Category Archives: Judgment

Accountability, Bible, Devil, Discipline, Evil, God's Will, Judgment, Obedience, Satan, Scripture

AMBIDEXTROUS 

MICAH 7:3 

“As for evil, both hands do it well. The leader asks for a bribe, also the judge, and the great one speaks the capricious desire of his soul; so they plot it together.” 

I have known a few people in my life who were ambidextrous. That means they could do things with both hands equally well. Switch hitters in baseball have that trait. I have known artists who could draw or paint with either hand. It is a rare ability. I do good to use one hand. 

These individuals Micah is talking about were ambidextrously evil. Their whole focus was on doing what was bad. Micah calls out these leaders and judges who were doing this. One version of this verse translates the last phrase as “they wrap it up.” This evil was done purposely and with planning.  

APPLICATION 

What is (are) your hand(s) doing? Are you a one-handed or a two-handed sinner? Do you sin on purpose? Do you choose to do evil? Those are tough questions, I know. But, just as Micah called out the people, I feel I need to call us out on this. I know so many believers who choose to live in sin and think it is okay. 

Listen to me, God is still a holy and righteous God who demands obedience. He will not force us. That is not His nature. However, He will hold us accountable for our actions. I have said this before, but it bears repeating. Before we are saved, we chase sin. After we are saved, sin chases us. 

I know the old devil is going to throw his best pitches against me every day. He wants to trip me up. He wants to sideline me. I have to know what my hands are doing – good or evil. I strive to choose good every day. Am I perfect? Far from it! But I will use my hands to do good every chance I get. 

Father, forgive me when my hands do evil. Give me the strength to fight against the evil one. 

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Abiding, Accountability, Bible, Blessing, Comfort, Following, God's Will, Judgment, Scripture

A LONGING 

MICAH 7:1 

“Woe to me! For I am like harvests of summer fruit, like gleanings of grapes. There is not a cluster of grapes left to eat, nor an early fig, which I crave.” 

When I travel, I get a longing for home about the end of the first week. I can just feel the warmth of my own bed at home. I can taste a big glass of sweet, iced tea. Those longings do not go away until I reach home and can fulfill them. You have probably experienced similar longings. 

Here, at the beginning of chapter 7, Micah in voicing some of his longings in the face of the judgment of God. He compares his longing for the Lord’s comfort to the longings of a harvest, both grapes and figs. They both bring pleasure, as does the presence of the Lord. 

APPLICATION 

What are you longing for? If it is for the things of this world, that longing may be met, but it will be a fleeting pleasure. We are to long for the presence of the Lord with more passion than we have for other things. Those other things will not last. They are not meant to. 

But the presence of God in our lives will last for eternity. Did you get that? You can pursue and obtain only one thing that will truly last. If that is true (and it is), why do we spend so much time in pursuit of other things. 2 Peter 4:2 says it well. “As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.” 

Examine your longings today. Do they match up with God’s Word and His will for your life. All those things you strive to obtain need to be seen in view of what will give God the most glory. By doing that, you please the Father.  

O Lord, You have given me so much to be thankful for. Help me to strive for only those things that give You pleasure. 

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Bible, Confession, Judgment, Pity, Scripture, Uncategorized

A HISSING NOISE 

MICAH 6:16 

“‘The statutes of Omri and every work of the house of Ahab are maintained, and you walk by their plans. Therefore, I will give you up for destruction, and your inhabitants for derision, and you will suffer the taunting of My people.’” 

What a strange title for my blog today, right? Well, I’ll explain in a bit. I am not talking about the hissing of a snake or of a tire that is leaking. I am talking about a hissing sound made by someone who was disappointed in something. It is that sound you make blowing air through clinched teeth. 

Why am I explaining that. Because the word for “derision” here in today’s verse means “hissing” in Hebrew. Jeremiah combines this word with “a horror” four different times (Jer. 25:9, 18; 29:18; 51:37). God was going to make Israel something horrible to look at. People would walk by them, shake their head and make that horrible hissing sound.  

APPLICATION 

Do people walk by you and do that? Do they wonder what in the world has happened to you. I know someone who recently has renounced their faith and walked away from their family. Hiss! Hiss! It is said to see what sin can do. It has been said, “Sin will take you further than you ever wanted to stray, keep you longer than you ever wanted to stay and cost you more than you ever thought you would pay.” 

But there is a remedy. Come back to the Lord. Confess your sins and seek His forgiveness. He stands ready to do just that. If you are a believer who has strayed, come home. You will be safe in His arms. If you have never received Christ as Savior, ask Him now. He is there, waiting for you to respond. 

Above all, stop your own hissing sound as you look at others. Instead, seek a way in which you can help bring them to Jesus. It may be hard, and they may refuse your offer, but don’t give up. Jesus did not give up on you.  

I am thankful, Lord, that the hissing sounds of others as they looked at me have ceased due to the blood of Your Son. 

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Appeasement, Bible, Blessing, Commands, Commitment, Contentment, Humility, Judgment, Mercy

WHAT DO YOU WANT, GOD?

MICAH 6:8

“He has told you, mortal one, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

It is hard to please someone if you do not know what they want. I remember going through the Five and Dime store in my hometown of Pelham, GA trying to find the perfect Mothers’ Day gift for my mom. In the end I got this “very pretty” sand sculpture in this glass vase. My mom probably hated it, but she kept it the rest of her life. It was not about the gift to her. It was all about the giver – me.

God has told us exactly what He wants from us. Three things – to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with Him. Now, if you have not seen this verse before, you can’t say that anymore. You have been told what He wants. It is the same thing He wanted from His children so long ago. And just like us, they spurned Him. They wanted their own thing and their own way.

APPLICATION

So, what do you need to do? To do justice. What does that mean? It means for you to judge appropriately, correctly, righteously rather than based on your own desires or prejudices. But Micah quickly adds “to love kindness.” Some versions say “to love mercy. This is the flip side of justice. Both are necessary and both are a part of God’s character.

Finally, Micah tells us “to walk humbly with our God.” That’s the hard part. The old country song said, “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way.” We all think we are doing okay. True humility requires us to put others before ourselves. That is just not the American way.

These things God required then and required now will give us a balanced approach as we seek to serve our King. Will you trust Him in this? If He tells us to do something, we can be sure it is for our good. We may not see it as good at the beginning, but we will eventually. God is going for the long play. Can you?

I place my life in Your hands, Lord, to do with as You please.

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Anger, Battles, Bible, Choices, Compassion, God's Will, Holiness, Judgment, Scripture

GOOD ANGER?

MICAH 5:15

“‘And I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath on the nations which have not obeyed.’”

All our lives we are told to not get angry. When our favorite toy is broken by our sibling, do not get angry. When the car breaks down for the umpteenth time, do not get angry. When our friend stabs us in the back, do not get angry. So, why do we see God getting angry at the people of Israel and that is okay?

God’s anger is not our anger. Our anger is birthed out of sin and rage. His out of love. Our anger comes from our unchecked emotions. His out of love. Our anger comes from a desire to get even. His out of love. God’s anger in verse 15 today is due to His holiness. He cannot and will not tolerate sinful actions. Here His anger is directed towards those unruly nations who have oppressed His children. God’s anger is unreproachable.

APPLICATION

We do not have God’s discretion or patience. We lash out in anger and then justify it. We claim we have the right to be angry. Ephesians 4:26-27 comes to mind. “In your anger, do not sin and do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not give the devil a foothold.”

My wife and I decided to never go to bed angry. That has led to many sleepless nights. Lol. Just kidding. We do try to do that, but to be honest, we have gone to bed angry. Guess what? That anger does not disappear as you sleep. In fact, it can cause a very restless night.

I believe all conflicts among believers is due to either one or both individuals living out of their flesh rather than the Spirit. There is no situation too big for God to solve. When He says to not get angry, He is not talking about anger over seeing the righteous suffer or children being abused. He is referring to our flesh inspired anger toward each other. That anger must be defeated through our surrender to His Spirit in our lives. Look at your anger today. At whom is it direction? From where does it come?

Oh Father, I am thankful Your wrath over my sin has been taken care of by the blood of Your precious Son.

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Abiding, Allegiance, Battles, Bible, Commands, Enemies, Judgment, Leading

UNDER SIEGE

MICAH 5:1

“Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops; they have laid siege against us; with a rod they will strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.”

I recently read this great book by David Hosaflook about Marin Barleti’s first-hand account of the siege of Shkodra. It was a detailed description of the horrors of the siege. The assault on that city was a terrible loss of life and property. Reading about the way, however, the people of Shkodra fought was inspiring.

Now, the Lord tells the people that the siege is coming. They knew about sieges. They had faced them before. They could only imagine how bad it would get, but this was their own doing. They had dishonored their God and had to face the consequences.

APPLICATION

Sometimes in our lives we feel we are under siege. It seems the whole world has gathered its forces against us and is battering down the front door. Bills pile up. The car breaks down. Your child gets suspended from school. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

In times like these, we must do as the Lord told the people – we must muster our troops. What does that mean? We look to our commander. No troops are effective without a leader. We have one in Jesus Christ. He knows the best defense. He knows the best offense. He will guide us through these hard times, if we will let Him.

I have gone through my share of hard times, some harder than others. I have not always looked to my commander. At times, I have tried to muster my own troops and lead myself. That usually ended with another defeat. But when I looked to Jesus and rested in Him, I got through that battle. You can too if you will just look to Him.

I am grateful for Your Son, Jesus, leading me in my hardest times. He is forever faithful.

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Accountability, Advocate, Battles, Bible, Condemnation, Consequences, Devil, Enemies, Forgiveness, God's Will, Gospel, Judgment, Scripture

GOD’S TOOLS

MICAH 4:12

“‘But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD, and they do not understand His plan; for He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.’”

I am reminded of the illustration of how God can use anyone. There was an elderly widow who had a very mean and ungodly landlord. He would often ridicule her faith and spurred any witness the widow gave. One day he overheard her praying to the Lord for groceries, as she was short on food. He said to himself that he would go buy her groceries, put them at her door and when she found them and praised her God (as he knew she would), he would swoop in and tell her off.

Well, it happened that way. She opened her door, found the groceries and immediately started praising God. The landlord came from around the corner and said, “Hah, your God didn’t give you those, I did. Hah!” The widow looked at him with tears in her eyes and said, “Oh yes, He did. He just used the devil to do it.”

You see the pagan nations around Israel thought they were doing as they pleased against Israel. They did not realize they were only being used by God to execute judgment against them. God would (and did) judge them also for their pride and contempt against His people. The phase about the sheaves is interesting. You see, it does not matter the number of sheaves that must be harvested because in the end, they must all be cut down. So must the enemies of Israel.

APPLICATION

When we see the wicked triumph over good, just remember God’s principles have not changed. He will still judge the wicked. We may not live to see it done, but it will happen. They just think they are getting away with it now. One day, they will face Him and have to answer for their unbelief and wicked ways. It is not our place to judge them.

Now, to be honest, that is hard for me. When I see people live in such wicked, ungodly ways, I want to call them out. I must confess any wrong motives about that to the Lord. I do not have the right to judge anyone. I know that, but sometimes my spirit gets offended at their actions.

Instead, I need to act more like Jesus. He knew the actions of the Pharisees and Sadducees was abhorrent to His Father. He knew their motives and their very thoughts. Yet, He still came to die for them as well. He loved them as much as they let Him. We should do the same. Will you choose to love someone today who truly needs a Savior?

O Lord, it is hard to love some people. Help me love them with Your love.

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Accountability, Accused, Bible, Confession, Destruction, God's Will, Guilt, Integrity, Judgment, Modeling, Rebuke, Scripture

IT IS YOUR FAULT 

MICAH 3:12 

“Therefore, on account of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the temple will become high places of a forest.” 

No one likes to be accused of something, especially if you are innocent. But what if you are guilty? You know you did it. You deserve the blame. Perhaps you have gotten “away with it” for a while, maybe even years. But now it is out. Your sin has been discovered and has cost others. 

This is exactly where the leaders of Israel and Judah find themselves. Their guilt has been exposed. God knew all the time but is just now bringing forth the charges. The judgment is falling. It cost not only them but the entire nation because the people had followed them right into destruction. 

APPLICATION 

I see two lessons here for us today. One, be careful who you follow. Too many of us are tunnel-visioned. As long as the church looks good on the outside and has all the latest and greatest programs and technology, we think they are on top of it. After all, can’t we trust someone in ministry? Just check your paper or internet stories, and you will find that not to be true. 

Secondly, we must have someone in our lives who can and will hold us accountable. When no one is watching over us, we can resort to all kinds of fleshly decisions. We make our decisions on what “feels” right instead of what God says. Oh, the danger in that. 

I am so glad I am part of a few accountability groups. I meet weekly with two groups and another once per month. I help lead a group of men through our Every Man A Warrior study which demands accountability. If you are not aware of this study, check it out at www.everymanawarrior.com. There is no better way to get a man to go deep with God and be a responsible disciple maker.  

Lord, I am so thankful for the men You have put in my life who will hold me accountable. 

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Accountability, Bible, Disciplemaking, Judgment, Truth

WISHFUL THINKING 

MICAH 3:11 

“Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD, saying, ‘Is the LORD not in our midst? Catastrophe will not come upon us.’” 

Have you ever wanted something which you know is totally out of your reach? You mention it to a friend and they say, “Wishful thinking.” In other words, you don’t have a chance of getting that. They kind of brought you back to reality. 

The leaders and priests to whom Micah is talking were doing just that. They thought just because they said something, it was going to come true. After all, weren’t they God’s chosen people? But they were perverting God’s message. No, really, they were saying it was God’s message, but it wasn’t. 

APPLICATION 

We must speak truth at all times. It is so important for we believers to be above reproach. We need to speak God’s Word, no matter how harsh. Now, we are told to do that in love. Of course. That just makes sense. But so many Christians forget that. 

Many Christians don’t want to tell someone the truth for fear it might hurt someone’s feelings. Let me ask you a question. Is it better to risk that or to not speak up and watch someone die and go to hell? That question may be harsher than some of you reading can handle. Sorry about that, but it is the truth. 

I have seen it happen so many times when people would not speak up and the person moves away or even dies before they are confronted. Do not let the fear of rejection deter you from telling the truth. You do not want to live to regret that decision. 

O Lord, thank for loving me and for also pointing out my need for a Savior. 

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Accountability, Accused, Advocate, Bible, Cleansing, Confession, God's Will, Holiness, Idols, Judgment, Listening, Repentance, Scripture

NO ANSWER

MICAH 3:7

“The seers will be put to shame, and the diviners will be ashamed. Indeed, they will all cover their lips because there is no answer from God.”

You may not remember the days when you called someone on their phone and did not get an answer. This was the days before voicemail or answering machines. You could not leave a message. You just had to keep calling back until you reached them. I wish sometimes that was still the case. Lol

The false prophets (called seers and diviners here) could not hear God speak to them. Why? Because they were not seeking Him. They were living lives that were displeasing to God, so He had shut His mouth. He was not delivering any messages to them. They cried out only because He was delivering His judgment. How sad that they could not have surrendered to His Will, which would have opened up that line of communication again.

APPLICATION

Oh, brothers and sisters, before we cast too many stones at these false prophets, don’t we do the same? We live our lives as we wish and then when we get into trouble and call on God, He is quiet. We get perturbed with Him because He did not answer us. How dare He?

Well…God demands holiness from us. That’s right. He expects us to live according to His laws and commands. He does not expect perfection, but He does want us to strive to be more like Him and less like the world. If we want God to speak, we must stop, repent and listen.

This week there has been a verse on my mind a lot. Psalm 84:11 says, “The Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Did you get that? No good thing does He withhold. But there is a condition – from those who walk uprightly. So, my question to you is – are you walking uprightly today?

O Lord, I do not want to be like one of those false prophets who could not hear Your voice. Speak to me Lord!

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