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 like the heathen mourn. Years later, Paul wrote to a group of Christians in Greece, who were dealing with the difficulty of death. He said,

” But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.”

John 14

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 on the rise. All this, and sadly much more, cause us to fear for our own safety, and for the future for our children and grandchildren.

But in the midst of this, Jesus gives us His great and precious promises. This chapter begins with a simple exhortation that is followed up with promise after promise, which makes the exhortation possible. Jesus says,

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

A troubled heart is…

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 and Babylon. Here, this self-reliant attitude is used as it relates to the way people chose to worship. God declared, once Israel entered into the promised land they were to set the tabernacle in a designated location, and there the people would congregate to worship God. No one was allowed to set up their own altar on a hillside or under a tree. God established a centralized location for worship that would…

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 the people of what they saw because they were willing to follow the Lord. He recalls the parting of the Red Sea, their provision in the wilderness, and the judgment of those who rebelled.

I wonder, what does your list include? When you look back over your Christian experience, where has your willingness to follow the Lord led you? Can you remember times when you stepped out in faith to serve or follow the Lord, and found that He was faithful to His…

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 for 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 explained,

“If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

In response Peter replied,

“Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”

To which…

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 is antiquated. They might say, “while the Bible might…

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 the wilderness has been marked with loss after devastating loss. From the very beginning they lived with fear, failure and defeat. They complained at the lack of resources, lusted for the fantasy life of Egypt, committed heinous sins with the golden calf and the women of Moab, lived in unbelief, refusing to enter…

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 of every month we receive a statement reminding us of both deposits and withdrawals. Those statements reveal a lot to us about the way we live, and the things that are most important to us. In some ways, our life is like a financial statement. At the end of the month we can look back and see how we have spent our time.

Lazarus was a man who spent his time following Jesus. As a result, his life became…

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 they were facing.

“…remember well what the Lord your God did…”

They are instructed to look back at the things God accomplished for them in the past. Notice he writes, “remember well.” It is essential…

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 reap 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 him from me.”

There is no question we face difficulties, and the illness or loss of a loved one is one of the greatest trials we will ever face. However, these trials are not without purpose. Notice the response of Jesus to the situation His loved ones were facing,