Scripture Reading for today's devotion is found in Deut 28:1-14.
How exactly are "blessings" connected with obedience? Is God a cosmic vending machine - insert obedience, receive blessing? Is this what this passage trying to teach us? Exchange Obedience for Blessings?
As some of us ask such questions in our hearts, I am sure there will be some who feel that something just does not sound right..., isn't it? Can blessings be bought? Is God a cosmic vending machine? Surely NOT, right?
Well, I learn from a great teacher... The answer many a times, it is true & not true... While God is not a vending machine, His word is always true... I believe the word is true where if we obey all the Lord's command, we will experience great blessings in our lives...
The issue is, is it enough for us to know this "truth"? History tells us again & again that the Israelites did not experience the full blessings of God as described in this passage although the Israelites knew this "truth" since the time the book of Deuteronomy was written... What is the issue then?
My personal belief is this, by our own strength, we will NEVER be able to become RIGHTEOUS by obeying all the commands of the Lord... While we know OBEDIENCE will brings blessings, I believe the real secret to applying this "truth" is to ask God to help us to be OBEDIENT to His commands and not try to be obedient in order to receive God blessings!
My own meditation of today's scripture reading is this: Put on God's Robe of Righteousness which is found in Jesus Christ alone, who died for us on the cross to pay for our sins. Instead of asking God for His Blessings, we should first ask God to help us to be OBEDIENT to Him. What we need is not just the knowledge of "how to be obedient?" What we need is Jesus' help to keep us obedient. What we need is the constant guidance from the Holy Spirit to keep us from sinning against our God. What we need is God!
Let us seek the Lord with all our hearts, all our minds & all our souls. Seek first the Lord's kingdom and all these shall be added unto us... Put God first before everything and we shall find that the Lord's blessings will never cease to follow us all the days of our lives.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year
Hi everyone, with the start of 2001, let's revive doing devotion together through this daddypoohbear blog :-)
Today's Scripture Reading taken from the "Living Life" is taken from Isaiah 60:1-4 & 61:1-3... where the prophet Isaiah shared about the glory of the Lord rising upon Zion... the glory of the Lord will come upon the prophets to PROCLAIM THE YEAR OF THE LORD'S FAVOR and the day of vengence of God.
The author of "Living Life" starts by asking the question: "How do we define ourselves? Do our pursuits reflect God's purposes?" The Lord encourages us to ARISE & SHINE because the Lord's glory rests upon us... not because we are inherently radiant... The revelation of God's majesty & might differentiates us from others with the intention of drawing men & women to the glory of the Living God.
How can we SHINE with the glory of God? It is about holding out the WORD of LIFE and the WORD of LIFE is not just about the written words of Scripture... Isiaiah 61:1-3 clearly demonstrates that the revelation of God's glory comes in the Living Word. God did not merely send WORD for help; He Himself comes to bring the help and to apply balm to our souls. In Jesus, the good news is that "God is here."
Bottomline for me in today's meditation is this: I want to SHINE for Jesus! How to Shine? It is about "being a witness of Jesus, sharing all the evidence of God's existence in my life". It is to show the world how great & good my God is to me!!!
Last night Ps Eugene's message for YouthNet to prepare us for 2010 is to "DO HARD THINGS" - "A TEENAGE REBELLION AGAINST LOW EXPECTATIONS"... telling us not to choose the path of least resistence... but to do "hard things" for the glory of God so that we can SHINE for the LORD in 2010.
The conclusion is CLEAR! In 2010, the Lord will bless us RICHLY, set us high above the rest... Hence, we should NOT hold back, we should go all out to be use by God to do GREAT THINGS for Him. The condition for shining with the Glory of the Lord is clear, OBEY the LORD our God. Follow Jesus' Commands.
I cannot help but remember this verse as I write this... John 15:17 - This is my command: Love each other....
We will SHINE when we LOVE ONE ANOTHER! We will SHINE with the Glory of the LORD when the people around us see, feel, taste, touch the LOVE of GOD through us! Let us LOVE ONE ANOTHER!
Today's Scripture Reading taken from the "Living Life" is taken from Isaiah 60:1-4 & 61:1-3... where the prophet Isaiah shared about the glory of the Lord rising upon Zion... the glory of the Lord will come upon the prophets to PROCLAIM THE YEAR OF THE LORD'S FAVOR and the day of vengence of God.
The author of "Living Life" starts by asking the question: "How do we define ourselves? Do our pursuits reflect God's purposes?" The Lord encourages us to ARISE & SHINE because the Lord's glory rests upon us... not because we are inherently radiant... The revelation of God's majesty & might differentiates us from others with the intention of drawing men & women to the glory of the Living God.
How can we SHINE with the glory of God? It is about holding out the WORD of LIFE and the WORD of LIFE is not just about the written words of Scripture... Isiaiah 61:1-3 clearly demonstrates that the revelation of God's glory comes in the Living Word. God did not merely send WORD for help; He Himself comes to bring the help and to apply balm to our souls. In Jesus, the good news is that "God is here."
Bottomline for me in today's meditation is this: I want to SHINE for Jesus! How to Shine? It is about "being a witness of Jesus, sharing all the evidence of God's existence in my life". It is to show the world how great & good my God is to me!!!
Today is 1st Jan 2010. Our year verse for 2010 is Isaiah 54:2-3... telling us NOT to HOLD BACK but to ENLARGE the place of our tent, STRETCH our tent curtains wide, LENGTHEN our cords, STRENGTHEN our stakes... telling us that we will SPREAD OUT to the right & to the left, dispossess nations & settle in their desolate cities.
Last night Ps Eugene's message for YouthNet to prepare us for 2010 is to "DO HARD THINGS" - "A TEENAGE REBELLION AGAINST LOW EXPECTATIONS"... telling us not to choose the path of least resistence... but to do "hard things" for the glory of God so that we can SHINE for the LORD in 2010.
This week's memory verse is Deut 28:1 - If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.
The conclusion is CLEAR! In 2010, the Lord will bless us RICHLY, set us high above the rest... Hence, we should NOT hold back, we should go all out to be use by God to do GREAT THINGS for Him. The condition for shining with the Glory of the Lord is clear, OBEY the LORD our God. Follow Jesus' Commands.
I cannot help but remember this verse as I write this... John 15:17 - This is my command: Love each other....
We will SHINE when we LOVE ONE ANOTHER! We will SHINE with the Glory of the LORD when the people around us see, feel, taste, touch the LOVE of GOD through us! Let us LOVE ONE ANOTHER!
