Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27 + Luke 12:8-34 + Psalm 78:32-55 + Proverbs 12:21-23
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Old Testament – “Be strong and courageous!” is the encouragement & exhortation we hear 3 times in chapter 31 today. It was said by Moses to the Israelites in verse 6, then by Moses to Joshua in verse 7, and finally by God to Joshua in verse 23. Why do you think this was said 3 times? Why would the Israelites and Joshua need to be reminded to be strong and courageous? And if these words were needed back then, do you think perhaps we might need to hear them still today? Do we need to be reminded oftentimes to be strong and courageous? Today, this side of the Cross, where does our strength and courage truly come from? Below is Joshua being commissioned by Moses in a Fresco in the Sistine Chapel by Luigi Signorelli, circa 1481:
Today in Deuteronomy chapter 31 verses 10-12 we read – “Then Moses commanded them: “At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing. Assemble the people – men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns-so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law.” Incredible verses! I like that Moses was setting up a way for God’s Word to continue to be taught & heard by God’s People every 7 years! I think this gets at a couple of things – 1. We humans are very forgetful. We may hear something once, but we need to hear it over and over again – particularly if it is God’s Word. 2. There is always a new generation of people coming up behind us. It is so important to educate this new generation about God’s Word. So – how do these verses above speak to you today? Are you hearing or reading God’s Word on a consistent basis? I know the answer is yes, for this year, as you’re in the One Year Bible! And I know that many of you have been reading the One Year Bible for many years now. However, I know not everyone will read the OYB every year. Here’s a suggestion – what about committing to reading the entire Bible – in the One Year Bible or Chronological or other format – once every 7 years? Thus, if you live to be 101, you’ll have read the Bible through at least 10 times (not counting those early years :). Just a thought to keep in the back of your mind – please consider reading the entire Bible at least once every 7 years. Though, I would encourage you to at least read some portion of the Word each and every day, in each and every year. Next question – are you somehow involved in teaching others the Word? Are you encouraging your friends or family members to read God’s Word? Maybe consider inviting your family & friends to participate in the One Year Bible next year? Are you somehow involved in teaching the younger generation coming up behind you to learn God’s Word? Maybe through your church you can get involved in Sunday school ministries or maybe there is a younger person in your community that you can mentor and disciple?
New Testament – Today in Luke 12:25-26 we read: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” In regards to these verses I once heard someone say that worry is a form of “low-grade atheism.” Which I think is brilliant! When we worry, we are in a sense doubting God. Doubting that God has the situation in control, no matter how dire it may seem. Do you worry much these days? Do you see how worry is in a sense a form of “low-grade atheism”?
Bible.org’s commentary on Luke chapter 12’s readings today titled “Greed: The Affliction of the Affluent” is at this link and commentary titled “A Disciple’s Perspective on Possessions” is at this link. Also, below is a brief commentary from Bible.org on the “Unpardonable Sin” from Luke 12:10, which can be found near the bottom of this link:
“At first appearance this text seems to be warning the disciple that he might lose his salvation by denying the Savior, by his hypocrisy. This is not the case, however. There are several reasons why this cannot be the case.
(1) Man’s salvation is not based upon his works, or his faithfulness, but on Christ’s shed blood and His faithfulness.
(2) The Scriptures consistently teach that man did not choose God but that He has chosen man, and that the one who is saved is eternally secure.
(3) In our text, there is a definite change from the second person (“you”) to the third person (“whoever,” “him,” “everyone”).
(4) The unpardonable sin, referred to in verse 10, is elsewhere clearly a sin which an unbeliever commits, which terminates any further opportunity to be saved.”
Psalms – Psalm 78 verses 41 & 42 stood out to me today – “Again and again they tested God’s patience and frustrated the Holy One of Israel. They forgot about his power and how he rescued them from their enemies.” I am continually amazed at how similar we are today to the Israelites when they were wandering in the desert. I am sure that we can on occasion test God’s patience and frustrate him. I would also venture a pretty good guess that many of us forget about God’s power. And forget how God rescued us from our enemies – and continues to rescue us daily. How about you – do you ever forget about God’s power? Do you ever forget about how he has rescued you? What can we do to help ourselves remember? How do we stop testing God’s patience and forgetting about Him?
Proverbs – Today in Proverbs 12:21 we are taught: “No harm comes to the godly, but the wicked have their fill of trouble.” Do you believe this is true? Or does sometimes the opposite seem true? I think sometimes the opposite of this Proverb may seem true this side of heaven. (though not always – I think wickedness reaps much trouble on this earth as well…) But I think clearly from an eternal perspective, this Proverb is absolute Truth. Eternally, no harm comes to godly, but the wicked have their fill of trouble… Let us not lose sight of our celestial horizons!
Worship Video: Luke 12:25-26’s “Don’t worry” message reminded me of the JJ Heller terrific song “Your Hands:”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-F6DGGF4Qs
Are you in God’s Hands? Click here for His Hands!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on two verses of Scripture today: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” Luke 12:25-26 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray that you won’t worry. Pray that you will cast all of your cares upon the Lord, Jesus. Pray that you will recognize how worry is a form of “low-grade atheism.” Pray that you will never doubt God’s sovereignty in your life by worrying.
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today’s readings? Please post up by clicking on the “Comments” link below!
God bless,
Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.
p.s. #2 – Download a schedule of our Bible readings for the year in PDF format at this link.
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BLOG READERS HISTORICAL COMMUNITY COMMENTS:
(our Group Bible Study is below! : )
======= Ramona:
A prayer for Mike and Everyone who Reads along with Us and Visitors also:
Father God, I thank you for the vision you have placed in Mike’s heart to bring people together from diverse backgrounds, agendas, political affiliations and socioeconomic spheres to focus on Your Word the only rock of Truth. This Blog is constructed in such a way that our opinions and denominational leanings and bents are overshadowed by your Words of Truth.
I thank you and Praise You for Your Faithfulness to all those who seek after You even when we stray from the path of each day’s readings. May every Word we read here go deep down within our hearts and bring forth such a great harvest of spiritual fruit that all we come in contact with can see Jesus, the God in us, the hope of glory, in us. May we reflect back to others Your grace, mercy and character. May those who we interact with us as we travel, while at work and in our home witness that “They have been with Jesus.”
In the glorious name of Your Son Jesus Christ I pray, amen.
Ramona
======= Ramona:
Deuteronomy 31:-32:27
Two things have struck me strongly in today’s reading: the commandment to read the Law at the end of every seventh year and the Song of Moses written in past tense.
If Israel was held accountable for correctly hearing and obeying God’s Law that was only heard every seven years, how much more accountable will we be to hearing correctly and obey the Word of God? I know that they only had Five Books to contend with; however, even with the five that is a lot of Word to take in and remember after hearing it once every seven years. Since God created us and formed us out of the dust of the earth, He knows what we are and are not capable of doing, achieving and accomplishing.
If God expected Israel to remember what they heard then we have the capacity to do what God has commanded. And if Israel was held accountable for what she heard, how much more are we? In this country (USA) you can get a bible almost on every street corner, at least in NYC. One can readily purchase expensive Moroccan leather bound bibles to paper bound book for at little as one dollar. Street evangelist hand out bibles freely or at lest scripture portions. The Gideon’s hand out pocketsize New Testaments on street corners near college campus, and even visiting a No-Tell Hotel to commit adultery with someone else’s husband or wife, one can find a bible in the nightstand drawer BEFORE you jump into bed Yet we have become a society of Biblical Illiterates who claim to be Christians! Thank you Mike for this Blog where we can come together to learn the Word of God and to put forth ideas and thoughts if we feel so inclined. It takes me no more than fifteen minutes to read the daily passages one time through without stopping to study a verse or ponder on a word or passage. We are without excuse.
The Song of Moses tells Israel what she will do, turn from God, as if she had already done it. The eternity of God can be seen so clearly in this song and if we look closely we will understand that the eternal God, who exists in a timeless sphere, is dealing with finite man living in a parenthetical universe controlled by time encased in eternity. God sees our beginning from our end because to God everything we do is in the “now.” So God can have the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8) because He knew that His creation would sin and need to have a redeemer before He even created man!
The following verses may have nothing to do with the United States of America but when I read them I thought of the reports that told us how fat we have become as a people:
14 He fed them curds from the herd and milk from the flock, together with the fat of lambs and goats. He gave them choice rams and goats from Bashan, together with the choicest wheat. You drank the finest wine, made from the juice of grapes.
15 But Israel soon became fat and unruly; the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed! Then they abandoned the God who had made them; they made light of the Rock of their salvation.
Are we in danger of forgetting the God who made us and are the sizes of our girth an indicator of our memory lose?
Luke 12:8-34
14 …”Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” 15 Then he said, “Beware! Don’t be greedy for what you don’t have. Real life is not measured by how much we own.”
This says to me that greed has nothing to do with wealth; it has to do with not being satisfied with what you have. Someone in abject poverty can by greedy and someone who owns a vast portfolio of stock and has large real estate holdings can be greedy.
And if Jesus has to point out the having “stuff” doesn’t indicate “real” life than a lot of us who look at how much “stuff” someone has compared to how much “stuff” we have are living “fake” lives. We have become a counterfeit of who we really are!
Psalm 78:32-55
Yesterday the first part of this Psalm mirrored the Old Testament reading in Deuteronomy and today it does the same thing and adds the passage in Luke to its mirror. Ain’t God Grand!
Proverbs 12:21-23
I’m going to go off on a tangent with the 21st verse, sorry. But I’ve just seen something I’ve never seen before,
21 No [actual] evil, misfortune, or calamity shall come upon the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil, misfortune, and calamity (Amp).
If no evil can come upon the righteous, then when tragic events happen to folks we believe are “righteous” then what has happened to them is not real evil. We just think it’s evil because we are using human standards, not God’s. We are seeing life from man’s point of view when we should be learning how to see life from God’s vantage point. The NLT states it like this,
21 No real harm befalls the godly, but the wicked have their fill of trouble.
If there is a “real” harm then there must be a false harm. You don’t have to distinguish between the real and false if there wasn’t a difference between the two. There must be an appearance of evil and an actual evil. Jesus warned about judging from appearances only (John 7:24). What something appears to be and what is actually is are as different from day and night.
22 The LORD hates those who don’t keep their word, but he delights in those who do.
When we tell lies we can’t believe our own words because we know that what we have spoken is not true, so we don’t believe the words of others as a matter of course. But the greatest problem we encounter when we can’t believe our own words is that we won’t believe God’s Words either so we never believe with our whole heart, mind, body and soul and embrace the promises of God.
Grace and peace,
Ramona
======= Dan:
I unite with the person who wrote, to ask The Lord to bless Mike abundantly for following the call God gave him to start this plan on reading the Bible this year. It is a blessing all of us. Also ask for blessing for every person that is reading the word daily.
The commitment he has, is only something that God puts in someone’s heart, and Mike is fulfiling it. We read the Bible daily and we do our part, but he takes his time to do the blog, look for the comments and the pictures.
God bless everyone who reads the Bible, but over all God bless Mike…..
Dan
========= Mike:
Thank you for the 2 prayers above! Much appreciated. And much needed. : ) I’m glad you 2 – and everyone – are on this Bible in a Year journey with me this year!
Mike
======= Jan:
I have been pondering on this since reading the whole book of Deuteronomy & especially chapter 28-30 regarding blessing & cursing. I understand & realilze that God is love, but that love is balanced & in that love is justice & judgement. I get so tired of hearing the watered down Gospel, that God is love & loves everything. From what I understand & read from His Word/Laws…He does not love evil & wickedness/sin…can’t even be around it & there are evil & wicked people in this world that will never change & He knows that & yes, it is the desire of Him & all believers/Christians that none should perish…but some will do so.
I heard someone in our office just the other day say, “God loves everybody,” & it pricked my heart. Love does cover a multitude of sin as His Word says…but there is always consequences to sin…cursing if you may. Yes, I sin…but I try not to & I’m not wicked & evil. I fear God & the consequences of my sin & repent & turn from it when I do happen to stumble. I just don’t think it is as easy as every one thinks it is…there is a cost to following Christ & the Word says we are to count that cost & figure out if we are able to pay the cost of being His disciples/followers…it will cost us something…possibly our lives (we must die to ourselves daily & that is not easy either).
I also think the more you read His Word, the more you understand & fear Him. After all, the beginning of knowledge/wisdom is fear of the Lord. When & if I sin, it tears my heart out & I have no choice but to run to Him & repent. I love Him so I obey His commands as best I can; but because of the way people portray God’s love…a lot of people think they can get away with anything…they have no fear of God/our Lord. Guess they are still on the throne of their lives.
In regard to Mike’s comment about reading the Bible/God’s Word through at least every 7 years…you would truly be doing yourself a disservice in doing so. The more you read the Bible/His Word…the more intimate you become with Him…you are actually reading HIM…the Word made flesh. I have went 2 years without reading His Word daily (always reading it somehow throughout the day in some form)…but there is just something entirley different about eating/taking our “daily” Bread/Him/Word as our susentance…the only thing that gives us true life.
Jan
======= Ramona:
Jan,
Thank you for your post. I am one that also believes that outside of the Word, God cannot be fully known since He says in His Word, that that He and His Word are One (John 1). Funny thing is that when I was an unbeliever running around and doing crazy things, I would curse people out who I saw reading the Bible on public transportation. I did this for more than ten years. Question: was I really rejecting God or kicking against the “pricks?” (That was a rhetorical question).
It’s strange how we blame shift the effects of our sin onto God. God could have stopped us, If God is Love, He will forgive me and not punish me or cause me to suffer the consequences of our behavior. We have this thing that someone loves us if they don’t hold us accountable. If you love me, you will let me do what I want and clean up or ignore the mess I just made, when the Bible clearly states otherwise:
Proverbs 3:12
New Living Translation (NLT)
For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
Proverbs 13:24
New Living Translation (NLT)
If you refuse to discipline your children, it proves you don’t love them; if you love your children, you will be prompt to discipline them.
The first time I read the mandate for Israel to assemble themselves every seven years, the year that all debts were canceled, to here the Law read, the first five books of Moses, I said WOW! Even though at that time, they were responsible for hearing, understanding and applying only five books, when we have sixty-six, every seven years, what greater standard will be held accountable, especially those in Western Civilization, for handling or mishandling the Word of God? Here in the United States we can be heading to the “No-Tell Motel” to commit adultery and have the Word of God in the drawer next to us on the night table.
Jan—thanks again for your comments.
Ramona
======= Roslyn:
Luke 12:10 – “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”
Can anyone explain why Jesus the Son of Man can forgive and not the Holy Spirit when they are one and the same God?
Why does the bible keep referring to Jesus as the Son of Man instead of the Son of God or Son of the Holy Spirit? We all know He became man by being born, but He is God first, and He was conceived of the Holy spirit.
Roslyn
======= John:
Roslyn,
Two questions. The second question:
“Why does the bible keep referring to Jesus as the Son of Man instead of the Son of God or Son of the Holy Spirit?”
It is almost exclusively used by Jesus in the gospels.
“The term appears 82 times in the NT. It is always spoken by Jesus in the gospels. “One like a son of man” appears in Rev 1:13 and 14:14. Stephen sees the Son of Man standing in Acts 7:56. All other uses are by Jesus.”
Personally, I believe Jesus delighted in mankind from the beginning. Therefore, I think he delighted in the title. On a practical basis, using “Son of Man” was not only a title of humility, but provided less hindrance in his ministry. If he kept saying, He was the “Son of God” or the “Messiah” over and over. Then along with his works, people would be rushing to make him King, perhaps anger the temple priests so that they tried to kill him sooner, etc. these things would not be in line with his ministry or would threaten to end his ministry before the appointed hour.
John MacArthur lists four reasons why Jesus used the title “Son of Man” under the section:
Why Did Christ Call Himself “the Son of Man”?
Christ also equated “Son of Man” with deity by his acts as the “Son of Man” and links to Daniel (Ch.7). Also the human aspect was important to emphasize in relation to the kinsman-redeemer role of Christ. In O.T. only a blood relative could redeem the person from slavery, and had the obligation to be the “avenger of blood”. From the third paragraph on:
Christ has another link to mankind as the “last Adam”:
“It is very enlightening to realize that everything Adam lost in a moment of time was regained by the lord Jesus Christ during his amazing life’s work. The two great loses caused by Adam (spirit and a close relationship with God) was recovered and improved upon by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.”
Comparisons to Adam and Christ :
To sum up: “Son of Man” is important for its link to humanity. “Son of Man” is important as the gospels unfold and the term is equated with deity. Lastly, “Son of Man” is important because in that human role Christ could be the “last Adam” and “Kinsman-Redeemer”. It is just as important a title for Christ as “Son of God”. BTW “Son of God” is used 80+ times in the N.T. (depending on version).
John
======= John:
Roslyn,
Your first question is perhaps easier to explain.
“Can anyone explain why Jesus the Son of Man can forgive and not the Holy Spirit when they are one and the same God?”
Luke 12:10
“And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”
I think the important thing here is the “Son of Man” reference. If one was not exposed to Christ’s divine power and presence, they might speak a word (logos) against Jesus. They may choose to disbelieve that this “Son of Man” is the “Son of God”. These people would be acting out of ignorance. Yet, if they eventually repent, they will be forgiven.
Paul in 1Tim1:13
“Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.” NIV
However Blaspheme (blasphemos) has a different context. Jesus did everything through the will of the Father and by the power of the Holy Spirit. To blaspheme (Gk. blasphemos) has the definition:
1) to speak reproachfully, rail at, revile, calumniate, blaspheme
2) to be evil spoken of, reviled, railed at.
not just a “word” or disbelief but an evil,scornful spewing of contempt – ergo: equating the Holy Spirit with Satan.
“So, in a true sense, what Jesus did, He did by the power of the Holy Spirit working through him. His virgin birth was conceived of the Spirit. His empowerment for ministry was at his baptism and was generated by the Holy Spirit. And so, Jesus operated on the principle of submission to the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.”
So what is going on?
[“Now, it was one thing (notice in verse 32) to speak against the Son of Man, to say something against the humanness of Jesus or against his earthly presence or his earthly work. But to blaspheme the Holy Spirit was quite another thing.
Now, what it means is this: these people had received all the revelation they could receive. They had heard Jesus teach—and He said, “You should believe me for the words I speak.” They had seen the works that He had done, miracle after miracle after miracle… Many of them. So many of them that John says in John 20, “I suppose that if all the things that Jesus did were written, the books of all the world couldn’t hold them.” They had seen hundreds and perhaps thousands upon thousands of miracles. And Jesus said, “If you won’t believe me for the words, believe me for the very”—what? “Works’ sake.”
The point here is, here were a group of men, the leaders of Israel, who had had the epitome of revelation. They had it all. The fulfillment of all Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament, the corroboration by the very statements of Christ and the deeds of Christ that He was the Messiah, and their conclusion was that He was of Satan. Now, what happened? With all the revelation that God could possibly give them, they concluded the very opposite. And our Lord says, “It’s impossible for you to be saved.” Why? “Because when you had all the revelation, you concluded that I was satanic.” That’s hopeless. That’s hopeless.”]- ibid.
So after all this revelation the Pharisees not only rejected Jesus, but they concluded in an evil scornful manner that his power came from the “Adversary” of God.
I don’t think it is that the Holy Spirit CAN NOT forgive, but rather given the knowledge of the blasphemers it WILL NOT be forgiven.
[Note: There is much discussion over the application of this passage. I side with the “school of thought” that this is a statement made for a point in time. Jesus is physically on earth and working through the Holy Spirit. People see the miracles with their own eyes. That situation does not occur today, so I do not believe you can blaspheme the Holy Spirit today – as it is talking about in this passage.]
Well, maybe easier but not shorter
John
======= Gina:
“Be strong and courageous!” I love that! It’s easy sometimes to get caught up in fear of the unknown. Forgetting WHO is in control. Great reminder…to be strong and courageous…with Christ, we can face any giant…If He is for us, who can be against us!
We had a beautiful service in church this Thursday. We shared comunion, participated in a foot washing and stripped the alter of its elements. We also lowered our cross to the floor and covered it with a black cloth, then we all left in complete silence. It prepared my heart, got me really focused on Jesus’ sacrifice…a bittersweet feeling…but knowing that what this weekend represents is the reason I can live forever with Jesus in Heaven. Hallelujah!
Gina
======= Jenny:
Deut. 31:6 “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you”
I love this! this not only applies to our life, but our crossing into our promised land. As believers we should not fear death (our our moving out of our earthly tents) because He conquered death! By rising on the 3rd day, today, our celebration of God’s gift of grace! He went before us and He will be with us, He will never leave us, to live is Christ and to die is gain! We are never to be separated from Him, ever! Thats so incredible and I cling to that!
We must never trust in our strength, but His. HE is strong for us, and in our weakness, His strength is perfected! When ppl tell me, you have gone through so much, you are so strong, or you’re stronger then you realize….NO!!! Its not me, I am so frail and weak! Its Christ’s strength! I have no strength of my own to boast in! But we must step out in faith for HIs strength to be perfected.
Deut. 32:11″ As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, Spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings”
wow, i love that metaphor!
Luke is very powerful! I just heard a radio sermon on some of this, awesome!
Jenny
======= Lisa:
Giving “our” everything doesn’t help people very much. We usually end up enabling them to serve other gods. We have to draw on God’s everything- He made all things good. Say that, 5 times, emphasizing each of the 5 words in each sentence. I have given “my” everything to a daughter-in-law who does not know how to enjoy the good things in life. Before she and my son were married, I prayed for her to have Grace, and they eloped – She just had a baby named Grace and after 3 weeks tried to hurt her and has post-partum. I should have listened to my mother-in-law who said that she was spoiled. It takes more people every year to help keep her going. Our son had the whole load on him until they moved close to us. I don’t know how much more he can take. everything in life that should be good turns into a disaster somehow. It is easy to say “raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” but there is so much heartbreak in this world that we put on ourselves. If we could just obey. We have nothing good to give. Only God can put that into us as we obey him. If we don’t know in the deep parts of us that God made all things good, even the good goes sour. Please pray for healing in this situation. We are growing weary. My husband and I have the baby right now.
Lisa
======= Elizabeth:
Lisa,
So sorry to hear about the trials within your family. It is sometimes quite difficult to discern when we are being merciful and when we are “enabling”–especially when you’ve got a situation where an innocent baby is being impacted by it all. I know Mike mentioned that book “Boundaries” awhile back–that’s a great book to think through.
I will pray for healing for you and your family. May the Lord bless you guys for your faithfulness to Him in caring for that little life. I imagine it’s not what you envisioned for yourselves, but I’m sure He’s blessing that baby through your care.
Elizabeth
======= Lisa:
Thank you, Elizabeth.
Lisa
======= Dee:
Wow, again, Ramona good read and commentary that you have given.
I look at Deuteronomy’s read today where Moses spoke to Joshua and the song of Moses, and see just how far Moses has come and grown up in the things of God..here is a child, that was snatched away (so to speak) from his real family, raised by an Egyptian in a palace, and had to lead his (real) family out of Egypt and had a lisp/stutter problem. At the end of his life, he is the one who is strong, firm, and couragous! He is speaking multitudes to this chosen generation and singing without shame or fear of speech! This just proves once again, that ones latter years are greater than the rest! His very best moments are now, and that’s ok, sometimes we don’t understand God’s timing or when we are best at use for Gods Kingdom and sometimes our shining moments are in our “wiser” mature years..thats a blessing
I enjoyed Luke today about greed! It humbled myself and made me understand the idea and concept of what it is to be in covet of “things/money/materials” and how not to be in greed. I had an incident a year or so ago with my sister about such as this..over my moms inheritance after her death. It is not any fun when you have money and possessions to deal with and family involved. Family will turn on you quicker than anything when you deal with money. I have prayed for forgiveness on my part and I am still in prayer with my sister and her family in the area of covetousness. Like Jesus said, it is not worth it to be in love of things you don’t have or jealous of anothers possessions. If He clothed the lilies of the field, which were adorned better than all of Solomans palace, won’t He clothe and take care of us, oh ye of little faith?? I love this teaching of our Lord and Saviour Jesus!!
In Psalms, it spoke of stubborness and leaving it behind and claiming the Promise Land like was spoken in Deuteronomy today..we can learn from this, we have to learn to leave the stubbornnesss and strong willed behavior behind and turn to God for His wisdom, patience, and timing. We also have to learn to take constructive criticism and guidance from others who have come and went where we are heading..I know I have had to learn this in the past several years and when you become a parent you really learn what your parents told you was mostly right, and when you try to teach and convey this to your kids, and they are a little stubborn at first, you see a mirror of yourself or who you used to be and it sometimes isn’t fun to go down that lane again!! Suddenly you get a taste of your own medicine as the old adage says!!
I enjoyed the insight from Ramona on the knowledge of things happening to good/evil people and when things hit the “righteous” then they aren’t necessarily considered evil..I can believe that, I think of day to day things, such as staying home from work(child sick, your sick, sudden emergency) flat tire, stuck in traffic, line at grocery store, and list goes on and on. Stories such as these were not uncommon during the 9/11 events and it saved many, many lives because of the (things, appearance of bad/misfortune) that happened in each of those peoples lives and I believe this is the kind of thing that Ramona is talking about. Things happen to good people but in a lot of ways it is the Spirit who is warning you and God already sees the steps ahead of you for He was here from the Foundation of the Earth so He knows the end means and is preventing you from many a “snare” of the enemy , so to speak..
We need to heed the warnings of our Father, and allow Him to protect us and He guards our steps.
Great verse in todays readings, Deuteronomy 32:10 He kept him(Israel,us,today) as the pupil of His eye.
Dee
======= Terriann:
First let me say to Mike, Ramona and Dee, you are an answer to prayer. For several years I’ve been looking for someone who wanted to share what they got from their daily reading and wow you guys are great! Just over a year ago the Lord told me to learn to type. It hasn’t been easy for this 50+ gal to train her slow fingers but I must say it has been worth it!
Ramona’s thoughts on Pr.12:21 made me think of the hymn ” It is well with my soul”. It was written by a man in a time of great personal tragedy. I am moved every time I hear it.
My favorite verses today are Deut.31:6&8, For the LORD your God goes with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you. This promise was given to the people as a whole and to Joshua personally. It is an important promise to remember when difficult or even tragic times come our way.
Ps.78 is such a great picture of the grace, mercy and faithfulness of God compared to the stubbornness and rebellion of man. It left me wondering, “Why do You put up with us, O Lord?”
Terriann
======= Bernadette:
by worrying, we are doubting God. It does not give sense to our life it brings us to distractions. Stop worrying!it would not add a single hour to our life. Invite Jesus to be the driver of our life and we will find out He’s true to His promises.
Bernadette
======= Billy:
Mike, your comments on “worrying” being a “low-grade” form of atheism really hit home because I am a chronic worry-wart !! Definitely something I need to work on. Thanks for making me think !!
Billy
======= Antonietta:
I enjoyed today reading-Worry cant change things. but it attributes to high blood pressure and heart ailments. I got an eye opener when I read the post by mike that said”worrying” being a “low-grade” form of atheism” Wow I had to stop for a minute I am a worrier. things that we spend so much time worrying about usually don’t even happen.
Antonietta
======= Bob:
Proverbs 12:22 I think a good reflection on how this lying has grave consequences is found in Acts 5:1-11. This is where Ananias and Sapphira test the concept of possible degrees of honesty. I heard how this has become an interesting moral problem today in a Christian School that has said it is ok to steal….if the circumstances (like starvation) dictate a favorable outcome….??? This sounds like a slippery slope to me. From what God says in Acts, it doesn’t look like we should take liberty with honesty and integrity in His Kingdom. What do you think, GOOGLE: “Is it ok to steal if you are hungry?”
Bob
======= Russ:
I can see the corrulation between the jews in the old testament and most of America today. It does appear our nation has become fat and turned its back on God’s teaching.
Russ
======= Jill:
I never associated fat with greedy . But yeah if we are getting fat due to our negligence toward God then that makes sense! Irs a shame it’s come to that. I also consider it lack of discipline.
As far as doubting what God can do as “low-grade atheism” no I don’t agree with that. We have a lot of anxiety and stress because of our fallen world. But we also have cross to lay our burdens down. God is reminding us to leave them there. We aren’t walking away from God by worrying but it’s a way of him drawing us closer to Him. We need him! Pure and simple. We can’t drift away from God because he’s always there. We just need our branches to bear fruit. One other thing, God is fighting our battles. And God never loses a battle if you decide to take him on.
Jill
======= Joyce:
Mike and everyone,
Mike, your suggestion of reading the whole Bible once every 7 years, thus, if we live to be 101, we’ll have read the Bible through at least 10 times.
That will be such a blessing!
And thank you Mike for the reminder: I have not done enough to remind my family and friends to read God’s Word. Just today, I started praying about opportunities to teach God’s Word, or disciple/mentor someone younger.
Indeed, “how similar we are today to the Israelites when they were wandering in the desert.” How we need constant reminders in God’s Word.
Mike you asked:
“What can we do to help ourselves remember?
How do we stop testing God’s patience and forgetting about Him?”
I think we need to be reading, meditating on God’s Word daily,
be in fellowship with other believers regularly,
pray often,
listen, yield to, and be obedient to Him and His Words.
May God help us to learn to be more faithful to Him!
Many verses stand out to me today, including these:
Luke 12:33,34 (Amplified Bible)
33 Sell what you possess and give donations to the poor; provide yourselves with purses and handbags that do not grow old, an unfailing and inexhaustible treasure in the heavens, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
God bless!
Joyce
======= Ramona:
Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27
So Moses is giving this speech when he is 120 years old. That means God called him to active service when he was about to reach 80 years of age. Many people in their late thirties and early forties feel like failures because they haven’t accomplished what they wanted to do. Pictures of a wasted life filter through their minds, so they just hang out on the earth breathing until their bodies die, after having already died waiting in their despair. Moses was going up and down mountains, walking through deserts over rivers and through the woods crossing dales, and I don’t think he had an over weight problem. Just thinking about Moses, the age of his call, the things he did, the responsibility he shouldered, should give every Senior Citizen not only a new lease on life, but a glimpse of what is possible if one yields themselves to the will of God. Wow, wow, wow!!
Even when one is given a sad song to sing, given a glimpse into future behavior, that is not only not nice, but reprehensible; redemptive hope can be seen in the future, in the distance ahead, past the misery, the Redeemer waits for the Fullness of Time to make Himself known in your life.
Grace and peace,
Ramona
======= John:
Deut 31:23
“The LORD gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you.” NIV
Be strong and of good courage: It is remarkable how often this exhortation is directed towards Joshua. He hears it seven different times (Deuteronomy 31:6, 7, and 23; Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, and 18).
i. This exposes Joshua’s weakness; there was a need for such a command, because even a great leader like Joshua needed such encouragement.
ii. Most of us, God forgive us, are too big for God to use; we are too full of our own schemes and our own ways of doing things. Joshua needed to take strength and courage in the Lord, and was small enough to be big in God.
iii. Wonderfully, the last time this phrase is used in connection with Joshua, he is encouraging others to be strong and of good courage (Joshua 10:25). He could encourage others with the encouragement the Lord, through others, had given him.
John
======= John:
Luke 12
Do Not Worry
Our Lord (1) warns the rich among us to guard against greed, (excessive materialism). In view of the many needy among us we should become rich toward God and rich in good works.
Our Lord (2) warns the poor among us to guard against anxiety, which will in time weaken our faith in our heavenly Father to supply all our daily needs.
Our Lord (3) encourages all of us, regardless of our position in this life, to seek first the kingdom of God, and then God will gladly provide all that is necessary to live out our lives on this earth until he calls us home.
Our Lord (4) challenges all of us to examine our hearts to find out where our treasure is, for where our treasure is there is our heart also.
Ron Ritchie
John
