To Do What is Right

To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. – (Proverbs 21:3, NIV)

Do what is right and fair. The Lord loves that more than sacrifices. – (Proverbs 21:3, ERV)

Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors means far more to God than religious performance. – (Proverbs 21:3, MSG)

Our attitudes and actions in all that we do are what matter most to God. How we treat people is a direct demonstration of our love for Him and all that His hands have made. Love is made known to others when our choices in word and deed are guided by truth, reason, justice and fairness. God does not look at religious performance; He looks at the heart. All that we say and all that we do needs to be guided by love in order to be what is right and fair. May we ever seek the Lord to lead us in all that we say and do, and may all we give be right and true. Lead us Lord, so that we may live right and justly throughout all of our days.

Help us, Lord Jesus,

in all of our ways;

to be right and just,

throughout each new day.

May our hearts reflect,

the glory that’s Yours;

as we walk in love,

for Your love restores.

It mends what’s broken,

restoring to whole;

brings joy and laughter,

for You soothe our soul.

Lead us, Lord Jesus,

to walk in Your love;

may kindness be seen,

through grace from above.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are far more concerned with our choices to live with fairness and to act justly, than You do about us presenting some sort of religious appearance. Thank You that You love us as we are, and transform us as You renew our hearts and minds. Thank You that You call us to love like You. Forgive us for the times that we have spoken or acted in a way that did not demonstrate Your goodness, fairness and grace. Teach us to walk in Your ways and to love all whom we encounter as You do. Lead us to love well, so that all may come to know Your heart for each one of us. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we seek You to show us more and more how to live right and justly throughout all of our days. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:8

Generosity and Justice

Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. – (Psalm 112:5, NIV) 

It is good for people to be kind and generous and to be fair in business. – (Psalm 112:5, ERV) 

Life is good for the one who is generous and charitable, conducting affairs with honesty and truth. – (Psalm 112:5, TPT) 

We are called to live a life of generosity and justice. This requires that we are kind and generous, honest and fair. Each of these things are part of the lifestyle that Jesus modeled for us. We are called to love, and how He loved is the ultimate example. Jesus was generous with His time, talent and resources, and He was quick to identify things that were right and those that were not, and operated justly; always. With so many things out of our control right now, our best defense is to live a life of love. Where we have plenty, we ought to be generous. As we navigate our way through our ever-changing jobs, we must do so with honesty, truth and fairness. Being an educator, this is especially important, as what we do, demonstrates to the next generation, how things ought to be done. If we are kind, generous and fair, the same is given in return. Even when it is not, our hearts can hold fast to choosing what is right and knowing that we have done our best to do what we are called to do. May we ever pursue God’s heart, so we will know best how to be kind, generous and just. 

It is always good, 

To live such a life; 

Where true justice reigns, 

And giving ends strife. 

For we have been called, 

And lovingly shown; 

What God has required, 

His way’s been made known. 

To choose act justly, 

Love mercy as well; 

Walk humbly with God, 

So good, our lives tell. 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You tell us in Your word and have shown us through Your Son, how to be generous and just in all things. Forgive us for the times that we have lacked a generous heart, or have not considered what is most just, equitable and fair. Show us how to live our lives with generosity, kindness and truth in all things. Help us to love those around us with generosity, humility, honesty and justice. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we seek You to live the life You are calling us to lead. Amen. 

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:8 

Recognize What is Good

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. – (Micah 6:8, NIV)

Human, the Lord has told you what goodness is. This is what He wants from you: Be fair to other people. Love kindness and loyalty, and humbly obey your God. – (Micah 6:8, ERV)

But He’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously – take God seriously. – (Micah 6:8, MSG)

 

There is no better time than now, to recognize what goodness is, and walk it out. The things that God asks of us are the very same things that He grants to us in abundance. He is just and merciful and full of love, compassionate and kind. We are charged to humbly walk with God and do as He asks, so that we too, might be equipped to extend the same to all whom we encounter. Incredibly, these things are contagious. Random acts of kindness have a domino effect, as the recipient of one small act is often compelled to do something kind for someone else, and so on. In this space of “staying at home”, we may think we have little opportunity to do good and have any sort of impact, however, our kids, our families, our neighbors, and even the checker at the grocery store when we need to restock supplies, will remember how we made them feel during this season. If we are compassionate and loyal in love, choosing fairness and kindness in all that we say and do, it will have a positive and lasting impact on those around us. It does make a difference, as even in our Zoom meetings, knowing my 6th grade team and I all love Jesus, there is a positivity, kindness and compassion toward one another and genuine concern for our students, that binds us together in common purpose. We are all willing to trust one another and try new things, as we each know the intention of the others is good. May we recognize the opportunity that we each have in this season to do as the Lord has shown us; for He will clearly show us what is good, what loyalty in love looks like, how to extend kindness, how to grant mercy, and how to walk humbly with Him.

 

When we seek and ask,

The Lord clearly shows;

What we are to do,

And which doors to close.

He shows us mercy,

So we’ll do the same;

To love, give kindness,

It honors His Name.

As we walk with Him,

And humbly pray;

He leads and guides us,

He shows us the way.

His plan’s always good,

Full of love and grace;

We’re meant for the same,

As we walk His way.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You show us what is good and what You require of us. Thank You that You do not ask anything of us that You are not also willing to give us and equip us to do. Thank You that You first loved us and made the way for us to do as You ask of us. Forgive us for the times that we have not represented You well, or have done nothing when we were meant to reach out. Teach us to trust You more, so that we would have Your eyes to see the opportunities to operate justly, love mercy, give kindness, love with loyalty, and ever walk humbly with You. Show us specific and tangible ways to demonstrate Your goodness and love everywhere we go, with everyone whom we encounter. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we love You and seek to love others like You do. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him. – Psalm 34:8

Thanks Beyond the Scope of Simply Seeing

I will thank the Lord because He is just; I will sing praise to the Name of the Lord Most High. – (Psalm 7:17, NLT)

Yet another reason to thank the Lord is for the nature of His character. He is just; (guided by truth, reason, justice and fairness – dictionary.com) because He is the truth, therefore He determines what is reasonable, grants justice, and provides fairness according to His standards, not our own. The justice that we long to see, often takes place beyond the scope of our simply seeing. The Lord’s justice has eternal consequence, it is not often only a here and now action. Again, our response to God and His Name Most High, ought to be to offer all of our thanks and praise. As we sing praise unto Him, our hearts lay hold of the truth of who He is, and the faithfulness that He provides not only in the here and now, but for all that is yet to come. May we thank the Lord because He is just, and sing praise to His Name Most High.

O Lord, we give thanks,

because You are just;

we choose to sing praise,

unto God with us.

For Your Name is great,

as You are what’s true;

You grant us justice,

and make all things new.

No matter what’s seen,

O God, You provide;

present in battle,

with arms open wide.

We give You all thanks,

and sing You our praise;

ever lift our voice,

for all of our days.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are just. Thank You that You are worthy of all of our thanks and praise. Forgive us for not trusting that You are at work on our behalf, even when we cannot see the evidence of the movement You are making. Teach us to trust You more, as You alone deserve all of our trust, as You are forever faithful and true. Help our hearts to hold fast to an attitude of thanks and praise, regardless of what we see. Show us how to love others with open arms, just as You love us. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we thank You for Your justice and sing praises unto Your Most Holy Name. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; …write them on the tablet of your heart. – Proverbs 3:3

Living in Love

“John answered, ‘The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.’  Tax collectors also came to be baptized, ‘Teacher,’ they asked, ‘what should we do?’ ‘Don’t collect any more than you are required to,’ he told them.  Then some soldiers asked him, ‘And what should we do?’  He replied, ‘Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely – be content with your pay.” – Luke 3:11-14

image by John Haydon

John’s message out in the desert back then, is still very much applicable to our lives right now.  The meat of his message is to:

(1) Share what we have with those who need it

(2) Whatever our job is, do it well and with fairness, and

(3) Be content with what we are earning

(*three points from NIV Study Bible footnotes)

The new command that Jesus gave to us is to love God and to love people.  Interestingly enough, if we are loving God and loving people, our natural inclination will be to share what we have with those who have none, we will want to work as if we are working directly for our Father in heaven (because ultimately we are), and in Him, we learn to be content in all things.

These verses inspire me to further purge my home and closet of excess, and to give away what is no longer needed nor worn.  Professionally, I am both challenged and inspired to continue setting new goals for myself and my students, with frequent check-ins to determine both our short and long-term direction.  As far as earnings go, our bills get paid, our vehicles run, and there is always food to place on the table – I know that I am abundantly blessed.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that Your message is clear – that we are meant to love You and love each other.  If we are doing just that, we will be content in our circumstances, we will do our best, live generously, and love lavishly.  You, who sent Your only Son to lay down His life so that we might live, have shown us again and again and again, what love really means.  Forgive us for not always keeping our eyes open to the needs of those around us, and teach us how to live, love, work, share and simply settle into a life of loving like You.  You lead, and we will follow in faith.  May many find faith in You through the kindness and obedience of the faithful.  Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present