Judgment and Restoration, Day 15 How do you wait for judgment? Read Micah 7:1-7. As we read about the time of the final judgment of Israel, we see that people will turn on each other. You can’t trust anyone and everyone will betray others. All the things that people thought they could count on and all the people that they thought they could count on end up betraying them and falling away. When going through times like this, how do we respond? How are we supposed to make it through? This verse gives the key. We are to wait on the Lord. We are to watch for him in hope.…

Judgment and Restoration, Day 14 Judgment comes. Read Micah 6:9-16. In a book where we’ve been talking about judgment and restoration, we do see complete judgment here. The Lord explains that judgment often starts when we are least aware of it. God is explaining to people that he has already begun to judge them even though they’ve not felt the effects of that judgment yet. He goes through and explains that they will see crops and experience the harvest, but they will not be able to actually enjoy any of the fruits of their labor. When we are experiencing the judgment of God, we may not recognize it when it…

Judgment and Restoration, Day 13 Offerings. Read Micah 6:1-8. In the midst of discussions about judgment, it’s interesting to see the people desiring to bring an offering. If we know we are guilty, what can we bring before a righteous and holy God that he would accept? The Lord answers this through Micah. What God is looking for is someone to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. All the sacrifices in the world and all of the trying to meet standards and demands of God falls short. God wants us to seek him. We are to walk humbly with him, knowing that he is the…

Judgment and Restoration, Day 12 What do you bow down to? Read Micah 5:10-15. Yesterday we saw that God provided permanent restoration through Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross. Today, we see why God needed to judge us in the first place. People are sinful. One of the ways in which we can be most sinful, is actually the fact that we bow down and worship the things that we have made. Now in that day and time, it’s thinking literal idols, carved of wood or stone. Today, we also bow down to things we have made, such as houses and money and power. We think we are…

Judgment and Restoration, Day 11 Prophecy. Read Micah 5:1-9. As part of a discussion on judgment and restoration, it’s important to realize that God was moving forward with true and complete restoration. Here we see a prophecy telling of the coming of Jesus Christ. When we read in Matthew about the wise men asking Herod’s men where the king would be born, this passage is one of them that indicates bethlehem as the city. We see here that God foretold this to the people, even this long ago. Yes, they were going to go through judgment because of their sins, but God was promising a way that they could have…

Judgment and Restoration, Day 10 Unknowing. Read Micah 4:9-13. When it comes to knowing and understanding the plan of God, a lot of times we don’t. God has a way of moving and working in situations that we just completely do not expect. Our logic only takes us so far, and everything that we work through and concoct to try to know and understand God’s plan can never take into account all of the pieces of information that God has. He alone truly sees the big picture and understands the best plan for moving forward. We can look at our situation and think that everything is okay. And yet, God…

Judgment and Restoration, Day 9 True restoration. Read Micah 4:6-8. What does restoration really mean? The idea of restoration is that something is restored to what it was before. People can only really be restored once we understand that God created us in the first place. His ability to recreate us through Jesus Christ is what restores us. The people of Israel had been an incredible and great nation before. However, their sin and the judgment that was coming on them because of their sin was resulting in them experiencing judgment. God was promising to restore them. They would be as they once were. Often we don’t think about or…

Judgment and Restoration, Day 8 What is the difference between judgment and restoration? Choice. Read Micah 4:1-5. As we read the first part of Micah chapter 4, we see God is looking at restoring the people. God is the one that we are to be seeking after and following. What makes the difference between a life that comes under judgment and a lofe that experiences the restoration of God? A choice. We must choose to follow God in everything that we do. Are we choosing to follow Jesus Christ in every area of our life? That is the choice that matters. That is the choice that we will be held…

Judgment and Restoration, Day 7 The Lord’s Blessing? Read Micah 3:8-12. So many people just seem to do whatever they want to and then tack on an, “Oh, by the way Lord, bless this!” onto whatever they are doing. They’ve not sought the Lord. They’ve not confirmed that what they’re doing is God’s will. But yet, they want to be able to say that God is blessing what they are doing. That is where the people of Israel were at this point. They were involved a lot of awful things, and doing several things that God actually says you shouldn’t do, including accepting bribes and extorting money from people, and…

Judgment and Restoration, Day 6 Lousy leadership. Read Micah 3:1-7. The leadership in Israel is not helping matters. Unfortunately, what they have become is a group of self-centered individuals who are only looking out for their own personal gain. They prophesy good things when people are nice to them, and they prophesy destruction when people are mean to them. Their statements have nothing to do with the power of God or the authority of his word. They are solely about themselves. When leadership forgets where their power comes from (the Lord), they quickly lose their effectiveness as a leader. Leadership positions are to be a reflection of how Christ leads…