Author: Ben Bourland

“We are ever giving thanks to God for all of you, continually mentioning you in our prayers, recalling unceasingly before our God and Father your work energized by faith and service motivated by love and unwavering hope in [the return of] our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah). [O] brethren beloved by God, we recognize and know that He has selected (chosen) you; For our [preaching of the] glad tidings (the Gospel) came to you not only in word, but also in [its own inherent] power and in the Holy Spirit and with great conviction and absolute certainty.” 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5a ->me: Yesterday I finished up Micah and have now moved onto Thessalonians. Primary takeaway from these verses today -> When I am involved by God to reach the lost, I must stay engaged in their lives, petitioning the Lord on their behalf, thanking God for them, reaching out and encouraging/furthering their sanctification because of my confidence in knowledge, through the Holy Spirit, of their election. I also love that Paul says the preaching of the gospel does not entirely rest on my delivery when approaching an opportunity to share – I must also have complete confidence that the power of the gospel alone [the Power of Salvation] will grab the person who is drawn by Him. If the preaching of the gospel falls flat on that person then the Lord is not yet drawing that person to Himself. This is so encouraging as I pray for courage to witness.

“Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger forever, because He delights in mercy and loving-kindness.” Micah 7:18 ->me: Reading this verse it is interesting that Micah’s name means ‘Who is like Yah[weh]?’.  The ‘remnant of His heritage’ is the people of Israel (also includes me as one grafted into the vine).  Iniquity = poor and/or grossly unfair behavior (God forgives my stupid behavior).  Transgression = an act that goes against a law, rule, or code of conduct; an offense (God looks over me and sees His Son Who paid my penalty).  My God does not stay upset or angry at me…why?  Because he actually enjoys doling out mercy and loving-kindness toward me.  Why does God give me this forgiveness?  Psalms 130:4 tells me – “But there is forgiveness with You [just what I need], that You may be reverently feared and worshiped.”

“I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteous deliverance. Then my enemy will see it, and shame will cover her who said to me, Where is the Lord your God? My eyes will see my desire upon her; now she will be trodden down as the mire of the streets.” Micah 7:9-10 ->me: As a Christian I think this justly represents my life before God. As Paul tells us of his own struggles in Romans 7; I battle with sin in my earthly and fleshly mind/body before the Lord returns to glorify my soul and form. I must acknowledge and accept the earthly consequences of my actions. If I am truly repentant then I will accept the punishment of my iniquity. If I just murmured at God in response to my punishment then I would not yet know my guilt; it could be argued whether I have the conviction of the Holy Spirit within me. So through the strength of the Lord alone I will press against the temptation to sin…to make choices counter to His will for me. Then He will bring forth into the light of both temporal and spiritual redemption. I love this thought that ‘then my enemy will see it”, see my redemption through conviction and repentance.

“But as for me, I will look to the Lord and confident in Him I will keep watch; I will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.  Rejoice not against me, O my enemy! When I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to me.” Micah 7:7-8 ->me: These are Micah’s words as he gazes on the wickedness of the rulers and people of Israel.  What an awesome set of verses to tuck away for that day when I might feel alone and persecuted.  ‘I will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my Salvation; my God WILL hear me’.  Notice it doesn’t say God will necessarily answer, but He will hear.  My faith is an exercise in perseverance and commitment even when I am not FEELING it.  ‘When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to me’ – Wow, also super powerful.  I have this image of a person sitting (arms around knees) soaking wet under a small cover in the darkness,  mud, and cold…but inside that person is at peace and resolute that God hears every word they pray and that He is preparing what is ultimately best for them.  The person’s circumstance has not changed but the internal steadfastness gives them strength to push through.

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8 ->me: I started this reading yesterday but didn’t have time to write my thoughts down and get them out before Life Group.  Life Group last night was such blessing!  First time I have seen everyone since November!  I missed the last 2 Life Groups due to travel and I so needed this time – especially with my men.  To be able to unload and discuss my heart and challenges was so refreshing and to once again be able to partner with gentlemen that want to get closer to our God.  Today’s verse is sooo good.  ‘Require’ is not an optional word, it is clear direction.  Do justly -> meaning, when in a socially superior position, step in and deliver the weaker and wronged party.  Israel’s leaders had done just the opposite.  Love Kindness and Mercy – Anyone who is in a weaker position due to some misfortune or other should be delivered not reluctantly, but out of a spirit of generosity, grace and loyalty. Humble yourself and walk humbly with you God – Unlike the first 2, this is orientated towards God. It does not refer to self-effacement but to bringing one’s life into conformity with God’s will.  This is the punch in the stomach I needed today; align all that I do to the will and purposes of God…everything.

“And He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; and they shall dwell [secure], for then shall He be great [even] to the ends of the earth. And this [One] shall be our peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads upon our soil and in our palaces, then will we raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes among men.” Micah 5:4-5 ->me:  How cool it is to read the words of the Lord through the prophets (In this case Micah) signaling the coming of the Messiah!  I love the takeaways from this passage today -> 1) Jesus has the full power of the Father behind Him in the caring of me, His flock.  He carries with Him all the majesty of heaven in His actions.  2) I am safe in His care and it does not matter where I am on this earth, I can never be out of His reach.  3) He is my peace; my comfort. 4) I am in this together with Him.  When the enemy comes and barges into my life, we – the Lord and I together, will rise against him.  How cool is that?!  The Lord acts together with and through His saints.

“Arise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion! For I will make your horn iron and I will make your hoofs bronze; you shall beat in pieces many peoples, and I will devote their gain to the Lord and their treasure to the Lord of all the earth.” Micah 4:13 ->me: This whole chapter of Micah is focused on God telling the Israelites that they will be beaten down for their iniquity and thrown into exile but in the end they will be delivered and used as an instrument of God’s wrath against the ungodly nations – and in the execution of that wrath they will give God any benefit or plunder taken as a victor’s bounty.  My life feels like a cycle of this -> I drift away from the Lord and I reap the consequences of my distance from Him, but when I turn toward Him I am rewarded with a peace and comfort that is difficult to describe.  When I am in this place I want to give God everything, every glory, every complement, and every spoil from the victories He gives me over my enemies (my idols, my pride).  I am at most peace when I give God my best.  The combination of Pastor Koby’s message and this quiet time today really help me see that there is more to do, more sinful ways of operating to purge so that I can be used to the best of the gifts He has given me.  The more I learn from His word the more and more changes I see that I need to make.

“And many nations shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways, and we may walk in His paths. For the law shall go forth out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Micah 4:2 ->me: First, it is so good to be home!  Yesterday was a travel day and I walked in the door of the house at 5:30pm; it was sooo good to see my family.  I did not have a formal quiet time but did read the first 3 chapters of Romans (something we are doing in our Life Group).  I was reminded how I am really not able to read the bible like this anymore…I have to take it verse by verse.  That brings me to today -> God spends the first 3 chapters telling the Israelites through Micah that He is going to allow the nation to be taken into captivity and the process will not only be painful but humiliating as well.  But then we come to chapter 4 where Micah begins to talk about the latter days when Israel will once again be the place to be to come and get close to the Lord and hear Him.  As a child of the King I need to see my quiet times as a mountain of the Lord; a place where I come to be taught His ways and walk in His paths.  I feel so blessed to live this life with Marianne!  God has been doing amazing things in her and she has been answering “Yes!” when the Lord calls on her.  Watching the Lord work through her is so inspiring; it causes me to want to be who I should be for her.

Ben’s CWGT – Today was a very busy day and my reading will come after I crawl into bed.  It is 12:31am Friday morning here in Virginia, and I just finished packing to head home at starting at 7am.  Today I had the opportunity to drive into town with a couple of DoD folks to get lunch for the rest of the team.  I had to go because there are strict rules about paying for even a coffee for a government official and I needed to cover our (6 of us Microsoft peeps) lunch costs.  Anywho…While on our way one of the guys (lets call him Jed) asked me whether I am married and have kids and of course this gave me the opportunity to tell our family story which includes Prim.  I cannot talk about these stories without talking about my relationship with the Lord, so I did.  Come to find out, Jed, is a Christian and we got to talking about all sorts of great stuff and it was so refreshing.  Jed is a real young guy who just got out of the Army Special Forces and has seen far more war than anyone should.  I could not get a pulse (spiritually) on the other gentleman with us (he has worked in US Embassies across the globe) but he is such a kind soul and we really get along well.  I needed some Christian body support today and the Lord blessed me with Jed.  When we got back to the post I let Jed know how much I appreciated him and I am hoping that maybe we can have him over for dinner or something when he is here next week.  God is so faithful and I so encouraged by this interaction today.  God is so good.

“Therefore I [Micah] will lament and wail; I will go stripped and [virtually] naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals and a lamentation like the ostriches.” Micah 1:8 ->me:  This verse today comes at a time where God is revealing to Micah the destruction He will bring to the idol worshiping and transgression ridden Israel.  What I am moved by today is this reaction by Micah to God’s revelation -> He could have gone running down the streets screaming in people’s faces to snap out of it and repent.  He could have stood on a street corner with a sandwich board preaching the punishment to come…but no…Micah wailed and was genuinely mournful for what God was preparing to do to his countrymen.  He was essentially beside himself in sorrow.  Isaiah did something similar in Isaiah 20:2-4 by taking the same posture Israel would have being walked away in captivity “naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered”.  These men of God were listening to the Divine Nature inside of them and that is why they responded the way they did.  Then I read this in Oswald Chambers – My Utmost for His Highest today – “The call of God is not a reflection of my nature; my personal desires and temperament are of no consideration. As long as I dwell on my own qualities and traits and think about what I am suited for, I will never hear the call of God. But when God brings me into the right relationship with Himself, I will become attuned to Him; allowing the call of God to penetrate my soul. The majority of us cannot hear anything but ourselves. And we cannot hear anything God says. But to be brought to the place where we can hear the call of God is to be profoundly changed.”  Once again, God stitching together confirmations of direction for my continued walk and sanctification.