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Deuteronomy 27-28 A Blessed Life and a Life of Curses

3/31/2016

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And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:28-29
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:28-29
​Deuteronomy 27 and 28
Moses had given Israel the Law a second time just before they entered the Promised Land. He now admonished them to keep the law as a covenant with The Lord who had made them a nation, His own people. First, He told them to build a wall in which they would clearly write the whole law and an altar to make their sacrifices and offerings. Every time they came to worship the Lord they would see and read the law and know why they made the offerings they did. Verses 1-10 read,
Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the whole commandment that I command you today.2 And on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. 3 And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you. 4 And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. 5 And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. You shall wield no iron tool on them; 6 you shall build an altar to the Lord your God of uncut stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God, 7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and shall eat there, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 And you shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”
9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 You shall therefore obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.”
Worship is more than singing a song with lyrics that praise God. Worship is a response to God for His Word, Salvation, and Presence. Reading and hearing His Word and moving it from knowledge to knowing, from head to heart is worship. Responding to Him with praise and thanksgiving is worship. Gathering together and rejoicing before Him for who He is and who He has made you is worship. Obedience to your Lord in response to His awesome love is worship. Worship requires your participation not just your observation.
Then Moses told the people that once they crossed the Jordan they were to divide into two groups, one standing on side Mount Ebal and one standing on the side of Mount Gerizim. Verses 11-13 read,
That day Moses charged the people, saying, 12 “When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
The Lord divided them into two groups, the tribes who were the children of Rebecca and Leah, Jacob’s free wives and the children of Bilhah and Zilpah, the servants of the wives. The tribes of Rebecca and Leah would speak the blessings over Israel. The tribes of Bilhah and Zilpah would speak the curses.
In this way God demonstrated the difference between the Old Covenant of Mosaic Law and the New Covenant of Jesus Christ. The old came with curses for disobedience, the new blessings for obedience since there is no condemnation for those who are free in Christ (Romans 8:1-2). Verses 14-26 read,
And the Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice:
15 “‘Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the Lord, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’
16 “‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
17 “‘Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor's landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
18 “‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
19 “‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
20 “‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's nakedness.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
21 “‘Cursed be anyone who lies with any kind of animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
22 “‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
23 “‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
24 “‘Cursed be anyone who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
25 “‘Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
26 “‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
This was what the people would do to affirm their part of the covenant, to agree to keep the whole law, to know the law, and understand that law comes with consequences. Chapter 28 continues the explanation of the ceremony they would perform upon entering The Promised Land with blessings for obedience. Verses 1-6 read,
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of 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 and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young 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.
Blessed means more than fortunate, it means a happiness or joy that comes from God. It means that things would be well and productive. Every part of a righteous person’s life would result in fruit, success and joy. God didn’t just say He would sprinkle or even shower the righteous man with blessings, He said they would come upon and overtake him no matter where he was or what he was doing in obedience to God. The person here didn’t just worship God when he gathered with Israel for corporate worship, he lived a life of obedience, a life of worship. Verses 7-14 continue,
“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 on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 9 The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 And 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 And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, 14 and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.”
As we exalt the Lord, He exalts us above others. As we practice humility before Him, He shows the world how proud He is of His people. It is He, not we who make these blessings. We have no reason to boast in ourselves, we boast in Him. Our good productive life of obedience acclaims and praises God. Our obedience glorifies the Lord, because it is only possible through Him. Psalm 34:1-5 describes the blessings of a lifestyle of worship.

I will bless the Lord at all times;
    his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
    let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
    and let us exalt his name together!

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
    and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
    and their faces shall never be ashamed.

 
But just as there are blessings for obedience, there are curses for disobedience. Disobedience at its core is worshipping yourself, putting yourself in God’s place as lord. Verses 15-68 record the curses, I will include some, but I recommend you read all of them. Perhaps God has a word for you in them as He did for me. Verses 15-19 give a broad curse.
“But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. 16 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.”
The disobedient Christian will be disciplined; he will face consequences in order to bring him back into obedience so that he may continue his spiritual formation to the image of Christ. God disciplines those He loves (Proverbs 3:12).
Verses 45-47 read,
“All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. 46 They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. 47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things,”
The disobedient man, the man who rejects Christ, cannot escape the curse it will pursue him and overtake him. He will live in slavery, he will not be a citizen of Heaven but lost and rootless in the world. Verses 65-68 read,
“And among these nations you shall find no respite, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot, but the Lord will give you there a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul. 66 Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life. 67 In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and at evening you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your eyes shall see. 68 And the Lord will bring you back in ships to Egypt, a journey that I promised that you should never make again; and there you shall offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but there will be no buyer.”
The Lord rejoices in our obedience; He loves to bless us and will do so at every chance. But He also wants us to become His children, with His character. He will discipline us to bring us to Him. He must punish those who reject Christ. He would so much prefer to bless us all. Is your life blessed? Are you experiencing the fruit of a life of worship and obedience? Are you experiencing the fruit of disobedience? Are you suffering for Christ’s sake or because of your flesh? The Holy Spirit, our Good and Wonderful God will use both circumstances to transform you. He promised we would suffer, but some of it can be avoided. Some of it is discipline due to our waywardness.
Believer, I urge you to examine your life and ask god to search your heart. If you are suffering ask is it a result of your disobedience or is it for the sake of Christ? Whatever the reason, are you glorifying God through it? Are you being transformed through it? It will continue as long is God deems necessary for His glory and your good.
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Deuteronomy 26 Why Should You Give God the Tithe?

3/30/2016

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Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. Malachi 3:10
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. Malachi 3:10
​Deuteronomy 26
Do you know why you tithe, why you offer the firstfruits to The Lord? I think it is important to know the reason behind the actions we take. Blind worship leads to worshipping who you do not know. And I’ll be honest, up to now, the reason I have tithed has been because it is a commandment and I am showing my faith and obedience to God by trusting Him to be my God. But today, I realize that is not the main reason the Lord wants us to give Him our firstfruits. We are supposed to give to Him with a certain attitude. Verses 1-4 read,
When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. 3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.
The first part of our response to God is an acknowledgement that God has saved us and brought us into The Promised Land. We give to Him, because He gave to us. The Promised Land is the eternal life the Lord gave us, it is the new life in Christ. Whatever work we do from the point of salvation on is for Him, for the Kingdom of God. Our jobs, our family life, our church life, and our recreational life all take on new purposes to glorify God. The result of our work, the fruit is God’s. We acknowledge it is He who does the sowing, the reaping, the saving, the healing, the transforming, and everything else and that we are given the honor of being the vehicle of His hands. 1 Corinthians 10:31 reads,
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
The reason we give our firstfruits to God is in response of what He has given us and who He has made us to be. Verses 5-11 read,
And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. 7 Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders. 9 And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God. 11 And you shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.
 
Are you the same person you were when you were saved? I hope not. God took you and sanctified you, He set you apart like He set Abraham apart. He took you out of slavery, through suffering, and brought you to eternal life. He miraculously saved you. Each time we give, we respond to God and say, “You gave me all this, you saved me, you transformed me, so I am giving back to you the firstfruits of your harvest.” Tithing is a joyful experience. God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 reads,
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written,
“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
    his righteousness endures forever.”

10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
 
Sharing the fruits of labor with those who need it is a reason to feast with them. God did not give us our money and provision for us alone. He gave it to us, the Levite (who represents the church and clergy), and the sojourner, the wanderer who has not yet made it home. He gave us all He has so that we can be generous to the poor, the church, the lost, and so that we could enjoy it too. Verses 12-16 read,
When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. 14 I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. 15 Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’
 
When we give, we are supposed to make sure we have already dealt with the sin in our lives. God doesn’t want the tithes of the lost. He doesn’t need their money. When they give it is out of self-veneration not worship to God. When we give, it is not to make us good. It is not a guilt offering. It is because God made us righteous, because we were cleansed by Jesus blood, and indwelled with the Holy Spirit. God does not forgive sins because we give; we give because He forgave our sins. And He tells us to ask for blessings when we give! Seriously! We don’t give because He will bless, but He does bless us when we give with the right attitude and reasons.
Giving our firstfruits is our response to The Lord for giving us His firstfruits. He gave His only begotten Son, so we could become His sons and daughters. He imbued us with His Nature. He made us new. He brought us out of slavery, through suffering in the wilderness, to eternal life. He gave us everything and we respond to Him by giving back the first and the best. We acknowledge it is not ours and not for us alone. It is His and for His glory, to make Him known. Yes, we do it because He commanded we do it, but we do it knowing the reason and purpose. Verses 16-19 read,
This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have declared today that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. 18 And the Lord has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, 19 and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.
 
Believer, you are God’s treasured possession. He has made you holy as He is holy. You are meant to stand out in the world because of your love, devotion to the Lord, and your faith. Giving Him His tithe shows the world how great He is, how cherished you are and beloved they are.
The tithe is more than something we do each paycheck; it is a joyful response to the Lord for who He is and who He has made you to be. It provides for the poor and for the clergy. It shows your faith and proves you are adored by The Lord. It gives people a picture of salvation and makes The Lord known. Believer, I encourage you, the next time you put your check in the plate, or click “pay now” for your tithe to remember who God is and who He has made you. I encourage you to prayerfully acknowledge your gratitude and awareness of the miracle of salvation. I encourage you to remember your money and provision are not for you alone. It is for you, the church, the sojourner, the widow, the poor, and the orphan. It is for God’s work and He has given you the honor of participating in it. Let it be a celebration for God’s fame and glory.
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Deuteronomy 25 Humiliation is not Godly

3/29/2016

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For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10
​Deuteronomy 25
God is not into humiliating anyone. Punishments were not given to strip someone’s dignity, laws were not formed to shame a person. Punishments and laws are for teaching, building up, and discipline. Verses 1-3 read,
If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, 2 then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. 3 Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.
Very often today people feel punishment ought to include degradation, especially with social media being so widespread. I’ve seen photos of people having to wear the signs of their wrongdoing, so they wouldn’t repeat the sin, not because they were taught the reason but because humiliation would supposedly cause them to not to repeat the crime. Tearing them down that way causes bitterness and resentment, not love and discipline. God clearly does not want us to humiliate one another. The worst beating a man should receive was forty strikes of the whip. Later, to ensure that this law was not broken, people were whipped forty less one. But also lost was that each case was different, not every case deserved forty lashes. What was also lost was that the lashes were meant to be the entire punishment. The fact that dignity should not be stripped from the man was lost.
When Jesus was punished during and after His trial, they beat Him, derided Him, and put him to death (John 19). The law was broken in every step of His trial and crucifixion. He endured shame at every step of the crucifixion for us. Hebrews 12:2 reads,
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Love does not humiliate, it is not arrogant or rude, it does not rejoice at wrong-doing. Yet even through all that hate, Jesus bore all our sins, He endured. In living out love, in walking in the Spirit, in becoming the image of Christ, we must exemplify love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a reads,
 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends.
 
If we love one another we don’t humiliate each other. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). We exemplify Christ, so others can see Him. Degrading people doesn’t let them see Jesus, it causes hate, and it kills the spirit. We do not break their hearts. The sinner (saved or not) must break his own heart.
Humiliation can come in many ways. Depriving someone of a need or a livelihood causes humiliation. Verse 4 reads,
You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.
Even a legacy should not be stolen from someone, dignity must be upheld even after death. Verses 5-10 read,
If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. 6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 And if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband's brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ‘I do not wish to take her,’ 9 then his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house.’ 10 And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’
Pulling off a sandal was a symbol of shame which eventually became a symbol for passing property to another person. In the case. Making sure a brother had a legacy was important so his name should continue on. The brother who chose not to give his brother an heir was shaming his brother. To take the shame away from the dead brother, the wife would have to shame the brother in public and make it equal. This ceremonial degradation allowed the brother not to marry the woman without bringing and dishonor to her or to the brother. When a person is forced to marry against his will, the future may hold abuse, hate, and other indignity.
Even in a fight, there are lines we just do not cross. Verses 11-12 read,
When men fight with one another and the wife of the one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him and puts out her hand and seizes him by the private parts, 12 then you shall cut off her hand. Your eye shall have no pity.
To do something like that, to hurt a man in such a horrible way was not only unfair, but the injury humiliates the man immediately and can cause permanent damage that will continue to humiliate him in the future.
In order not to disgrace others, we have to not disgrace ourselves; we have to be fair. Verses 13-16 read,
You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. 15 A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God.
 
Having two different weights meant that you carried with you the ability to cheat others. You had a weight that looked heavier or lighter than it really was and so stole. Being a cheat beings dishonor to the people you deal with. Acting in fairness and honesty shows respect and brings honor.
It is up to God to get vengeance, it is up to Him to decide who is punished and who is not. If someone treats us unfairly, we do not have to worry about getting back, humiliating them, or anything else. God takes care of it. Our ability to refrain from shaming one another shows our faith in The Lord. Verses 17-19 read,
Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, 18 how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.
 
It is natural to want to heap shame on people who hurt us. It is supernatural to love our enemies, to pray for them, and bless them. It will never be the humiliation and condemnation of another that brings them to Jesus. It will be His love manifested in us that reveals the truth. Conviction and shame are very different. Conviction leads to repentance and life. Shame turns the focus onto the self and leads to death.
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Search my Heart, Make me like You, Lord

3/28/2016

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Search me, O God, and know my heart!     Try me and know my thoughts! Psalm 139:23
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! Psalm 139:23
​Today, I am taking a brief break from reading Deuteronomy to do a rabbit trail study. I realized recently that there was something wrong. I had let my depression take over my mind, heart, and time. So I prayed. Psalm 139:23-24 reads,
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting!

Asking The Lord to search our hearts is an important and beneficial discipline that can keep us progressing in our walk with Him. It can help us see areas where we fall short of His example. I listened to My Merciful Lord’s answer, which came quickly and gently. Two passages of scripture come to mind when I think about who Jesus is and who we should be as we mature into His image. One is the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23; the other is the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
 
Asking myself how I compare with these two depictions of Christ reveals to me where my problems lay. So this time, when I asked, God showed me I had lost the joy I should be demonstrating as a fruit of the Spirit. So I asked Him to reveal the source. He said, “You’ve been resentful, because you have envied others. You’ve been exhausted because you have been suffering and instead of turning to me, you relied on yourself, my Darling you do not have the stores to do this alone. Give it to me.”
I did something I do not often do and that is, open the Bible to a random page and read. But there are times when God will speak that way. I opened the Bible to Joel chapter 2 and I read. Joel 2:12-13 reads,
Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13     and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
    and he relents over disaster.

I had been sinning, wearing my suffering for everyone to see, tearing my garments, heaping ashes on my head and crying for others to see. I had to break my heart so He could give me a new one. I had to put on the garment God gave me. Jesus said,
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:16-18).
I had exalted my suffering, wore it so that everyone could see it, and reveled in it. There is a difference between telling people I am suffering and need prayer and walking around looking, feeling, and exuding gloom. I should have trusted them to be compassionate since they too have the Spirit in them. We all suffer. I do not know anyone who isn’t suffering. Mine is no more special or important than yours. How can I share the love Paul described if I am glorifying myself through exalting my suffering? How can I demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit if I am busy demonstrated my pitiable self?
Jesus gave me a garment. Isaiah 61:1-3 reads,
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion--
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

With my torn heart, I can wear a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, I can apply the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and wear the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. When people see me they should see an oak of righteousness and glorify the Lord. Am I praising God or am I walking around faint in spirit?  I have so much to be beautiful and glad about. Jesus overcame death and sin, He rose from the dead and made me alive in Him. One day we will be resurrected, receive new bodies, and spend eternity face to face with God! This life is temporary. We only have a short time to do the good work we were made for and reveal Jesus Christ to the world so they too can have the hope we have. Romans 6:5-11 reads,
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Jesus gave me a new mind and a new heart. I am a new person. But I have to purposefully put on the new self. He gives me these things, but I must put them on. Ephesians 4:20-24 reads,
But that is not the way you learned Christ! — 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Believer, if we want to look like Jesus, who we were created to look like, we have to be diligent about walking with Him. Take off your old filthy garments and put on the new garment washed clean in Jesus’ blood. You are not the sins of your past. You are not your illness, addiction, or bank account. You are not the circumstances of your life. You are a new creation, with a new name. You are a child of the Living God. The devil wants to destroy you. He accuses you of being your old self; he accuses you of being unworthy of God’s grace. Whether you are worthy of grace or not (and who is), you have been granted that grace. God chooses to see you through the blood of Jesus, He chooses to see you as His holy child. You are not what the father of lies claims, you are who the Lord God says you are.
Ask God to search your heart. Listen to what He tells you and put off the old self, be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God.

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Deuteronomy 24 Love is exemplified in Justice and Respect.

3/27/2016

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It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:26
It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:26
Deuteronomy 24
God hates divorce. Malachi 2:15-16 reads,
Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. 16 “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”
Yet He understands that we are human and if we cannot divorce it can lead to things like abuse, adultery, and murder. So though He doesn’t like it and though it perverts His word and the representation of His perfect union with us, He allows it, but only for specific reasons.  Verses 1-4 read,
When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, 2 and if she goes and becomes another man's wife, 3 and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, 4 then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.
Divorce was not something to be approached lightly. It could not be because the two didn’t get along. The husband had to have found uncleanness in the woman, unrepentant sin which sullied her spirit and could drag the husband down with it. If the husband divorced her, she was just as free to marry someone else as if he had died. But the man could not change his mind. Once she remarried, he could never have her back.
God never divorces us. He keeps His promise through all our uncleanness. He makes us clean. He also never forces us to unite with Him against our wills, He never forces us to change against our wills. He is gentle with us. He is kind. He loves us deeply. Rather than divorce us, He loves us all the more and forgives every sin. It was up to the husband to make the marriage work, to love his wife enough to forgive her and by his love make her clean.
Marriage is supposed to be held as a priority over everything else but The Lord. Establishing and maintain a marriage takes work and attention. It is a covenant which includes three spirits united as one. Husband, bride, and Holy Spirit. Verse 5 reads,
When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken.
 
For a year the couple needed to only be concerned with establishing their relationship. Wars could wait, they would always be there. Family is the concern that comes just after God, but the spousal relationship is higher than the relationship to the children. If the couple is modelling the right relationship with one another, they teach their children by example.
What is the example they set? It is a picture of Godly love for another. It is a relationship where the wife submits her will to her husband’s will and the husband loves the wife and honors her. There is no husband demanding his own way, ordering the wife about, and punishing her if dinner is not exactly as he commanded. The husband holds responsibility for his family, his love for wife and children is supposed to be gentle. God is not a tyrant; He is a gentleman, noble in all He does. So too should the husband and father be with his family. Colossians 3:18-25 describes the way our relationships should look as we exemplify Jesus Christ.
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
 
Husbands do not own wives. Fathers do not own children. Employers do not own employees. Believers belong to one another (Romans 12:5). The lost need to see us live as Christians, walking in love, truth, and justice. These attributes mean we care about our fellow man. The poor will always be among us, but we care about them. We don’t want to take away any man’s livelihood or cause him to suffer. Verse 6 reads,
 No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.
Loaning money and taking something as a pledge, an “IOU” is fine, but to take his ability to make a living is an injustice. We take a token, something he can afford not to have until he repays the debt, otherwise we may as well just steal all he has or kill him and his family.
Justice, love and truth require respect for one another. Verse 7 reads,
If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
 
To make someone serve you without his permission, to mistreat him, and act as if he is property instead of human is stealing from him, it steals his dignity, his living, and his life. God calls that evil. Sometimes respect is exhibited when dealing with a person suffering disease or discipline. Even in the midst of discipline, God calls for mercy. Verses 8-9 read,
Take care, in a case of leprous disease, to be very careful to do according to all that the Levitical priests shall direct you. As I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt.
 
Leprosy was a symbol of uncleanness and mistreating it, disregarding its communicability resulted in the uncleanness spreading. It was the priest’s job to honestly examine skin problems and determine if they were leprosy or not. It was his job to declare the person clean or unclean. But it was the responsibility of the person with leprosy to mourn his condition, announce his uncleanness, and keep others safe from him (Leviticus 13). Sin is contagious and when we come to the point that we realize our sin, we mourn it, it convicts the soul and we go to Jesus, our High Priest, who can pronounce us clean.
We don’t humiliate the unclean person. We don’t relish their suffering. We show mercy and compassion while remaining outside the influence of the disease of sin. Respect shows itself in kindness not degradation. Love cares about justice. Love is patient and kind, it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth (1 Corinthians 13 verses 4 and 6). Love shows respect and respect is practiced in many ways. One such way is the way we handle debts and consider debtors. Some people are blessed with the ability to loan others money. This does not make them better than or more exalted than the one they help. People are created in the image of God, that imbues them with the right to be treated with dignity.
When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge.13 You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.
 
If someone owes you a debt, it does not give you a right to own their lives, treat their home as yours or walk slipshod over their them. As soon as the debt is repaid, you return the IOU, whatever it was, even if was a blanket. In fact if the person is poor, you show him that much more respect and give him back his cloak before the day’s end. It is the same with employees. The employer may be blessed to be the master or lord of people, but he treats those under him with kindness and understands that he owes them a debt. Verses 14-15 read,
You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. 15 You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin.
 
Justice requires the right person pay for their sin. Why punish the person associated with it? That would be like hating all Germans, because of Hitler or blaming the parent because their child committed a crime. The one who commits a crime is the one who deserves the punishment. He is not punished more than he ought to be based on his relationship or lack of relationship to whomever is exacting justice. Verses 16-18 read,
Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.
17 “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow's garment in pledge, 18 but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.
Justice cares about the poor, the sojourner, the widow, and the orphan. Justice understands that not everyone has the same advantages and tries to level the field as much as possible. Verses 19-22 read,
When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.
 
Are you just? Do you care about yourself more than others? Or do you understand that God provides for people in many ways. Sometimes you are the vehicle of provision, justice, and love. If we exemplify Christ, we respect dignity, care about the needs of others, and do what we can to ensure their needs are met. We love one another the way Jesus loves us. In doing so, others will see the Gospel lived out in us.
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Deuteronomy 23:15-25 Jesus is Revealed Through Love

3/26/2016

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Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.  1 John 4:8
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8
​Deuteronomy 23:15-25
Our love for one another and our love for our fellow man is what should set us apart from the world. God called us to be holy. Holy does not mean pious, self-righteous, or super good. It means distinctively set apart for a sacred purpose. Our love is what makes it obvious to the world that we are different. 1 John 4:7-15 says it this way,
 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
 
The passage we are reading today, reminded Israel what loving your neighbor looked like. Verses 15-16 read,
You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.
Regardless of a person’s socio-economic status be it servant or master, he is imbued with certain rights as a human being. But Satan steals those rights. Only Christ can give them back. Love, showing the same concern for someone else that we show to ourselves gives us compassion for our fellow man. If a servant escaped his master, there had to be some reason. If it were simply because he didn’t like his job, even if he were a bond-servant there were avenues other than escape which would serve him better. To escape meant that he was being mistreated. He could find refuge in Israel. He could find liberty from tyranny. He could find security.
Imagine today, when slavery means more than bond-servant, maid, or employee. It means a person held against her will, forced to work without payment or hope of freedom. There are countless slaves in the world today. Slavery is rampant, even in the U.S. Picture the woman who escapes that kind of slavery and makes it to your church or your home. You would, I hope offer her asylum, get her to safety, feed her, clothe her, and ensure she is safe.
Now change the picture in your head to understand that all those people out there who do not know Jesus as Christ are bound in chains to Satan. They are slaves and don’t know it. They obey their stomachs, their deepest desires and think they are free. All the while they are being led blindly to their eternal destruction. We have the hope they need! We can offer them the sanctuary of Christ, the freedom of Truth, and the hope of eternal life.
We certainly do not place people back into slavery to the prince of the world, the father of lies. And we do not allow evil, money or other benefit from evil to sully the Body of Christ. There is no love if we allow someone to voluntarily step into slavery and take the money for the church. If we do then we work hand in hand with Satan to further the abhorrent practices of wickedness. Verses 17-18 put it this way,
None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute. 18 You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.
 
The world serves money, we do not. You cannot serve both money and God. If you serve money, you are not devoted to God. If you love God you know you have no need to bow down to money. Even if you think only a small part of you chases after money so that you can meet your needs, it is your entire being that is affected. Chasing your own provision, seeking wealth, or loving money means you do not trust The Lord God to be God. In Matthew 6:19-24 Jesus said,
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
A few verses later in Matthew 6:33 Jesus told us if we seek the Kingdom of God above all else, everything else, all our needs would fall into place. We can trust God completely.
 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
 
What does chasing money have to do with loving your neighbor? How does not being concerned with provision translate into loving one another? Verses 19-20 read,
You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest.20 You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
 
We do not help one another for personal gain. We help one another out of love, out of modeling the love of God and being who He made us to be. Imagine if accepting Jesus as Savior required we pay. The entire sacrifice would be futile. Jesus paid our debt of death for us. He doesn’t make us pay Him for it. It is free. So our loans to one another should also be free.
Verses 21-23 read,
If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.
 
I think people tend to take oaths, vows, and promises pretty lightly. We say it in assurance to one another. We say them to comfort. But The Lord takes vows very seriously. When god makes a promise, we can know with absolute faith that it is done. We on the other hand are not God, we cannot be so confident in our own ability to keep a vow. We do not have the certainty of tomorrow, how can we promise anything?
God always keeps His word. His word is powerful, He speaks, it is. His word is the manifestation of His will. So since He has made us holy like He is holy, if we make a vow, we are under contract to keep our word. If we break it, we not being like Him, we show the world someone other than Jesus and lead them to faithlessness. Loving our neighbor requires we keep every promise we make. But Jesus said it is better not to make a vow, to let yes be yes and no be no. There is no need to add, “I promise,” I swear,” or anything else to it (Matthew 5:33-37).
 
Loving one another requires concern for one another. We trust God enough to know we can be freely generous with one another and we have enough respect for each other that we do not take what isn’t ours. Verses 24-25 read,
If you go into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. 25 If you go into your neighbor's standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor's standing grain.
 
I picture this scenario. If I visit my brother or sister in Christ, I know we love each other, we are family. I can open his refrigerator and get a glass of water, even make a sandwich and know that he will not be offended or hurt. But, I am not going to take his money and go to the grocery store to fill up my pantry and refrigerator. I am not going to open his freezer to stock mine! There is mutual generosity between us and then there is flat out disrespectful freeloading.
Loving our neighbor as ourselves is like loving God with our entire being (Matthew 22:37-40). Our love reveals Jesus to people and makes us more like Him. Our love for one another separates us from the world, it makes us stand out and says, “This person follows Jesus!” Jesus said,
 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35).
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Deuteronomy 23:1-14 In the World, Not Of It, Peculiar not Average

3/25/2016

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But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ Philippians 3:20
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ Philippians 3:20
Deuteronomy 23:1-14
Believer, do you know how precious you are to the Lord? Do you know it was not you who chose Him, but He who chose you? He called you out of the world, not so you could be like them but so you could be like Jesus, His holy, noble, and righteous son or daughter. The Lord gave Israel many laws to help them understand their distinctiveness and to show their distinction to the world. This chapter Deuteronomy continues with reminders of the various laws they should remember once they entered The Promised Land. Verses 1-2 read,
“No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.
2 “No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.”
God is not telling us that Eunuchs may not be members of our churches or that people who marry unbelievers and their children may not join our churches. In Israel, they could not enter the Temple’s courts and worship. The Promised Land is our symbol for New Jerusalem the Eternal City we will one day enjoy. The Temple was the holy dwelling place of The Lord and imperfections, idolatry, and sin could not enter into His presence.
Today, we are the Temple, God dwells in us. He perfects us, forgives and eradicates every sin and every blemish that makes us like the world instead of Jesus. We know Eunuchs are welcome today because Jesus told us they were. Jesus was teaching about how God detests divorce and sexual immorality when the following exchange took place.
The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it” (Matthew 19:10-12).
Some people are born without an attraction to the opposite gender, some are made that way through the traumatic events in their lives, and some choose to abstain from sex for the Kingdom. They are welcome in the church as long as they, like the rest of us refrain from sexual immorality. This was further expressed when Phillip was sent to the Eunuch and explained the Scriptures to Him. That man believed Jesus is Christ and was immediately baptized (Acts 8:26-40).
Only the perfect will enter New Jerusalem. The good news is that even though we are incapable of being perfect because we were born imperfect, The Lord makes us perfect! (Hebrews 10:14).
There were others who were forbidden from entering the assembly of Israel. Verses 3-8 read,
“No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6 You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. 8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.”
The Ammonites and Moabites were the enemies of God because how they had treated His people. They could have blessed Israel but instead chose to curse them. They made God their enemy then.. They couldn’t hurt Israel because Sovereign God protected them. The curse they tried to hurt Israel with was made into a blessing by God. In Numbers 23 and 24, Balaam was hired to curse Israel, but when He tried, the Lord put His word into him instead. He does the same for us today. He will not allow any weapon formed against us to hurt us (Isaiah 54:17). Whatever circumstances arise, he uses for good to those He loves and have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
God’s enemies cannot enter Heaven. We were once God’s enemies, but through Christ we are now his friends. Romans 5:9-11 reads,
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
We are not supposed to go through the world hating others, thinking we are somehow better than they are because God chose us. We were once in the world. We are sojourners there now. As Israel was called to show kindness and mercy to Edom and Egypt, we are called to show kindness to the people of the world. They may eventually see the Light of Jesus in us and answer God’s call on their hearts.
We can’t live like the world. We are called to a higher life. Why would anyone recognize Jesus in us, if we look, act, and speak like everyone around us? We are meant to be attractive to them, love them, and be salt and light to them. Even when we are not in church, we are supposed to be the church. Our difference should be noticeable. Verses 9-14 reads,
“When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.
10 “If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, 11 but when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.
12 “You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it.13 And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. 14 Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you”
Remember, though we are in the world, we not of the world. When Jesus prayed for us He said,
“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” (John 17:14-19).
He wants us to be distinctive, He prayed for that and He makes it happen. He sanctifies us with the Truth of His Word. We have to go out into the world to fight the enemy. We have to go out into the world to make disciples. But we do not have to live like the world. Paul told us not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewal of our mind. Romans 12:1-3 reads,
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned
Child of God, are you distinctive? Do you stand out in the world as peculiar or do you blend in? Is love perfecting you or is apathy leaving you as a sinner?
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Deuteronomy 22:13-30 Why is Sexual Immorality Such a Big Deal?

3/24/2016

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Keep your heart with all vigilance,     for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23
​Deuteronomy 22:13-30
As I read this section about sexual immorality, what struck me was how very important chastity is to the Lord. He created a woman so that her virginity can be proven, so that when it is broken blood spills. When that blood is spilled a covenant is formed or broken, a union is formed or destroyed.
Sexual sin may be taken quite lightly today and for several centuries now, but The Lord considers sexual sin very seriously because it is sin against the body and the Body and because it perverts the picture of our unity with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 reads,
All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
 
Verses 13-21 read,
If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then hates her 14 and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her, saying, ‘I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,’ 15 then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. 16 And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her; 17 and behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, “I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity.” And yet this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city. 18 Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip him, 19 and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name upon a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife. He may not divorce her all his days. 20 But if the thing is true, that evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman, 21 then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father's house. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
There are two possible crimes in this passage. The man who falsely accuses his bride of not being a virgin and the bride who comes to the marriage without her virginity. Notice that her virginity is so serious that her parents are actually the ones who guard it, who collect the sheets or clothes with the blood which proves her innocence. We must do that today for our children, both physical and spiritual. Their righteousness is just as important to us as our own. We teach them, we guide them, and we guard them. Young Christians may be easily tempted, just as children are. We take note of the fruit of their lives, we collect the evidence that proves their faith.
If the man falsely accused her, the punishment was on him. He had to pay for the dishonor he brought to the honored woman and they were forever married, he gave up any rights to divorce her.  If the bride’s virginity could not be proven, because she was not, then the punishment was on her because she had brought dishonor to Israel and her father. She was killed for whoring. The Lord wanted Israel to be pure, honored, and different from other nations. He wants us, His bride to be pure, honored and different from the world.
A man and woman are supposed to cherish their virginity until they give it to their spouse when united in marriage. Our purity is something to be treasured. The Lord treasures our purity, our righteousness, even though He is the one who made us righteous. We hold onto it, we guard it until the day He comes for us, His bride and we unite with forever. If we take our purity lightly, accuse one another of wrong doing, or ourselves treat righteousness as cheap and live like the world, we cause disunity and dishonor the church, the Bride of Christ.
Verse 22 describes adultery.
If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.
God hates adultery. It is a symbol of idolatry. His love for us is passionate. He describes Himself as Jealous. It is not with the bad connotation we give it, it is a pure and perfect love that knows where our adultery will lead us. He has no reason to have faith in us, we have all the reason in the world to have faith in Him. He is not guessing we might sin, He knows when we sin, He sees what we do in private, He sees our future, and forgets our past. Adultery deserves death because idolatry leads to death.
Verses 23-24 describe another sort of adultery.
If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
She was not yet married, but promised to someone else, she willingly gave up what she should have given to her husband to another. This man eagerly took it from her. Even though she was betrothed and not actually married, she is still considered the wife of her promised husband. We are promised to Christ, we are His betrothed. God is called our Husband though the wedding feast has not yet taken place. To give ourselves over to idolatry is to commit adultery. Idolatry can take the form of many kinds of sin. We can worship money, fame, acceptance, pleasure, food, and ourselves.
We are not always willing participants in sin. Sometimes evil acts are done to us. Sometimes false prophets, false teachers, and other liars come into the church and try and pervert it. We cannot let that happen. We have to protect the truth and guard our hearts. Verses 25-29 describe two kinds of rape.
“But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor,27 because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her.
28 “If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.”
The rape of the betrothed woman represents the Christian who is sinned against in this most vile of ways. God says rape is the same as murder and the punishment should be the same. She cried for help but no one rescued her. Had someone heard her it would have been his duty to help her and rescue her from the scenario. We have a responsibility to our brothers and sisters. God will always rescue us, but there are times when evil is committed against us anyway. He does not sanction the sin, but He uses it for our good. He will avenge us, the rapist, murderer, liar, and thief will pay.
The second rape represents the woman who is not a Christian. She is taken against her will, but both she and the man have the opportunity for redemption. They are redeemed and their union is forever, there is no way the man may ever divorce her.
The last verse talks about a horrific sin, a sin that even the world recognizes as despicable. Verse 30 reads,
A man shall not take his father's wife, so that he does not uncover his father's nakedness.
Incest, there are not many people on this earth, even those who practice it that would approve a man and his mother or any other form of incest. Even a man and his stepmother is beyond the limits of any kind of morality. It is more than dishonor to put yourself in your Father’s place, to exalt yourself to god. It is the worst kind of adultery and idolatry.
Our genitals, our nakedness are body parts that perform the lowest functions and the highest functions. They remove waste and they are the vehicles of creating life. We give them honor by covering them. To uncover our father’s nakedness, to commit incest is something that destroys bloodlines. The life that might be created out of this situation is a life that forever bears the mark of disgrace.
God cherishes your righteousness. Do you? He cherishes your purity. Do you? Believer I urge you to guard your heart the way God does and to guard the hearts of your brothers and sisters the way He does. We are the Bride of Christ! That is an honor and joy to be taken seriously.
 
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Deuteronomy 22:1-12 All the Laws of God are Fulfilled by Love

3/23/2016

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And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
a drawing of a home in ancient Israel with parapets on the roofa drawing of a home in ancient Israel with parapets on the roof
 Deuteronomy 22:1-12
God cares about how you treat your fellow man. How you treat others reflects your attitude toward God. Jesus said that loving your neighbor the way you love yourself was like the great commandment to love the Lord with your entire being (Matthew 22:37-40). Many laws that Moses gave to Israel were about how loving others played out in behavior. Verses 1-4 read,
You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother. 2 And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him. 3 And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother's, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it. 4 You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help him to lift them up again.
Have you ever lost something? Maybe your donkey didn’t wander off through a broken fence, but you left your wallet or your cell phone somewhere or you can’t find that ring that is so precious to you. I know when that happens to me, I pray that the person who found it was an honest person. I retrace my steps and search for it. The relief I feel when I find it is wonderful. The disappointment at losing it and not finding it can be big too.
When you are the one who finds it, what do you do? I’ll tell you that for me, the temptation to keep what I find is pretty difficult to overcome sometimes. I found a purse once on the side of the road. I was a home care nurse at the time. I was broke. I was hungry. The purse had an I.D. two credit cards, and some money. I looked up the phone number for the name on the driver’s license and left a message. I carried that purse with me all day as I went from home to home doing my job. On my way home that evening I got a call from the owner of the purse, she came to my home and was so relieved and grateful to get her purse back intact, that she was in tears.
I left the message right away so that I would not have to deal with the temptation through the day, I resisted the devil and fled the temptation. If I had not called, I would have had to deal with the thought of spending the money on lunch for myself on a day, I had no money for food. If I had done that, I would not have the same consideration for my neighbor as I had for myself. I would have shown that Jesus was not the Lord of my life, I was. I would not have had the opportunity to love my neighbor and reflect the image of Christ to her.
Loving your neighbor as yourself, means giving the respect you hope will be shown to you. It means loving the way God loves them, seeing them through His eyes. Don’t you hope people will look at you with mercy and love instead of judgement and selfishness? That respect can be shown in others ways too. Verse 5 reads,
A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.
The Lord made you the gender you are. He made you as a wonderful gift, a blessing to people around you for a purpose. To wear the clothes or take on the attributes of someone else is an abomination to the Lord. It shows Him you have no regard or love for Him or yourself. It causes others to be tempted into sin. I’m not saying every little girl has to play with dolls and can’t enjoy playing with cars or vice-versa. I’m saying that there are some roles specific to gender and we are not supposed to take the roles of the other. Wives submit to the husband to reflect the churches submission to Christ. Husbands love the wives to reflect Christ’s love for the church. When these roles are reversed, or not lived up to, the marriage is perverted, it looks like the world’s marriages. Men beat their wives. Wives nag and henpeck husbands. Children rebel. Marriages break. Christian marriages, where the husbands and wives agree with the roles God gave them are a beautiful reflection of Christ and the church, a partnership where submission is easy and love flourishes.
Women have a special role, only they can fill, just as men have a special role only they can fill. Only a man can fertilize an egg. Only a woman can carry the baby, give birth, and feed her child. So there are laws about hunting animals and motherhood as well. Verses 6-7 read
If you come across a bird's nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. 7 You shall let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long.
Killing the mother or taking the mother means that she and her young die. It depletes the population and could result in food shortages in the future. God knows what is best. It may not affect things now, but it will affect the future. He cares about our future. He provides for us now and He supplies for us then.
Verse 8 is an interesting law, that at first I could not understand.
When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.


A parapet is an extension of the wall that protects the roof and allows people to use the roof as a terrace or a place for defense.




Why would the Lord command the homes to have these? They have several purposes. They allow for defending the home from invaders. But here the reason The Lord commanded it was for safety. In Israel at this time the roofs of homes were used as another part of the home. Guests slept on the roof. People slept there in the summer. The way we use our patios or porches, Israel used their roofs. It was a protection against allowing people to be hurt. It was home insurance, a pool gate, or some other design to keep people from getting hurt and creating discord. It showed respect and concern for others.
It also reflects God’s concern for us in the hedges He puts in place for our protection. Job 1:10 describes the protection God gave to Job from Satan. Satan is aware of these protections and will not breach them, unless God removes them. Job 1:8-10 reads,
And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
 
The Lord is our Hedge. Psalm 34:7-8 describes Him in this way.
The angel of the Lord encamps
    around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

 
The Lord has also given us laws about farming. I could do an entire study on this passage, and I might. I will try and keep it brief in this one. Verses 9-11 read,
“You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. 10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 11 You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.
​

Mixing crops is often done today, but it requires specialized techniques to endure the entire crop succeeds. God commanded not to mix crops, livestock, and even materials. Why? Because the farmers had to live and work together if one had wheat and another oats. They were united as neighbors. Oxen have a different diet than donkeys, they require different care. Wool is not made the same way linen is.
But another reason is the spiritual truths these laws teach us. You either sow fruit of righteousness or fruit of disobedience. Imagine the outsider looking at your life. He sees you on one hand going to church every Sunday, being a pious church member, and wearing your saintly church clothes. You look like a Stepford. But he also sees you drunk at the club every Saturday, yelling obscenities and cursing the people around you. He sees your clothes meant to entice people to sin. You look like a whore. Whatever fruit you could have reaped by the Sunday you is lost to the Saturday you. The Sunday you is not real. You can’t produce different fruits from the same tree. You can’t plant different seeds and expect the same crop to grow. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 7:15-20,
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”
 
Verse 12 reads,
You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.
How do these tassels remind us to love our neighbors as ourselves? They reminded the Israelites of their covenant with God to keep His commandments and be holy (Numbers 15:37-41). They were an outward symbol to others that they were God’s chosen. It was this fringe on Jesus’ clothing that the bleeding woman touched and was healed (Luke 8:42-48). We wear our obedience to God, we wear our love for one another so that people will see the light of Jesus and know we are His and He is Lord (Matthew 5:13-16). Jesus said it this way in John 13:34-35,
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
 
Believer, every law god gave to Moses has its purpose in revealing Him. It is fulfilled in loving the Lord and loving others. God is revealed to the world in your love. No we don’t build parapets on our roofs today or wear tassels on our cloaks. But we do care about the welfare of others and love them the way Jesus loves us.

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Deuteronomy 21 the Promised Land Should be Undefiled

3/22/2016

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Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27
Deuteronomy 21
Keeping The Way of Jesus pure is very important. We have a responsibility not to pollute it. It can be desecrated in so many ways. Moses reminded the Israelites of various laws in order to keep The Promised Land undefiled.
The first part of the chapter addresses unwitnessed murders, murders discovered but the assailant remains unknown. There is guilt but when no one knows who the guilty party is, everyone must accept the guilt. A death requires action, sin require atonement. We are responsible for one another. Had someone paid attention, perhaps a death could have been avoided. Verses 1-9 read,
If in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities. 3 And the elders of the city that is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a yoke. 4 And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley. 5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the Lord, and by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled. 6 And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, 7 and they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed. 8 Accept atonement, O Lord, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.’ 9 So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.
 
God cannot ignore such a grievous act. He requires atonement. Though we do not know who did it God does, but we are responsible for one another. If we ignore sin, if someone does not take responsibility to purge it, it ferments and grows, like yeast in dough.
There are a few ways we can let worship be tainted. One such way is new converts not being taught properly or not letting go of past beliefs. If we are not answerable to keeping our lives pure, who will be? We are the Body of Christ. Bringing people into the fold is a goal, but we do not bring them in against their wills and we do not allow them to bring paganism in either. Verses 10-14 read,
“When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife, 12 and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails. 13 And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.”
 
 
How often have I seen the church change to mollify those they hope to attract? How often have I seen practices included so that sinners could keep sinning and join the church? Instead of being proselytized and discipled they are being invited to “worship” in a bar while they get drunk, accepting sexual immorality as natural, and being taught that Jesus looks like the world.
The woman was purified of the vanities of her old life by shaving her head and paring her nails, she was given time to mourn her old life. She was not forced to become an Israelite against her wishes. We may long for someone to know Jesus, but forcing them or allowing their false beliefs to sully the truth to appease them is not the way. Church membership does not make someone Christian, confessing Jesus as Lord and believing He is Christ does.
Another way we let the purity of Christianity be defiled is disunity and partiality within the church. Moses warned Israel about this by describing the inheritance in a delicate situation. Verse 15-17 reads,
If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16 then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.
 
If Peter, Paul, John, and James had not fought the Judaizers and defended gentiles’ right to accept Jesus as Savior, most of us would not have known Jesus as Lord. The church would be a sad copy of the laws and rituals of Judasim. We would not know grace; we would be seeking salvation through circumcision and whitewashing the flesh.
Some disunity comes from our own rebelliousness or the recalcitrant attitude of some members. A refusal to submit to the elders God has placed over us, to bend to the teachings of the Apostles, and continue to act licentiously. Verses 18-21 read,
If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, 20 and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
 
Some people will not let discipline shape them. They continue to fight against it at all costs. They continue to sin regardless. We are not supposed to tolerate it, not out of hate or superiority but out of love for Christ and love for the person who is defiling the Body. We want them to be saved from the destruction they are headed to and we want the church to be saved from the practices they introduce. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth about this very problem. 1 Corinthians 5:4-8 reads,
 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
 
Paul also wrote to Timothy about the benefit of handing those who refuse to learn by God’s discipline over to Satan to be taught in a less gentle manner.  We either make good spiritual warfare through the trials and discipline or we demolish what faith we have through rebellion. 1 Timothy 1:18-20 says,
This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, 19 holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, 20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
 
We have to learn faith, learn who God is and who we are in Him. We don’t call Him Lord because we exalt ourselves into some imagined high position. We call Him Lord because we submit to His good and perfect will. We learn not to sin, to live like our old selves, and have become like Jesus.
Sin must be paid for and the wages is death. The Israelites killed a heifer, a lamb or an ox for some cases, for others the perpetrator of the sin was put to death. He wasn’t put to death to send him to hell, he was put to death to save him from sin and save Israel from the contamination of his actions. There were death sentences and there were worse death sentences. Verses 22-23 reads,
And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.
When Jesus came, He chose to pay the price of sin for us. He could do that because He is God and He never sinned. He is the fulfillment of the law, the propitiation for our sins. He was hung on a tree, cursed by God, the worst death imaginable. But through His horrific death, he purified all of us who are willing to accept His beautiful gift. He rose from the dead and gave us life. Through that death our sins are forgiven but more than that, we are justified, approved of by God’s measure of righteousness, given His righteousness. Galatians 3:10-14 reads,
 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
 
What a great gift! But we cannot sully that beautiful sacrifice with lies, blasphemy, or false religion. Keep the relationship with The Lord pure.
 

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    Donna Campbell

    As I read the Bible every day, I take what God teaches me, what He says, and write it out. I then share that with you. It gives me a deeper understanding of the Word and I hope that it will encourage you as it does me, to put your love and faith into action.

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