Monthly Archives: December 2024

Another chance

Deut. 10

God gave Moses a 2nd chance with the tablets of stone. The initial tablets had been thrown down in anger and broken. Have you ever lost your cool with God?

God told Moses to get two more tablets … to try it again.

God has patience for you too.

Be grateful

Deut. 6

Moses warned the Israelites about forgetting to be grateful to God for their blessings. They lived in ” great and splendid cities which they did not build, and houses full of all good things which they did not fill, and hewn cisterns which they did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which they did not plant, and they ate and were satisfied.”

It’s too easy for US to likewise forget to acknowledge God’s goodness to us.

Give thanks in EVERYTHING!

Mt. Pisgah

Deut. 3

God forbade Moses from entering the Promised Land. He had neglected to sanctify the Lord’s name at Meribah by striking the rock in anger rather than speaking to it in faith. God did give him a glimpse of it from the top of Mt. Pisgah.

Once while vacationing in NC, I played golf at a course nestled in the Pisgah mountains. Like Pisgah in the Bible, the view was spectacular. God kept Moses out of the land … and He seemed to keep my golf ball OUT of the holes. No faith and no practice.

You will not lack

Deut. 2

For the entire 40-year journey the Israelites experienced in the wilderness, they never lacked. God fed them, clothed them (their shoes never wore out), and kept them healthy when they were obedient.

Jesus essentially promised the same to us in His Sermon on the Mount. He’s good to us even when we disobey.

Overcoming life’s challenges

Deuteronomy 1

When the Israelites encountered resistance on the Promised Land, they violated a spiritual principle … they based their fears on what they saw rather than God’s promise. He told them to possess the land and that HE would fight FOR them.

God will fight for you. Don’t let your fear of the obstacles before you cripple you. With prayer and faith, you too can possess God’s promise to you.

“In the midst”

Num. 36

We find this expression often in the Word. It’s where God wants to be.

He wants to be the center and heart of all we do. We accomplish it by committing everything to Him in prayer initially. Then, we allow His Word to direct our course of action. He is thereby allowed to be as great as HE IS!

The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in his love, He will joy over thee with singing. [Zeph. 3:17]

Follow the recipe

Num. 29

The Law of Moses “Recipe of Righteousness” was an exhausting litany of requirements for the worshippers. Fulfilling all the details to please the Lord was nearly impossible. Whereas it wasn’t easy to live up to, it did serve as an effective schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Faith in Christ accomplished what observance of the Law did not … give us a practical and sufficient way to live a life pleasing to the Lord.

Thanks be to God for His unspeakable Gift, Jesus His Son.

Your best offering

Num. 29

I served the Lord in the Praise and Worship/Music ministry from 1972 to 2002. My desire was to give God the best music I could from a sincere heart. I was very careful to avoid worshipping music excellence. That is idolatry.

Paul instructs, “Whatever you do [whatever your task may be], work from the soul [that is, put in your very best effort], as [something done] for the Lord and not for men.” [Col. 3:23 Amp.]

The smell test

Num. 28

Obviously God has a nose because the concept of a “soothing aroma” to Him is a major issue concerning offerings.

Our lives offer up an aroma to Him. God preferred Abel’s offering because it included faith. A frequent bath in His Word helps deter an offensive smell from our lives.

2 Cor. 2:14-17 tells us how we can witness about Christ to our generation with the fragrance of our lives.