Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 You shall therefore obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.” (Deuteronomy 27)
Many of us have a big problem with silence, because we are left with ourselves. We leave radios and TVs on even when people call or visit. We do not sit down for meals. We do not pause to talk with the God we cannot see, lest He tell us something life-changing. But God values silence, just as He did on that first Sabbath after He created us. Silence is golden. It is when we are silent before Him that we can realize the most crucial truths: We are His people. It is He that has made us, and not we ourselves. We owe Him our obedience. Today, in all the business you have planned for yourself, make sure you mix in a little silence, so you can hear His voice, and respond to you with loving obedience.
Sunday, July 7, 2019
Saturday, July 6, 2019
Deliberately Remembering
"When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the LORD your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, 'I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.' - Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God. - Deuteronomy 26:1-4
What is this big deal about giving and tithing with God? It’s not about anything He needs , but about what we need. We need to be intentional about who we are, where we came from and Who we belong to. If we do not set out to remember we will forget and suffer for it. We will fall back into out old traps and get hurt. But when we actively choose to give we keep ourselves alive and purposeful.
What is this big deal about giving and tithing with God? It’s not about anything He needs , but about what we need. We need to be intentional about who we are, where we came from and Who we belong to. If we do not set out to remember we will forget and suffer for it. We will fall back into out old traps and get hurt. But when we actively choose to give we keep ourselves alive and purposeful.
Friday, July 5, 2019
The Double Standard...
13 “You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. 15 A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 25)
Dishonesty. Partiality. Sensuality. There are all sorts of ways we demonstrate our double standards. First, there is the literal cheating to get ahead. Using one standard when we are "buying" and another when "selling" so we always get the better deal, and increase at a cost to others. Then there is the double standard on how we treat others - "cheating" those we do not like as much as others, but doing so trying to pretent we are not. Finally, there is the double standard we use to make ourselves look better than others in moral or mental performance. We downplay our sins and failures, while pointing out those of others. None of these settle well with God; they violate His law and His character; they are not worthy of people who claim His name. May He make us aware today of any way we pull the double standard out of our pocket, in our minds, or in our hearts.
Dishonesty. Partiality. Sensuality. There are all sorts of ways we demonstrate our double standards. First, there is the literal cheating to get ahead. Using one standard when we are "buying" and another when "selling" so we always get the better deal, and increase at a cost to others. Then there is the double standard on how we treat others - "cheating" those we do not like as much as others, but doing so trying to pretent we are not. Finally, there is the double standard we use to make ourselves look better than others in moral or mental performance. We downplay our sins and failures, while pointing out those of others. None of these settle well with God; they violate His law and His character; they are not worthy of people who claim His name. May He make us aware today of any way we pull the double standard out of our pocket, in our minds, or in our hearts.
Thursday, July 4, 2019
Remembering where we came from...
17 “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow's garment in pledge, 18 but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this. 19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this. (Deuteronomy 24)
When it comes to the commandments of God for His people, it is important for us to keep in mind the general reasons and character of God behind them. Big in His heart and mind is for us to remember - to remember how He has dealt with us, and to reflect His heart and behavior. He is just; He redeems - paying the price for our deliverance; He provides for the helpless and hopeless, with his provisions overflowing so that there is more than enough for all around us. We need to remember where He has brought us, and live out our thanksgiving through having a giving spirit to others. This cannot be legislated, but must come from the heart in response to His heart of giving, forgiving, and doing all He can to bless and do what is best for all under His care. Today, of all days, may we be thankful and giving.
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
"Lord, I promise to..."
21 “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth. (Deuteronomy 23)
Words of Desperation... Spoken to God when we get ourselves in a bind. We call out to Him and ask Him to do something, and we will... Then He delivers, answers and does what we have requested... and we conveniently forget, fail to do what we have promised, and make ourselves out to be liars. Why is this such a big deal to God? Why is it an easy trap to fall into? It has to do with how we view God and His character. He is truth, and cannot lie. He is faithful to His word and keeps it. He is merciful and is more interested in our crying out to Him than He is our "giving Him something back." What a wonderful God Who is worthy of our sincerity in speech.
Words of Desperation... Spoken to God when we get ourselves in a bind. We call out to Him and ask Him to do something, and we will... Then He delivers, answers and does what we have requested... and we conveniently forget, fail to do what we have promised, and make ourselves out to be liars. Why is this such a big deal to God? Why is it an easy trap to fall into? It has to do with how we view God and His character. He is truth, and cannot lie. He is faithful to His word and keeps it. He is merciful and is more interested in our crying out to Him than He is our "giving Him something back." What a wonderful God Who is worthy of our sincerity in speech.
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Finder's Keepers? I don't think so...
“You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother. 2 And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him. 3 And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother's, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it. 4 You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help him to lift them up again. (Deuteronomy 22)
We live in a world where often your loss is viewed as my gain - that if someone loses something, it is there free to be claimed for one's own. In that day, there were not nearly as many people around - especially out in a field. So, if it was not obvious who something belonged to it was to be taken to one's own home for safe keeping - not to be presumed to become one's own possession. Today, there is often a place it can be taken - the store service department, principal's office, or other "official" site. This passage has in a sense a corollary: if someone is broken down by the road, stop and help them. Not only do you have the reward of knowing you are doing the right thing: you can actually receive a benefit for doing so. The last time I saw someone whose car would not start and stopped to help, I found that my battery cable was in bad shape, and I too could soon find myself in the same situation. Don't let someone else's loss become you gain; help them be restored.
We live in a world where often your loss is viewed as my gain - that if someone loses something, it is there free to be claimed for one's own. In that day, there were not nearly as many people around - especially out in a field. So, if it was not obvious who something belonged to it was to be taken to one's own home for safe keeping - not to be presumed to become one's own possession. Today, there is often a place it can be taken - the store service department, principal's office, or other "official" site. This passage has in a sense a corollary: if someone is broken down by the road, stop and help them. Not only do you have the reward of knowing you are doing the right thing: you can actually receive a benefit for doing so. The last time I saw someone whose car would not start and stopped to help, I found that my battery cable was in bad shape, and I too could soon find myself in the same situation. Don't let someone else's loss become you gain; help them be restored.
Monday, July 1, 2019
Family Fairness
15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16 then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his. (Deuteronomy 21)
Sometimes these laws seem almost too detailed, but then we stop and think: Jacob and Esau? Even at this point in Israel's history they had pretty much seen it all. So had God. There really is nothing new under the sun in terms of sin. God has seen it all, and some of the worst has been in the family. Much of it has been due to a rebellion against God's creative order: man versus woman, parent and child, and a refusal to accept one's responsibilities in that order. When we accept God's place and plan, we end up like a Joseph, useable to Him and even raise above our "level", but when we mess with God's plan, and try to "reorganize" things our way, we make a mess. Just ask Jacob.
Sometimes these laws seem almost too detailed, but then we stop and think: Jacob and Esau? Even at this point in Israel's history they had pretty much seen it all. So had God. There really is nothing new under the sun in terms of sin. God has seen it all, and some of the worst has been in the family. Much of it has been due to a rebellion against God's creative order: man versus woman, parent and child, and a refusal to accept one's responsibilities in that order. When we accept God's place and plan, we end up like a Joseph, useable to Him and even raise above our "level", but when we mess with God's plan, and try to "reorganize" things our way, we make a mess. Just ask Jacob.
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