What Does God Require of Us? Part 1
My testimony of how God brought me back to simple faith.
For twenty years I’ve been seeking God — reading His Word, studying Jesus’ life, and learning His character.
My salvation was radical, and from the moment I met Jesus, I needed to know everything about this beautiful, holy Savior. It hasn’t always been smooth; some seasons were hard.
Through the journey I learned that different church cultures, people, and well‑intentioned organizations can complicate what Jesus made simple. I experienced extremes — heavy religion, hyper‑grace, and spiritual manipulation- to sum it up it was performance and it made people look “holy” on the outside but empty on the inside.
After years of studying Scripture - focused on Jesus’ life, I discovered something freeing:
We can miss it.
God doesn’t require performance.
He requires a relationship — a tender heart, a teachable mind, and a life of servanthood.
When My Zeal Hurt the People, I Loved Most
I have three children, and in my early years of faith, I parented from those extremes. I didn’t know better, yet. At one point, I was so religious that I pushed them away. I withheld love. I used guilt. I confused obedience with control.
The fruit of my parenting didn’t look anything like the Jesus I was reading about.
God never forces worship. Forced religious duties are not worship.
Jesus never used guilt to gain followers. Forced faith is control.
And yet, unknowingly, I had done both.
But because I kept seeking the Lord — even in my mistakes — He began to give me wisdom and revelation. He showed me a balanced, biblical way to parent:
Consequences matter because they protect and teach.
Harshness destroys because love is patient and kind.
Self‑righteousness blinds because humility is the way of Jesus.
I had to unlearn a lot. And God, in His mercy, walked me through it.
The Moment Holy Spirit Spoke to me About My Daughter
My youngest daughter struggled with faith and religion in her adolescent and young adult years. She never said it out loud, but I knew. I didn’t understand why, she grew up in church, went to church camp, and we did all the churchy things. I asked myself what happened?
One day in complete surrender, I asked the Lord, “What scripture can I declare over her? How do I agree with You for her life?”
And I heard: “She is a justice bearer.”
It made perfect sense — she has always been deeply justice‑driven. Of course she did not want forced faith. The first scripture that came to mind was Micah 6:8.
So, I opened my bible to Micah 6:8:
“He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?”
In that moment, I realized something painful but freeing:
I had exposed my children to what I understood Christianity to be…
but I had failed to teach them the main things.
Do justice.
Love mercy.
Walk humbly with God.
That’s it.
That’s the foundation.
That’s the life Jesus modeled.
What the Word Taught Me Through Micah 6:8
When we commit to these three things, God does the rest:
He rewires our minds.
He purifies our hearts.
He removes selfishness piece by piece.
He transforms us through the pursuit of holiness — not performance.
This is the journey I’m inviting you into.
The good news, it was not too late to course correct- in His Mercy. My daughter is on her own journey with Him, writing her own testimony of her own faith and cultivating her own relationship with God.
In this 4-part series, I’ll be sharing my personal experience of each command — Justice, Mercy, and Humility — and how they shaped my walk with God, my relationships, and my identity.
My prayer is that as you read, you’ll locate yourself in the process, write your own journey, and let God bring you back to simple faith.