A Simple Faith: What Does the Lord Require of You?

By John Zehring

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

The most important question a person of faith could ask may be the one Micah raised:
What does the Lord require? In his brief verse, Micah answers the question with three simple requirements: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.

Do justice. Justice, in the Hebrew scriptures, means how you treat people. Love kindness. Put kindness above all other religious practices. Walk humbly with your God. A simple faith pleases God. Do not make it more complicated that it needs to be. Become like children, taught Jesus. Love, trust, obey, and walk with God.

For people of faith who care to ask the question Micah posed, “A Simple Faith” inspires the reader to know God better and to love God more. Wherever you are on your faith journey – a beginner or a seasoned follower – build your relationship with God on the foundation blocks of justice, kindness, and a humble walk with God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Zehring
• Release date: Jan 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463794043

John Zehring

John Zehring has served United Church of Christ congregations as Senior Pastor in Massachusetts (Andover), Rhode Island (Kingston), and Maine (Augusta) and as an Interim Pastor in Massachusetts (Arlington, Harvard). Prior to parish ministry, he served in higher education, primarily in development and institutional advancement. He worked as a dean of students, director of career planning and placement, adjunct professor of public speaking and as a vice president at a seminary and at a college. He is the author of more than sixty books and is a regular writer for The Christian Citizen, an American Baptist social justice publication. He has taught Public Speaking, Creative Writing, Educational Psychology and Church Administration. John was the founding editor of the publication Seminary Development News, a publication for seminary presidents, vice presidents and trustees (published by the Association of Theological Schools, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment). He graduated from Eastern University and holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Rider University, and the Earlham School of Religion. He is listed in Marquis' WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA and is a recipient of their Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. John and his wife Donna live in two places, in central Massachusetts and by the sea in Maine.

Book preview

A Simple Faith:

What Does the Lord Require of You?

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John Zehring

Copyright 2020 John Zehring

Introduction

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

(Micah 6:8)

The most important question a person of faith could ask may be the one Micah raised:

What does the Lord require? Of you. Not in general, but of you. Is God pleased with me? Am I good… or good enough? For the person who loves God and wants to please God, the question holds great relevance: what does God require of me? In his brief verse, Micah answers the question with three simple requirements: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.

When you consider how religions have divided people and done harm throughout history, especially when one or the other insists upon its own way, this is no small matter. Our faith, and perhaps all religions, can engage in self-defeating behavior by making it more complicated than it needs to be. We can become overwhelmed with so many commandments, laws, rules, advice, recommendations, guidelines. There is so much in the bible and we wonder How do I process it all? Organize it? Keep it simple? In one verse Micah summarizes the bottom line with both question and answer.

Jesus too appealed to a simple faith: become like children, he said. There are only two great commandments, he taught, and those two encompass all the law and the prophets. 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40)

This is not to say you should not pursue your curiosity about the great questions of life, endeavor to study the bible, or dig deeper into our understanding of God’s word. God is still speaking. We want to understand what God said through the prophets and teachers, but also what is God saying today? If you get wrapped up and make religion complicated, you are well-served to return to the simple and basic question: what does the Lord require of you.?

Notes about this book

Scriptures used in this work come from the New Revised Standard Version, unless otherwise noted.

I have attempted to use inclusive language wherever possible in the words I have written, although I have not altered the author’s reference to God as he. I recognize that the Divine has no gender and for many it may be just as appropriate and accurate to acknowledge God as Mother or Father. Whichever pronoun is used, consider God as a loving parent.

Some of this work is adapted from other books I have written, which can be found at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or other book sellers. Some also comes from articles I have written as a writer for The Christian Citizen, a publication of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies, and is reprinted with permission.

May you find this book a guide to undergird your lifelong pursuit of doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with your God.

John Zehring

MICAH

WHO: Micah was a Prophet. He is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament, or Hebrew Scriptures, and was a contemporary of Isaiah, Amos and Hosea. His message was addressed to the people of Israel and Judah. Micah wrote one of the books of the Bible.

WHAT: He lived among the poor of his village and came into daily contact with the people who suffered most from the system where the wealthy owned a great disproportionate share of the wealth. His remarks were addressed to the ruling classes with an indignant tone, criticizing how the rich and powerful used every opportunity to exploit the poor and the vulnerable. He predicts that the land will suffer captivity, much like the northern kingdom did, because of their unfaithfulness to God and how the rich take advantage of the people. Because of that, Micah predicts that Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins. Hope for the future will come from a Messiah who will be born in Bethlehem.

WHEN: Micah lived from 740 BC to 670 BC. Ancient dates could be off, but to put this in perspective, Micah came roughly 500 years after Moses and about 700 years before Jesus of Nazareth, who was born in Bethlehem. Micah grew up at the time when ISRAEL, the Northern Kingdom, was taken by the Assyrians, who took the people into captivity. JUDAH, the Southern Kingdom, was conquered by the Babylonians, the Temple was destroyed, and they forced most of the people to live in exile. We’re talking generations here. The people want to know: How come the enemy is winning? What did we do wrong? Where is Yahweh? Has Yahweh forsaken his people? This was supposed to be our land, our home. Why are these bad things happening to us? Where is God? Nothing makes sense. Micah’s prophetic view was that these bad things were happening because of how the rich and powerful exploited the poor and the weak.

WHERE: Micah lived in a small village called Moresheth, near the city of Gath which was destroyed by the Assyrians when they invaded Judah. Draw a line west out of Jerusalem heading towards the Mediterranean and it’s likely about an hour’s drive… although no one is