Daily Worship (Oct 12)

Isaiah 1:16–20 (NIV)
“Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. ‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.’ For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Devotional Thought
When God calls out sin, it’s not because He’s against us—it’s because He loves us too much to leave us as we are. Like Micah, the prophet Isaiah confronts God’s people for their hypocrisy and injustice. They claimed to worship God, but their daily lives were full of oppression and corruption. God doesn’t just want religious talk; He wants hearts that reflect His justice and mercy.
Still, even in His anger, God invites His people to return. “Come now, let us settle the matter,” He says. This shows the heart of a covenant God who keeps pursuing His people. Judgment is never His final word. God promises forgiveness—“though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Through Jesus, this promise becomes reality. His blood cleanses us completely, not because we are good, but because He is faithful.
When God confronts your sin, don’t run or hide. Let His correction draw you closer. Repentance is not about guilt—it’s about returning to love.

COMMA Questions

• Context: How does Isaiah’s message compare to Micah’s warning about corrupt leaders?
• Observation: What verbs in verses 16–17 describe the kind of change God wants from His people?
• Meaning: What does it mean that sins “as scarlet” can become “white as snow”?
• Main Idea: How does God’s call to repentance reveal both His justice and His mercy?
• Application: What area of your life might God be calling you to “stop doing wrong” and “learn to do right”?

Prayer
Lord, thank You that Your judgment is never without mercy. Help me see sin as You see it, not to despair but to return to You. Cleanse me by the blood of Jesus, and teach me to live with Your justice and love. Amen.

Ezekiel 34:11–16 (NIV)
“‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.’”

Devotional Thought
Micah accused Israel’s leaders of devouring the people like meat in a pot. But in contrast to these corrupt shepherds, God declares that He Himself will be the true Shepherd. When human leaders fail, God does not abandon His people—He gathers them.
Ezekiel paints a picture of tender, personal care. God searches for the lost, rescues the scattered, and binds up the wounded. This is covenant love in action. It’s the same love that sent Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who said, “I lay down my life for the sheep.” God’s justice and mercy meet in Him—He judges sin, but also takes the judgment upon Himself to bring us home.
Even when life feels scattered or broken, you are never too far from God’s reach. His covenant promise is not that you will never wander, but that He will always come looking for you.

COMMA Questions

• Context: How does this passage contrast with the corrupt leadership described in Micah 3?
• Observation: What actions does God take for His people in verses 11–16?
• Meaning: What does it mean that God Himself becomes the Shepherd?
• Main Idea: How does God’s promise to “search for the lost and bring back the strays” reveal His covenant faithfulness?
• Application: Where do you need to trust God’s shepherding care in your life right now?

Prayer
Shepherd Lord, thank You for never leaving me to the care of false leaders or my own wandering heart. Gather me again into Your fold. Heal what is broken and teach me to follow Your voice with joy and trust. Amen.

Micah 7:18–20 (NIV)
“Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago.”

Devotional Thought
Micah ends his book the same way he began—by asking, “Who is like the Lord?” After chapters of warning, this final song bursts with hope. The God who judges sin is the same God who delights in mercy. His anger is real, but it doesn’t last forever. His covenant love endures forever.
In Jesus, this promise is fulfilled. God treads our sins underfoot—literally crushing them under the cross—and hurls them into the depths of the sea, never to return. The Judge becomes our Savior. The one who convicts us also covers us with His grace.
When we truly grasp that, we stop fearing God’s discipline and start trusting His heart. His justice is not meant to destroy us but to bring us back into fellowship with Him. Even when there’s “no love lost” in human relationships, there is always love found in God’s covenant mercy.

COMMA Questions

• Context: How does this passage bring closure to the themes of judgment and hope from earlier in Micah?
• Observation: What verbs describe what God does with our sins in verses 18–19?
• Meaning: What does it mean that God “delights to show mercy”?
• Main Idea: How does this passage reveal the heart of God toward His covenant people?
• Application: How can remembering God’s mercy change the way you respond to others who sin against you?

Prayer
Merciful God, there is no one like You. Thank You for delighting to forgive and for casting my sins into the sea. Teach me to rest in Your covenant love and to show that same mercy to others. Amen.