Good day dear friends.
We enjoyed a great fellowship time last night during Fall Happenings. Great food, a great time in worship, and a chance to attend one of many great classes. It's not too late to join us next Wednesday.
We continue our study on stewardship and Pastor Leslie's "Power of a Penny" sermon.
Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: Please find Deuteronomy 28:1-14. This commandment speaks positively about what God does provide as we see the people of God preparing to enter into the promise given them by God. Notice what would be theirs if they “obeyed the Lord.” As you’ve lived your life, what has been the hardest thing about obeying God and God’s commandments for your life? Can you make a decision for God to richly bless you by changing your life today for the better? Read the words of the above passage again. This second time let it be a teaching of love from God directly to your heart. See if these things don’t change your perspective towards life.
Here is that passage in the New Revised Standard Version:
28:1 If you will only obey the Lord your God, by diligently observing all his commandments that I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth; 2 all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the Lord your God: 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your livestock, both the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 7 The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 9 The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground in the land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you. 12 The Lord will open for you his rich storehouse, the heavens, to give the rain of your land in its season and to bless all your undertakings. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. 13 The Lord will make you the head, and not the tail; you shall be only at the top, and not at the bottom—if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today, by diligently observing them, 14 and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I am commanding you today, either to the right or to the left, following other gods to serve them.
As much as well-meaning dads may want, they can't share their rules about the house until their children are old enough to understand. As strict as I may have rememberd the dad of my childhood, I know him to be a loving man. For the first years of my life I can't say I remember much other than being protected and loved. Yes, like most, I went through a teenage period where I believed I knew it all and certainly more than my dad; but now I know what great wisdom and love my dad has. In the same way, the passage above is a passage about relationship. Yes, the commandments outline boundaries and those can be seen as restrictive, but viewed in relationship with God, these are protective. And being in relationship with God you read the promises of blessings that would be Israel's if they stayed obedient.
Has it been difficult for you to trust God? Are you in a spiritual "teenage period?" Do you belive you know more than God or that you're beyond obeying what God is asking? That's fine. Just don't stay there. Mature in your faith and move towards the fine, loving relationship God desires to have with you.
Read the passage again, now as a love letter from God to you.
PRAYER: Gracious, all-knowing and all-loving God, speak to my heart. Let maturity be mine as I enter into relationship with You. I seek to be Yours in all things, especially in the area of my money and possessions. I pray that I would always and everywhere realize that what I have, I have because of You. Speak Your truth to me today as I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
