And what does the Lord require of you?

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And what does the Lord require of you?

+ It is a question by the Holy Spirit that was asked on the tongue of Micah the prophet, who said:” He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” ( Micah 6:8). And Saul of Tarsus said it when Jesus Christ appeared to him, on his way to Damascus, when he used to persecute Christians” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:6).

+ Do what’s right Righteousness my brethren is the only constant that never changes or perishes. Fine metals- like pure gold for example- do not change color and do not rust even after a very long time, and whatever the conditions surrounding it were, so we say it’s true gold. When we speak about righteousness, we are speaking about Christ Himself, who is yesterday, today and forever, He describes Himself saying “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” ( John 14:6), also, the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth. And to be truthful in our lives, we essentially need to submit to the works of the Holy Spirit who takes from Christ and gives us, guiding us to this truth, hence; leading us To Christ who gives us the power to tread on serpents and all the power of evil. We have to know that the most important work of satan is lying and deceiving, therefore, the Lord’s command to His children is essential” But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one” ( Matthew 5:37). Truth is revealed even through our talks, we have to mean what we say, for any deviation from the truth is a lie, and lies are from the evil one, who is satan, whom Christ described as” father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” ( John 8:44). My beloved, let us only speak what is true no matter what the consequences were. It’s the first test in our daily lives to know If we are truthful or not?! Let’s give everything it’s fair share, let’s offer the Lord His share in our lives, in time, health, wealth, worship, all from the heart, for He says” My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways” ( Proverbs 23:26)., also we offer others their share of love, respect, help according to our talents and possibilities, happy with those who are happy, mourning who those who mourn. Also my family has to have a fair share starting with my partner in life and kids, then the rest of the family according to the need, also my job and work, without overshadowing other important things in my life, having a balanced soul, body and spirit in Christ Who is the truth.

+ Be merciful We observed God’s mercy through Jesus Christ, since His birth, his life on earth, then His mercy was manifested on the cross, death and burial! Then His resurrection and ascension, then sending His Holy Spirit to dwell in us forever. We loved mercy when we saw our merciful savior do good and still is, with His father and the Holy Spirit, and when we ask on how to translate our love to mercy, our Lord answered with the parable of the Good Samaritan, and showed us that mercy is for those who needed it regardless to gender, religion, language, or any other difference. He even asked us to overcome hatred to offer mercy even to our enemies, He says in proverbs” If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you” ( Proverbs 25:21-22). Jesus Christ considers that the mercy offered to the poor is offered to him personally. Did you know my beloved that it is the shortest way to enter the kingdom of heaven. The Lord teaches us Himself saying” Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. ( Matthew 25:34-36). And when the righteous ask when was that O Lord,” the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ ( Matthew 25:40). Let’s all beware, because The Book reveals this truth” Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be heard” ( Proverbs 21:13). For the wicked do not know Mercy and they do not have the hearts of the righteous” A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel” ( Proverbs 12:10), moreover the Bible tells us not to postpone giving and mercy, we hear that” Do not say to your neighbor, Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you” ( Proverbs 3:28). And note That Christ was never late in helping those who asked for his mercy through miracles. Jesus praise the merciful saying” Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy” ( Matthew 5:7).

+ Be humble in the sight of the Lord Jesus Christ revealed this spiritual law” For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” ( Luke 14:11). And when he called us to learn from Him, He focused on one thing” Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” ( Matthew 11:29). Virgin Mary also revealed to us in her praise to the Lord the secret on why He chose her out of all women to be the mother of God, she says” For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed” ( Luke 1:48). Saint James the apostle says” Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” ( James 4:10). Also Saint Peter reminds us to” submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” ( 1 Peter 5:5-6). And being humble in the sight of the Lord is simply realizing that all good In us or around us is from God and to discover that weakness, Sin, and imperfectness are from the fallen nature of humans. Therefore any goods done by man is from God, So he should thank the beneficent God. And if he falls and sins and could not do good, he should Be humble in front of the Lord repenting, confessing, and going back, saying what the church teaches us during the holy fast calling upon God” I have sinned my Lord and God Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me for sin is in my traits and forgiveness Is in yours, for there is no slave without sin and no master without forgiveness. Having true humbleness in front of God during prayer Nourishes our humbleness towards others , Without hypocrisy. And blessed is he who learns the true lesson of humbleness from his master Christ the Lord who washed The feet of his disciples As a slave and ascended to heaven taking a name above all names. Such man is beloved by God and can easily pass through the narrow door that leads to eternal life.

Skills

Posted on

November 12, 2016

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