Micah 4:2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

When two Scripture passages are closely parallel, it’s interesting to see exactly what the differences are. In Isaiah 2:3 it just says
“peoples,” but Micah specifies that these are Gentiles, so the NIV says “nations.” However, despite differences in the overall passages, these two verses are otherwise identical. The point is that others besides Jews will realize that the God of Jacob is indeed the Creator, and they will seek Him. To me the most beautiful part of this verse is the statement that first of all, God will teach us His road to follow, and that second, we will follow those roads in detail. (Paths are very specific, narrow roads.) The expectation that God will teach us is enormously important, but so is the commitment to be obedient to Him. Sadly, many people who have been taught God’s ways don’t follow His paths! The last part of the verse makes it clear that for this to happen, God’s Word is not to be shut up in some central location, but go out from it. Christians can be very good at creating insider clubs, talking about God and bemoaning how the rest of the world doesn’t know Him. That’s a violation of God’s plan! Our task is to get the Word out to where it’s so desperately needed, so that it will have a chance to enter people’s hearts and minds and set them free from the traps of the devil. Anything less is self-centered and blind, and deprives us and many others of blessings that God intends.

I was initially slow to share the wealth of knowledge of the Bible that I had been given, but I had a definitive moment, that for me was pretty dramatic. I had been praying for the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but had experienced nothing. Then one day someone told me, “How do you receive anything from God? It’s by faith, isn’t it? If You know that God has promised You His Spirit, then ask for it, believe that you have received, and thank Him for it.” I tried that, and once again felt nothing, but a couple of days later I was shocked to realize suddenly that I had just initiated a conversation about Jesus with a total stranger, and Acts 1:8 came to mind. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” I realized that the purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is to empower us to be witnesses, and I had received it. It was months later that I first received one of the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, and though I have since experienced all of those at least once, I am strongly aware that the purpose for it all is that I may be a witness of Christ, drawing others to Him by sharing what He has done in and for me. I am to be a channel through which the Word of the Lord is to go out from Jerusalem.

Father, thank You for the amazing privilege of communicating Your Word, of being a witness of Christ. Help me be more and more effective, because I certainly can’t do it on my own! Help me share so that many will choose to seek and find You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!