Category: Daily Prayers

50.a. Wilderness – 14.g. “Oh that they had such a heart as this always”

 

Deu 6:13-16  It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth. “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.

 Deuteronomy 5:29    Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!

 Deuteronomy 10:12     “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

 Deuteronomy 13:4    You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.

When we do this, the idea is not of a shrinking fear from an angry God. Instead, the idea of fear is more in the concept of an awe-filled respect, an inner repulsion at the idea of offending such a great, loving God who has done so much for us. (Guzik)

Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him,…. Serve him through fear; not through slavish fear, a fear of hell and damnation; but through filial fear, a reverential affection for that God that had brought them out of a state of bondage into great and glorious liberty, out of Egypt into Canaan’s land, out of a place of misery into a land of plenty; and therefore should fear the Lord and his goodness, and from such a fear of him serve him, in every part of worship, public and private, enjoined. (Henry)

Do you ever wonder what it is that keeps you from a walk with God like this? Imagine if we would wake every morning with a  single thought of how we might worship, praise, thank, honor, and glorify Him through every thought, word spoken, and action. Wouldn’t our lives find joy in all of the turmoil and chaos so prevalent today?

Matt 24:12 And because of the abundance of evil, the love of many will grow cold. 

You can see it at every level of society; hate, anger, fear, lawlessness, calling good bad and bad good, denying and rejecting the Word of God and things of God, pride, self-worth, self-reliance, greed, jealousy, etc……

Let your heart be fixed and your stance firm in your service and devotion to God. For most, it will not look like what you are doing right now.

50. Wilderness – 14.f. “Take care lest you forget the LORD”

 

Deu 6:5-12 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 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. “And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

What God most wants from us is our love. We often think God demands a hundred other things from us – our money, our time, our effort, our will, our submission, and so forth – but what God really wants is our love. When we really love the LORD with all of our heart, soul, and mind, then everything else is freely given to the LORD. If we give the LORD all the rest – money, time, effort, will, and so forth – without giving Him our love, it is all wasted – and perhaps, all is lost.

God planned to bring Israel into an abundant, prepared land. In this abundant blessing God had for Israel, there was an inherent danger: That they would forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt. This cycle would be repeated through the history of Israel, especially in the time of the Judges. God would bless an obedient Israel, and they would prosper; they would begin to set their heart on the blessings instead of the LORD who blessed them; God would allow chastisement to turn Israel’s focus back upon Him; Israel would repent and obey again, and God would again bless an obedient Israel and they would prosper. (Guzik)

49.z. Wilderness – 14.e. ‘The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”

 

Deu 6:4-5  “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

The LORD our God, the LORD is one: This is the essential truth about God. He is a person and not a vague pantheistic force. Being one, He cannot be represented by contradictory images. Since the LORD our God is one, He is not Baal, or Ashtoreth – He is the LORD God, and they are not.

i. In the mind of many Jewish people, this verse alone disqualified the New Testament teaching that Jesus is God, and the New Testament teaching of the Trinity – that there is one God, existing in three Persons. At some times and places, as Jewish synagogues said the Shema together, and when the word one (echad) was said, they loudly and strongly repeated that one word for several minutes, as if it were a rebuke to Christians who believed in the Trinity.

ii. Christians must come to a renewed understanding of the unity of God. They must appreciate the fact that the LORD is one, not three, as 1 Corinthians 8:6 says: yet for us there is one God. We worship one God, existing in three persons, not three separate gods.

iii. Yet, the statement the LORD is one certainly does not contradict the truth of the Trinity. In fact, it establishes that truth. The Hebrew word for one is echad, which speaks most literally of a compound unity, instead of using the Hebrew word yacheed, which speaks of an absolute unity or singularity (Genesis 22:2 and Psalm 25:16).

iv. The very first use of echad in the Bible is in Genesis 1:5: So the evening and the morning were the first day. Even here, we see a unity (one day) with the idea of plurality (made up of evening and morning).

· Genesis 2:24 uses echad in saying the two shall become one flesh. Again, the idea of a unity (one flesh), making a plurality (the two).

· In Exodus 26:6 and 11, the fifty gold clasps are used to hold the curtains together, so the tent would be one (echad) – a unity (one) made up of a plurality (the many parts of the tabernacle).

· In Ezekiel 37:17 the LORD tells Ezekiel to join together two sticks (prophetically representing Ephraim and Judah) into one (echad), speaking again of a unity (one stick) made up of a plurality (the two sticks).

v. There is no way that echad has the exclusive idea of an absolute singularity; the idea of One God in Three Persons fits just fine with the term echad.  (Guzik)

49.y. Wilderness – 14.d. “Fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.”

 

 

Deu 6:1-3  “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

 Exodus 20:20     Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”

 Job 28:28    And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

 Psalms 111:10   The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

 Psalms 128:1   Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!

 Proverbs 16:6    By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.

 Ecclesiastes 12:13   The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

 Luke 12:5   But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

 1 Peter 1:17   And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,

The “fear” that brings God pleasure is not our being afraid of him, but our having a high and exalted, reverential view of him. To fear the Lord is to stand in awe of his majesty, power, wisdom, justice and mercy, especially in Christ – in his life, death and resurrection – that is, to have an exalted view of God. To see God in all his glory and then respond to him appropriately. To humble ourselves before him. To adore him. We tend to be in awe of worldly power, talent, intelligence, and beauty. But these things don’t impress God because “His delight is not in the strength of the horse (mighty armies, worldly power) nor his pleasure in the legs of a man (human strength).” But God delights in those who fear him – those who stand in awe of him – and instead of trusting in their own human abilities or resources, “hope in his steadfast love.”

By way of contrast, the wicked person doesn’t fear God – he doesn’t stand in awe of God. The wicked has a low view of God: 

Psalms 36:1-4. Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil.”

The wicked person has such a low view of God and such a lack of awe for God that he doesn’t think God can find out his sin or hate it. He doesn’t act wisely or do good because he doesn’t view God as holy and just and serious about punishing sin. He trusts in his own wits and strength. Obviously, the Lord doesn’t find any pleasure in the wicked. The wicked refuses to fear God. (Altrogge)

For the unbeliever, the fear of God is the fear of the judgment of God and eternal death, which is eternal separation from God. For the believer, the fear of God is something much different. The believer’s fear is reverence of God.   Fearing God means having a reverence for Him that greatly impacts the way we live. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshiping Him in awe. Fearing God is good because it saves us from caving into our own sinful nature.

As I walk with the Lord, I discover that God poses an ominous threat to my ego, but not to me. He rescues me from my delusions, so he may reveal the truth that sets me free. He casts me down, only to lift me up again. He sits in judgment of my sin, but forgives me nevertheless. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but love from the Lord is its completion. (Eisenhower)

For the unrepentant, God-denying, and God-rejecting, fear should be like that of standing before an all-powerful tormentor and executioner who has complete authority and power to execute judgment upon you.

For the believer who trusts, believes, follows, obeys, and relies upon and in God, fear takes on a different form where there is such love, respect, and awe of God that displeasing Him deeply hurts them and they intentionally and purposefully choose to live in such a way that reflects this love, respect, and awe – and in doing so this desire permeates their life so that in all they think, say, and do it is purposefully set on honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ.

49.x. Wilderness – 14.c. “You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.”

 

Deu 5:30-33  Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” But you, stand here by me, and I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

 God desires the welfare and salvation of poor sinners. He has given abundant proof that he does so; he gives us time and space to repent. He has sent his Son to redeem us, promised his Spirit to those who pray for him, and has declared that he has no pleasure in the ruin of sinners. It would be well with many, if there were always such a heart in them, as there seems to be sometimes; when they are under conviction of sin, or the rebukes of providence, or when they come to look death in the face. The only way to be happy, is to be holy. Say to the righteous, It shall be well with them. Let believers make it more and more their study and delight, to do as the Lord God hath commanded. (Henry)

“You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” To the left would be to hear the Word but have no care or desire to do what it says. Deaf ears, unrepentant hearts, giving lip service to acknowledge God’s Word but it does not affect how you live, think, or speak. How many days or weeks go by without the Word of God affecting how you live? There must be more than a “hearing” of God’s Word. It must root in your heart and for this to take place it must be continually watered with a desire for it. God’s Word is the bread of live and living water which nourishes the soul who desires to Honor and Glorify Jesus Christ in all thoughts, words, and actions. Is there a drought and famine in your hearts, minds, and souls? Are you on the path that God has defined for eternal life? Are you blindly following others who are on paths to the left of God’s path? 

“You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” To the right would be to hear the Word and then for some reason think the actions you take make you more worthy of God’s Love, allow you to do works that make you more right in God’s eyes, and allow you to do things that make up for the bad or wrong things (sin) you have done. When our minds think this way we are prone to think and rely upon our actions as a means of forgiveness and righteousness. Self-reliance is a very dangerous path to be on. There is no glory or honor to Jesus Christ, but rather a belief in self, self-reliance, and self-worth. We may be convicted of sin but then become reliant upon our actions to do “some good thing” to make up for it. The Word of God may be read and studied but our minds have used it to make us right in our own eyes. 

There is only one path and it is very straight. Believe, repent, trust, follow, obey, and rely upon God alone. There must be only one purpose, reason, and driving force in our lives; “To honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions”. If there is one resolution each person should make that will have both every lasting eternal meaning and continual peace, joy, hope, patience, kindness, and love on this side of eternity it would be to desire and seek a life that “HONORS and GLORIFIES JESUS CHRIST IN ALL THOUGHTS, WORDS, AND ACTIONS”. Any other resolution should be built upon this.

49.w. Wilderness – 14.b. “Oh that they had such a heart as this always”

 

Deu 5:23-29  And as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. And you said, ‘Behold, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live. Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? Go near and hear all that the LORD our God will say, and speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’ “And the LORD heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the LORD said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!

Moses refers to the consternation caused by the terror with which the law was given. God’s appearances have always been terrible to man, ever since the fall; but Christ, having taken away sin, invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace. They were in a good mind, under the strong convictions of the word they heard. Many have their consciences startled by the law who have them not purified; fair promises are extorted from them, but no good principles are fixed and rooted in them. God commended what they said. He desires the welfare and salvation of poor sinners. He has given abundant proof that he does so; he gives us time and space to repent. He has sent his Son to redeem us, promised his Spirit to those who pray for him, and has declared that he has no pleasure in the ruin of sinners. It would be well with many, if there were always such a heart in them, as there seems to be sometimes; when they are under conviction of sin, or the rebukes of providence, or when they come to look death in the face. The only way to be happy, is to be holy. Say to the righteous, It shall be well with them. Let believers make it more and more their study and delight, to do as the Lord God hath commanded. (Henry)

 Here it is important to call attention to the fact that it was on the entreaties of the people that Moses had taken on him to be the channel of communication between God and them. God approved the request of the people, because it showed a feeling of their own unworthiness to enter into direct communion with God. The terrors of Sinai had done their work; they had awakened the consciousness of sin. (Barnes)

Note how the people heard God speak the 10 commandments, and after hearing they did not want to directly hear it again. Why was this? Was it because they were convicted of sin? Were they convinced of God’s power and might? Did they want to know what God was telling them? 

From the time of the giving of the Ten Commandments, the temple construction, the priestly order of worship and sacrifice, to the time the 12 spies went into the promised land to spy it out was 14-18 months. At the time the commandments were given to the people, seeing the power of God in their exodus from Egypt, seeing His power in supply for their needs in the wilderness, seeing His leading by fire and smoke, they said “If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? Go near and hear all that the LORD our God will say, and speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.” 

How can they fall away so quickly (14-18 months) to the point of doubting God’s promises, power, and love for them?  We can read this from the Bible and think, surely we would not have thought or acted this way, but in reality, the same unbelief demonstrated in the wilderness is common to all mankind. When we speak of belief there is a thought that this is only about believing in God, “that there is a supreme God”, but not taking to heart His holiness and our sinfulness. Believing has so much more to it than this. Believing is trusting in, relying on, and clinging to God, God’s Word, and Things of God. 

It was because of their unbelief they were left wondering in the wilderness and that generation was never allowed into the promised land. 

John 3:16-21.  16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Pathway to Victory – Devotion

 

What True Love Does

[Love] rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

–1 Corinthians 13:6-7

Yesterday, we studied five things love does not do; now let’s look at five things love does do. First of all, love “rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6). The Bible says if you truly love somebody, you are going to share the truth with them. A lot of times, we are hesitant to tell people what they need to hear because we do not want to hurt our reputation or hurt the relationship. And in our culture today, telling the truth is sometimes labeled as hatred. Yet the Bible says to flatter somebody, not to tell them the truth, is a sign of hatred for that person. Proverbs 26:28 says, “Flattery is a form of hatred and wounds cruelly” (TLB).

When you flatter somebody, you are more interested in yourself than in their well-being. You are trying to get something out of them or to keep a relationship going for your own benefit. So you tell them what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear. But sometimes the most loving thing you can share with someone is the truth. Proverbs 28:23 says, “In the end, people appreciate frankness more than flattery” (TLB). Love will share the truth even when it hurts.

Second, love “bears all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7). The Greek verb “stego,” translated as “bear,” means “to cover over.” It means to shield another person from the consequences of their wrongdoing. If you truly love somebody, you want to protect them from suffering the consequences they deserve. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is to let people feel the consequences of their actions, but our hearts desire to shield them.

Third, love “believes all things” (v. 7). That does not mean you believe anything and everything. It simply means you give other people the benefit of the doubt. Your first inclination is to believe the best about a person instead of the worst about a person.

Fourth, love “hopes all things” (v. 7). That is, love refuses to believe a person’s failure is final. No matter how badly the other person behaves, love holds out the possibility for that person to change. Now, that does not mean we don’t take action. Sometimes a church needs to discipline, a company needs to dismiss, or a government needs to execute. But we are not to pronounce a final judgment upon somebody–only God can do that.

Finally, love “endures all things” (v. 7). When another person hurts you, instead of returning evil for evil, you endure those hurts and continue to love–just like Jesus did. As He hung on the cross, He said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

49.v. Wilderness – 14.a. “These words the LORD spoke”

Deu 5:7-22  “‘You shall have no other gods before me.

“‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image.

 “‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, 

 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.

 “‘Honor your father and your mother, 

 “‘You shall not murder.

 “‘And you shall not commit adultery.

 “‘And you shall not steal.

 “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

 “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’

 “These words the LORD spoke

God, who by natural claim as well as by covenant relation was entitled to exercise supremacy over His people Israel, had a sovereign right to establish laws for their government. (Brown)

God wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets and gave them Moses to share with all the Israelites soon after they left captivity in Egypt. Moses reiterated them 40 years later in as the Israelites neared the Promised Land. Leaving captivity in Egypt meant establishing a new society. The law established healthy boundaries based on respect for God and other people rather than brute strength. The law given to Moses provided the foundation for a new Israelite society. Jesus called people to an even higher standard by obeying the commandments not only in their actions but also in their hearts. The initial commandments start with the relationship with the “Lord your God”. God told His people He was their Lord, Master, and Creator God. They should have no other gods, and they should not make idols. They should not misuse his name. The Sabbath bridges our relationship with God. God commanded his people to take the Sabbath for their benefit. God intended for his people to enjoy their relationship with Him and each other by valuing the Sabbath. The following commandments address our relationships with others. (Noyes)

As new creations in Christ, the law is not only our duty but also our delight. If we want to love Christ as he deserves and as he desires, we will keep his commandments. But the Bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The way to find moral instruction isn’t by listening to your gut but by listening to God. If we want to know right from wrong, if we want to know how to live, if we want to know how to live in a way that honors and glorifies Jesus Christ and blesses our friends and neighbors, we’d be wise to do things God’s way, which means paying careful attention to the His commandments. (Deyoung)

Compare what society deems and approves as “OK” to commands of God. Abortion, greed, hate, pornography, divorce, LGBQT, retaliation, self-worth, self-reliance, etc…. all find root in rejecting and denying God, things of God, and the Word of God. If we neglect God’s Word and allow social media and news outlets to fill our minds it is no wonder there is little conviction in the hearts of those who confess Jesus as Lord with their lips but the Word of God is not in their hearts or minds.

49.u. Wilderness – 14. “I am the LORD your God”

Deu 5:6-7  “‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “‘You shall have no other gods before me.

 Matthew 4:10   Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

 John 5:23   that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

 Deuteronomy 4:4    But you who held fast to the LORD your God are all alive today.

Before God commanded anything of man, He declared who He was and what He did for Israel (who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage). The foundation was clear: because of whom God was and what He did for His people, He has the right to tell us what to do – and we have the obligation to obey Him.  The first commandment logically flows from understanding who God is and what He has done for us. Nothing is to come before God and He is the only God we worship and serve. No other gods before Me: This did not imply that it was permissible to have other gods, as long as they lined up behind the true God. Instead the idea is that there are to be no other gods before the sight of the true God in our life. This means God demands to be more than “added” to our lives. We don’t just add Jesus to the life we already have. We must give Him all our lives. (Guzik)

Try to wrap your mind around the Holiness, Power, Might, Knowledge, and Understanding of God. If we dedicate our entire lives toward learning and understanding and growing in our knowledge of God we will only be catching a glimpse of the depth and width of it. Though our minds might seem full, we will only have a single drop out of the ocean of His awesomeness. 

This is the God we know, trust, and rely upon. Serve Him with a desire to grow and understand Him more and more so that you might better honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all thoughts, words, and actions.