Tithes...and Your Blessings Have a God Given Purpose

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy Chp 14

As Moses continues to instruct the Israelites in the ways of the Lord, he reminds them of the command to tithe:

²² Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.

Moses also reminds us that our tithes have a God-given purpose:

²³ Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.

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26Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice.

...

²⁷ And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.

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²⁸ At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, ²⁹ so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

God wants us to use our blessings for his glory and his purpose. I need to remind myself that my blessings are not my blessings; they come from the Lord and I need to use them for His will and glory.

My Prayer: Lord, I have experienced difficult times and I have seen you provide and you provide abundantly. You know my needs more than I do and I need to fall to my knees to acknowledge that your will and desire, and your plans for me are more important than my own. I must come to the realization that I desperately need you and I thank you for how you are working on my heart. Forgive me for my sinful acts and desires, whatever they may because they are numerous. Purify me and draw me nearer to you. Help me develop a deeper desire for you. Use me and the church and the event tomorrow to reach the men in the community of SB.

Even Those Who Spout Blasphemy Are Worthy of Eternal Life

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy Chp 13

The Old Testament I think is filled with examples of God as a jealous God. He is also a God of mercy, but here he is clearly not. Evil-doers are to be purged:

¹ If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, ² and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," ³ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. ⁵ That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.

And further into this chapter, God deals with evil-doers more harshly:

⁶ If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, ⁷ gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), ⁸ do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. ⁹ You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. ¹⁰ Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

In contrast, the God of the New Testament - Jesus - is filled with patience, mercy, and forgiveness.

¹²I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. ¹³Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. ¹⁴The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. (1 Timothy 1:12-16)

My Prayer: I am SO thankful that I have a God who "so loved me that he sent his one and only son" to die for me...that I can have forgiveness and eternal life. I see your abounding love for me in so many ways that I am blown away that you can love so much. Thank you God. Forgive me Lord that I often take for granted that blessings in my life are gifts from you. Forgive me for my own blasphemy and any false teaching, including any false teaching that occurs as a result of my lack of faith. Help me fall deeper in love with you and draw nearer to you in an ongoing conversation and intimate relationship so I can be more pure and more like you.

Faith in Him and Him Alone

Today's Reading
Phillipians Chp 1

As a change of pace I am doing a study today of Phi 1 and discussing with my accountability group. We had a great discussion. The first key takeaway from God is how I need to focus on Him and only Him as a product of my faith and deeds. Sometimes I find myself seeking glory or edification for myself so I need to be mindful of this.

¹⁵It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. ¹⁶The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. ¹⁸But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Additionally, I am encouraged by Paul to push the envelope. Paul is of course in chains in this letter and he STILL sees God's glory in action while he suffers. I am encouraged by Paul to go outside of my comfort zone to glorify God.

²¹For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²²If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! ²³I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; ²⁴but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. ²⁵Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.

My Prayer: Glory to you for how you are working the lives of men to bring them to Southbridge Fellowship and to our event next Weds. Forgive me for any efforts to glorify myself and protect me from Satan if I try and do this. Use me to your glory to reach men and to bring them closer to you. Thank you for how you have drawn me closer to you and help me go outside my comfort zone to do the same for other men.

Have An Ongoing Conversation With God....

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy Chp 11

Continuing to admonish the Israelites in the ways of the Lord as they prepare to enter the promised land, Moses urges the Israelites to obey God's commands. He encourages them by showing them how they will be blessed if they follow the commands and indicates what consequences (curse) they face if they don't obey by turning away from God.

He further encourages the Israelites to "live" God's words throughout the day:

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (verses 18-19)

I continue to tell myself that I "struggle" with my prayer life. This is nonsense. I just need to pray...to worship Him, to seek forgiveness, to thank Him and to pray primarily on behalf of others and then secondarily for myself.

My Prayer: Lord, I worship you for your divine word - scriptures. It is through your word that I have grown closer to you. I can see the transformation in my heart and in my life. I pray that you will forgive me that today I am not all you want me to be. Help me humble myself, deny myself, and truly follow you. Thank you for helping me manage my stress at work and thank you for the wisdom on how to raise Zach and Dustin and for how I can encourage Lisa. Help me continue this and help me continue to draw even closer to you.

The Lord is God of Gods...Yet He Loves Me

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy Chp 10

It's pretty amazing that God is so awesome...he is above all things and all people, yet he knows and loves lowly me. It's inspiring....knowing that I can be part of something...for God's glory.

¹⁴ To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. ¹⁵ Yet the LORD set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today. ¹⁶ Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. ¹⁷ For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. ¹⁸ He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. ¹⁹ And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. ²⁰ Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. ²¹ He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. ²² Your forefathers who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky. (verses 14-22)

My Prayer: Lord, your power, wisdom, grace and love are greater than anything else imaginable in the universe. I am SO inspired that as great as you are, you chose me to be part of a mighty plan. I thank for your love and grace and I pray that I can be fully used by you and that I can fully submit to you. Help me with this Lord.

Once Again....Blessings From God Not Our Own Doing

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy Chp 9

Once again in this passage I am reminded how God blesses us because he loves us and because he is graceful - that His blessings for us are gifts from God and we are to acknowledge them as such and not take for granted the Lord by thinking blessings are by our own hands.

In particular here is what hits me today is verse 6:

⁴ 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 righteousness." No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is going to drive them out before you. ⁵ It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ⁶ Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people. (verses 4-6)

When I read verse 6 I get that:

• I must understand and acknowledge that I will always be tempted to think of blessings in my life as the fruit of my own effort - I am no different from the Israelites in being a "stiff necked people"
  
• I must ask for God's protection from Satan and to be thankful for my blessings as an acknowledgement that they come from God alone

10 Things I am thankful for today:
- My God
- My wife and all the great things she is and does for me and Zach and Dustin
- My children
- My family
- My health
- My job
- Fun things for me to enjoy like tennis, music
- My church
- My Christian brothers and sisters
- How the Lord provides

My Prayer: Lord, you are a great and gracious God and you bless me beyond imagination - of course above represents only a fraction of how you bless me! Thank you for loving me and blessing me even though I don't deserve it. I am sinful person and I harbor ill thoughts about others and I need your help to LOVE. Forgive me for my sin and help me overcome and help me seek you in daily conversation through prayer.

Remember That Your Success is His Success

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy 8:6-20

I have always been a reasonably confident person and with many things it has become easy for me to give myself glory vs God for things that go well. Moses warns the Israelites of this here:

¹⁷ You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." ¹⁸ But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. (verses 17-18)

My Prayer: Lord, I never thought I would be as blessed as I am today and I am in awe of how your plan for me has resulted in such blessings - through good and bad times I have been blessed. Thank you so much for your love for me, your grace for me and your mercy for me. I don't deserve it yet you provide. Please help me draw closer to you and develop a deeper love and desire for you - in all ways, especially prayer time. Please help me remember how you gave me gifts for your glory and not mine.

Discipline, Humility and Sacrifice As Means to Glorify God and For Us To Draw Near to Him

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy 8:1-5

Like everyone else, I wonder why I experience difficult times, even for short period of times. Yesterday during my reading/study, I was reminded how I need to be thankful for how God has blessed me, and that I am not deserving given my sin...that God gives despite my sin. I often forget how God blesses me and a chief reason why this is so is my lack of prayer life.

Today, I am reminded that God creates "experiences" for me as a means to discipline me, keep me humble, and see how I am blessed. I walk around all day many days thinking how great I am without any attribution to how God provided. Even without "bad times" I can actually use sacrifice as a spiritual discipline to drive humility and thankfulness.

¹ Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. ² Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. ⁴ Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. ⁵ Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.

In particular this lesson teaches me:
- God keeps His promises (i.e. eternal life, forgiveness, love, etc.)
- All life experiences are designed by Him for His glory and my good
- In bad times, I need to mindful that provision and relief WILL come from God in His time and from places that are unexpected sometimes
- Man lives on "every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord"

My Prayer: Lord, your plan is an awesome one as I have seen it unfold in my life with blessings and experiences that are rich beyond imagination. I am in awe of how you use me for your glory and I thank you for how you have blessed me. Keep me humble Lord, keep me focused on you, correct/discipline me, and help me understand how I am part of YOUR plan.

The Lord is Generous and We Are Not Deserving

Today's Reading
Deuternomy6: 10-12

Moses continues to prepare the Israelites to enter the promised land:

¹⁰ When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (verses 10-12)

Sometimes someone talks to you in a way where he is not direct in his manner of speaking yet it is still crystal clear what the underlying message is. This is the case here where Moses is saying to the Israelites that they are not deserving yet God blesses the Israelites anyway.

Moses is clear that the Israelites need to be careful not to forget the Lord. For everyone being careful is different.

For the young ruler in Luke, trust in one's possessions and wealth vs God is a means to forget the Lord.

See Luke 18:18-27.

For me my neglect of prayer is how I forget the Lord.

My Prayer: Lord thank you for how you bless me even though I don't deserve it. Forgive me for my neglect of you and help me love you more and trust you more. Help me with my prayer life.

Talk About God All the Time!

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy Chp 6:4-9

As Moses continues to address the Israelites one last time before they cross the Jordan into the promised land, he exhorts the Israelites to:

⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. (verses 5-8)

These commandments are to be upon your hearts - read the commandments, study them, live them.

Next Moses says "[i]mpress them on your children". The word impess is particularly instructive here. The dictionary defines it as a verb " to affect especially forcibly or deeply : gain the admiration or interest of". Again, the focus is on living the commandments in such a way as to make people take notice.

Finally, Moses says talk about them all of the time - be in conversation with God always, thanking him, worshipping him, etc.

My Prayer: Lord, just as you delivered the Jews out of Egypt you brought me out of bondage - bondage to sin. You have also transformed my heart and my life - and you continue to do wonders. Thank you for how you bless me with my family and my Christian brothers and sisters. Forgive me when I neglect you and help me with my prayer life.

Do Not Take For Granted The Greatness of God and How He Has Blessed You

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy Chp 4:32-39

Sometimes I have to look beyond the words on the page to understand tone...and the tone of God while harder to discern is critical.

³² Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? ³³ Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? ³⁴ Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? (verses 32-34)

When I read this I think of what Moses is really trying to say to the Israelites here. Of course he is trying to say that God is great. But here he asking the Israelites if they have ever experienced anything like the greatness of God...and repeatedly asking. Seems to me that Moses is worried about the Israelites taking God for granted as the Israelites often find themselves distracted by this or that and they forget the greatness that is ALWAYS with them, protecting them and providing for them.

I need to remind myself daily of the greatness of God and how blessed I am and in particular I need to remind myself of how blessed I am with my wife and how I need provide for her needs more so than I do and acknowledge her with how I feel blessed by her efforts and by who she is for me and our family. I need to not only not take God for granted and as part of this I need to remind myself of how he blesses me with my family and in so many other ways.

Moses emphasizes the need for acknowledgment here:

³⁹ Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

Of course we are to acknowledge BOTH that the Lord is God and acknowledge what this means to us individually in terms of how much of a blessing this is.

My Prayer: Lord, your love abounds for me and I cannot even begin to thank you enough for how you love me, protect me, guide me, provide for me, and bless me. You are SO great. Thank you for the blessings that your provide for me daily. Help me daily acknowledge these blessings and not take you or others in my life for granted. And continue to help me with my prayer life.

God Welcomes You Back Anytime...But Our New Covenant With Christ is More Liberating

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy Chps 4: 21-31

You may still have to eat crow (seek repentance) but the Lord welcomes you back anytime. He reserves the right to punish you and this is not ruled out but if you repent He will always take you back.

The difference of course (based on insight from Lisa, my lovely wife) is the old covenant with God vs the new covenant with Christ.

Moses reminds us of the mercy available to the Israelites:

²⁹ But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. ³⁰ When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. ³¹ For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath. (verses 29-31).

With the old covenant, you had to repent and continue to follow the ways of the Lord as instructed in the Old Testament. While it is somewhat comforting that you can come back to the Lord you are still somewhat boxed in by the rules of the Old Testament that almost guarantee that you will fall once again.

Obviously, this was not working that well because God "so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son (John 3:16)". Christ was sent with a purpose and a new covenant that promises both freedom from sin and eternal life. Faith in Christ (and a life based on faith in Him and based on becoming more like Him) is the only requirement.

My Prayer: Lord, I know that you love me no matter what - and that your love is more than I can imagine and more than any human being can ever match. Thank you for this love and thank you for your mercy and kindness. Forgive me for my sin...which is daily. Help me trust in you, love you, and follow you.

Do Not Worship Anyone or Anything Else...Have Some Perspective Man!

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy Chp 4:15-20

Once again, Moses and the Israelites stand on the precipice of the promised land and Moses is taking the time to talk to the Israelites one last time as he will not entering the promised land.

¹⁵ You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, ¹⁶ so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, ¹⁷ or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, ¹⁸ or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. ¹⁹ And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. ²⁰ But as for you, the LORD took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.

Here he warns the Israelites that idolatry can take many forms where as a person or as a thing..."do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven." What is interesting here is that the word "apportioned" is used and the Merriam Webster definition is:

"to divide and share out according to a plan; especially"

So, if I am to read this correctly, God created everything, including all of the heavens and everything under the heavens; and for good reason he shared his creation among all of the nations under heaven. For sure this is true - he has a plan, right? We should not worship anything else because it is a sin. If that was not enough reason not to worship anyone else but Him, Moses helps us understand that there is NO reason to worship anything else because everything else has OTHER purposes and we are to understand the proper place for everything....have some perspective man!

My Prayer: Lord, your creation is awesome. Even though I can only fully appreciate a fraction of your awesome creation, I am thankful for how you have blessed me - my family, my health, my church, my relationship with You and the eternal life you provide. Thank you for all of these blessings and forgive me when I fall down...when I sin, and when I neglect you. Help me overcome my sin and draw near to you...closer every day.

Moses: Teach Your Children Based On What You Have Experienced For Your Own Eyes

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy Chp 4:9-14

While it is well understood that the role of the father in the family is to teach the children in the ways of the Lord, Moses lays it out here:

⁹Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. ¹⁰ Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, "Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children." ¹¹ You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. ¹² Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. ¹³ He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. ¹⁴ And the LORD directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

It starts with..."Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget, the things your eyes have seen". It is important to be careful and watch yourselves closely because children will model your behavior and it won't matter what you say if your behavior is not consistent with your words. Additionally, how can you teach your children unless you yourself have not experienced life change through Christ. While it may be possible to teach the ways of the Lord without personal experience of the Lord, the teaching is so much more effective if you have experienced this for yourself. So, this statement reminds us to not only not forget but continue to be faithful and follow God as a means to not forget and as a means to teach our children.

My Prayer: Lord, I have seen with my own eyes the transformation in my heart and in my life. Thank you for your blessings, your protection, your mercy, and your guidance. Forgive me for my neglectful prayer life. Lord help me with this! Help me also continue to study your word and be consistent between my teachings with my family and my behavior.

We Are to Show Others Our Wisdom and Understanding

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy Chp 4:3-8

Again, today I don't have to read far to get to a point where I hear God talking to me.

⁵ See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. ⁶Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." ⁷ What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? ⁸ And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

What is interesting here is that Moses exhorts the Israelites to observe God's decrees and laws carefully, THEN the result is that others will see the Israelites as a great nation with wise and understanding people.

My read with this is:

(1) We must study God's words....and study them to the point at which they are part of us...not something we refer to every once in a while to make sure we are on the straight and narrow. We must KNOW God's words if we are to live them. To KNOW them, we must go beyond basic familiarity...we must be INTIMATE with them and with God.

(2) We often struggle with how we can be seen as "set apart" or "a light" onto others. We don't have to wonder about how to do this. It is really quite simple. Study God's word, truly understand God's words, then LIVE God's words.

My Prayer: Lord, your wisdom is unequaled in the universe! I am so very thankful that I have you as my Lord and Savior, my father in heaven and my teacher here on earth. Forgive me for my lack of prayer and help me with this - I desperately need your help with this. Help my love and desire for you continue to grow.

Stick to the Plan Man!

Today's Reading
Deuteronomy 4:1-2

It did not take long in my reading this morning to stop and pause given how I was struck with the following:

¹ Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. ² Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.

What I get from this is that God's plan is perfect, his laws are perfect, and his guidance is perfect for us - we don't need anything more and we don't need anything less. This is a matter of our love, faith, trust and obedience to Him.

My Prayer: Lord, you are perfect in every way. Forgive me when I think how you may not be perfect or how you may not be enough - oh how foolish this is! Thank for your love and guidance and mercy - even though I don't deserve it. Help me love you more, trust you more, and follow you more. And yes, help me be in more communication with you - in prayer and otherwise.