Niels Prip – Blog

“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself down before the exalted God?” (Micah 6:6) That really is quite a question, isn’t it? When all is said and done, and our lives are over, what will remain of all we have said and done on the earth? What will we be bringing to Him when we die and stand before Him?

As I’ve gotten older, I have taken to heart what the Lord requires of me. We will answer for all we have said and done in this life. “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, to give to each person according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:10)

Micah 6:8 tells us what God requires of us. “He has told you oh man, 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”. This thought is echoed again in Matthew 23:23, where Jesus is rebuking the scribes and Pharisees, telling them that they “have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.”

The teachings of Jesus are really quite simple, we can all make a decision to follow those teachings. Or we can reject them, and reject Him. Church history is replete with false representations of Him, and of the body of Christ. There are many who have been hurt by the church and by Christians. If we could have just walked with Jesus for a short time while He was on earth, we would have a greater understanding. If you have a view of Jesus that is negative, I ask you not to base your judgement of Him on the modern church. The modern church surely has a lot of problems, and it has a lot of followers that are immature. I ask you to base your judgement on the life of Jesus, on the words that He spoke. Read the gospels, find people who are really living the way Jesus did. You may find them outside of the church and that is OK.

Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:5-6, “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. This is my goal, along with what Micah 6 says, “to do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with God”. It is a simple instruction, summed up when Jesus was asked by a lawyer in Matthew 22:36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

This is what we are to do-

do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God- Micah 6

do not fail to do justice and show mercy and be faithful- Matthew 23

have a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith- 1 Timothy 5

love the Lord and our neighbors as ourselves- Matthew 22

The Old and New Testaments have always said it! Jesus displayed it in the Bible. Seek Him and ask Him for help to live this way. And He will help you.