A few random bits and pieces…

Spring has come to southeast Minnesota… 

“The heavens declare the glory of God…” 

“…and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” 

The fragments above have been circulating around in my mind most of the day.  The first is a general observation about the changing of seasons where we live.  The second is from the opening verse of Psalm 19 and the last is from Micah 6:8.  And while I have been considering them over and over I can’t come up with enough from any of them to write what I would like to produce for a coherent blog post.  So today I present a few random bits and pieces.

First of all, spring has come here, which for us is most evident by the blooming of the crab apple trees where we live.  Whites and pinks, with a hint of red line, our driveway.  It was a long winter and the warmth and new life are welcome.

Which leads me to the opening of Psalm 19.  As the seasons change we have had some powerful weather recently, particularly last night.  The heavens declared the glory of God through thunderstorms, which were relatively benign as we listened to them last night. 

Yet, as I ran this morning, I saw farm fields that are way behind schedule that now have pools of standing water in them.  They will be unplantable for at least another week.  In other parts of the country those same storm systems spun off tornadoes that left much destruction in their wake.  

As I edit and revise this post my wife just told me of death at two elementary schools in Oklahoma.  My original sentence here was "The same storms that spur my praise of God also call me to ask Him to be merciful to those affected by the damage that accompanied them." but now I am at a loss for words.  I know that God is good, all the time, and I pray that His goodness eventually becomes evident to those whose lives are reeling.

Which brings me to the verse from Micah, which was the concluding part of the devotional reading I did this morning, Micah 6:1-8.  I have heard this verse a number of times and I have a vague memory of hearing it preached once.  I can remember the preacher and I think he emphasized the justice/kindness piece.  But I can’t remember if he said anything about what it means to “walk humbly” with God, and that is the part of the Bible reading that I have repeatedly pondered today. 

Before we can “walk humbly” with God we have to first know who God truly is and we have to be in a saving relationship with Him.  Any attempt to “walk humbly” with God that is absent a saving relationship with Him is a self-serving deception.  But a relationship that is grounded in knowing our brokenness as sinners, and then being reconciled to God by faith through the saving work of Christ, is the place where humility with God can be authentic on our part.   

I don’t know about you but if I had to come up with one word to describe God, one word to characterize the essence of God, it would be that God is holy.  In order for me to “walk humbly” with God I need to remember, again and again, that He is holy, that He is God, and that I am not. 

And that last thought, about God being holy, brings me to my last random thought, which is a certain David Crowder song that has also been floating through my mind during the day, After All (Holy). The song reminds me that God’s holiness points me to His glory.  Here is a link to the lyrics. 

Thanks for reading.  May some of your random thoughts today point you to God, the one true God, whose holiness and glory are without end.  Amen.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.