Merit
Begin by reading these words from Micah 6:6-8 (CSB):
What should I bring before the Lord when I come to bow before God on high?
Should I come before him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousand streams of oil?
Should I give my firstborn for my transgression, the offspring of my body for my own sin?
Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you:
to act justly,
to love faithfulness,
and to walk humbly with your God.
The Lord Most High would remind each of us today, that there is nothing we can achieve through merit. At the very root of what he asks each one of us is the call to surrender ourselves in obedience to Him. There is a call upon each one of us to mirror God’s character which can only be done through the blood of Jesus.
Our glorious Father says to us today:
My beloved ones, I would remind you today that there is nothing you can offer me, nothing you can sacrifice, that would equal the cost of righteousness. This is why you must never forget the great weight, the great power, and the great love, found in the blood of my spotless son. It is through my son Jesus, who reigns supreme, that you are empowered in all things.
Because he reflects the true nature of my justice, you may act justly.
Because of his great demonstration of faithfulness at the cross, you can access an understanding of faithfulness.
Because of his demonstration of true humility, can you walk humbly alongside me.
Don’t allow yourselves to be easily uprooted, distracted by the concepts of success and achievement that circle around you. Don’t allow yourself to be weighed down by a check-list mentality, making things more complicated than they need to be. Embrace the mentality of the blood; look to the blood of Jesus in all things, treasuring deep within yourself the truth of his majesty, righteousness, and goodness.
Prayer: Father, I am so sorry for where I have come at things from a check-list mentality. For where I have made things complicated, believing that I must manufacture your goodness. Thank-you Jesus for the power of your blood! The power that makes it possible for me to walk in justice, mercy, and humility. I declare today that I am set apart for you, Lord! May I be set apart for your glory! May I be content in your presence each and every day, Father, for what greater joy is there!
Micah 7:18-20 (CSB)
Who is a God like you, forgiving iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not hold on to his anger forever because he delights in faithful love.
He will again have compassion on us; he will vanquish our iniquities.
You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
You will show loyalty to Jacob and faithful love to Abraham, as you swore to our fathers from days long ago.
Hebrews 10:8-10 (NLT)
First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
