The Heart of What is Good

Here is a good dose of encouragement in point-form.

 

1.     Encouragement to see the wonders of what these Scriptures tell us of the heart of God for our hearts.

2.    Encouragement to have our own daily time with God in his word and prayer so that we can find his treasures of wisdom and knowledge for ourselves.

3.    Encouragement to share your testimony of spending time with God with fellow believers to see how your puzzle pieces and theirs together show the picture of God’s good, acceptable and perfect will.

 

Theme verse:

         

8 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)

 

1.     There is no excuse for idolatry since God has already spoken of what is good.

2.    None of this can be done outwardly while the heart is inwardly turned to idols.

 

22 And Samuel said,

 

“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

    as in obeying the voice of the LORD?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

    and to listen than the fat of rams. (I Samuel 15)

 

1.     God speaks. He doesn’t wait to hear from us, but speaks for us to hear from him.

2.    God has “great delight” in relation to his children and guides us to attach to him in his great delight for our joy.

3.    Listening and obeying are his greatest delight because we are attached to him.

4.    Burnt offerings and sacrifices performed while our hearts are attached to idols mean nothing to him even though he prescribed them. They cannot be done independent of loving Yahweh our God.

 

6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,

    the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6)

 

1.     There is a way in which keeping the externals of the old covenant without love and attachment to Yahweh is not even the old covenant (as all the religiosity of the Roman Catholic church is not truly Christian).

2.    God’s “desire” means, “to delight (take) v. — to take a high degree of pleasure or mental satisfaction in.” This is what he WANTS with us!

3.    Steadfast love is the loyal hesed-love God reveals in the Old Testament that corresponds to the agapè-love we read about in the New Testament.

4.    The “knowledge of God” is a complete package, as we would think of someone really knowing us. It cannot be done without heart-attachment.

 

6 “So you, by the help of your God, return,

    hold fast to love and justice,

    and wait continually for your God.” (Hosea 12)

 

1.     The Repentance part: God is ready to help us “return”, which means, “to repent ⇔ return v. — to turn away from sin, conceived of as returning to God or returning from a location.” What a wonder this is that he wants such sinful idolaters to return to him to have the same level of intimate attachment as we could have had if we had never sinned!

2.    The Faith part: to attach to hesed-love and justice.

3.    The Hope part: to wait in faith regarding future things.

22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,

    I will not accept them;

and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,

    I will not look upon them. (Amos 5)

 

1.     God is not denying his covenant, that if we were to come to him according to all his provisions in the law he would not receive us.

2.    God is denying the fake religion, where people want to have their safety with God while their hearts are attached to idols (what James refers to as adultery).

 

24 But let justice roll down like waters,

    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5)

 

1.     Instead of outer observances with sinful hearts, God wants to see the reality of justice where his people want what is right without favoritism, partiality, or self-justification.

2.    The righteousness is not good behavior that earns his favor, but hearts that are genuinely flowing with righteousness because of our attachment to him.

 

Conclusion: Everything is telling me/us that God knows our hearts. Even if we don’t see him sifting everyone before our eyes, he is testing hearts. He may come to a different assessment about us or others because he alone knows each person’s heart. He alone knows how to factor in the heart-condition that is traumatized in relation to the sinful outward behaviors. None of us have that ability.

 

Which means:

 

8 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)

 

Yes, Lord!

 

         

© 2022 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8

Email: in2freedom@gmail.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)