Today we wrap up Deuteronomy and there were so many things that jumped out at me!
When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them, "Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you - they are your life. Deuteronomy 32:45-57a (emphasis mine)
I LOVE this passage.
Take to heart - don't just listen to the Word, don't just study the Word, don't leave it as head knowledge. Take it to heart! Let it transform your mind, heart and soul.
And teach it to your children. Again, not just the words. In order to effectively impact our children for the Lord we need to aim for their hearts. If we can inspire a desire for God, a love for God, a desire for an ever deepening relationship with God (which, as our pastor said this Sunday, is truly the definition for spiritual growth) into the hearts of our children, than we have succeeded. But it's going to be pretty hard to do that if we don't model it ourselves. Our children see us every day. They know what we are passionate about. They know what we truly believe and how that compares to what we say we believe.
These words are not just idle, they are our life! We have set before us, every day (as Jody said yesterday) the choice between death and life. Choose life! Choose to capture the Word in our hearts and allow the transforming power of the Spirit to change us every day to reflect Him.
There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. (I love that word picture!) The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deut 33:26-27 (emphasis mine)
Isn't that beautiful? What an amazing promise. And what a reminder that God alone is our refuge. We will not find the comfort, support or help we so desperately seek from any other source. But we will find it in Him.
Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Eqypt - to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. Deut 34:10-12
Moses was one incredible man of God. And he grew in just amazing ways. From a stuttering shepherd to a natural leader and powerful orator (Aaron didn't make this huge speech called Deuteronomy, Moses did) - Moses grew into the greatest leader Israel had ever and would ever see.
But even though he was the only person who ever spoke with God face to face, even though he was Israel's greatest prophet of all time (barring Jesus of course!), even though God was his best friend, he still made a mistake that cost him the promised land. We can never get too comfortable with where we are at spiritually. We need to remain humble. We need to rely completely on the power of the Holy Spirit to live out our lives in a way pleasing to Him. If even Moses can fall, if even Moses can be disciplined by God, so can we. But may we respond to God's discipline as Moses did - turning toward God, instead of away from Him.
These words are our life.
And in the NT the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The the Word is our life. The demon possessed man knew it, Jairus knew it, the woman who reached out and tried to anonymously touch Jesus knew it. But He won't let us slink away into the crowd. He will pursue us because He desires and intimate relationship with us, just like He had with Moses. But it is up to us to respond.
It is up to us to choose Life!
Tomorrow's passage: Joshua 1-3, Luke 9:1-17
3 comments:
Thanks for the insight Tammy. I love the verses you pulled out. So true about letting the word transform you. We sometimes get so caught up in the teaching and learning, we lose the feeling and owning of God's word. Good challenge. And I appreciate your thoughts around Moses and being disciplined. We do have the choice - turn to or turn away. Great post - thanks Tammy!
Great post, Tammy. The Word is our life. Take it to heart and teach our children. I've definitely been getting better at those things, in large part due to participating in this blog. This is by far the longest I've ever done regular, daily (or near-daily) Bible reading in my entire life and it's a great thing!
Great post. I was sad to think of Moses standing there and looking out over the promised land and knowing that a mistake had cost him his chance to be in it. I can't imagine how disappointing that must have been. I liked that you emphasized that we are to be humble and obedient so that we don't make similar bad decisions.
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