnt
offering," is used an additional 184 times! The Hebrew noun
behind the term is "olah" and means a whole animal given to God
in sacrifice ... on the fiery altar. The "root" verb behind our
worship term here is one that means "to ascend," probably
because that's what the smoke does as the fire consumes the
meat.
Noah is the first in Scripture said to have
specifically offered a "burnt offering." See Genesis 8:20.
The "law of the burnt offering" is detailed
particularly in Leviticus 1:1-17. In it, and only in it of all
Israel's offerings, God received everything! The Priest was
given nothing of this animal, nor was the worshipper! It is
wholly dedicated to the Lord!
It, the animal to be slain, could have been a
large animal if one was wealthy and wished to give God a
substantial gift (oxen were allowed) or could have been much
smaller (a little lamb) so the average men could participate, or
even a little bird (dove) if the worshipper was poor! No matter
one's status financially ... he could approach and worship God
properly!
Whatever sacrifice was appropriate, it had to
die, to shed its blood! And, it appears to me, that the
worshipper slew his offering there before the Priest at the door
of the Tabernacle! He also would have been standing near the hot
burning altar!
Whatever animal was sacrificed, it had to be
without blemish or spot, no imperfections were allowed! God was
particular about this requirement.
And the holocaust (meaning something "wholly
burnt") that followed pleased God and provided "atonement" or
"covering" for the worshipper's sins, at least in the Old
Testament economy.
And this is what Micah would have first done
to commune with God, to open fellowship and enjoy His Presence!
BUT, WAIT A MINUTE!
There is now a better way!
Jesus has come, virgin born!
God's Son has lived sinlessly on this earth!
Then he died on the Cross ... as the
Substitute for sinners!
His shed Blood washes away sin!
Then, after being buried three days and
nights, he arose literally from the tomb!
And lives today, seated at His Father's Right
Hand!
Jesus saves, not the blood of bulls and
goats!
Of course, I must remind you that Jesus IS
the Fulfillment of that Burnt Offering program God established
is the days of old.
Jesus wholly gave Himself to His Father!
Jesus was perfect, no blemishes!
Jesus was consumed by the fires of God's very
holiness! God's judgment fell upon His Own Son so we sinners
could be saved!
Jesus is equally available to all; wealthy,
average or poor!
And Jesus' sacrifice on Calvary did "rise up"
to the very nostrils of God, Who pronounced it acceptable for
the salvation of the lost!
Today's Text provides us with one of the
greatest examples of Grace that I know!
Praise God for Jesus!
No, Micah, we no longer need burnt offerings!
We can come to God through the Lord Jesus
Christ Who IS the eternal Burnt Offering!
Yet alive for evermore!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4, MAY 25, 2006:
The Prophet believes that approaching God
just might require the sacrifice of some choice calves, those
only one year old!
He writes: "Shall I
come before God with burnt offerings, with calves of a year
old?" Micah 6:6
These are the best animals in the herd!
And Micah is willing to give several of them
... to commune with God!
The first time a calf was sacrificed in
Scripture occurred back in Genesis 18:7 where Abraham fed the
Angel of the Lord, a pre-incarnate Jesus no doubt, a tender
calf! The Lord got the prime of the beef!
But a calf can be abused when sacrifice is
involved! Remember the golden calf of Exodus 32? Aaron failed
the Lord there.
But again in Leviticus 9 a calf is given to
God, beautifully so!
I surly have some good news for Micah!
Now, since Calvary, we do not have to give
our flocks or herds or other spotless animals!
Why?
Because God's Son paid the price for our sin!
He, Jesus, Who is the royal King and the
perfect Man and the soaring Eagle and the submissive Calf of
God, sacrificed Himself that we might be saved!
By the way, Matthew portrays Jesus as King,
Mark as Calf, Luke as Man and John as the Eagle!
Look at the humble service of our Lord.
Where else but Mark would this be said of our
Lord? "For even the Son of man came not to
be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a
ransom for many." Mark 10:45
Like a lowly calf, He served others!
Praise His Name!
Next time you worship, don't kill a calf,
thank God for the Saviour Who humbly gave His All that we might
enjoy God forever!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 5, MAY 26, 2006:
Then Micah wonders if God would be pleased
with "thousands of rams."
"Wherewith shall I come
before the LORD? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of
rams?" Micah 6:6-7
If it takes that, the Prophet plans willingly
to give such!
In other words, maybe the sheer numbers will
impress God Almighty!
Solomon, when he dedicated the Temple,
offered 22,000 oxen! And 120,000 sheep!
Such numbers apparently were typical of royal
worship!
Think of the multiplied thousands of little
sheep and other innocent animals slain during Passover Week each
year in Jerusalem!
But we all now know that vast quantities of
bloodshed do not impress God!
Salvation does not depend on how much Blood
is sacrificed, but Whose Blood it is!
All my tainted human blood would have saved
no one! But Jesus' Blood has saved sinners in the past, is
saving the lost yet today, and will continue to save others
until time is no more!
"The blood of Jesus
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1st John 1:7
Yes Jesus, Jesus alone, shed His Blood to
forgive sinners!
Micah, forget your thousands of rams.
Cling to the One Saviour!
I'm now thinking of ... not a thousand rams
... but one ram! And he was even caught in a thicket of trees
and bushes! But his life spared the life of Abraham's Son Isaac
one day!
"And Abraham lifted up
his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught
in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram,
and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his
son." Genesis 22:13
That ram is a picture of our Saviour!
He died ... so we could go free, enjoying
eternal life along the way!
"All we like sheep have
gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the
LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah
53:6
Not 1,000 rams ... just 1 lamb, The Lamb Of
God!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
P. S. --- Here's a quick note on the verb
"pleased." The Hebrew "ratzsah" means to be delighted, to be
happy, to enjoy, or to experience pleasure! God is apparently
pleased when His children worship Him. But He is most delighted
... in His only begotten darling Son! He has said so again and
again!
LESSON 6, MAY 27, 2006:
Next Micah wonders if God would be pleased
with "ten thousands of rivers of oil."
Micah 4:7
Would such a massive gift earn God's favor?
Surely that would gain a person entrance to
the portals of Heaven!
The word for "oil" is "shemen" in Hebrew.
Olive oil is in view here. The noun is derived from a verb,
"shaman," which means "to shine!" This particular word is used
193 times in the Bible.
Oil was required on certain sacrifices in the
dispensation of Law. I mean to be poured upon or mingled within
the offerings. For example, the meat offering of Leviticus
2:1-16. Here Jesus is being pictured in His perfect life ...
which made His perfect sacrificial death efficacious! The
ingredients: fine flour, oil poured upon that, frankincense,
then salt! Add to that ... the fire! Part of it was burnt, being
dedicated to God, the remainder was given to the Priest for his
daily bread! Never could this offering include any leaven or
honey either!
See! It, the oil, was an ingredient in the
worship of God.
That oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit we
believe.
Oil must be pressed from the olive! And
Jesus' life of pressure and sacrifice and death brought about
the possibility of the Holy Spirit being on earth as He now is!
Then ... that oil can give light!
And it can make cooking one's food possible!
It can make one's face shine!
It can reduce friction!
And much more.
BUT, wait a minute!
Micah is proposing bringing his own oil ...
to "earn" God's Grace!
That will not do the job!
In salvation, in Christian service, in
victory over sin and in every other phase of Christian life, the
"oil" must be supplied by God Himself!
The Holy Spirit operates as God!
He is God!
I can't add one drop of Holy Ghost oil to my
getting saved!
I can not provide a quart of Holy Ghost
anointing on my ministry!
God does that!
I can keep myself from being a hindrance, but
I cannot bring the oil!
Notice also that Micah was willing to provide
"rivers" of oil!
At what cost?
Where would that kind of supply have been
available?
Yet read it again: "ten thousands" of rivers
of oil!
A impossible amount!
Micah is surely using a bit of sanctified
sarcasm here!
Billions of barrels of oil will not alter
God's Will one iota.
Forget it, Micah!
If God is ever to be approached and pleased
and properly honored, there must be a better way!
There is!
Praise the Lord!
We don't have to "bring the oil!"
God has provided the Holy Spirit, The Real
Oil, to aid us every step of the way!
The Holy Ghost protected us when we were
still sinners!
He convicted us and drew us to Jesus, back
when we were saved!
He indwelt us and guided us a newborn saints!
He taught us every bit of God's Word, that
part that we truly know anyway!
He is grieved and quenched when we sin,
thereby informing us of His displeasure!
He motivates and strengthens us to serve the
Lord!
He comforts us when such need arises!
And He will never leave or forsake us!
Tens of thousands of rivers of oil could
never match that kind of Help!
And we can be "filled" with the Holy Spirit
too!
Today we can forget about the oil market!
We have something, make that Someone, who is
infinitely Better!
Thank God for the precious Holy Spirit!
Where would we be without Him?
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 7, MAY 28, 2006:
The Prophet continues.
"Shall I give my
firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body
for the sin of my soul?" Micah 6:7
Seeking peace and fellowship with God, Micah
considers going to this extreme, the offering of his firstborn
child!
The noun firstborn ("bekor") is also
translated "eldest" and "eldest son" in our King James Bibles.
It's "root" meaning, derived from its parent verb, is "to burst
the womb."
The noun "transgression" is "pesha" in Hebrew
and literally means a revolt, a rebellion! To break away! To
rebel!
And in a little phrase that will drive the
ultra feminists crazy, Micah calls the child the "fruit" of his
own body! The noun for "body" is the common word for "womb,"
being used that way 31 times in the Old Testament! Micah
considers his wife's womb to be his womb! I mean in the
sense that the children produced were his offspring!
Then the word "sin," in Hebrew "chattah,"
means a "missing" of the mark God has established for us! A
"falling short" of God's standard!
God never once in the Bible endorses child
sacrifice. He "tested" Abraham concerning Isaac in Genesis 22,
but a ram was substituted for the boy and his life was spared!
The Jews as a nation did several times sink
to these low depths of iniquity, acting like the heathen nations
around them. Child sacrifice to some sadistic god! For example;
Ahaz, king of Judah: "But he walked in the
way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass
through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen,
whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel."
2nd Kings 16:3
Isaiah preaches against such unspeakable
acts. "Enflaming yourselves with idols
under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys
under the clifts of the rocks?" Isaiah 57:5
See how deeply Micah longs for communion with
God?
He will do anything to experience it!
But ... wait a minute!
Micah, you do not have to sacrifice your son!
Good news for sinners!
God has made a Way!
Through the Blood of Jesus ... the death of
God's only begotten Son, we can walk with God eternally!
God made the ultimate Sacrifice!
God suffered the torment!
Yes, "God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16
Praise the Lord!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 8, MAY 29, 2006:
The "heart" of our Text now appears:
"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is
good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do
justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
Micah 6:8
Here's what man must do!
Here are God's "requirements" for fellowship
and communion!
The verb for "showed" is "nagad" and in the
Hiphil stem as here means "to declare or tell." Or "to
announce."
The adjective "good" is spelled "tob" and has
a wide range of meaning. Pleasant, agreeable, excellent,
valuable, appropriate, happy or beneficial ... to list a few!
Then the verb "require" must be considered. "Darash"
in our current context means "to demand." It, being a Qal
participle (simple active voice), simply suggests that God
constantly requires these things!
What things?
"To do justly!"
What?
"To do justly!"
And I am immediately going to tell you this
is an impossible requirement!
Man alone can not do justly!
He's a sinner and will always fail when it
comes to God's Holiness and Righteousness!
Then, how can anyone ever love God and spend
eternity with Him?
Through the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son!
Listen to Paul: "Being
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that
is in Christ Jesus!" Romans 3:24
That's how!
That's how we can "do justly!"
By being "in" Jesus!
Romans 5:1-2 ---
"Therefore being
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into
this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of
God."
Romans 5:9 --- "Much
more then, being now
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through him."
Jesus "was delivered
for our offences, and was raised again
for our justification."
Romans 4:25
Do justly?
Yes, because we have been made just ... in
Jesus!
Micah is preaching the Gospel, and doing so
seven hundred years before Jesus was born!
Our righteousness is as "filthy rags" says
Isaiah 64:6.
But in Jesus we are counted "just!"
And as Jesus lives through us ... via the
Power of the Holy Spirit ... we can indeed "do justly!"
Yet really, that is not us doing anything ...
but Jesus doing it all!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 9, MAY 30,2006:
To know God and fellowship with Him closely
one needs a relationship with Mercy!
To use Micah's words,
"to love mercy."
The Lord requires this "loving of mercy"
according to Micah 6:8.
But what does that mean?
The verb "love" is "ahabah" and means "to
have affection" for something or someone. It is used in
Scripture for love horizontally (man for his brother or man for
his wife or man for his possessions) and vertically (man for God
and God for man). The Bible student must examine the setting or
context of this verb in each verse to further determine its
depth and intensity.
Here "to love" mercy is a Qal stem (simple
active voice) infinitive, teaching us that this love is still
continuing at the present time.
But to love mercy can be such a nebulous
statement.
Let's examine its sacred History. Lot
first spoke of it in the Bible as he escaped Sodom! He spoke of
"magnified mercy!" Then Abraham's Bride-fetching steward linked
God's mercy and truth in Genesis 24:27. In Genesis 39:21 God
showed Joseph mercy. The Jews sang about it in Exodus 15:13,
having just come under the Blood and through the Red Sea! And
God even named a Seat in the Tabernacle and Temple the "Mercy
Seat!" Thereafter it is mentioned 25 more times in the Bible.
This history concentrates on the English word "mercy."
In Hebrew, "hesed" or one of its cognates is
used 251 times, the Book of Psalms embodying most of these
occurrences, 128 of them in fact!
By etymological definition, "hesed" is
derived from a word that merely means "to stoop" or "to bend
down." To bow! I believe this is a picture of what God did for
us, coming down to our level in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ!
The God-man! Deity in a human body! That's condescension!
Next "hesed" is associated with "covenant"
love in the Bible. Love between a husband and his wife, vowed
and committed and promised love! Love that says "til death do us
part!" Love that commits to hard times as well as good times!
That's the kind of covenant Love God has for us old sinners!
Thirdly, "hesed" love, if expressed by God,
is always love from the Greater to the lesser! Of course it
would have to be since none is greater than God! The Judge has
mercy on the prisoner, not vice versa!
Each new "shade" of meaning adds further
beauty to the concept of "mercy!"
And when these criteria are applied to God's
Mercy, no wonder we are asked to love it!
One Bible chapter, Psalm 136, is so saturated
with "hesed," it mentions it 26 different times! That's
loving His Mercy!
In fact, when all is said ... Jesus is Mercy
personified!
JESUS is the Mercy Seat!
God's Mercy is embodied in the Saviour!
No wonder we are told again and again that
"His Mercy endureth forever!"
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 10, MAY 31,
2006:
The Prophet Micah also knows that God
requires "humility." He writes: "He hath
shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD
require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to
walk humbly with thy God?" Micah 6:8
But how does one walk humbly?
The verb walk is "halak" in Hebrew and means
"to go, to come, to depart, to proceed, to follow or even to
lead!"
Here obviously one would be following
the Lord!
In our Text "halak" is an infinitive,
expressing on-going habitual action.
The word for "humbly" translates "tzsana" and
carries the idea of lowliness. Strange thing: Here is the only
time in Scripture this word is used!
Then the preposition "with" (In Hebrew = "im")
means "beside!" The first time it is used in the bible, Genesis
3:6, Eve just sinned and gave the fruit to her husband "with"
her! The initial occurrence is vested in pride, now Micah here
emphasizes humility!
While I realize it is possible to chasten
oneself as in Psalm 69:10 and to humble oneself as in James
4:10, real God sent humility is not self produced!
It is part of the work of the Holy Spirit!
Also it certainly is a part of the character
of Christ!
Jesus, in Matthew 11:29, plainly said
that He was "meek and lowly!"
And Peter, in 1st Peter 2:21, encourages us
to "follow Jesus' steps," which would be following in the paths
of humility!
Truthfully ... pride, humility's very
opposite, is a sin God hates! See the full list at Proverbs
6:16-19.
All I am saying is this.
Man by nature is not humble!
If He ever walks humbly with God, it will be
because of Holy Ghost conviction or the chastening Hand of the
Lord or the fullness of the Holy Spirit in his life!
The real root of all sin just might be ...
pride!
It was so with Lucifer in Isaiah 14.
It was so with Eve and Adam in Genesis 3.
The "pride of life" is one of Satan's three
main "tools" in his temptation catalogue! See 1st John 2:16.
All I'm trying to say is this.
"To walk humbly" with God, that precious
lifestyle, cannot be achieved merely by human resolve!
Only by the work of God in a human life can
true lowliness and humility be implanted!
What Micah needs is not the Law, but God's
amazing Grace!
And the old hymn writer John Newton was
right, after an experience with such Grace, one will speak of a
God Who "saved a wretch like me!" We will have no trouble
admitting we once were "blind" or "lost" or "unbelieving"
either!
That's humility!
Walking humbly with God is a blessing! A side
effect! A by-product of real salvation and the subsequent godly
living that produces!
Such a life is currently despised by the
world ... but rewarded by the Lord!
That just might say it all!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 11, JUNE 1,
2006:
This best known of all Micah's paragraphs
must be preached!
"Wherewith shall I come
before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God?
shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a
year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or
with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my
firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body
for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what
is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do
justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
Micah 6:6-8
Here longing for God's fellowship, Micah
offers a number of possible ways to commune with the Almighty!
But none is sufficient, even the sacrifice of
his firstborn!
However it appears to me that ... while the
Prophet could not "reach" God, God sure "reached" the Prophet,
revealing to him vital Truth!
Micah, says the Lord above:
"Do justly, and love mercy, and walk
humbly with thy God?"
Three "requirements!"
Three humanly impossible ones!
Nobody can do justly, not on their own!
And no human being has ever, for his or her
whole life, loved mercy! Each has gladly discarded such kindness
in exchange for revenge or bitterness or maybe even actual
attack!
Then, what has God "shown" us?
The verb here, "nagad," means not only "to
shew," but also "to declare, to make known or to expound!" To
make something conspicuous, outstanding and prominent!
God "revealed" ... justice and mercy and
humility!
These are character traits of Deity Himself!
And they are only fully embodied is His Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ!
And even though they reflected clearly from
His everyday Life on earth, they most brilliantly flashed during
His Death on the Cross of Calvary!
If I ever plan to go to Heaven, to fellowship
with Almighty God, to love His Person, I must believe that
"doing justice" and "loving mercy" and "walking humbly" are not
possible by human effort!
They are the fruit of being born again!
Washed in the Blood of Jesus!
Saved!
Yes, when this miracle called salvation comes
our way ... we are justified!
"Much more then, being now justified by
his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."
Romans 5:9
And we are bathed in
mercy! "That being justified by his
grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal
life." Grace and mercy are first cousins! And if Titus
3:7 is not sufficient for you, go back two verses:
"Not by works of righteousness which we
have done, but according to his mercy he saved us."
And visited and inhabited by the Holy and
Humble Spirit of God! "For God
resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble" says
1st Peter 5:5. Or better yet: "Put on
therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of
mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness ...."
Colossians 3:12
God's demands and Micah's longings are only
fulfilled in Jesus!
We have found an Old Testament hunger that is
only satisfied by the New Testament Saviour, God the Son ...
Whose Name is Jesus!
Adore and worship and thank Him today!
And if you have never been saved, Jesus
explains: "Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is
passed from death unto life." John 5:24
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
JESUS IS THE ANSWER! HE
IS INDEED THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN!
