Loyalty

 Scripture:

“You must follow the Lord your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

As God’s people were about to enter the Promised Land, He reminded them about how they were to live and how to be blessed in the land they were entering. In this passage, He told them they must revert Him, observe His commands, obey Him, serve Him, and remain loyal to Him. God expected total devotion and loyalty to Him for all He had done for His people.

Application:

The word that stood out to me today was loyalty. God expects loyalty from His people. He has done so much for us, we need to be loyal to Him. Loyalty means that God is first in our lives and that we don’t stray for any reason. Loyalty infers that we remain faithful to Him, when things are good and when things are not good. Loyalty means He can count on us. I want to live a life that is loyal to the Lord, a life He can trust and depend on. Loyalty infers that God doesn’t have to compete with other things in our lives.

Prayer:

Father, help me to remain loyal to You at all times. You are awesome and have done great things in my life. Teach me to follow You completely and to remain loyal at all times. Let my life be completely devoted to You. Thank You for all You have done in my life to this point. Help me to reflect You and Your will to those around me. Let Your light shine through my life. 

Forever Yours,

Jeff

Humility When Blessed

 Scripture:

“Be careful not to say, “My own ability and skill have gotten me this wealth.” You must remember the Lord your God, for he is the one who gives ability to get wealth; if you do this he will confirm his covenant that he made by oath to your ancestors, even as he has to this day.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭8‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Moses, as he is approaching the end of his life and God’s people were about to enter the promised land without him, told them that when they became prosperous and eliminated their enemies, they should never forget God. He told them to never forget that it is God who gave them the power to get wealth and it was God who brought them into the land and fought their battles. It is God who gives us the ability to get wealth. Every good thing we have, has come from God. 

Application:

We must never walk in pride and arrogance, thinking we have made ourselves rich and prosperous. As God’s children, we don’t take credit for the things we accomplish. Without Him, we can do nothing and He is the reason we have everything we have. We must always walk in humility before God and let Him raise us up. He deserves all the credit and honor, not we ourselves. He can bless us and He can take it away. Our trust must never be in ourselves or our hard work, but in the Lord. Everything we accomplish is because He has been good to us.

Prayer:

Father, You have been so good to me. Thank You for always taking care of me and providing for my every need. You have always provided for me and my family. Let my life bring Your praise and glory. Let all that I do and all that I am bring You the honor for Your name. You are the source of every good thing in my life. I am Yours, and I don’t take Your blessing lightly.

Thank You,

Jeff

Chosen and Adopted

 Scripture:

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. He has chosen you to be his people, prized above all others on the face of the earth.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭7‬:‭6‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

God is speaking through Moses at this point and tells him that the people of Israel had been chosen to be God’s people and that they are prized above all others on the face of the earth. In the New Testament, we gentiles are grafted into Abraham’s family. We are chosen, just like the people of Israel, and inherit the promises of Abraham. 

Application:

I need to see myself as God’s chosen. He chose me when I was still unloveable. He chose me when I wasn’t very valuable. He chose me to be His and that gives me great confidence. God has chosen me to do His work on the earth in this time. I must be confident in the fact that I am chosen of God and therefore, have privileges that come with that. He is my father and I am His son.

Prayer:

Father, You are incredible! Thank You for choosing me. Thank You for adopting me into Your family. Help me to follow You well and to live according to Your ways. I want to serve You well in my days and finish all You have prepared for me to do. I want to leave nothing undone that You desired for me.

Your Son,

Jeff

Run TO God When You Mess up

 Scripture:

“But if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find him, if, indeed, you seek him with all your heart and soul.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭4‬:‭29‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

This passage comes just before the people of Israel came out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. The Lord told them that if they disobeyed Him, they would be scattered around the world. Then He added, “but if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find Him, if, indeed, you seek Him with all your heart and soul.” God promised them that if they turned to Him wholeheartedly, no matter what they had done, He would be found by them.

Application:

When we mess up, often we try to run away from God. This passage reminds us that God knew the Israelites were going to mess up, but gave them a prescription for when they did. God doesn’t expect perfection, but He does require a heart and soul that seek Him. Even under God’s judgment, He made a way of escape. We should run to God when we mess up. We can trust Him!

Prayer:

Father, help me to always run to You when I mess things up. Rather than running away because I feel like I let You down, teach me to run towards You with all my heart and soul. In good times and in bad times, I want to be a pursuer of God. I want to live a life that pleases You above all else.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Encourage Them

 Scripture:

“However, Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, will go. Encourage him, because he will enable Israel to inherit the land.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭1‬:‭38‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Moses was describing why the people of Israel had to wander in the wilderness for forty years. It was because they didn’t want to go in due to fear of the people in the land. God told Moses that they would wander for forty years because of their unbelief, but Joshua would be enabled to lead Israel to inferior the land promised to them. God told Moses to “encourage” Joshua. The next forty years, Moses encouraged and trained Joshua for what was coming.

Application:

When you see leadership on someone’s life, encourage them. Speak into their lives. When you realize that someone has leadership potential, they will need spiritual fathers and mothers. They will need someone to help train them, encourage them, and prepare them for what God will do in and through their lives. We must be people who encourage the next generation.

Prayer:

Father, help me to serve You well in my generation. Help me to see who You are raising up and show me how to encourage them. Help me to put courage into next gen leaders. Teach me to lead well, but also to prepare and raise up the next generation of people who will lead Your church. Help me to speak into lives that will one day be in ministry. Help me to train them well.

Yours,

Jeff

Eliminate the Old

 Scripture:

“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then those whom you allow to remain will be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your side, and will cause you trouble in the land where you will be living.” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭33‬:‭55‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

When the people of Israel were going into the Promised Land, God told them to drive out all the inhabitants of the land. He told them that if they didn’t, they would be irritants in their eyes and thorns in their eyes, and would cause them trouble in their land. God told them exactly what to do, but they compromised and have paid a heavy price for that compromise.

Application:

What we don’t eliminate of the enemy in our lives before Christ, will always irritate and be like thorns to us. When we come to Christ, we have to put to death the old man. We have to remove from our lives the things that are not pleasing to the Lord. What is not removed becomes a hinderance to our walk with God later in life. I would rather deal with it and eliminate it early in my walk, than to fight with the ramifications of it later. Better to have strong discipline now, then to have issues later.

Prayer:

Father, cleanse me and me the person You want me to be. Let my life be pleasing to You at all times. You are worthy of my very best. Teach me to walk with You in sincerity and truth. Help me to live life You can bless. Let my life bring Your praise and glory.

Yours,

Jeff

Humility

 Scripture:

“(Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than any man on the face of the earth.)” ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭12‬:‭3‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Miriam and Aaron had just spoken against Moses because Moses had married an Ethiopian woman. God placed leprosy on Miriam for judging and speaking out against Moses. God’s defense of Moses was this verse, “Moses was very humble, more so than any man on the face of the earth.” God always defends the humble.

Application:

Humility is one of the most godly character traits observed in Scripture. God always blesses the humble and raises them up. Pride, on the other hand, is always rejected by God. God likes us to be in a place where we walk in humility, depending on Him completely. I want to be a person who walks in true humility before the Lord. He is awesome and to be respected by all. 

Prayer:

Father, help me to live like Moses before You. Let my heart be full of humility and let pride be far away from me. Teach me to live in dependence on You at all times and not be self-reliant. Help me to trust You more and self less. I want to walk humbly before You and accomplish all You have prepared for me.

Your Son,

Jeff