Here is the ULTIMATE question...and probably the ONLY question. How am I going to stand before the Almighty God and what can I bring to please God? He is a HOLY God and as sinners we ask this question. What will make God happy? How can we be in His presence? Here He enters into a discussion with His people to answer just this very question and says three things:

What it is: God has shown and made known what pleases Him says the prophet. (talking about God the Almighty One with all His virtues.) The one virtue that comes to the fore here is the HOLINESS of God in His own ethical perfection! God is the most high and requires that we dedicate ourselves to Him in perfection in every circumstance. "Be ye holy as I am holy..." It is always the glory of God! We see our failure here and confess it and stand empty handed before God. My transgressions and sins come into view and how in the world are we going to cover them?

How met: Can we bring an offering? Will our religion or religiosity cover us and make us perfect or at least be good enough? Nothing will suffice and we would still stand empty handed as all the religiousness of the world cannot make atonement. He has made know by the Lord without doubt three simple but most difficult things:

1. Walk humbly before God. A jewel that must be in the life of the child of God. That we see our insignificance and smallness before the Almighty God! It should be set in the heart of the child of God !

2. That I do justly. The table of the law. Justice is righteousness and righteousness is living according to HIS commandments! God with all my heart, my mind, my soul, and my strength and the neighbor too! We must walk humbly with God in justice!

3. Love mercy. That's the passion and yearning in our heart for someone else. The opposite of hatred for all those who are put in our path!

Do we see that all we do must respect God in His justice and the neighbor in mercy and do it all in humility?! What an indictment against us! God's demand upon us and why we have to come to sit at His table often times to eat and drink of Christ and partake of His grace! Not righteous in ourselves but in only in our Lord Jesus Christ whereby we can stand before God's face!

Richly Rewarded: Focus on HIM! "This is my Son in whom I am well pleased!" We must take hold of His loved Son who had mercy and compassion for our sins. Contemplate that not even one tiny sin that He atoned for was HIS!!! There were ours! Yours and mine! And He emptied Himself in all humility! Take a moment and contemplate this for a bit.....

Then take the cup of HIS salvation and raise it HIGH among the saints and know that He has satisfied our controversy for us. Paid for and covered all our sins and iniquities. Paid for them ALL! Fully and He did it freely!