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Deuteronomy 13...

"You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the
first in putting him to death..." (13:9).

Observation: God was so serious about heretical doctrine, and His people's temptation to be led away from Him, that He literally commanded them to put their own family members to death who tried to do so! God even went as far as to say that the family member doing the accusing of heresy should throw the first stone in their stoning! However, this would further test the fact as to whether that family member accusing the other was telling the truth. As they lifted and threw the stone, it would also impress on to his mind FOREVER, the consequences for chasing after other gods.
Application: All of this points to the truth once again of the extent to which God HATES sin and HATES playing second fiddle! It also demonstrates once again that God is not cool with me prioritizing ANY other relationship or counsel over my relationship with HIM, and HIS counsel! God is jealous and I love it! I'm glad He loves me that much! He gets ticked off when I listen to ANYONE's counsel over His! Thanks, God for being THAT serious about your relationship with me! Help me NEVER to value the counsel of people over YOUR counsel!

Deuteronomy 12...

"...bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts,
what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn
of your flocks and herds" (12:6).

Observation: The Bible teaches so much about giving! We just miss it!

Application: God  teaches us a lot about giving in this passage:

Burnt offerings: animals that were to have their blood shed, and burned in such a way that the smoke was a symbol of pleasing sacrifice rising up to Heaven.

Sacrifices: The animals were to be the BEST animals in the herd. Their offerings were to require sacrifice to please God.

Tithe: the word "tithe" means "tenth".

Freewill Offerings: giving that was over and above the tithe, given out of a heart of gratitude for God;s blessings.

"Firstborn..": God wanted the FIRST part of what they owned, not the LAST part.

"Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please" (12:13).

Observation: The Temple and the altars that were designated places of worship by God held an important place in His mind, not just the minds of the Israelites!

Application: The church holds a central importance in Gods' mind! The church is the place God has set apart in our world for His people to come together and worship Him! God loves the church! It is important to Him that we worship regularly together in His church! Even though Mountain Lake is a building constructed by humans, God has set apart this place as a place He loves to be worshiped! I love that!

"See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it" (12:32).

Observation: God was clear to the Israelites about the fact that they couldn't just pick and choose what commands they wanted to follow.

Application: Are there commands God has given me that I'm uncomfortable with? Want to compromise on? Diminish in my mind? Think of as less important? Bottom line: God doesn't waste His breath. If He's commanded it, it's important to Him! It had better be important to me!

Deuteronmoy 11...

"Be careful or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods
and bow down to them" (11:16).

Observation: This phrase "be careful" actually means "to put a hedge around" or "protect." the word "entice" here actually means "to open something up". God was warning the Israelites to take steps to put a hedge AROUND themselves to keep them out of situations where they would open themselves up to the temptation to sin by adopting the religious practices of the surrounding nations. This is precisely why God told them not to intermarry with the other tribes of people. It wasn't because God was a racist! It was because He wanted to help the Israelites keep that "hedge" around them!
Application: What hedges do I have in my life that keep me from "opening myself up" to sin? What hedges are NOT in place that should be?

"See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse..." (11:26).

Observation: The amount of strength, joy, and peace, and health in their relationship with God the the Israelites would enjoy, would all come because of a choice...NOT circumstances. They would CHOOSE God, an intimate relationship with Him, and doing life His way; OR they would choose to do their own thing and they would face the music...
Application: In today's world, everybody blames everybody else for everything. No one takes responsibility! God, however, says here that whether I'm blessed or cursed all comes out of a choice: a choice to pursue HIM with all my heart, soul, and strength, or a choice to pursue Him "a little" mixed in with my pursuit of everything else.

Observation: God wanted to bless the Israelites. He just couldn't do it if they wouldn't listen to Him!
Application: God wants to bless me. He just can't do it if I won't listen to Him!

Deuteronomy 10...

“At that time the Lord told me to cut two more stone tablets like the first ones..." (10:1)

Observation: God gave the Israelites a second chance!
Application: What does God want to refashion in my life that I've broken? In what area do I feel like God is trying to call me up to the mountain for a second chance?

"And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’S commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?" (10:12-13).

Observation: the first thing the LORD required of the Israelites was for them fro "fear" him? what?!
Application: Do I really FEAR (awe; respect; reverence) GOD? I need to keep in mind that God is not just my friend and counselor. He is GOD! He deserves my respect and reverence! When I enter into prayer with Him, I must not do so flippantly. I am speaking to the God of the universe!

Observation: Th reason God gave the commands to the Isarelites was "for your own good".
Application: I really believe my life will have more peace; joy; contentment; and fulfillment if I keep my eyes on the Lord and live His way. That's not health, wealth, and prosperity teaching, That's God's promise!

"To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens,
the earth and everything in it" (10:14).

 

Observation: EVERYTHING belongs to God.
Application: Giving becomes easier when I keep in mind that God owns it anyway. He owns my house; my cars; my bank account; my 401K; and my ENTIRE paycheck (even though He only asks me to give back atleast 10%). I can hold more loosely the thing si have when I keep in mind they belong to God!

Passion and Authority...

"When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed
at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority
and not as their teachers of the law" Matthew 7:28-29 (NIV)

 When Jesus spoke, evidently, even a casual observer could tell that he was different than the religious leaders of the day. He spoke eternal truth simply, directly, with love (in contrast to the bitter hatred of the Pharisees), with urgency, and without hesitation or consultation. That astounded the crowd.

In other words, I believe there were two things that set Jesus' teachings apart from everyone else's:

Passion and Authority

    The religious leaders were USED to giving the company line. they were saying the a lot of right things most days:  “You know: love the Lord your God..." The Ten Commandments...They were saying the right WORDS. There was just no passion in them!!!!

        Oh, but when Jesus spoke...He spoke with a fondness, an enthusiasm, with desire, with urgency. He was not this meek, mild voiced intellectual, has many have pictured Him. When He spoke He spoke with passion! When He spoke, people sat up on the edge of their seats. They way He was speaking got people's attention! 

        What's funny, is the fact that NO ONE has ever told me that to be more like Jesus, I need to have more PASSION in my life; that to teach like Jesus I need to teach with more passion! I see it, now. If there's anything Jesus' teaching demonstrates it's the fact that great teaching is not just about the right content and doctrine. It's about passion. Passion moves people! You know what I’m finding? You know what really encourages me? That in leadership, Passion will actually help us compensate for lack of skill!

    Here's the other cool part: What was it that gave Jesus His authority? Was it His title? No. He didn't have one, humanly speaking. He was a carpenter's son? What made Jesus the REAL leader in Jerusalem in His day, was His passion! In other words, passion actually helps give us a sense of authority! So I I am asking God to help make me more of a man of passion. I want my passion for God to come through in my conversations, in my meetings with people, and most of all, for me, MY TEACHING! ore than anything else, I want to people to see and feel that when I speak, I am PASSIONATE about God and His Word! What about you? Is the passion coming though?

Deuteronomy 9...

After the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself:
"The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this
land because of my own righteousness" (9:4).

Observation: God knew that even after He did a miracle in the Israelites lives, they would be tempted to take credit for it!
Application: Things I am tempted to tale credit for that God has uniquely done: Having a great marriage; well disciplined children; a nice home in a great neighborhood; a growing church; our new worship facility on the way; our second campus of Mountain Lake; and the awesome Ministry Team we have!

"I too that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire... " (9:21)

Observation" Moses too the calf that had come between them, and GOT RID OF IT!
Application: What do I need to GET RID OF that's causing me to be halfhearted in my devotion to God? What do I need to get RID OF, that tends to entice me to sin?

We're over 1/4 through the book of Deuteronomy!

A Great Bible Study Help...

         I'm not into endorsements on my blog, but there is one Bible Study tool I've been using for nearly a decade, that helps me RADICALLY in my understanding of the Bible, AS WELL AS, teaching the Bible. It's a software called Quickverse. I actually prefer the version that came out 2-4 years ago (my version is Quickverse 7.0), over the current versions. They are just more simple.
     First of all, Quickverse helps me because  there is no perfect translation of the Bible. Therefore, when studying the Bible, there are several translations of the Bible I look to. Often times, one translation will reflect the heart of God BETTER than another one; Other times, another translation will be easier to understand. By looking at multiple translations of a Scripture passage,. I am able to better understand the TRUE CONTEXT of what God was really trying to say. With Quickverse, I can glance at MANY multiple translations at the same time! No translation of the Bible is perfect. Check out the multiple translations of Deuteronomy 8:5 about God's discipline (click on it):

 

       If I want to go back to the original languages, Hebrew and Greek, to study a word, I simply CLICK ON IT, and it opens up a window that shows me all the possible word meanings of that word. Today, I did some digging about the word "discipline". IN the King James Version of the Bible, they use the word "chastise" instead of discipline. Hmm...Interesting...Then I looked in the lower left window, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, and clicked on the "Strong's Number" next to the word discipline, and look what pops up (click on it):

  

       This is just an example of the fact that ANY of us can become Bible experts and Bible teachers, if we're willing to invest in the time and the resources to do so. I also have McArthur's Commentaries, Warren Wiersbe's Commentaries, the Life Application Commentaries, multiple Bible Dictionaries, and other resources at my fingertips in this software. Because I use older software, ALL of this probably cost me $200 over time, as I added more books to my library. For the best prices on Quickverse, BTW, check out christianbook.com. Hope this helps someone!

Deuteronomy 8...

       "Know then in your heart, that as a man disciplines his son,
so the LORD your God disciplines you" (8:5).

Observation: The word "discipline" here means to correct or instruct. It CAN also mean "to punish"

Application: Part of me wishes this verse wasn't in the Bible! But when I think about WHY i discipline or punish my children, I do it because I want to teach them that their destructive or disobedient ways always have consequences, whether I impose them, or not! In other words, one of the reasons I discipline my children is to PROTECT them from future harm! WOW! When I think about the fact that one of the reasons God disciplines me, is to PROTECT me from future hurt and harm, I can accept His punishment! To learn the lesson, however, I must grow in my ability to discern more effectively WHEN I'm being disciplined! When something bad happens to me, I'm so bad about blaming the circumstances, thinking that it's coincidence, or even blaming God! Instead, I need to be able to recognize when I'm being disciplined and seek to discern what God is trying to teach me!
       Some examples of God's discipline could be: A bad day; Bad Traffic; Financial hardship; Frustration; Relational Conflict; Lack of peace, or joy; or even Ministry Ineffectiveness!

"Father, THANK YOU for your desire to discipline me to teach me Your ways and protect me from future harm. Help me to recognize your "spankings" and "time-out's" more readily and learn from your discipline the lessons YOU are trying to teach me!"

Deuteronomy 7...

"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God" (7:6).

Observation: Why were the Israelites considered holy? They certainly didn't act like it a lot of times! The word HOLY actually means "to be set apart" or "chosen uniquely". God had chosen the Israelites for a special task. He saw them differently than the rest of the people on the earth. That alone made them holy. However, He expected them to seek to live up to the HOLY calling they had been given by following His commands.

Application: I am holy, too! Not because of who I am or how great I am, but because God has washed away my sin through my relationship with Jesus Christ! He views me differently than people who DON'T have a relationship with Jesus! I am holy! However, God wants me to live differently because of the unique privilege I've been given. He wants my life to look differently than people who don't know Him. He does expect me to pursue HOLINESS. He wants me to live uniquely and differently. How do I live differently than my neighbors? How is my marriage different? How do I parent differently? Is my attitude different? Is my speech different? Are the objects of my affection different? Is the Lord's Day REALLY different, other than people seeing me go to church?

"Father, today, on Sunday, I want to be holy. I want this day to be set apart for Your purposes; and I want my life to reflect the unique relationship we have. Strengthen me as I pursue a radical way of living: Holiness!

Deuteronomy 6...

Love the LORD your God with ALL...(6:5).

Observation: God loved the Israelites to be OK with receiving a little bit of live back. He wanted to be loved COMPLETELY and hold the place of "first love" in their relationship.
Application: God loves ME too much to be OK with a little bit of love. He expects me to give Him first place in my life, not my leftovers. How do I know if I love the LORD with all my heart, soul, mind and strength? Three areas will reveal it more than any other: How I primarily invest my TIME: Where I primarily invest my TALENTS; and where I PRIMARILY invest my TREASURE. Do I give my time to God when I have time left over? Or, is He the first priority of every day? Every Sunday? Do I primarily invest my talents in God's works "when I have time"? Or is serving God the first priority of my life?  Am I actively serving Him through His church? Do i invest my financial resources into God's work AFTER I see what's left over at the end of the month? Or, do I give to God that first 10% that belongs to Him and trust Him to make the rest of the 90% work? God, thank you for the gut check!

"Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you..." (6:14b).

Observation: God knew that His people would be tempted to be influenced by culture, rather than influence it. So he cautioned them about valuing what the rest of the world valued.

Application: Here are the gods I'm tempted to worship (honor, value) over God because of the culture I live in:
    Success
    Fame
    Stuff
    The money that stuff buys
    The opposite sex's body
    My family
    My children

       None of these things ARE evil! It's just that I can't allow myself to value them as much as the rest of the world does! I must keep my love for God and my pursuit of His plan for my life, in first place! Loving Him FIRST will make my life AND my relationships with others HEALTHIER!

If today's post rocked your world, hold on...we'll be talking more about all of this tomorrow in our services! Don't miss it!