Category: Uncategorized

AGAIN, WHAT ARE WE TO DO?

Deuteronomy 10:12-13

“So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and His ordinances I command you today for your good?”

Personal Challenge

Once again, we encounter a passage in the Scriptures that makes it pretty clear what God expects His followers to do. We have no excuse for not doing what He expects from us. Sometimes we have to look at the fruit of our lives and of those in our lives that proclaim to be Christians to determine if God’s expectations are being met. If not, it is acceptable to question if Jesus is being followed. So, what are those commandments and ordinances that we are being told to keep? Jesus made it clear in Matthew 25:35-36.

‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

This is the fruit of a follower of Christ. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

REMEMBER THE LORD

Deuteronomy 8:18

Then you shall remember the Lord your God, for He it is who gives you strength, that you may gain power, and He may establish His covenant the Lord swore to your fathers, as it is today.

Personal Challenge

One of the downfalls of modern day Christianity is how it has accepted, and adopted, the mindset of self-sufficiency. This is especially prevalent in Western evangelicalism. When this mindset is grafted into the doctrine of an organization, and its individuals, God is given the back seat. People begin to believe that God is just an add on to their system of belief because they made it on their own. This is counter to all the teachings of Christ and therefore no longer Christian. This is how cults come into being and lead many astray. This is heresy. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

WANDERING IN THE WILDERNESS

Deuteronomy 8:2-5

Now you shall remember the whole way the Lord your God led you in the desert, to deal harshly with you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He dealt harshly with you and weakened you with hunger, and fed you with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word proceeding from the mouth of God man shall live. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your feet become callused these forty years. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.

Personal Challenge

This passage, and the time in the wilderness for the Israelites, is an image for us and our journey through life. Life in this temporal world for a follower of Christ is challenging. The world is harsh towards us for it hates Christ and His followers. These challenges can be tests for us and help us to grow in the image of Christ. What is truly in our hearts is brought out and refined. As this is happening in our lives, God is feeding us His spiritual food and walking along with us, clothing us with His mercy and grace, and taking care of us. This journey draws us closer to Him Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Saint of the Week

St. Gennadius of Constantinople

FAITHFUL GOD

Deuteronomy 7:9-10

Therefore know, the Lord your God, this God, is a faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with those who hate Him; He will repay them to their face.

Encouraging Words

Our God is infinite in contrast to us who are finite. He is willing and able to keep His promises, His covenant and mercy for thousands of generations. He is patient, and in that patience, waits for His creation to turn to Him. This is love. Thanks be to God!

WHAT ARE WE TO DO?

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

These are the ordinances and the judgments the Lord commanded the children of Israel in the desert, when they came from the land of Egypt: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart, from your whole soul, and from your whole power. So these words I command you today shall be in your heart and in your soul. You shall teach them to your sons, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and it shall be immovable before your eyes; and you shall write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.”

Personal Challenge

As followers of Christ, we have a long legacy before us to what we are supposed to do day in and day out. We are commanded to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, soul, and power. This has always been the first, and foremost commandment. To this Jesus added that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. There is no mention in the scriptures of a Christian nation, or even one church or denomination that should be sought after on elevated. Jesus established His universal Church and gave us the charter to take care of the widow, the orphan, the naked, the poor, the alien (immigrant), those in prison, and everyone else. Anything short of this is anti-Christian. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

RIGHT WORDS

Deuteronomy 5:28-29

“Then the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, ‘I heard the voice of this people, whatever words they spoke to you. They are right in whatever they said. Would they had such a heart in them so as to fear Me and guard My commandments all the time, that it might be well with them and their sons forever.’”

Personal Challenge

This passage follows a significant event in the early days of the nation of Israel. Right after Moses had received the ten commandments from God and he had returned to the people he was leading, they recognized how awe inspiring and majestic the God they were following really was. They shied away from being in the presence of God for they knew they were not worthy. They asked Moses to be their representative for they feared that they would perish in God’s presence. We need to view God this way and stop treating Him as just another guy in our circle of friends. He deserves our worship. We should fall on our faces before Him in adoration and respect. This will drive us to obey His commandment to love our neighbor for in our neighbor is the image of God. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

SEEK AND YOU WILL FIND

Deuteronomy 4:29-31

But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul in your tribulation; and all these words will find you at the end of days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice; for the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not forsake you nor annihilate you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers, which He swore to them.

Personal Challenge

God does not play the game of hide and seek with us. He is always present and ready to bless us. We are the ones who get lost as we wander away from Him through our journey through life. When we recognize our need for Him and seek Him with our heart and soul, our eyes will be opened and we will find Him. In His mercy, He will embrace us and bring us home. Glory be to God!

RESPONSIBILITY

Numbers 18:1-3

Now the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear the sins of the holy things, and you and your sons with you shall bear the sins of your priesthood. You shall also bring your brethren, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, to yourself, and they shall be joined and added to you, and minister liturgically with you and your sons with you before the tabernacle of testimony. They shall perform your guard duties and the duties of the tabernacle, but they shall not come near the holy vessels and the altar, lest they die—they and you also.”

Personal Challenge

Before Jesus became incarnate as a human being, God had a covenant with His people and a prescribed way of worshipping Him. God is holy and we are not. This created a need for a formal process of coming before Him and the establishment of a priesthood with clearly articulated responsibilities. These priests were to be God’s representatives in the tabernacle. Jesus ushered in a new covenant with God’s people, the followers of Jesus, with Jesus as the High Priest and His followers as the priesthood. We are to be His representatives here on earth and have responsbilities to demonstrate His love to those around us. Anyone who claims to be His follower and yet treats people with contempt, disdain, and unworthyness will be eccountable to Christ for that behavior. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

LONGSUFFERING

Numbers 14:18

‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth, taking away lawlessness, wrongdoings, and sins; but He would not cleanse the guilty by repaying the sins of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’

Encouraging Words

God is loving and merciful to us, His created children. Moses calls that out in his prayer to God to forgive the people of their sins and disrespect for God. God waits for long periods of time for us to turn back to Him. His abundance in mercy and truth takes away our lawlessness, wrongdoings, and sins. He holds us each accountable for our own sins and not the sins of those who have gone before us. He desires that we run to Him as a lost child who finally sees their father in the crowd. Glory be to God!