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
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?
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.
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… 
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… 
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 … 
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.
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.
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 … 
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… 
Deuteronomy begins with a recap of Israel’s history, from Mount Sinai, to the border of the Promised Land. Moses begins by reminding the people this journey that has taken a lifetime, should have taken less than two weeks.
Israel’s journey through the wilderness serves as a vivid illustration of the believers walk with God. Here we find that God led them away from some battles and into others. This reminds me of the words of Jesus in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:13),
God established a system in Israel which ensured the safety of a person who had accidentally caused the death of another. Instead of allowing vigilantes to run rampant, Moses was instructed to have six cities built where a person could flee, find protection, and await his day in court.
The children of Gilead, from the tribe of Manasseh, brought an interesting case to Moses. The father of one of the families had died without having any sons, as a result they were concerned with what would become of the family inheritance if the daughters married outside of their tribe. If the land became the property of the husband’s tribe, it would… 
John 9 records an event that changed a man’s life forever. That event was an encounter with the Son of God. John tells his readers that Jesus sought out a man who had lived his whole life in darkness, and with the power of God, removed his blindness and provided him with sight. We would expect the rest of this chapter to be filled with rejoicing. Instead, we read of an environment where the work of God in a person’s life put him under scrutiny. Even this man’s parents are afraid to celebrate the work of God, because of the way they… 
God described the land He was giving Israel as a land that flowed with milk and honey. He was of course speaking figuratively of the blessed life that the children of Israel would experience within the land. This blessed life was conditional upon their obedience to Him, and their obedience included some driving out, and some demolition. They were instructed to tear down… 
Israel stood on the brink of entering the promised land. For almost five hundred years the people had heard stories of the land of their fathers. They referred to it as the land… 
James explains the process of sin,
