August 19, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The message of Deuteronomy is one that the church desperately needs to hear today. These final words of Moses given to the children of Israel as they prepared to enter into the Promised Land serve as a warning, an encouragement, and a charge. Through them, God exposes the idolatry of our hearts and calls us to give all of our love, worship, and devotion to Him alone in every area of our lives! Moses warns the people that when they enter the land there will be things that compete with God for their attention, their affections and their worship. We, too, have hundreds of things that compete for our hearts each and every day. In this book, God teaches us how to properly respond to the amazing grace He has given us by giving Him our undivided allegiance, our whole hearts and our whole lives. Over the next 34 days, let\u2019s seek this ancient way together as a church!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moses sets before the people two options for them to choose from: remembering and forgetting. He calls them to remember the Lord, to recall all that He has done for them, how He has shown them faithfulness through the wilderness years and has delivered them time and time again, how He has blessed them and fought for them and is giving them a fertile land full of good things. He warns them not to forget Him and all that He has so graciously done on their behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why does Moses need to warn the people this way? He warns them in this manner because it is the proclivity of every sinful, broken, human heart to diminish God and exalt themselves. Each and every one of us is more naturally inclined to our want our will to be done and our kingdom to work than we are to humbly submit to God\u2019s will and seek His Kingdom. We are all prone to take credit for what God has done instead of giving Him the glory He deserves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is why Moses warns the people so strictly to \u201cBeware lest you say in your heart, \u2018My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth\u2019\u201d (v.17). As God\u2019s chosen, we have to be people who remember that \u201cEvery good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights\u201d (James 1:17). Everything that we have, we have as a result of His sheer grace and unmerited blessing on our life; He gives us these things not because of anything that we have or do, but simply because He loves us and chooses to shower His grace on our lives!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you go throughout your day today, be reminded of all the good things that God has blessed you with. Remember Him and give Him all the glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n