Today’s Scripture: Deuteronomy 4:1, NIV- “Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.”
We humans are rebellious and do not like being told what to do, do we? Rules and laws just crimp our style and desires. However, Moses was sharing with the Israelites here in Deuteronomy that God’s laws, if we follow them, give us life and directions into our promised lands. God has provided us with laws to teach us what He is giving us not what He is taking away.
I remember the moments of truth in my youth where it really did seem like I was going to sacrifice a life of fun if I chose God and His laws over my desires. Now that I have lived long enough to be in my latter years of life, I do now see how much deeper, broader, and higher my life is because of the laws and Word of God. Looking back and looking forward I now am looking to the laws of God to live.
Over these past fifteen years of capturing Affirmations of God I have been very mindful of Deuteronomy 4:2 in which Moses instructed us not to add or subtract but to keep the laws that he was giving us. My heart was to capture God’s promises and laws in a very personal way as if God was giving them to me. In doing so, I have found life. I only write to share the life I have found in the laws of God.
In Deuteronomy 4:3 Moses reminds the Israelites of what they had seen with their own eyes. You and I can do the same. My efforts to share what I have seen with my own eyes ended up with these letters on this blank sheet of paper, but we can share our experiences with God in millions of other ways.
I have seen and found the next verse of Deuteronomy 4:4 to be true as well. If we just hold fast to the LORD, our God we become alive today. Moses died before even finishing the book of Deuteronomy. He noted in Deuteronomy 4:21 that the LORD would not let him enter the promised land. He knew He would die so here in Deuteronomy 4:5 Moses told the Israelites, who had been following him out of Egypt and for forty years in the desert that they should follow, not him, but these statutes and judgments when they enter the land the LORD was giving them to possess.
We too should follow God’s laws, statutes, and judgments in the land He has given us. As a nation we would be wise to follow God’s laws. A great nation is filled with wise and understanding people whose wisdom is from God. We are experiencing the decline of Deuteronomy 4:9 where Moses encouraged the people to continue to tell their children and grandchildren what they had seen through God and His Word.
The children of Israel blew it by worshiping idols and other gods and laws, and we have done the same. We have rebelled against God, but we can begin again by teaching our children and grandchildren about the great things our God has done. We can share His laws and statutes that have proven over centuries to be the one true set of laws that will give the fullest and most prosperous lives.
Interestingly, I said all of that to bring you the verse God brought me to today. Deuteronomy 4:29, NIV- “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” I promise too, that if from “there” wherever you are if you will seek God with all your heart and with all your soul you will find Him. I did, have you? Let us tell others what we have seen today.
Today’s Prayer: Almighty God, God of Moses, thank You for your laws, statutes, and judgments. Forgive us LORD for turning to other gods and laws. Thank You LORD for Your servants who have come before us to remind us of what they saw with their own eyes. May Your Holy Spirit impress upon us to continue to tell our children and grandchildren about Your wonderful works and laws that will bring them Your life and Your land for them. Strengthen and embolden us to seek You and Your law in the land You have given us so that we live and share the fullness of life You intend. Amen.
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