“On the other hand, I am filled with the Spirit of the Lord and with justice and courage” (Micah 3:8).When the Father tells His children what He wants them to know, there is something He wants them to remember: Many religious leaders are blind and dumb. These blind leaders of the blind (Matt. 15:14) were leading their followers off a cliff, and today God’s children are to have “power, love and sound judgment” less they join this tragic parade (2 Tim.1:7). Also, these leaders were speaking, but they were not speaking the truth.
“They cry peace, but against Him who puts nothing into their mouth” (Micah 3:5). In other words, they were dumb to speaking the words of the Lord. The question should be asked: “If the Father is not putting things into their mouths, who is”? The answer is: “The god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4).
So, Micah was contrasting what his critics were saying with what he was saying by inspiration of the Spirit. Micah said: “On the other hand, I am filled with power, the Spirit of the Lord.”
This poor old world is in pain. God’s children are to bring relief and healing, not more pain. One day, while I was still practicing medicine, a young woman came into my office with tears streaming down her cheeks. I had to wait for her to be able to tell me what was wrong. When she finally could speak, she told me that she was a new Christian and like a trusting child had told her friend, who had been a Christian for a long time, about her guilt about her promiscuous behavior before salvation. Her friend, who had lived in a whitewashed world, was so shocked about such behavior that she told the young lady they couldn’t be friends anymore. She felt that she might be contaminated by what she heard. This self-righteous lady evidently believed in sharing, but not in confessing to one another (James 5:16). The young woman’s heartbroken tears didn’t come just from losing a dear friend; they came primarily from a trusting child’s broken heart. She thought all Christians would love her no matter what, as she had found that her Savior did.
Lest we become self-righteous and assert we nver would treat a new Christian that way, I assure you many of God’s children, instead of quietly reaching out in love, use verses out of context to strike self-righteous blows. God is holy; we are not. We are all sinners with old natures that seek the lusts of the flesh. The Holy Spirit is in constant battle with our predispositions (Gal. 5:25). In one sense, we are pigs that naturally seek the mud holes of the lusts of the flesh (Rom.13:14). Anyone who feels he or she is are not capable of wanting to get dirty at times is a liar (1 John 1:10). This is why though we “live in the Spirit,” we still have to “walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25). The reason this walk is so important is given a few verses earlier in Galatians 5:16, where it is revealed: “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” We have to “choose this day who [we] will serve” (Josh. 24:15). Will we choose today to follow our predispositions, the lust of the flesh; or shall we choose to ask for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit and therefore, walk in the Spirit?
Those of us who minister inside prisons often hear inmates say: “One more day,” as they are focused on just making it through one day at a time to the end of their sentences. Today is just one more day as we walk toward heaven’s door. In one sense, we normally are sentenced to have 70 to 80 years imprisoned in our bodies (Ps. 90:10). We serve our sentence one day at a time, and sometimes time is taken off for good behavior. However, each day we have to live on Earth is a gift from our Father and is so valuable that dying folks often would give everything they have for one more day.
What’s it going to be today:aA day walking in the Spirit, or a day going the easy way as we get lost in what feels good? Are we going to allow any thought that pops into our minds to impregnate itself? Are we going to grab anything for which our hands twitch? Are we going to say anything that bulbs up from our hearts? A life is determined by its owners’ choices.
Day by day, each of God’s children is to be filled by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22). This poor world is populated by those in doubt, depression and pain. We are to bring hope and God’s power. The most helpful and healing words we can share today are about the Lord’s love and are words from the Bible, given by the Holy Sprit’s loving power as we walk in the Spirit. Instead of a harsh spirit, today may we be full of compassion and care. Let us feel and not just think when someone has doubt, fear and pain. Let us be persons who understand because of what Jesus has done for us.
Let us not get too haughty in our understanding of what a Christian is to be. It is so easy for God’s children to rationalize that the devil claps his hands. Sadly, born again souls often leave the “simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). One way to boil down Christianity in action is found in the following:
A warm heart and warm eyes promote healing and reveal that we understand.
The power of the Holy Spirit comes from the Spirit of God, and God is love.
Not one thing about serving Jesus is about us.
Dear Father, please fill our hearts today with Your love and compassion. Fill us with the power of love so we can say with Micah: “On the other hand, I am filled with power—with the Spirit of the Lord—and with justice and courage,” in spite of our pasts and in spite of our tendencies. Lift us up above ourselves so we can be more like your Son. Help us walk this dusty path with love as our portion and while angels sing. In the name of Jesus, amen and amen.