WEBVTT 00:00:00.020 --> 00:00:04.180 There is something about the beginning of a new year that asks us to look again. 00:00:04.800 --> 00:00:10.380 Not in a loud way, not with demands or resolutions or pressure to reinvent ourselves overnight, 00:00:11.120 --> 00:00:14.380 but quietly, honestly, almost gently. 00:00:15.060 --> 00:00:18.440 We look again at how we've been living, and what has shaped our days, 00:00:19.210 --> 00:00:22.840 at what has carried us through, and what has quietly worn us down. 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:26.420 A new year does not just invite change. 00:00:26.630 --> 00:00:27.940 It invites clarity. 00:00:28.860 --> 00:00:32.220 It asks a simple question that is not always easy to answer. 00:00:33.140 --> 00:00:35.880 What does a faithful life actually look like? 00:00:36.480 --> 00:00:41.000 Not in theory, not in slogans, but in the ordinary rhythm of our days. 00:00:42.180 --> 00:00:47.940 Scripture gives us an answer that is both simple and demanding, ancient and deeply present. 00:00:48.760 --> 00:00:52.240 A verse that does not offer a checklist, but a foundation. 00:00:53.320 --> 00:00:54.559 Micah 6.8 00:00:55.440 --> 00:00:57.380 He has shown you, O man, what is good. 00:00:57.760 --> 00:00:59.420 And what does the Lord require of you? 00:00:59.980 --> 00:01:04.720 To do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. 00:01:06.100 --> 00:01:11.540 Today, as we begin a new year, we're going to slow down and let this verse show us the 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:13.620 foundation of a faithful life. 00:01:25.220 --> 00:01:30.300 Welcome to Verses We Missed. I'm your host, your OG Godcaster, Steve Wapp. 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:34.760 Every week we slow down and spend time with the quieter parts of Scripture. 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:38.360 The verses we know well but do not always sit with. 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:42.180 The verses that are familiar but are still forming us. 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:45.620 This is your midweek breath of Scripture in Grace. 00:01:46.440 --> 00:01:49.360 And today we're turning to a verse that many of us have heard before, 00:01:50.140 --> 00:01:55.440 a verse that gets quoted in sermons, printed on bookmarks, and summarized in short phrases. 00:01:56.500 --> 00:01:59.920 But when we stop to really look at it, really think about it, 00:02:00.210 --> 00:02:04.000 we discover that it is not a slogan, it is not a checklist, 00:02:04.900 --> 00:02:07.120 it is a foundation for a faithful life. 00:02:07.940 --> 00:02:08.920 Let me read it slowly. 00:02:09.479 --> 00:02:12.380 He has shown you, O man, what is good. 00:02:13.180 --> 00:02:20.280 And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with 00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:29.640 your God? Notice how the verse begins, He has shown you. God is not hiding the answer. He is 00:02:29.760 --> 00:02:37.479 not vague. He is not mysterious here. He has shown you what is good. And what follows is not a 00:02:37.500 --> 00:02:44.120 complicated system or a spiritual productivity plan. It is not a lifetime of hoops to jump through. 00:02:44.880 --> 00:02:50.940 It is a foundation. Micah spoke these words to a very religious world. 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:57.300 The people of Israel were busy with worship. They were offering sacrifices. They were keeping 00:02:57.740 --> 00:03:04.460 festivals. They were saying the right words. But something was deeply wrong beneath the surface. 00:03:05.480 --> 00:03:13.940 Justice was missing. Mercy was absent. Humility had been replaced by pride. Faith had become loud, 00:03:14.440 --> 00:03:21.300 but hollow. So God speaks through Micah, and instead of adding more rules, He strips things 00:03:21.540 --> 00:03:28.880 back. He does not say, do more religious things. He doesn't say, try harder to impress me. 00:03:29.820 --> 00:03:32.560 He says, Here is what I have always wanted. 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:35.400 And what he describes is not performance. 00:03:36.020 --> 00:03:36.980 It is posture. 00:03:38.020 --> 00:03:39.820 Not achievements, but footing. 00:03:41.380 --> 00:03:43.860 The word require can sound heavy to us. 00:03:44.620 --> 00:03:46.660 What does the Lord require of you? 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:53.300 It can sound like pressure, like expectation, like another standard we might fail to meet. 00:03:54.260 --> 00:03:55.060 But listen carefully. 00:03:55.780 --> 00:03:57.580 God is not asking for perfection. 00:03:58.320 --> 00:03:59.920 He knows we cannot deliver that. 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:02.520 He is describing alignment. 00:04:03.820 --> 00:04:05.720 This is not about earning God's approval. 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:08.880 This is about living in step with His heart. 00:04:10.180 --> 00:04:11.200 Think about a foundation. 00:04:12.140 --> 00:04:13.940 A foundation is not flashy. 00:04:14.700 --> 00:04:16.859 It is not what people admire first. 00:04:17.700 --> 00:04:19.920 But it determines everything that comes next. 00:04:20.760 --> 00:04:23.800 You do not decorate a house before you pour the foundation. 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:27.740 You don't worry about paint colors if the footing is cracked. 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:30.680 Micah 6.8 is God saying, 00:04:31.540 --> 00:04:34.140 If you build here, the rest will stand. 00:04:35.660 --> 00:04:38.400 The first phrase is this, to do justice. 00:04:39.440 --> 00:04:43.220 Justice is one of those words that can feel heavy in our time. 00:04:43.820 --> 00:04:44.960 It can feel political. 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:47.460 It can feel confrontational. 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:49.620 It can feel exhausting. 00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:53.300 But biblical justice is not about outrage. 00:04:53.970 --> 00:04:55.580 It is about faithfulness. 00:04:56.920 --> 00:05:00.640 Justice means doing what is right in the places where God has placed you. 00:05:01.700 --> 00:05:04.700 It means honesty when dishonesty would be easier. 00:05:05.740 --> 00:05:08.380 Fairness when cutting corners would benefit you. 00:05:09.180 --> 00:05:11.060 Speaking truth without cruelty. 00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:14.320 Protecting the vulnerable without needing applause. 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:19.580 Justice is not something you wait to practice until the world agrees with you. 00:05:20.320 --> 00:05:22.200 It begins with how you treat people. 00:05:22.900 --> 00:05:24.120 How you conduct business. 00:05:24.620 --> 00:05:26.960 How you speak when no one is listening. 00:05:28.020 --> 00:05:29.700 Justice shapes our actions. 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:32.340 It is love with a backbone. 00:05:33.400 --> 00:05:35.540 Next, Micah says, to love mercy. 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:38.540 Notice that word love. 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:40.820 Not tolerate mercy. 00:05:41.540 --> 00:05:43.820 Not practice mercy occasionally. 00:05:44.620 --> 00:05:45.300 Love mercy. 00:05:46.620 --> 00:05:47.980 Mercy shapes the heart. 00:05:48.860 --> 00:05:50.980 Justice without mercy becomes harsh. 00:05:51.900 --> 00:05:54.220 Mercy without justice becomes empty. 00:05:55.540 --> 00:06:03.400 Mercy remembers how much we've been forgiven. Mercy refuses to harden. Mercy leaves room for grace. 00:06:04.700 --> 00:06:13.640 Mercy shows up as patience, as forgiveness, as generosity or restraint. It is the decision to 00:06:13.640 --> 00:06:20.539 treat people better than they deserve because God has treated us that way first. Loving mercy means 00:06:20.620 --> 00:06:28.880 we do not just act rightly. We act gently. Finally, Micah says, to walk humbly with your God. 00:06:29.840 --> 00:06:38.040 Not run, not sprint. Walk. Walking implies pace, direction, relationship. 00:06:39.780 --> 00:06:45.579 Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking honestly about yourself in relation to 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:54.940 God. Humility keeps us teachable. It keeps us listening. It keeps us dependent. We do not walk 00:06:55.220 --> 00:07:02.560 humbly ahead of God. We walk humbly with Him. Humility shapes our walk. It reminds us that 00:07:02.710 --> 00:07:09.499 faith is not about control. It is about trust. As we begin a new year, we'll hear many voices 00:07:09.520 --> 00:07:15.900 telling us what to chase, what to fix, and what to become. But Micah 6.8 invites us to do something 00:07:16.140 --> 00:07:23.040 different. To look again. To look again at how we treat others. To look again at the posture of our 00:07:23.160 --> 00:07:30.520 hearts. To look again at the way we walk with God in the small, unseen moments. A faithful life is 00:07:30.640 --> 00:07:36.680 not built all at once. It is built one step at a time on a foundation that does not change. 00:07:37.640 --> 00:07:39.380 Justice shaping our actions. 00:07:40.340 --> 00:07:41.980 Mercy shaping our hearts. 00:07:42.620 --> 00:07:44.540 Humility shaping our walk. 00:07:45.760 --> 00:07:47.940 So, as you go, don't rush. 00:07:48.660 --> 00:07:49.220 Don't perform. 00:07:50.320 --> 00:07:52.720 Don't carry what God never asked you to carry. 00:07:53.400 --> 00:07:59.280 Just look again and walk faithfully into the year ahead with the God who walks with you. 00:08:05.880 --> 00:08:06.380 Let's pray. 00:08:07.460 --> 00:08:10.060 Father, thank you for showing us what is good. 00:08:11.300 --> 00:08:15.960 Thank you for not making the act of living our faith complicated or unreachable. 00:08:17.400 --> 00:08:21.920 As we begin a new year, help us to build on what you have told us lasts. 00:08:22.960 --> 00:08:25.120 Teach us to do justice with courage. 00:08:26.200 --> 00:08:28.600 Teach us to love mercy with tenderness. 00:08:29.660 --> 00:08:32.979 Teach us to walk humbly with you, step by step. 00:08:33.800 --> 00:08:37.840 And when we're tempted to perform, remind us to return to the foundation. 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:42.880 When we feel overwhelmed, remind us that you are there with us. 00:08:43.780 --> 00:08:47.060 Lord, we place this year into your hands. 00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:50.020 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:09:00.100 --> 00:09:04.560 Beloved, if this episode encouraged you, would you consider returning some of that value? 00:09:05.540 --> 00:09:07.320 Time. Tell someone about the show. 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:11.340 Talent. Share your creativity or your encouragement. 00:09:12.100 --> 00:09:17.120 Treasure. Support the show at lifespringmedia.com slash support. 00:09:24.880 --> 00:09:28.360 This is a weekly show released every Tuesday at 10 p.m. Pacific. 00:09:29.080 --> 00:09:31.740 It's your midweek breath of scripture and grace. 00:09:32.300 --> 00:09:35.600 As you move into this new year, may your life be built on justice, 00:09:36.340 --> 00:09:40.840 softened by mercy and guided by humility as you walk with Jesus. 00:09:41.860 --> 00:09:43.000 May God bless you richly. 00:09:43.580 --> 00:09:44.780 My name is Steve Webb. 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:45.740 Bye.