EXPAND TO READ: DEUTERONOMY 12 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 18b): In the latter part of this verse, You say to “rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you do.” I must admit that this has not really been the way I’ve lived since coming to faith. I do not praise You or rejoice in You consistently as I should be. This is in no way a reflection of Your way of live, but a reflection of my disobedience in my faith. I have heard these words many times since coming to faith, yet I have failed to uphold it on my end due to my disobedience and immaturity in my faith. Please forgive me for this, Father. Help me to be better at always pointing to You for everything I do. Help me to be better at praising You always and rejoicing in You in everything I do and accomplish in this life, Father.
PROMISE (verse 28): Although this isn’t necessarily a direct promise, I do see a promise hidden within this verse. Your promise has to do with my children and the generations that spawn from my seed. If I abide in Your will for my life and do what is “good and right in the sight of the Lord” then even my children may prosper from my faithfulness. This promise is amazing, because my actions that I take in this life towards my faith can also be a blessing towards my children. Thank You for this amazing promise, Father. Thank You for making the works I do in this life not be limited to my life alone.
ATTITUDE (verse 19): This verse is an interesting one. Through You, Moses is telling his people to not only be faithful and respectful towards their own people, but also the Levites that are among them. To me, this simply translates to no matter what the faith or circumstances of those around me, that I am not to act neglectful nor hateful towards anyone. I am to show Your love to all those around me, regardless of their faith, their circumstances, their attitudes, their words, their actions, etc. Help me to be better at living in Your love for all, Father, so that I do not neglect any of those I may come across in my life.
COMMAND (verse 32): The very last thing You do is give us a command as well as clarity on that command through a secondary command to the first. You tell us to be careful to do everything You command of us. This is a struggle for me in and of itself. I feel I give in to so much worldly influence as well as the influence from my upbringing that it makes it a bit difficult for me to truly and fully be able to do everything You command of me. Thankfully, I am covered by Jesus and Your grace, Father, so I will still keep on trying but I do not need to bash myself for failing every so often. The secondary command is that Your followers are not to add or take away ANYTHING from Your truth, Your word, Your commands. I see people do this often in this world, Father, and I likely have been guilty of this at times. People say that a Godly man should do this or that, but then there’s no Biblical reference to what they are saying. I have heard people say that if someone is going through some turmoil in their life that it must be because they are sinning and God is punishing them, yet this is not what You tell us. You never promise us that a faithful person will live a live free of turmoil and hardship, in fact You actually promise the opposite. Even Your perfect Son, Jesus, faced extreme hardship and turmoil that I couldn’t even fathom in my life. Am I so special that You would bless me with a turmoil-free life over Your perfect Son who was literally free of sin? Help me to ensure I am never taking away or adding anything to Your truth, Father. Help me to always confer Your word before making decisions on things that others may say is from You.
EXAMPLE (verse 20, 23-25): I find these verses rather interesting. I have heard some religious people over the years say that a vegetarian diet is the only way to truly achieve spirituality, because eating meat is a sin, yet right here You tell us that we can eat meat any time as long as we are not eating the blood. I guess this goes back to Your command in verse 32 about not adding or taking away. It seems that even people who claim to be followers of Your will sometimes cross the line of adding or taking away from Your truth for their own agenda or to match their own personal opinions without having a firm foundation in Your truth. Help me to discern these things properly, Father, so that as others are saying things that conflict Your truth I am knowledgeable enough and confident enough to rebuke their words on Your behalf with the Biblical reference as proof.
*DAILY NOTE: I still have a lot to learn. I do remember reading through Deuteronomy several times, but for some reason this entire chapter seemed rather new to me. I guess just because I was reading through the printed words doesn’t mean that I was listening to Your spoken truth being revealed to me through those printed words. Thank You for working in me so much, Father, to the point that my eyes, mind, and ears are opening up towards You, Your words, and Your truth. I know I am still struggling here in there and I know You still have a lot of work to do in me, Father, but I also know that the relationship I’ve grown to having with You over the last year is more than I could ever have imagined prior to that. Thank You for never giving up on me and for working on me personally as well as through other Godly men so thoroughly and intently, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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