Title: God's Motivation Revealed / Topic: The Love Of God

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 5; Deuteronomy 6; Psalm 43; Mark 14

Scripture: Deuteronomy 5:29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!

Observation: Moses, in his farewell address, recites the law to the people. Some of it sounds harsh, even petty. An example of this would be: "...for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me..." (Deuteronomy 5:9). (Even Oprah has said that these words, "God is a jealous God," caused her to reject some of the Baptist teaching and question the Christianity that she was raised with.) But if we read the whole thing in its context we see the reason that God is jealous for us: he wants us to do well and be blessed. Just as we who are parents are jealous over our children, wanting to keep them away from influences that we see as harmful to them, and doing everything we can to protect them from bad people. Likewise God is jealous for his children. We see the heart of a loving parent in the scripture that I selected, "Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!" (Deuteronomy 5:29). This isn't about God on some sort of selfish, controlling, and possessive rant! No, it's about a loving Father whose heart is toward his children and intensely wants them to have the best lives possible.

Application: God loves us so much. When he tells us to do something, or to avoid something, it is for our own good. We need to remember this because there are many times when we don't understand the reason for the command or instruction. But if we will trust God and his motivation of love; and if we will obey, even in the absence of full comprehension of the reasons, we will experience his blessing.

Bottom line: Trust and obey.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your wonderful, kind and loving nature. Help us to listen and do what you say in every situation.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Title: WE MUST BE VIGILANT / Topic: Intentionality

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 3; Deuteronomy 4; Psalm 36; Mark 13

Scripture: Deuteronomy 4, Mark 13 (various verses)
Deuteronomy 4
1 ...the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.
6 Observe them carefully...
9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live.
15 ...watch yourselves very carefully...
23 Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you...

Mark 13
5 Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you...
9 "You must be on your guard...
13 ...he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
23 So be on your guard...

Observation: Watch yourselves, be careful, be on your guard, observe them carefully... All of these verses and their surrounding contexts give this message over and over: WE MUST BE VIGILANT.

Application: This is something that we must not to leave to chance. We are to be thoughtful and deliberate and intentional, that is we must plan in advance and carry out the plan faithfully, about these matters. To fail to conduct ourselves with seriousness in these matters is to sentence ourselves to failure. We must exercise great care and thought if we are to finish well the path that we have started.

Prayer: Lord, help us to pay attention to following you closely. Help us not to take our eyes off the ball.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Title: Don't Use Your Head... Ask God! / Topic: Spiritual Guidance

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 1; Deuteronomy 2; Mark 12

Scripture: Deuteronomy 1:22-23
22 Then all of you came to me and said, "Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to."
23 The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe.

Observation: Moses is speaking to the Israelites, retelling the history of their sojourn in the wilderness. Here he tells the story of when they reached Canaan for the first time. What I noticed is that the people made a suggestion and Moses says, "the idea seemed good to me, so I selected twelve of you..." (Of course we know this turned out to be a terrible idea as it resulted in a negative report by ten of the spies and rebellion among the people.) But did you catch the fact that Moses didn't take the idea to the Lord? He didn't pray about it or ask for wisdom. He just decided to run with it because it "seemed" like a good idea. Yikes!

Application: This speaks of the imperative of seeking God's will, especially for those in spiritual leadership. Just making a decision by thinking it over, or using your common sense can bring truly disastrous results. Now, I'm all for using our God-given intelligence, but our brains are no substitute for God's guidance. As David writes:

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6 (King James Version)

Bottom line: Pray and seek wisdom, always stop and seek the Lord's guidance, particularly in critical junctures, and especially if you are in a position of leadership of any kind.

Prayer: Lord, I want to walk always in your will and by your wisdom. Help me to remember to seek your will before I make key decisions. Do this and protect those whom I lead from any direction that is not from you.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.