In Deuteronomy 5:32-33, we see Moses talking to elders and leaders of the tribes of that time. Right after he had told them about the Ten Commandments he said this...
"So be careful to do what The Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or the left. Walk in all the way that The Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess."
Real quick, I just want to mention that Moses is an inspiration of mine. He would complain to God about how awful of a speaker he was- he didn't even think he could lead a country out of Egypt and slavery. BUT his obedience to God, and his walk with The Lord opened up amazing opportunities for him! God put the words in Moses mouth, God gave him the courage to lead a nation, and God gave Moses the blessing of being His messenger. We probably wouldn't have the Ten Commandments if it wasn't for Moses walk with The Lord.
From these two verses we can apply it to what we do today! Are we listening to what God is commanding us to do? Are we walking in all the ways of The Lord? Are we purely focused on God's plan and not our own? I know for me I often mix up who's plan is more important! The only way for us to prosper is for us to be obedient in God's commands.
Well - what does that look like exactly? What is His commands? God calls us to be servants and messengers in the "land we posse." Meaning we should go to our schools, our jobs, our households with Christ like hearts. Be the messenger in you land God calls you to lead in.
Tonight I pray, "Lord, help me to have an obedient heart to follow your ways. Thank you for opening doors and opportunities for me when I do obey to share the good news. Help me clearly see your commands for my life."
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Monday, September 1, 2014
Matthew 23:12
I flip open my Bible to Matthew 23:12, at random. This isn't an ideal way to study God's Word usually - but it's what I decided to do tonight. Either way, I know God speaks to us through His Word because all scripture is God breathed, as said in 2 Timothy 3:16. So I read randomly in a common, well-known Gospel called Matthew.
It says:
"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
Now I know what you're thinking...
"This is so cliche."
And for you Christians who have been in God's Word your whole life your thinking...
"I've read this at least a hundred times."
Well- Yes, I have read this before myself. It's even marked and underlined already in my bible from last time I read it. But never the less- I view it with fresh eyes.
Let's look deeper into the context of who Jesus was speaking to. Who exactly was Jesus slamming with the "humble yourself" speech? Reading the end of Matthew 22 and now in Matthew 23- Jesus had been slaying His words of wisdom to The Chief Priest, Sadducees, as well as the Pharisees. Jesus was telling them they were hypocrites and didn't even practiced what they preached. And not even in private- he was slaying them in public! There were crowds all around; the whole city, probably! Just listening in. This was a bold move pointing fingers at the Pharisees. Jesus wanted everyone to know the Pharisees were hypocrites. Pharisees were known to have a lot of knowledge about God and the Old Testament and had looked down on everyone else. They thought they were righteous and close to God and lived a "holy" life- or so they believed.
When Jesus says "humble yourself and be exhaled" he is talking to the Pharisees, the guys who thought they were the most righteous and the ones society saw as teachers of the law.
When reading this, I immediately thought of my own actions. Am I that person in church who points fingers at other people for their sins? Am I that person who shakes my head at people for doing one thing and then go off and do the same exact thing myself? Am I a hypocrite of my faith? Do I go around professing that God's love is for everyone and forget I am actually suppose to love EVERYONE?
I am a hypocrite. I proclaim one thing and do another. I think my sins are better than the guy sitting next to me in church. How horrible is that. None of us should be like Pharisees.
The Pharisees were so caught up in self-righteousness they thought they were better than the Son of God- The perfect human to ever walk the earth- the man who was NEVER wrong- the man who was righteous above all and yet was the humblest. He was so much greater than the Pharisees, that they saw him as a threat and had Him killed for being better than them.
How idiotic- and I am just the same.
Tonight I pray this-
"Lord, humble my heart to not think highly of my own actions. Help me not to judge others, for my sins are no better than the anyone else's. My sins equally murdered you on the cross. Let me wake up tomorrow with a humbled selfless heart. Thank you for speaking to me tonight through your precious Word."
It says:
"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
Now I know what you're thinking...
"This is so cliche."
And for you Christians who have been in God's Word your whole life your thinking...
"I've read this at least a hundred times."
Well- Yes, I have read this before myself. It's even marked and underlined already in my bible from last time I read it. But never the less- I view it with fresh eyes.
Let's look deeper into the context of who Jesus was speaking to. Who exactly was Jesus slamming with the "humble yourself" speech? Reading the end of Matthew 22 and now in Matthew 23- Jesus had been slaying His words of wisdom to The Chief Priest, Sadducees, as well as the Pharisees. Jesus was telling them they were hypocrites and didn't even practiced what they preached. And not even in private- he was slaying them in public! There were crowds all around; the whole city, probably! Just listening in. This was a bold move pointing fingers at the Pharisees. Jesus wanted everyone to know the Pharisees were hypocrites. Pharisees were known to have a lot of knowledge about God and the Old Testament and had looked down on everyone else. They thought they were righteous and close to God and lived a "holy" life- or so they believed.
When Jesus says "humble yourself and be exhaled" he is talking to the Pharisees, the guys who thought they were the most righteous and the ones society saw as teachers of the law.
When reading this, I immediately thought of my own actions. Am I that person in church who points fingers at other people for their sins? Am I that person who shakes my head at people for doing one thing and then go off and do the same exact thing myself? Am I a hypocrite of my faith? Do I go around professing that God's love is for everyone and forget I am actually suppose to love EVERYONE?
I am a hypocrite. I proclaim one thing and do another. I think my sins are better than the guy sitting next to me in church. How horrible is that. None of us should be like Pharisees.
The Pharisees were so caught up in self-righteousness they thought they were better than the Son of God- The perfect human to ever walk the earth- the man who was NEVER wrong- the man who was righteous above all and yet was the humblest. He was so much greater than the Pharisees, that they saw him as a threat and had Him killed for being better than them.
How idiotic- and I am just the same.
Tonight I pray this-
"Lord, humble my heart to not think highly of my own actions. Help me not to judge others, for my sins are no better than the anyone else's. My sins equally murdered you on the cross. Let me wake up tomorrow with a humbled selfless heart. Thank you for speaking to me tonight through your precious Word."
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