Why test?

Deut. 8:2

"And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not..."

Growth comes through hardship and testing because this is how God reveals what is in my heart. When the pressure is on, when my nerves are frayed, when I am sick, when the finances are troubled, when the job is at stake, when the family is distressed, then I am at the end of my reserves. My pride and stubbornness are found sadly lacking, and I have no place to turn but to God. Testing brings humility by revealing my true heart condition. "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn."  As I come to Him in complete dependent obedience, then He is able to be my sufficiency.

With Israel, God taught specific lessons through the testing. He allowed hunger so that He could feed them with manna. Why? So that they could understand that "man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." What a lesson! To realize that existing for this world's system, for food, shelter, gain, possessions, and position is not what God has for His child. His perfect will is to live by His Word. Am I eating enough of the word to thrive? Am I satisfied by His words? Is my worldly diet dulling my appetite for the word? Am I stubbornly eating from what the world offers? When hunger overtakes me, where do I go for satiation?

He also taught them that "as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you." Why? So that they would keep His commandments by walking in His ways and fearing Him. God's final objective is that I fear Him.  "What does the Lord 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 and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good." If I live obediently and dependently, it is for my good, good because this is the place of God's blessing. I don't have to worry about what is happening in my life because He has promised that it is for my good. Whatever God brings in my life is to grow me, to teach me the lessons that I need for life, and to increase my delight in Him. I can rest and cease striving about the details of life that are beyond my control. The sovereign God of the universe is in charge of my life, each and every detail. He has asked me to trust and obey, to rest and flourish, to fear and serve. What is my response? When I feel His discipline, do I see a loving father? When I make decisions, do I fall back on my own understanding, or do I come to Him for His master plan? What is the primary focus of my life?

Father,

Circumcise the foreskin of my heart. Make it obediently dependent on You. Teach me how to trust and obey.

In Jesus name,

Amen

The Greatest Commandment

Deut. 6:4

"Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Your shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates."

What is God's place in my life? After reading this, it is clear that God is to be my all, all my minutes, all my focus, all my conversation, all my training, all that I do, think, or say.  The One True God is all-powerful and  worthy of obedience, respect, and fear. First, I am to love Him with all that I am and have, my heart, soul, and might. No other thing or person can be loved as much as I love God. Somewhat convicting! If I love Him this much, He would, of necessity, be on my heart, filling my thoughts and my conversation. When I sit what am I thinking or sharing? What is my conversation as I walk? How many times when I am walking or sitting do I zone out and not even think of anything? When I lie down or rise up, what are my last thoughts of the day or my first thoughts of the day? Am I thinking about 'my' schedule or spending time with Him? Am I meditating in the night? Are God's words helping me choose what I do with my hands and my eyes? Or do I just plough through life without having my 'God-Heart' on? To live like this would truly be humanly impossible! It would take the pure grace of God. Thankfully, He has given me His grace to live just like He commands me to. "For  my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." The way for me to obey His great command is through the power that He supplies. It is all of Him so that in everything He might be glorified!

Father,

Give my a desire for You that can change and shape me completely. Convict me of the sin that is preventing me from having an obedient heart and a godly focus.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Idolatry

Deut. 4:24

"For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God."

Moses repeatedly warned the people about making carved images in the form of anything that the Lord had forbidden. Why? Because the judgment of God is swift and harsh, and His nature demands totality of worship. He could allow none of His worship to be usurped by another. Moses attested to God's character by sharing his personal account, how he pleaded with God to go into the land, but God said enough. He could look but not go because of His sin of disobedience. Certainly, the people should have believed him. He knew that what God had said was true. But sadly, they did not. Moses told them that when thy had grown old in the land, they would do evil in the land and utterly perish from the land. As a scattered people, they would be few in number and serve false gods. But God in His mercy would one day regather His people to Himself.

In this larger view of time, we see God as jealous and merciful. What He declares in judgment will come to pass, but at the same time, what He says in promise will be true as well. He will not forget the covenant He made with His people. The issue is obedience. Even though God shows Himself strong to His people, will they heed and obey?  Even though God saved me through the death of His son, will I listen and obey all that He says? Since I am a child of His promise, do I live by His promises, or do I build idols of my own making deep within my heart? Do I think that grace will give me more mercy and require less obedience? Or does grace give me the power to obey and cast out the idols of my flesh?

Father,

Keep Your words ever before my eyes. Help me to cry out in helplessness for Your strength to obey and cast out fleshly idols.

In Jesus name,

Amen

40-Year Reveiw

Deut. 1:3

"In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them..."

Moses presented the facts to the people! This was not based in personal  interpretation or even in repeated oral history spoken around evening campfires. These were the workings and words of God who had shown Himself strong and faithful to His people. What had prevented them from crossing over the Jordan during this 40 year period? Simply, it was their sin and disobedience. God told them He had placed the land in front of them for their possession, yet, fear overtook them. They couldn't trust their deliverer to continue delivering. What was the response of the listeners now? Were their hearts shamed by their sin and foolishness? Were they still stubbornly resisting God?

It is good for me to stop and look back, to examine my life and see how God has worked, to see the pattern of His plan surfacing in the small details of my life. When I look back, do I see a pattern of growth? Do I see obedience as opposed to persistent disobedience? Am I treasuring the words that God has spoken to comfort me and uplift me? Am I faithfully waiting for His next command and direction? Is my heart more attune to the journey itself or to the God of the journey?

Father,

Keep me aware of Your words and Your ways in my life. Stop me frequently so that I may bless Your name for all that You have done and for all that You are. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, Bless His holy name." 

In Jesus name,

Amen 

Manslayer vs. Murderer

Num. 35

  

God is definitely aware of the motive and the true heart condition of a person. In this chapter He develops the laws concerning the taking of another's life. Was it an accident or calculated event? If it was an accident, then the person has a course of action. He can go to a city of refuge and find safety, but for the person who murdered another, there is no recourse. The only sentence is death on the evidence of witnesses. If this is not dealt with then the land is polluted, for the blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made except for the death of the offender. God's final words: "You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel."

These laws though very specific make me aware of the seriousness of my true motives. God doesn't look on the outward appearance, but He looks on the heart. What happens in my heart must always be in line with His word. In Matt. He states that if I hate my brother, it is the same as murder. Serious words! Do I  defile the temple of my body by my careless obedience to His words? Do I excuse attitudes of the heart because they haven't yet evolved into actions?

Father,

Keep me ever aware of my heart attitudes and the sins which breed there so easily. Grant me repentance so that my temple-body will be pure and sincere before You.

In Jesus name,

Amen

When You Pass Over

Num.33:51

"When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you..."

It's important to remember that God delivered the Israelites for a reason. He had prepared a land for them that they were to possess, but in order to possess that land, they had to drive out the inhabitants. What that meant was they must trust in God to deliver them from giants and all kinds of unknowns! In the past, God had miraculously delivered them from Egypt. He had preserved them on the wilderness walk with manna, quail, and even maintaining their shoes. Yet, conquering still another obstacle was hard, and to many, seemingly impossible. Crossing over the Jordan meant of life of battling, of conquering, of possessing.

Why couldn't they co-exist with these people? It was because of their figured stones, metal images, and high places. God could not be honored or worshipped as God without the destruction of these idols. God had said clearly that they would have no other gods before Him. He must singularly hold their hearts.

 I am wondering if I am possessing the land that God has for me? Do I live like God has saved me for a reason?  Have I engaged in battles to crucify my flesh and self-will? Have I exposed and destroyed the insidious idols that hidden themselves in my heart? 

Father,

Give me a godly desire to possess all that you have for me. Help me to choose Your way over any other way, no matter how self-defeating it is. Help me to abide in Your words and grow Your Spirit's fruit within me.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Your Sin Will Find You Out

Num. 32:23

"But if you do not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out."

Reuben and Gad desired the land of Jazer and Gilead because it was well-suited for their livestock. However, the problem was that this land was outside the promised land. After a discussion with Moses where he spoke rather harshly; in fact, accusing them of "rising in their father's place, a brood of sinful men, to increase the fierce anger of the Lord against Israel," these men presented a workable plan which included fighting alongside the others but establishing homes in the Trans-Jordan. Moses' response to them was 'yes'. If they were to fight  on the other side of the Jordan and help drive out the enemy, then their obligation would be fulfilled. But if you do not do so, then you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out."

How could Moses be sure? First, He knew the all-seeing and all-knowing character of God. Moses had been one-on-one with God. He had repeatedly interceded for this nation, walked on holy ground and been in the presence of a holy God. Then personally, Moses had experienced God's judgment when he sinfully hit the rock twice. Moses knew first-hand the power of a holy God. Sin was no easy out! Also, the people had just been taught about vows to God. The word was : He shall do all that proceeds out of his mouth."  If these men said this is what they would do, then they had to do it! On many levels, Moses knew that human sin could not be hidden. He had tasted the bitterness of sin's sting and would die with that judgment still in his mouth. Could words ring anymore true than coming from a man whose sin had been found out and judged?

Father,

Keep me ever aware of my words and actions. Convict me, especially of the sin that I so easily gloss over. Draw me ever closer to You as You sanctify me to be holy as You are.

In Jesus name,

Amen