Category Archives: Bible study

March 20 – Warning! Warning!

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Deuteronomy 28&29

When I read God’s curse on His people should they disobey Him, I find it hard to think of an aspect of life that wouldn’t be effected. The curse would touch them in the city and the country, their food, their children, their livestock, their minds, bodies, health, marriages, their ability to win wars, whether they are coming in or going out. I could go on. Read it for yourself in Deuteronomy. I’m just glad I wasn’t alive back then.

But wait. Did God get that specific with the Jews for their benefit only? Or is He speaking to me today?

Doesn’t my own disobedience hit me where I live? Doesn’t it effect my mind, my soul, my joy, my relationships, perhaps my health, and my ability to fight my own wars against Satan?

And isn’t our country – our entire world- feeling the effects of disobedience through hate, and disease, and unrest, in violence, and persecution?

It should come as no surprise that the effects of sin are devastating. It’s not like we weren’t warned.

March 19 – Blurred Lines

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Deuteronomy 24-27

Moses told the Israelites that when they entered the Promised Land they were to get large stones, coat them in lime, then write the law distinctly on the rocks. Then they were to build an altar.

I don’t know how many times the Law, or part of it, are repeated in Scripture. I don’t know how many times Moses himself reminded the people about the laws God had given him for the Jews to obey.

But reading the Old Testament certainly emphasizes the importance God places on obedience. And God’s Laws are black and white.

Sadly, we live in a grey world. People have mistaken God’s grace as a softening of the rules He laid out to Moses there on the mountain. In fact, the opposite is true.

Jesus fulfilled the Law, and offers forgiveness for us because we are unable to keep the Law. But beyond that, Jesus said we sin if we even think about it. Who can measure up to that standard?

Moses told the people to write the law distinctly, clearly so there would be no question. God, as He inspired men to write His Words in Scripture did the same.

There need be no question concerning sin. The lines are drawn. And they are anything but blurred.

March 18 – Integrity

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Deuteronomy 21-23

Reading these chapters in Deuteronomy today had me thinking about integrity. God’s laws for His people seem to sit under that umbrella.

I asked Siri for a definition of the word “integrity” and she gave me this: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral rightness.

God spelled out His moral principles in the pages of Scripture. Rather than skimming over the parts that have to do with finding my neighbors cow wandering around because my neighbors don’t even own a cow, I asked myself what is the moral principle God wants me to know?

I’m not building a house so worrying about a parapet doesn’t apply to me, right? I don’t have a vineyard or standing grain, so can I just skip over those laws? Or are there  moral principles in these examples that do apply to me?

I hope you’ll read these chapters today and ask God to speak to you about your own integrity. Are you living according to God’s moral principles?

He’ll let you know if you ask Him.

March 16 – Homeless and Hungry

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Deuteronomy 14-16

I had an interesting conversation over lunch yesterday with some of my church friends. Of course, in this election year it’s hard not to talk about  politics. Have I told you how much I love talking politics?

Not!

Our conversation got stalled a bit on the topic of jobless and/or homeless people. Do you give money to the man standing on the street corner with a sign that says, “Homeless and Hungry?” What if he is smoking a cigarette? Does that change your opinion?

I used to be a church secretary and I couldn’t begin to count the number of calls I received from strangers trying to get some money. As a school counselor, the number of people asking for assistance was astronomical.

Who is responsible for caring for our poor? Is it the government? Is Bernie right to promise free assistance for everybody? How did we get to the place in this country where it is ok for needy people to receive handouts from the government, but flipping burgers is beneath them?

Today as I read these chapters in Deuteronomy, I hear God saying there will be no poor among you. He says if there is a poor man, open your hand freely to him. Be generous.

Here’s where I think we have failed as a nation and as the Church. There should be no needy people in our church fellowships. Yes, it’s our responsibility to care for our own, to lend a hand. But I don’t see the Bible saying the government should have any part of it.

Personally, I don’t hand out money to strangers, even if they parade their children in front of them like the man I saw yesterday outside Walmart. But if there is a family member who needs some help during a hard time, or someone in my church with a need, I want to obey God and open my hand freely.

I’d much rather have a say as to where my help is directed, rather than having someone in government deciding. I don’t think they’ve done a great job with the money I already give. How many trillions are we in debt? And, besides, I don’t see government assistance is anywhere close to being God’s plan for us.

Father God, I pray for people who have no home, who are jobless and hungry. God, I pray that the people close to them, that church fellowships will reach out to them and help them get back on their feet. I pray for jobless people. Open doors to employment that will begin to pay the bills. I pray that needy people will see Your hand at work in miraculous ways. And I pray for this election. I pray that Christians will not stay home on voting day because they don’t happen to like the candidates. I pray that our voices will be heard against government control of every detail of our lives. It’s up to us as Christians to be vessels through which you can defeat Satan’s control in our land.

March 15 – Don’t Forsake The Levites

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Deuteronomy 11-13

Moses is talking to the Jews about how to handle sacrifices once they cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. He told them where they could offer sacrifices and where they could not. He told them what they could eat, and what was forbidden them to eat.

Then, kind of randomly, he said:

Be careful that you do not forsake the Levites as long as you live in the land. (12:19)

The Levites were in charge of the spiritual welfare of the children of Israel. Like our pastors today. And this verse has me asking the question: Do I forsake my pastor?

I’m blessed to be a part of two amazing fellowship of believers. As a snowbird, I worship in one church in Ohio, and in another when I live in Georgia. And I am blessed to sit under the teaching of two Godly men who share the Truth according to Scripture every Sunday.

But one of my pastors is grieving the loss of a friend whose death was sudden and unexpected. His young daughter has a medical condition that can be life threatening, and there are some questions still unanswered about her condition. Plus, our church has started a building campaign. Yet he continues to preach, to teach, to counsel, to visit, with enthusiasm and a passion for reaching the lost.

My other pastor’s dear wife has medical challenges, and our congregation is so small he has to work another job. But that doesn’t stop him from spending hours in preparation for Sundays, teaching Sunday School, preaching two sermons on Sundays, and a study on Wednesday night.

I don’t know either man really well, so I am sure there are things on their hearts I do not know. They carry an enormous weight on their shoulders. Yet they both greet us every Sunday with sincere smiles, share what God has laid on their hearts in a meaningful and passionate way. They both challenge me and bless me every time I am privileged to worship with them.

I pray for them both. But do they know I appreciate them? Have I encouraged them, thanked them? I know October is Pastor Appreciation Month but shouldn’t we always appreciate these dear men who have answered God’s call to be our shepherds? Shouldn’t we let them know?

I hope you are worshiping in a church with a Godly pastor. I know there are some who take that job who are not as gifted as my pastors, or who aren’t preaching God’s Truth. If that is your experience, I am praying that God will give you wisdom, and bring about a solution that honors Him.

But for those of us who appreciate our pastors, let’s tell them so. Let’s not neglect or forsake them in their very difficult job. And don’t forget their wives and children. They are in this with him, too.

If you are a pastor reading this blog today… Thank you! God bless you. And may I encourage you to hang in there. We need you. And what you do in Jesus’ name is not going unnoticed.

Father, I pray for the pastors out there who love and obey You. Thank you for the hours they spend pouring over your Word, listening to your voice, praying for guidance, praying for us. I pray that they would have clarity in their study. Give them the words that would help us understand what it is You want us to know through them. I pray for their health, their energy, their commitment, their focus, their patience, their passion, their joy. May you grant exactly what they need, and then some. I pray for their families, those dear ones in their homes who love them and challenge them. Grant patience, wisdom, and genuine love. I pray for their marriages. Keep them strong. May their marriages be sources of joy and refreshment. Surround the shepherds of your sheep with protection. And may your sheep let those shepherds know how much they are loved.

March 14 – Our Awesome God

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Deuteronomy 8-10

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 you God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? (10:12-13)

Moses has been reminding the Jews all the things God has done on their behalf. Now he wants to remind them WHO God is. I hope you read Deuteronomy 10:12-22 today, and let yourself worship this awesome God of ours.

God created the heavens and earth, yet set His affection to love us. God who loved us so much He sent Jesus, so that anyone who believes in Him will live forever with Him. (John 3:16)

God is the God above all Gods, Lord of lords, great, mighty, and awesome.

He is our praise and He is our God.

Amen!

March 13 – blessingsandobedience

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Deuteronomy 5-7

Someone sneezes, and you hear, “Bless you.” When you’re in the south, the words, “Bless your heart” are used in sympathy or to acknowledge a kindness. I, myself, have intentionally eliminated the word, “lucky” from my vocabulary and replaced it with the word, “blessed.” And if you part company with a loved one, you might find  yourself saying to that person, “God bless you.”

I believe the Bible clearly reveals that God loves to bless people. Look around. Nature is a blessing. Family is a blessing. Freedom is a blessing. Health, money to pay bills, our jobs are blessings

But God is interested in blessing us with more personal blessings, too. And I think, from what I read in the Bible, those intimate and precious blessings are tied to obedience. They go hand in hand. It’s like one word all fused together.

These chapters in Deuteronomy give us several examples of this:

Obey God’s commandments so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. (6: 1-2)

O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you… (6: 3)

You shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you… (6: 18)

So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today. (6:24)

Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments. (7:9)

Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers. (7:12)

Now don’t misunderstand me. Obedience isn’t the magic key that opens the door to getting what we want. It’s the key that opens the door to receiving what God wants for us.

May you obey our Lord today… and be blessed.

 

 

March 12 – Unlikely Warriors

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Deuteronomy 3&4

As I was reading Moses’ recap of the events the Jews had experienced in the past forty years, it occurred to me that the people who had crossed the Jordan, who had defeated armies, and confiscated property, had been slaves in Egypt. They made bricks and built things for hundreds of years. There probably wasn’t a trained soldier among them, nor would they have had state-of-the-art weaponry. They were a bunch of homeless people, herding their families and livestock toward a distant land.

If I had been a king at that time, and saw this ragtag group coming toward me while I sat in my walled city, protected by an army of first class soldiers holding shiny swords and shields, I’d probably have that second cup of coffee.

Now these Jews were preparing to enter the Promised Land. And after reminding them how their ancestors had defeated those kings who thought they were safe in their fortresses, Moses encouraged them by saying, “Do not fear them (the people living in the land), for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.”

God didn’t use the great armies of kings to reveal Himself to the world. He used the unlikely group of former slaves to defeat the enemy. He used regular people. And no one could deny it was because God fought FOR Israel that the Jews were successful in their battles.

God works the same way today. He doesn’t expect us to be super-heroes, or perfect people, or dynamic preachers. He is really good at using regular people who are yielded to Him, who obey Him, trust Him, and allow Him to do great things in and through them.

Don’t fear the enemy. Don’t hold back from sharing Christ with your neighbor because you don’t know what to say. Don’t refuse to sit on that committee at church because you think you have nothing to contribute. Our enemy, Satan, would keep us slaves in Egypt.

But he is nothing next to God. And remember, it is God who is fighting for us! That already makes us the winners!

 

March 11 – Carry Me

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Deuteronomy 1&2

Get ready for a history lesson. Moses is preparing the  Jews to enter the Promised Land by reminding them where they’ve been, and what God had done every day for the children of Israel since they left Egypt forty years before.

Moses is speaking to people who had never been slaves in Egypt. Their parents had been. But their parents were dead now. Moses’ audience had not crossed the Red Sea, had not been there when Moses received God’s Commandments, or tapped a rock and got water. They hadn’t experienced the plagues that finally forced Pharaoh to let the Jews leave their captives. So Moses wanted to give them a history lesson to be sure they understood the role God played in their journey, the role God wanted to continue to play with this new generation of Jews now ready to enter the Promised Land.

Moses tells them that, during the forty years since the Jews left Egypt, God carried them, “just as a man carries his son.” (1:31) I love that analogy.

I love watching daddies pick up their children, lift them high over their heads, and place them on their shoulders. You probably rode on your own father’s shoulders. Maybe you’ve carried your own child in such a manner.

I recently saw a video of my then 16 year old nephew, picking up his four year old little brother, lifting him over his head with ease, and placing the boy on his shoulders. The teenager picked up the boy as if the youngster was as light as a feather.

But the other thing I love about this video is the look of joy on the face of my youngest nephew, the four year old child sitting high on his brother’s shoulders. I’m sure his world looked a bit different from that vantage point. It sure seemed to be a happy place.

And that’s what Moses wanted the children of Israel to realize. First, God is able to carry them all the way. And two, when we allow ourselves to be carried by our Heavenly Father, life looks pretty great from there. We have reason to smile!

So Father, carry me. Lift me high and let me rest on your shoulders. Take me where You want me to go, but never let me forget where I’ve been and what you have saved me from. I want, not only to walk with you today, but I want to let you do the heavy lifting of my burdens, my insecurities, my fears and failures. Thank You for wanting to.

 

March 10 – Protecting What Is Mine

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Numbers 35&36

I find it interesting that the last two chapters of Numbers deal with cities of refuge, and what to do with the five daughters of Zelophehad concerning their inheritance. Both subjects have to do with protection. One, the protection of a person who accidentally kills another, from the dead man’s avenger. The other, the protection of the land.

In the first instance, a person was protected from the avenger as long as he stayed inside the city of refuge. One step outside those gates, and the avenger was free to kill the manslayer.

Satan is like that avenger, eager to destroy me if I step away from my Savior’s protection. And every time I neglect time in God’s Word and prayer, when I sin and refuse to repent, when I don’t obey Him by worshiping and serving with a fellowship of believers, when I try to live with one foot in the world, I expose myself to Satan’s arrows.

The second is about protecting the land, the inheritance given by God. I can see that as my own, personal Promised Land of fellowship with God. It seems that relatives of the daughters of Zelophehad were a bit jealous of the possibility that, should the girls marry men from outside  of Joseph’s family, another tribe of Israel would get the rights to the land God had given them. They wanted to make sure what was their’s stayed with them.

Makes me wonder how jealous I am that something or someone could take what God has given me: love, peace, joy, fellowship with Him, holiness. The same things that make me vulnerable to my manslayer, Satan, can steal the blessings that are mine as God’s child.

So God is asking me today to protect what is mine through the blood of His precious Son. I need to control my thoughts, I need to resist temptation, I need to read and meditate on His Word, to pray, to worship Him and praise Him and love Him like He deserves. I need to walk with Him in an intentional way, and to cling to Him as my Protector, my City of Refuge.