by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Deuteronomy 28-29
Woo hoo! We come to one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible.
People always seem to be striving to find God’s will. Does He want me healed? Does He want my needs to be met? Does He want my children blessed?
In chapter 28 we find God’s will in a nutshell. The “blessings of Abraham” are enumerated for all to see: God’s will to bless His people. In Galatians 3:13, we see that the blessings of Abraham are ours through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
This is our Promised Land.
Now let me make myself clear. I am not saying that God wants to “enhance” a life that is lived totally apart from Him. He is not here to “enhance” a sinful life. He is here to bless a life that belongs to Him.
In fact, if you read the whole chapter, it’s obvious that an evil person shouldn’t be expecting much at all from God – until they repent. There are some pretty tough curses out there. (The curses come from the devil and his cohorts, when you allow him to rule your life).
Being close to God and in His will allows you to stay under His umbrella of protection from the evil one. Those who are out from under His umbrella, can’t expect a whole lot. There is a devil out there. It isn’t that God doesn’t love everyone, but this covenant is for those who are His covenant people. (And now we can all be His covenant people through Jesus).
But if your life does belong to God and you are living in the light that you know, being obedient to Him, you can even look at the curses listed and know that those are not God’s will for you. In my Bible, I have “no” written in the margin of several of the curses. Just to remind myself when things don’t look so good.
What about where it says “your children will be taken into another territory?”(28:32;41). No. Or the one that says, “The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron.”(23). No. Or “You shall bring out much seed to the field but you shall gather little, for the locust shall consume it.”(38) No.
None of these verses are for God’s covenant people.
But hang on. I am not saying that these things won’t even try to come on you. I am saying that these things are not God’s will for you, if you are His.
There should never be confusion about His will. His will is always good for those who are His, walking in closeness to Him.
Often times, we have to fight for God’s will to be done in our lives. Just as the children of Israel had to fight for their land, we have to fight for our Promised Land. But we don’t fight people; we fight the demonic forces which try to stop God’s plan.
In this new day of a covenant with Jesus we have the power within us to overcome the evil one. By faith we fight for our territory by standing up for what God’s Word says. Through “faith and patience” we inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:12).
If this concept is new to you, I hope you meditate on what I’ve said. In the days ahead, we will see more clearly God’s plan for our taking the Land.
Mark 14:53-72
How can these men be so cruel to God’s perfect man?
These are supposed to be God’s representatives – the chief priest and the council. Yet they falsely accuse Jesus, trying to put Him to death. Isn’t it shocking?
These men want prestige and power as their place of leadership. Jesus is rocking their boat. He is being merciful to the sinners, healing on the sabbath, raising the dead, and ministering to huge crowds. They just can’t have such competition.
Furthermore, these leaders have a good reputation with Rome, and they are afraid they are losing it.
So God’s supposed men fight against His plan and bring charges against His Son.
Yet God’s big plan goes on – with or without individuals. We can personally exempt ourselves from His covenant or His plan, but God will find someone else to cooperate with his will.
Just as these leaders chose not to go with God, we can too. We can choose for His will not to be performed in our lives, and He will get someone else to fulfill what He had planned for us. But God’s overall plan will succeed. He will search until he finds those who are willing and obedient.
I say, “Yes, Lord. I want to be in on what You are doing. I want to fulfill what You have for me.”
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by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Deuteronomy 20-22
When man has no developed conscience to know right from wrong, it takes bunches of laws to teach him. So we continue with the “sundry laws,” concerning what to do with unknown murders, how to treat your neighbors’ property, and how to deal with sexual sin and rebellious children. Tough laws!!
When I’m reading through passages like this, I always like to find some “gold nuggets,” which enlighten me. These are bits of truth which encourage me concerning our Christian walk.
One of these nuggets is 20:1 and following. “When you go into battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, don’t be afraid of them, for the Lord your God who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you.” Today we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but principalities and powers. In the natural, these enemies are greater than us, but they are small compared to our God. (more…)
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Deuteronomy 8-10
Heads up as we see the Israelites approach the Promised Land. Remember, Egypt and the bondage to Pharoah resembled our lives and bondage to Satan before we were born again. We were able to cross the Red Sea (the blood of Jesus) by God’s mighty hand. Now we have a choice. There is a certain amount of wilderness to go through, but we can stay there and “hang out,” or we can press through to the Promised Land.
The Promised Land is the land full of the promises from God for healing, deliverance, blessed families, and provision. There are giants in the Promised Land; demonic forces which do not want you to have all that Jesus paid for. So we have to proceed as our Father directs.
We must worship Him with our whole hearts, and we must love others. And we are to have faith. If we are to live the God kind of life, we will not be prideful, because it is His goodness that provides the blessings. (more…)
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Deuteronomy 3, 4
“And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, in order that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers is giving you.”(4:1)
With this introduction, Moses begins one of his most inspiring messages to the Israelites. As he speaks, you can feel a father’s heart toward the people. Just think what he must be feeling. For the last forty plus years he has led this group on a mission from God.
He exhorts them to inquire from one end of the earth to the other and see if anything like this has ever been done before…”that a god has tried to go and take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?”(4:34)
The significance of their relationship with God is beyond anything ever seen or heard. But Moses knows how easy it is for people to forget unless they are reminded over and over. So he is gving them a final charge.
They must remember that “the Lord, He is God in Heaven above and in the earth below; there is no other.”(4:39)
He warns them of making idols with their hands. Today, idols are still made with hands, but they usually aren’t of wood or stone. They are bank accounts, stock portfolios, or even education – anything that you might trust more than God.
All of us have to guard our hearts so that we are locked into the One True God.
Mark 10:32-52
Blind Bartimaeus has faith and he boldly shows it. His crying out annoys the disciples, but not Jesus. Jesus hears the faith in his voice.
When Bartimaeus casts aside his cloak, he is showing faith. Blind people of that day wore cloaks to signify their handicap, so as he casts it aside, he is indicating that he won’t be needing it anymore.
“Go your way; your faith has made you well.”(v. 52) If we can just grasp this, our lives will change forever. Jesus is still in the healing and delivering business, and our faith can still make us well.
Read, meditate, believe. Read, meditate, believe. That’s the way our faith comes to us.
I want to be like Bartimaeus, and I know that you do also. I don’t want to settle for the status quo; I want to believe – and receive – God’s best.
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by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Numbers 34-36
The land gets divided. The time has almost come for entering the new territory. There must have been excitement, and there must have been fear. To enter the territory was thrilling and it was scary.
It’s interesting how much detail is put into making sure that the tribes don’t start gaining the others’ property. Marriages are to stay within the tribes so that outsiders won’t come in and inherit the land of another family.
The land of inheritance is so important to God. The land is still important to Him today. When you look around your community, think about it. (more…)
