To love God is the first and highest duty in life.
– Maurice Roberts in What Does It Mean To Love God?
Tag: Discipleship
Draws Our Eyes
Joy is born in the heart by the Word of God that draws our eyes to Him who through Jesus Christ loves us, is with us, and is in us.
– Joe Thorn in Tabletalk (May 2016)
Reflections on Deuteronomy 5-8
Our passage today teaches us about God and how we should respond to him.
- Saving God (5:6-21) – God saved the people of Israel from slavery. In response, they were to obey him. God has saved us from slavery to sin through Jesus Christ. In response, God expects us to obey him. Are you responding properly to your Savior?
- Great God (5:22-33) – In the fire and thunder of Sinai, the people got a glimpse of God’s greatness. The goal was that the people might fear God with a reverent awe. Do you have a reverent fear of God? Do you treat him with reverence and awe?
- One God (6:4-5) – There is only one God. That being said, we owe him all of our allegiance. We are to love him with all of our being, with every part of who we are, with all that we have. In what ways are you loving or failing to love God with your thoughts, words, actions, time, finances, activities, work, rest, family, relationships?
- Loving God (7:6-15) – God showed his incredible love to the people of Israel by making them his treasured possession, delivering them from Egypt, and blessing them. Note that his love was based not on them, but simply his act of love. In response, again they are to obey God’s commands. To what extent have you grasped God’s love for you? He loves you not because you are lovable, but simply by his choice to love you. Ponder his amazing love for you. How will you respond?
Sermon Songs: Ephesians 4:26-27
We put off our old sinful way
We put on what is right
Renew our minds from day to day
Walk with Him in the light
And in our anger we won’t sin
To anger we won’t hold
Won’t give Satan a chance to win
By grace we’ll fight – be bold
And when we fail – we will repent
Our sin we will confess
Look to our Savior who was sent
To grant us forgiveness
(To the tune of “O God Our Help In Ages Past”)
Reflections on Deuteronomy 1-4
Moses reminds the people of their history with the intent that they learn from it and serve God alone.
- Unfaithfulness – Throughout the discourse, Moses reminds the people of their unfaithfulness and the consequences of their unfaithfulness. He challenges them to learn from their past unfaithfulness and be faithful to God. What can you learn from Israel’s past unfaithfulness?
- God is near – Despite their unfaithfulness, God is with them. He is always near, and so they can call upon him in prayer (4:7). What needs do you have? Remember that God is with you, and you can talk to him anytime.
- Guard your soul – Moses challenges them to “keep your soul diligently” (4:9). They must guard their hearts lest they be led astray. Are you keeping your soul diligently? What dangers do you need to guard against?
- One God – Moses teaches the people that there is only one God over all the earth; therefore, they should not serve the false gods of the nations around them. In the midst of the religious pluralism of our day, let us remember there is only one true God, and let us serve him alone.
Classic Quote
The Holy Ghost rides in the chariot of Scripture, and not in the wagon of modern thought.
– Charles Spurgeon
Deuteronomy 1-8: Fear Our Great God
(1-8) What do you learn about God from this passage? List His attributes and actions.
Taken all together, what picture of God does this passage paint?
(7) And this God is our God. What does 7:6 tell us about being his people (see also I Peter 2:9)?
How does this encourage you? Challenge you?
(1-8) As God’s people, we should fear our great God (5:29, 6:2, 6:13, 6:24, 8:6). We need to take God seriously. What does that look like according to the following verses?
- 5:29, 6:2, 6:24, 8:6 –
- 6:5 –
- 4:15-19, 5:7-10, 7:3-5, 7:16 –
- 4:9, 4:23, 6:6-12, 8:2, 8:11-14, 8:19 –
What are some practical things that we can do to apply these verses?
- 1:21, 1:29-30, 3:2, 3:22, 7:17-21 –
In what situations in your life do you need to apply these verses?
Passion Points
Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:
Jerry Bridge’s Seven Standout Spiritual Lessons – Tim Challies
Lesson One: The Bible is meant to be applied to specific life situations. This includes both God’s commands to be obeyed and His promises to be relied upon…
Why Patience Doesn’t Come Naturally – Sam Storms
First, impatience is the product of selfish entitlement in the human soul. I get impatient because I actually believe I deserve better…
How to Kill Sinful Anger– Jon Bloom (DG)
All sinful anger is hard to fight. It’s a selfish, hot-blooded passion our flesh enjoys indulging. But I find it particularly difficult to fight the sinful anger that I feel I have a right to feel…
No Normal Sundays: Interview with Bob Kauflin– David Mathis (DG)
Worshiping Jesus together with his church is an awesome privilege…
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day!
Forward!
Glory awaits, and Christian pilgrims maintain a steady but determined discipline of facing forward. What lies ahead fills our vision and keeps us expectant.
– Derek W. H. Thomas in Tabletalk (March 2016)
Reflections on Numbers 33-36
God continues to teach the people through Moses to prepare them to enter the land.
- Pagan influences – Israel is to drive out the inhabitants and destroy all of their religious objects, lest they be ensnared by pagan influences. What pagan influences from our culture have influenced you? How can you protect yourself from the pagan influences around you?
- Cities of Refuge – God required Israel to designate cities of refuge for people to run to who accidentally killed another person, lest the dead person’s kin in wrath killed the accidental killer. Our sins are not accidental, and God’s wrath justly rests on us. The wages of sin is death. But Jesus is our city of refuge that we can run to and find safety and deliverance from God’s wrath. Praise the Lord for your Savior today!
- Polluted Land – This idea of the land being polluted by sin has come up before (see for instance Leviticus 18:24-28), and here it is again (Numbers 35:33-35). Consider the sins of our country, and how polluted our land has become. God’s judgment is surely coming. Cry out to God for mercy, and a revival that turns the hearts of the people from the idols of our land to the one true God! May he start with his church!
