Today Daily Devotional ReFrame Ministries

What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
— Micah 6:8

The prophet Micah spoke out for the Lord against the unjust practices of his day.
He pictured people asking how they might please God with offerings in order to pay for their sins: “What is it that God wants from us? How much must we sacrifice before God will be happy with us?”
The answer is simple and yet profoundly life-changing: As long as you practice injustice, it doesn’t matter how much you sacrifice to God. The Lord calls you to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with him! Then you may bring your offerings and find favor with God.
Get rid of your rigged scales. Stop your price gouging. End the practice of driving people into poverty so that you can buy them as servants and slaves. Practice justice. And even more than that—love mercy. Give freely to your poor neighbor rather than scheming up ways to make them your slaves. Find ways to relieve poverty rather than profiting from it.
At the college where I serve as a campus minister, foreign students often struggle financially. But many of them have been embraced by local churches. On Monday mornings when they come to school, they often tell me with beaming faces how their church communities have blessed them on Sunday. God smiles along with these students as he sees his people showing love and mercy.

We love you, merciful God. Teach us to love by showing mercy to others. Guide us to act with justice each day for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

“When will . . . the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?”—skimping on the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales. . . .
— Amos 8:5

Many of Israel’s rich and powerful merchants and other leaders despised God’s rest and justice. For them, the Sabbath was not a day for observing physical and spiritual rest in honor of God’s promises to his people. Instead the Sabbath was an unwelcome intrusion into their crooked, unjust business practices. It was as if they said, “When will this Sabbath be over so that we can overcharge for wheat, and use faulty scales to cheat the people? We will drive them into poverty so that we can buy them as our servants and slaves for the price of a pair of shoes! And in the meantime we will pretend we are good, God-fearing, law-abiding citizens.” Their sin was a violation of nearly every law that God had given to the people before they entered the promised land. Israel was intended to be a nation of truth and justice, but the ruling class generally despised those important values. God’s verdict: “I will expel you from my kingdom. Not because I want to, but because you want to live unjust, unforgiven, and God-forsaking lives.” Let’s examine our own hearts and minds to see if we are living in the way God calls us to.

Lord Jesus, send your Spirit into our hearts and minds today. Guide us into living by the values of your kingdom rather than by the ways of this world. Amen.

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
— Hebrews 4:11

Justice requires that debts be paid. God created us to love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. He also instructs us to love our neighbors as ourselves.
But every day we fall short of God’s requirements, adding to our debt. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, came from heaven to become human and live among us. He kept God’s law of love perfectly. Then, although he was innocent, he gave up his life on a cross for us, paying the debt of sin for all who would believe in him.
This is the good news that we are called to believe so that we can enter God’s rest. In the Old Testament, some of God’s people disobeyed and would not accept the good news that God would give them the promised land. They would not trust in God to bring them into his rest (Numbers 14). And today, as the book of Hebrews explains it, the situation is similar: we need to trust in the good news of God’s salvation through Jesus so that we can enter into his rest—enjoying the full, eternal life that God has in store for us.
This is also called the “Sabbath-rest for the people of God,” and the Sabbath day is a weekly reminder pointing to that rest. Repenting of sin and placing our faith in the crucified and risen Lord Jesus brings us into his rest. So we do well to ask, “Have I entered his rest, or am I still struggling in my own strength to find peace with God?”

Lord, thank you for the gift of true rest through faith in Jesus. Amen.

Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden. . . .” But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”
— 1 Kings 21:2- 3

When God gave Israel the land he had promised them, each clan received a tract of land as their inheritance. God also made clear that this inheritance was to remain in each family throughout the generations. When times were hard, some families in debt had to sell their land, but in those cases the sale was never meant to be permanent. (See Leviticus 25; Joshua 13-21.)
However, King Ahab of Israel was wicked and did not want to live in line with God’s way. Near the king’s palace was a vineyard owned by a man named Naboth. Ahab offered to buy the land from Naboth, but Naboth refused to sell because God had said the land should remain in the family to whom it was given.
That made Ahab angry, so, with the help of his wife, Jezebel, he came up with a plan. They plotted to have Naboth put to death by having him accused of cursing both God and the king. Ahab then stole the dead man’s land.
As the king of Israel, Ahab was responsible to be a representative of God, the true King. But this abuse of justice was intolerable, and Ahab and Jezebel would pay a heavy price. (See 1 Kings 21:17-29; 2 Kings 9:30-37.)
Perhaps our blood boils as we read of Ahab and Jezebel’s actions, but are we outraged when we see injustice today?

Father, thank you for being a God of justice. Make us a people of justice too! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

“Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. . . .”
— Isaiah 1:16-17

Justice is an important attribute of God. Justice lies at the heart of God’s character. Because God is just, justice is a hallmark of his kingdom.
In the Old Testament, God’s people Israel were meant to serve as a physical, earthly representation of God’s kingdom that would one day fill the whole earth. As a result, we find countless calls for Israel to be a just nation because God is just. Judges were to rule impartially. Neighbors were to treat each other justly. Foreigners were to be treated justly and fairly always (Exodus 22:21; Deuteronomy 24:17-18).
But Israel failed again and again to exercise justice. That brought God’s discipline on them, and he sent them into exile. However, leading up to and during their exile, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah to urge the people to change their ways. Isaiah also delivered songs of hope and praise describing what the kingdom would look like if the children of God would truly embrace justice in the land. (See Isaiah 2:1-5; 4:2-6; 9:2-7; 11:1-12:6.)
The God of the kingdom of heaven is the same God who led Old Testament Israel. His name remains synonymous with justice. And as citizens of God’s kingdom, we too are called not only to act justly but also to love justice.

We bow before you, Lord and King, to praise you for your justice. Empower us by your Spirit to truly love justice and to live by doing justice in this world. Amen.

Since . . . you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above. . . .
— Colossians 3:1

In my work as a campus minister I spend a lot of time with international students. Each year hundreds of students come to our community college from around the world. While some of these students simply come for a Canadian education, many have their hearts set on obtaining Canadian citizenship. The cost for most students is high. Many leave family and friends behind—in some cases for years. And along with having a rigorous academic schedule, many of these students work two or even three part-time jobs. Tired and hungry, they press on, for their hearts are set on graduation, work permits, permanent residency, and eventually citizenship! To set one's heart on something means to desire it more than anything else, regardless of the costs. At the center of setting our hearts “on things above” is desiring a relationship with the triune God and knowing his friendship and favor. Counting ourselves as citizens of God’s kingdom moves us to live God’s way rather than by the way of the world. And dreaming of the day when we will see Jesus face to face and be able to live in perfect joy for eternity—that is what God calls us to set our hearts on.

Heavenly Father, may our hearts burn with a desire to know you better and love you deeper. Claim our deepest affections and cause an ever-deepening homesickness within us until the day you bring us into your kingdom in all its glory. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.