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This week’s devotions are based on Week 6 of The Prophets: Micah (WATCH HERE)

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Micah 6:8a “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly…”

 

When Micah said, “act justly,” he was not talking about lofty political ideals or social slogans. He was talking about the daily choice to do what is right when it would be easier or more profitable to do what is wrong.

In Micah’s time, justice was breaking down at every level. The courts were corrupt, leaders accepted bribes, merchants used dishonest scales, and those with power took advantage of those without it. The system looked religious on the outside but was rotten underneath. God’s people thought that worship could excuse injustice.

But God saw through the pretense. Through Micah, He declared, “Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean on the Lord and say, ‘Is not the Lord among us?’” (Micah 3:11). It was hypocrisy at its peak. Religious people were committing injustice in God’s name.

Justice, in God’s eyes, begins not with systems but with souls. It starts in the heart and flows into how we treat others. Acting justly means giving people what they are due—not only in fairness, but also in respect and compassion. It means speaking truth, keeping promises, and treating others as image-bearers of God.

When we act justly, we reflect the character of the One who is perfectly just. Scripture says, “The Lord loves justice” (Psalm 37:28), and “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne” (Psalm 89:14). Acting justly is not an optional extra. It is evidence that we belong to Him.

Still, justice is costly. Acting justly may mean refusing to take advantage when no one would notice. It may mean standing up for someone who has no voice, or admitting a mistake when it could hurt your reputation. It may mean choosing truth over comfort, integrity over income, and mercy over manipulation.

Micah’s message reminds us that God does not want songs or offerings that come from dishonest hearts. He delights in worship that grows from a life of integrity.

In Christ, we see the perfect model of justice. Jesus never twisted truth or showed favoritism. He honored both the poor and the powerful, calling each to repentance. And at the cross, God’s justice and mercy met. Sin was punished, and sinners were pardoned. Because Jesus bore the penalty of injustice, we can now walk in righteousness that comes from Him.

So, when God calls us to “act justly,” He is not demanding perfection; He is inviting us to reflect his own nature. Every act of fairness, honesty, and compassion bears witness to the God who has made all things right through His Son.

Apply: Examine the hidden corners. Are there areas in your work, relationships, or habits where you are not being completely fair or honest? Repent and seek God’s wisdom to act justly.
Prayer: Father, You love justice and truth, and You call Your people to reflect Your heart. Forgive me for the times I have chosen convenience over integrity. Teach me to do what is right even when it costs me something. Thank You that in Jesus, Your justice was satisfied and Your mercy was revealed. Amen.

This week’s devotions are based on Week 6 of The Prophets: Micah (WATCH HERE)

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Micah 6:7“Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

 

The people of Micah’s day lived in contradiction. On one hand, they still brought offerings to God. On the other, they were oppressing the poor, cheating their neighbors, and twisting justice for personal gain. Their religion was alive, but their righteousness was not.

When Micah delivers God’s accusation in chapter six, the people respond defensively: “Fine, then, what do You want from us?” Their proposed solutions sound generous, but they miss the point. They want to repay God without repenting to God.

Repayment is easier than repentance. Repayment lets me stay in control. I can keep living as I please, as long as I pay my dues. It is like someone who wrongs a friend and sends a gift instead of an apology. The problem is that gifts do not heal relationships. Only honesty and humility do.

Micah had already condemned the nation’s leaders and priests for thinking that their sacrifices could outweigh their corruption. “Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean on the Lord and say, ‘Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us’” (Micah 3:11). They believed they could buy God’s protection while breaking His commands.

The same mindset appears today in subtler forms. We try to balance our behavior by doing something “good” to offset something wrong. We tell a lie but then donate to charity. We hold bitterness but attend church faithfully. We neglect justice but double down on religious activity. In our hearts we think, “If I give enough, maybe God will overlook the rest.”

But God cannot be bribed, and He will not be fooled. He does not want a transaction; He wants transformation. He is not asking for compensation; He is calling for conversion. His question to Israel was not “How much will you give?” but “When will you change?”

The problem with repayment is that it treats sin like a surface wound when it is really a heart disease. God is not after more sacrifices but a new spirit. He wants His people to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly—not to tip the scales, but to reflect His character.

Micah’s message is clear: You cannot repay your way out of rebellion. You can only return. And the good news of the gospel is that God Himself provides the way back. Through Jesus Christ, God does not accept payment; He gives pardon. He does not ask us to cover our sins; He covers them Himself with mercy that flows from the cross.

So, what God wanted from His people then is the same thing He desires from us now: hearts that are honest, humble, and willing to change. Repentance is not repayment. It is surrender. It is the moment we stop bargaining and start believing.

 

Appy: Are there areas in your life where you are offering God “payment” instead of repentance?  Turn in faith from sin to your Savior.  He has made the full payment for you!

Prayer: Father, forgive me for the times I have tried to cover sin with effort instead of confession. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Help me to live with integrity, to make things right with others, and to seek Your mercy. Amen.

This week’s devotions are based on Week 6 of The Prophets: Micah (WATCH HERE)

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Micah 6:6–7 “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

Micah paints a vivid picture of a people desperate to make things right with God. They know they’ve sinned. They sense His displeasure. And they respond the way most of us do when we’ve messed up: What can I do to make it up to You?

Their suggestions escalate quickly. Normal sacrifices turn to absurd extravagance, even to offering their own child. The tone is almost sarcastic, but tragically accurate. When guilt grips the heart, we often move toward rigor and ritual instead of relationship and repentance.

The people’s logic is familiar: If I try harder, maybe God will forgive me. If I give more, maybe He’ll be impressed. If I suffer enough, maybe I’ll earn His favor back. Yet Micah’s entire book shows that God’s concern isn’t about the scale of our offering but the state of our hearts.

They were still bringing sacrifices to the temple. Outwardly, religion was thriving. But inwardly, their hearts were focused on personal gain, a lack of compassion and their own version of truth. (Micah 3:9–11; 2:1–2). 

So God, through Micah, exposes the futility of human striving. What God wants cannot be bought, bartered, or balanced through effort. You can’t “work off” guilt through religious intensity. You can’t repay grace. It was never a loan. You can’t impress a God who already owns all things.

When we bring our “best effort” to God to earn His favor, we’re still missing the point. Our best effort isn’t bad, but it’s inadequate when it replaces humility and faith. Trying to work our way back to God is like polishing the outside of a cup while the inside is still dirty (Luke 11:39). It might look holy, but it leaves the heart unchanged.

The gospel answers Micah’s question once and for all: “With what shall I come before the Lord?”
The answer is not with an offering we provide, but with a Savior God provides.
Jesus Christ is the only One who could come before God perfectly. He fulfilled the law we broke, bore the judgment we deserved, and offered Himself, not thousands of rams, but His own life, as the true and final sacrifice.

Now, when we come before the Lord, we come not to repay, but to receive. We come not to impress, but to surrender. We come not in rigor or ritual, but in relationship.

Micah’s question drives us to the foot of the cross, where we stop saying, “Look what I can give You,” and start saying, “Thank You for what You’ve given me.”

 

Apply: Stop trying to earn what’s already been given! Grace is not a reward for effort. It’s a gift for the undeserving. When you feel guilt or failure, resist the urge to “do more” to balance the scales. Instead, confess your need and receive God’s mercy through Christ.
Prayer: Father, You see through my efforts to impress You. You know when I try to earn what You freely give. Forgive me for turning faith into performance and worship into repayment.
Thank You for the gift of Your Son, Jesus, who gave Himself once for all so that I could come before You without fear. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

PS…Happy 84th birthday today to my dad and faithful devotion reader, Gerald Geiger!

Devotion based on Week 4 of “The Prophets” – Jonah (WATCH HERE)

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Few chapters in the Bible expose the human heart quite like Jonah 4. It’s one thing to run from God’s will; it’s another to be angry when God’s mercy wins. Jonah’s story doesn’t end with the great fish or the great city. It ends with a great confrontation between God’s compassion and Jonah’s pride.

After Jonah finally preached in Nineveh, the city repented. One would think that Jonah would be celebrating!  Instead, Jonah “was greatly displeased and became angry” (v. 1). Imagine that: a prophet furious that his sermon actually worked!

Why? Because Jonah wanted justice on his own terms. Nineveh was Israel’s enemy. Jonah feared that if he warned them, they might repent and God would forgive them. In his mind, grace for Nineveh meant injustice for Israel.

He even admits it: “That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God…” (v. 2). Jonah’s theology was right, but his heart was wrong. He loved God’s mercy for himself, but not for others.

Jonah shows how easily we can twist grace into something self-serving.
We love grace when it rescues us, but we resist it when it reaches whoever “they” are in our world: people who’ve wronged us, those who think differently, those we feel don’t deserve another chance.

Jonah’s prayer in verse 2 sounds like a complaint:

“I knew You are gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love…”

Those words echo God’s self-description in Exodus 34. The very attributes that once saved Jonah in the belly of the fish now offend him when applied to someone else.

Grace feels wonderful when it flows toward us; it can feel scandalous when it flows past us.

But, God doesn’t scold Jonah; He teaches him.
He appoints a plant to grow overnight and shade Jonah from the sun. Jonah is “very happy” about the plant. The next day, God appoints a worm that destroys it, and Jonah becomes angry enough to die.

Then God asks, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” (v. 9). Jonah answers, “It is.”

Through that small illustration, God exposes the contrast: Jonah cared deeply for his comfort but not for people. He grieved a dying plant but not a perishing city.
“You have been concerned about this plant… Should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city?” (v. 10–11).

The book ends with that question.  There is no resolution, no recorded repentance from Jonah. The question isn’t just for him; it’s for us.

Centuries later, Jesus would echo the same compassion.
He wept over Jerusalem, the city that would reject Him (Luke 19:41). He prayed for His enemies even as they crucified Him: “Father, forgive them.”

At the cross, we see the full measure of God’s mercy: justice satisfied and grace extended.
Jesus is the greater Jonah:

• Jonah ran from his enemies; Jesus ran toward them.
• Jonah sat outside the city hoping for judgment; Jesus hung outside the city to bear it.
• Jonah wanted wrath to fall; Jesus took wrath upon Himself so mercy could fall.

Jonah 4 asks every believer: Do I celebrate God’s compassion, or do I control who deserves it?
If God’s grace offends our sense of fairness, we’ve misunderstood grace.

True grace transforms our hearts to mirror God’s heart: slow to anger, rich in mercy, eager to forgive.
It softens us toward the Ninevehs in our lives: the people who frustrate us, oppose us, or seem beyond hope.

When we remember how much mercy we’ve received, it becomes impossible to withhold it from others.

God’s question still stands: Should I not be concerned for that great city?
The answer—written across the cross—is yes. God’s compassion is greater than our comfort, and His mercy reaches further than we think.

 

Apply: Where do you want to control who receives God’s grace?  Repent!  Rejoice God’s grace is for you!  Rejoice God’s grace is for all the Ninevites in your life!

 

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for loving grace for myself more than for others. Teach me to rejoice when Your mercy triumphs, even when it surprises me. Shape my heart to reflect Yours—gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. Amen.

Devotion based on Week 4 of “The Prophets” – Jonah (WATCH HERE)

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“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He relented…” Jonah 3:10a

The story of Jonah is often remembered for the storm and the great fish. But Jonah 3 is where we witness something far more powerful than miraculous deliverance. Jonah 3 communicates  the transforming power of repentance. A whole city turns from evil, and God responds with mercy. It’s one of the most profound moments of spiritual awakening in Scripture, yet it came from one of the most unlikely places.

After Jonah’s rebellion and rescue, God gives him a second chance:
“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.’” (v.1-2)

This time, Jonah obeys. He enters the massive, wicked city of Nineveh, a city notorious for its violence and idolatry, and delivers a startling message:
“Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” (v.4)

There’s no sugarcoating. No lengthy sermon. Just a simple warning of judgment. But what happens next is nothing short of miraculous.

“The Ninevites believed God.” (v.5)

These brutal, pagan people responded with humble faith. From the greatest to the least, they fasted, put on sackcloth, and turned from their evil ways. Even the king rose from his throne, removed his royal robes, and sat in ashes, an outward sign of inward repentance. He issued a decree urging everyone to cry out to God and abandon their violence, hoping that God might show mercy.

And He did.

“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He relented and did not bring on them the destruction He had threatened.” (v.10)

This is the power of repentance. True repentance is not just feeling sorry for sin, it’s turning away from it. Repentance is not about empty words but about a change of heart that leads to a change in behavior. And when we turn to God in sincerity and humility, He meets us with grace.

What’s incredible here is how quickly things change. In just a few verses, an entire city moves from wickedness to worship, from impending judgment to divine mercy. That’s how powerful repentance is. It stops judgment in its tracks. It moves the heart of God.

But notice something else: repentance doesn’t start with perfection. The king of Nineveh didn’t pretend they had everything figured out. He simply said, “Who knows? God may yet relent…” (v.9). They didn’t repent because they knew it would work; they repented because it was the only right thing to do. And God honored it.

So often, we avoid repentance because we fear it’s too late, or we’ve gone too far, or God won’t accept us. But Jonah 3 tells us otherwise. No one is beyond God’s mercy, not even Nineveh. Not even us.

God doesn’t delight in punishment. He delights in hearts that turn to Him. The same God who forgave Nineveh is ready to forgive you. No matter how far you’ve wandered, how deep the sin, or how many times you’ve failed, when you turn to God, He will meet you with mercy.

Repentance is powerful not because of what we do, but because of who God is.

Apply: Is there an area in your life where you’ve been resisting God’s call to repent? What might true repentance look like in your heart and actions today? How can you share the hope of God’s mercy with someone who feels beyond saving?

 

Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your mercy. Thank You that even when I’ve gone my own way, You call me back with patience and love. Help me to turn from anything that grieves You. Teach me to walk in humility, repentance, and obedience. May my life reflect Your grace and the transforming power of Your forgiveness. Amen.