(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word...)
(Deuteronomy 10:1-22) “At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the former ones, and come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood for yourself. 2 I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered, and you shall put them in the ark.’ 3 So I made an ark of acacia wood and cut out two tablets of stone like the former ones, and went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4 He wrote on the tablets, like the former writing, the Ten Commandments which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them to me. 5 Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, as the Lord commanded me.”
6 (Now the sons of Israel set out from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died and there he was buried and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his place. 7 From there they set out to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of brooks of water. 8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to serve Him and to bless in His name until this day. 9 Therefore, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance with his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, just as the Lord your God spoke to him.)
10 “I, moreover, stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights like the first time, and the Lord listened to me that time also; the Lord was not willing to destroy you. 11 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, proceed on your journey ahead of the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’
12 “Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. 15 Yet on your fathers did the Lord set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. 16 So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer. 17 For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. 18 He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. 19 So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. 21 He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.
6 (Now the sons of Israel set out from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died and there he was buried and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his place. 7 From there they set out to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of brooks of water. 8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to serve Him and to bless in His name until this day. 9 Therefore, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance with his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, just as the Lord your God spoke to him.)
10 “I, moreover, stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights like the first time, and the Lord listened to me that time also; the Lord was not willing to destroy you. 11 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, proceed on your journey ahead of the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’
12 “Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. 15 Yet on your fathers did the Lord set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. 16 So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer. 17 For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. 18 He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. 19 So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. 21 He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
The Lord is just and shows no partiality and is not prejudiced. God so loves the world!!! This does not mean that there are many ways to God. It means that God desires that everyone would come to Him - as He requires. We cannot just make up our own "truths" and practice what we deem acceptable or good enough. All cults and religions are created by mankind and require mankind to (hopefully) earn their way towards some sort of status. But to get into heaven, we must be perfect, and this is impossible except through Jesus' work on the cross.
All the Lord requires of us is:
- that we FEAR THE LORD OUR GOD with all our heart and soul; realizing that He is the great Almighty Creator and Savior, and with that we should dread His wrath. Fearing nothing or anybody else but God is to want to be on His side, realizing that the Lord should come first in our lives.
- that we "UNSTIFFEN OUR NECKS" by putting down our pride, humbling ourselves to look to Jesus for our salvation and guidance, and desiring to please God.
- that we CIRCUMCISE OUR HEARTS by asking Jesus into our lives, exposing ourselves to His ways and allowing the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside out, because just going through the motions is an empty religion that does not glorify God... God wants our hearts and souls!!! What takes place in the heart is evident in our lives. And this should be evidence to the world that we are set part ("different") because of Jesus.
- that we WALK IN GOD'S WAYS with all our heart and soul, which reiterates the fact that the indwelling Holy Spirit is impacting our motives in order to help us say and do things in God's will and with God's love!
- that we LOVE GOD because He loves us, knowing that He wants the very best for our lives!
- that we SERVE GOD with all our heart and soul, because we love God, and we are allowing the Holy Spirit to move us towards demonstrating our thankfulness and willingness to glorify Him.
- that we KEEP GOD'S COMMANDMENTS, remaining obedient because we trust that God's ways are true and right.
- that we CLING TO GOD, depending on Him for everything, because He is the perfect, loving heavenly Father who shelters, strengthens and equips us.
- that we PRAISE GOD because of all the great and awesome things He has done
- that we SWEAR BY HIS NAME (ONLY), which is opposite of using His name in vain (which is throwing any and all forms of His name around frivolously and abusively). We should use His name in prayer, and in sharing God's word, and in proclaiming the gospel message, while living what we preach. This incudes growing to know Jesus so well that we can recognize any person or religion that falsely uses His name, in whatever form (perverting and twisting God's words in any way). THIS is why it is so important to understand and hear God's Truth and God's way! Jesus is the only way to the Father. To say anything differently would be taking God's name in vain. As ambassadors representing the Lord, we should fully respect His name.
- that we LOVE ALL PEOPLE ! ! ! This is the outpouring of God's great and impartial love - what I call the trickle out effect - to our family members, our neighbors, the aliens living among us, the government, the poor, the vulnerable, our enemies... everyone!!!
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