Friday March 30, 2012

Read Deuteronomy 10:10-13

 

Having spent an arduous and trying 21 days recently in prayer and fasting, I take my hat off to Moses who spent 40 days in prayer and fasting, not just once, but twice! A gold medal is what Moses deserves for his own perseverance. Having been up the mountain once, and having spent that time in God’s presence, he now has to do it all over again because of the sinfulness and rebellion of the people. And God in His perseverance and mercy, listened to Moses this second time as well.

 

God has proven faithful and loving and persevering time and time and time and time again. There can be no doubt that God loves the people He has chosen.  In response to such love God stipulates how the recipients are to conduct themselves.

 

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

 

Fearing God is a deep inner desire to want to NOT anger God. Walking in His ways means living in accord with His commands and His standards, not our own. Loving God means submitting to Him in everything. Serving God with your heart and soul means handing over everything we are to God and living for Him in everything. Observing the Lord’s commands means seeking to be obedient to the Word in all that we do.

 

Our obedience to the Lord stems from the same motivation as the Israelites’ - God’s love and perseverance. God has proven His love for us at the cross of Calvary.  He’s shown His perseverance with us by His continual forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 captures the heart of that forgiveness. It’s because God has loved us that we live in a certain way and act a certain way and think a certain way. That love that was shown to us moulds us and makes us. That love motivates

us, empowers us and changes us from the inside out.

 

Anything else is really a try-harder scheme that will ultimately fail and cause frustration. If you want to change from the inside out, if you want lasting and permanent change, get to know God better and dwell in His immeasurably great love.

 

Prayer:

¥ Spend time praising God for His love towards you and your congregation. Give specific examples to God about where and how you have seen His love.

¥ Pray that each and every person in your congregation would live in accord with vs 12-13. Pray that we would all be growing in love and appreciation for what the Lord has done for us and in us.