TODAY’S DAILY READING: Deuteronomy 17-18 & John 18

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 17- Lessons For Leaders

Deuteronomy 17:18-19
“Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, . . .”

Looking centuries ahead into Israel’s future, God speaks of the principles that should govern the life of the king. Four important principles are established which every leader would do well to observe.First, the king … Read More

Deuteronomy 18- Avoiding A Shipwreck

Deuteronomy 18:9
“When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.”

In the closing chapters of the book of Acts, we read of a ship that set sail late in the season, en route to Rome. The voyage proved extremely difficult and costly. Because of a severe storm that brought strong headwinds, driving rain, navigation was almost impossible; the sun, moon  and stars were hidden… Read More

New Testament: John 18- His Cup

John 18:11 
“Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus spent hours in prayer. The portion of the prayer recorded for us had to do with a cup. The event is recorded in Mark 14:35-36,
“He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said,  ‘ Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup… Read More

 

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Deuteronomy 15-16 & John 17

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 15- Freedom

Deuteronomy 15:16-17
“And if it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you, then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise.”

Even in ancient times, life was often difficult. Conditions, beyond the control of an individual, would leave him in a place where he could not pay his debts. To address this issue, God set up a system in Israel where a person could become an indentured servant for a period of seven years. During this time the work done by the individual was treated… Read More

Deuteronomy 16- Retreats

Deuteronomy 16:16
“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.”

God established three retreats in the calendar year for His people. Three times a year they would gather together to celebrate the Lord, and what He had done for them. At the Feast of Unleavened Bread, they were to remember the way they were supernaturally delivered from Egypt. At the Feast of Weeks, they were to remember they were once slaves in Egypt. And at the Feast of Tabernacle, they… Read More

New Testament: John 17- He Is Praying For You

John 17:9
“I pray for them.”

Perhaps the best title for John 17 is, “The Lord’s Prayer.” As the hour of His betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion approaches, Jesus takes time to pray for His disciples. His prayer, while encompassing many things, seems to focus upon three thoughts.

First, Jesus prays for His followers that they may be one. Division within the body of Christ has been one of the most confusing things for the unbelieving world. If Christians all believe in the same God, are washed in the same blood, and filled with the same… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Deuteronomy 13-14 & John 16

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 13- Walk This Way

Deuteronomy 13:4
“You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.”

John 3:16 is the most famous verse in the Bible because in twenty-five words it captures the entire message of Scripture; there is a loving God who will freely give eternal life to all who believe in His Son Jesus Christ. Deuteronomy 13:4 is similar in that its twenty-eight words capture so much of what it means to walk with with God. Moses gives six steps that will… Read More

Deuteronomy 14- Good Mourning

Deuteronomy 14:1
“You are the children of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave the front of your head for the dead.”

Among many of the pagan cultures, it was a common practice to cut yourself as a sign of mourning for the loss of a loved one. This practice served to show others the deep sorrow you were experiencing, as a result of your loss. Moses makes it clear, the children of God are NOT to follow this custom. The reason behind this command was that the child of God is not to mourn… Read More

New Testament:  John 16- Better Off

John 16:7
“It is to your advantage that I go away; . . .”

Much of what Jesus said was shocking to the ears of the disciples. He spoke with a wisdom that was otherworldly. They may have become used to the fact that Jesus was going to say things that surprised them, but I do not think anything could prepare them for the statement Jesus made here. Earlier, He had been speaking about His betrayal and death, He now declares they will be better… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Deuteronomy 11-12 & John 15

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 11- What Did You See?

Deuteronomy 11:7
“. . . but your eyes have seen every great act of the Lord which He did.”

There is no question, the children of Israel made mistakes. Their years in the wilderness were marked by complaining, doubt, fear and outright disobedience. Yet, things could have been worse. They could have remained in Egypt, never experiencing any of the great acts of the Lord. Moses reminds… Read More

Deuteronomy 12- Right In His Own Eyes

Deuteronomy 12:8
“You shall not at all do as we are doing here today—every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes—”

Ignoring the Word of God, and doing whatever we determine to be right, has always been a problem for mankind, and is a reoccurring theme within Scripture. It was the driving force behind the problems recorded in the book of Judges, and was the ultimate cause of Israel’s civil war, and their fall to Assyria… Read More

New Testament: John 15- Fruit-Filled Life

John 15:8
“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

God desires that we live fruit-filled lives. When we do, He is glorified and we are blessed. A fruit-filled life is marked by the characteristics of Christ. In Galatians 5, Paul listed many of the “fruits” that God desires us to bear. These are inward qualities that are a result of being… Read More

 

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Deuteronomy 9-10 & John 14

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 9- Game Day

Deuteronomy 9:1
“Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven”

Imagine being on a team that has lost most of its games. Time after time, no matter who your opponent was, you figured out a way to lose. Now, imagine your team is about to face the best team in the league. How confident do you think you would be as the coach begins his pep talk in the locker room?

Israel’s 40 year journey through… Read More

Deuteronomy 10- Timeless

Deuteronomy 10:1-2
“At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood. And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you shall put them in the ark.’

Every generation likes to think of themselves as more advanced than the one before them. I recall one of my children, when he was about four, asking what life was like back when things were in black and white. He really thought color was only seen by his generation and the rest of us had grown up in the gray hues of a silent movie.

This vantage point on life may be the force behind people thinking that the Bible… Read More

NewTestament: John 14-Promises

John 14:1
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”

We live in troublesome times. Many face the fear of cancer or some other illness. The economy has shattered the comforts we once thought we had, or would enjoy. And after thousands of years of written history, the heart of man has not improved. We read of nations on the brink of war, violent crime haunting even the most peaceful communities, and global acts of terrorism… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Deuteronomy 7-8 & John 13

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 7- Winning Daily Battles

Deuteronomy 7:17-18
“If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them? ’— you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt . . .”

We often feel like the struggles of our flesh are too great to ever overcome. Since we have been fighting the same battles our entire Christian life, it is easy to become discouraged, and even to allow things that should be removed, to remain. Knowing that this would be the case, Moses instructed Israel what to do when they became overwhelmed by the magnitude of the battles… Read More

Deuteronomy 8- Testophobia

Deuteronomy 8:2
“And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”

Like most of us, much of my childhood was spent in school, and one of the worst words for any student to hear is “test.” For some of … Read More

New Testament: John 13- Foot Washing

John 13:10
“He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean;…”

Living in Israel at the time of Christ, it was impossible to walk the streets of Jerusalem without getting dirty. Open-toed sandals in a desert climate made for dirty streets and dirty feet. One solution was the custom of foot washing. Whenever a guest entered a home, the host was responsible for ensuring that the feet of the guest were washed. When Jesus gathered with the disciples for the Passover meal, he took on the role of the host, and began to wash their feet. As expected, Peter had something to say about the actions of Jesus. First he resisted, to which Jesus… Read More

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Deuteronomy 5-6 & John 12

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 5- 10 Commandments

Deuteronomy 5:22
“. . . and He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.”

The commandments of God were given to the people of God so they had a standard by which to govern themselves. These laws were given the highest place of honor in the nation. They were placed within the Ark of the Covenant, in the Holiest place within the Tabernacle. Years later, when the Tabernacle was replaced with Solomon’s Temple, the only articles remaining in the Ark were the two stone tablets containing the commands of God. We need… Read More
Deuteronomy 6- Teach Them Diligently

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, 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 they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

The apostle Paul declared that all scripture is inspired by God and is profitable. That means that every page of your Bible has something valuable to teach. However there are clearly some passages that speak more loudly than others and this text is one of those. It is from this passages, that Jesus declared the most important of all the… Read More

New Testament: John 12- Spiritual Accounting

John 12:11
“On account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.”

The word “account” means “by reason of”. It means, Lazarus was the reason many put their trust in Christ. His life and his experiences with Christ were having a magnetic effect; drawing others to consider Christ for themselves.

We use the word account in another way. We refer to our bank account. At the end… Read More

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, 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 they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

The apostle Paul declared that all scripture is inspired by God and is profitable. That means that every page of your Bible has something valuable to teach. However there are clearly some passages that speak more loudly than others and this text is one of those. It is from this passages, that Jesus declared the most important of all the commandments. He said that above all else we should love God with all our heart, soul and strength and that we should love others as we do ourselves. These two principles are the foundation stones upon which all other commands are built. If we love God first and express that love toward others we will find that we are well ahead in keeping the remaining requirements of Scripture. Moses was told that the principle of being in a love relationship with God was so important that it was to be taught to each and every generation. It became the primary responsibility of the parents to instruct their children regarding who God is and what a relationship with Him was all about. Moses even goes so far as to explain how this instruction should be given.

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.”

Before a parent can instruct a child on how to follow and serve Christ, they must follow Christ themselves. The parenting style, “do what we say not what do” will result in raising children who fail to see the value of walking with Jesus and lack a model for how to make godly decisions in real life scenarios. We do not need to be perfect as parents but we do need to determine that we will put God first in our lives and seek to please Him with our behavior, goals and lifestyle. The compromises we make will often be magnified in our children. But how do we teach the principles of God to the next generation?

“You shall teach them diligently to your children, 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 they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

Moses implements a teaching style that uses life as a backdrop. Instead of turning the living room into a classroom he suggests that we make life our classroom. Our homes should bear the marks of a family that has put Christ first. It is not enough to have a bible verse hanging on the wall, that verse ought to be the atmosphere within the home. When our kids come in they ought to be met by a model of what it means to be in a love relationship with Christ. When they head out they ought to be prepared to share it with the world around them. We can do this by using everyday life to instill biblical truth within them. When a child is mistreated by a friend, this becomes an opportunity to instruct them on how to love, forgive and show mercy. When a child loses a big game it becomes an opportunity to weep with those who weep and to help them learn that ultimate victory often has to travel the road of defeat. Whatever the situation our children are facing we can use these as an opportunity to instill the principles of scripture deep within their hearts

Jim

TODAY’S DAILY READING: Deuteronomy 3-4 & John 11

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 3- Attack

Deuteronomy 3:2
“And the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’”

Moses and the congregation of Israel faced many obstacles as they made their way toward the Promised Land. In this case they would be withstood by the king of Bashan and his forces. The armies of Bashan had successfully defeated all who came against them and had established a formidable empire consisting of sixty … Read more

Deuteronomy 4- This Is Wisdom

Deuteronomy 4:6
“Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’”

Life is a lot like a journey on a road we have never traveled before. We often face forks in the road without clear signage, and are left to do our best to make a good decision. If there is one thing we need in life, it is wisdom. Webster’s dictionary defines wisdom as “the ability to discern” and “good sense.” We… Read More

New Testament: John 11- Difficulties With People

John 11:3
“Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

One of the great struggles of life is how to reconcile a loving God with the difficulties of life. Every day, all over the world, people are confronted with tragedies. Difficulties hit like a storm and wreak havoc on their lives. It is not until we find ourself facing one of these trying times, that we are undone by it. It is at that point, we begin to ask, “How could a loving God allow my brother to suffer like that?” or “If God loved me, He would not have taken… Read More

Deuteronomy 3:2
“And the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’”

Moses and the congregation of Israel faced many obstacles as they made their way toward the Promised Land. In this case they would be withstood by the king of Bashan and his forces. The armies of Bashan had successfully defeated all who came against them and had established a formidable empire consisting of sixty well fortified cities. The army was led by a king named Og who was a giant of a man. (He was so large that after his death his furniture was preserved in an ancient museum in the city of Rabbah). From a natural standpoint it would seem that Israel had no hope of victory against such a mighty force. However their strength was not to be found in themselves but in the power of the God whom they served. As the pages turn we learn that Og and his forces were defeated and Israel enjoyed the spoils of victory.

It is not uncommon for believers today to face obstacles greater than ourselves. We, like Israel are given great and precious promises designed to guide, comfort and bless our walk with God. These promises are often met head on by the difficulties of life and these difficulties stir in us a vast array of emotions. It does not take long before our circumstances cause us to question whether or not the promises of God will ever truly come to pass. It is in times like this where we need to look past the fortified city walls and the giant enemy forces and stand firm on God’s unbreakable promises. Circumstances change, emotions vary but the Word of God will never fail. If you are facing a particularly trying time take whatever time necessary to locate a promise from God that directly addresses your situation and stand firm on that promise.

A few years ago while I was in Israel a war broke out. The nation was undergoing a massive barrage of rocket fire. Because of their advanced defense system they were able to monitor every rocket and determine its trajectory. If one of these airborne explosives was heading toward a populated area an air raid siren would sound and people would hurry into a bunker. These bunkers are well fortified and are stocked with the necessary food and water to withstand an attack lasting several weeks. We need to see the promises of God like a bunker that we run into when the difficulties of life mount an attack. No force of hell or earth is strong enough to break through walls of scripture. Jesus himself declared that heaven and earth will pass away but not the smallest part of the promises of God will ever fail.

When Og and his forces mount an attack, hide under the promises of God.

Jim