Loyalty To & From God 03.05.08

Hello My Friend/Guest,

It is Wednesday March 5, 2008 and today we are continuing our studies on the book of Deuteronomy. Please read Deuteronomy 11 -- 13 or Click Here to read. In today's study we will read about Israel's subjection to love and obey God; a warning against false gods and adding to or taking away anything from His Word. This message focuses on the importance of remaining loyal to God, teaching our children, and thithing.

To perpetuate loyalty and love to God in future generations, every Israelite was to live in subjection to the Word of God. "Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.....For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full." (Deuteronomy 11:1,10-15).

Our foremost concern every day should be to teach our children to love the Lord and be loyal to Him. They should have no doubt that we also truly love the Lord and are obedient to His Word. If our hearts are filled with the Word of God, it will overflow from our lives and teach us to live the way God intended for us to live. God is loyal to all who are loyal to Him. "Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves." (11:18-23).

What our children become is often dependent upon our values in life. What we are in great measure is what our children become. That is why it is so important that parents devote time to molding the rapidly developing minds of their young children. It is of utmost importance that parents guide even the youngest children to reverence God, to worship Him, to pray, and to recognize the Bible as the voice of God speaking to them.

Influences outside the home often send strong messages to our children that are opposite in character to the values we desire them to live by. It becomes increasingly important to provide our children with a strong spiritual environment.

The tithes of the produce from the ground and from the herds were brought in recognition that God was the source of all mercies and all blessings of life. "But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: 6And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee." (12:5-7) God claimed the tithes and gifts as an essential part of worship and as a safeguard against Israel's turning to idolatry. When you neglect the privilege of supporting the Lord's Church, you are depriving yourself of the joy of sharing and the satisfaction of being a profitable servant of our Master. Everyone can pray for the pastor and his leaders, the sick as well as so many friends who need to be in a closer relationship with Chirst. Those who live only to get, to have, to hold, and to keep, discover too late that life becomes less satisfying and wanting more with the passing of every year.

The test of our love is not only what we do with our abilities and possessions but how much do we really love God and desire to do His will? What is it that dominates our lives, even our thoughts? Our personal activities show our love for the Lord even now and if our wants, needs, and possesions come first then they become our idols. God will never forsake us nor leave us, He will always provide us with all of our needs and desires, but we must first be willing to put Him first above all things, including our time and money.

For a true Christian, everything, including himself, belongs to our Creator God, not just a tenth or just attending church on Sunday. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." (Romans 12:1-3).

In today's lesson Jesus Christ is revealed through the burnt offerings which were totally consumed. Deuteronomy 12:6.These typified Christ's total offering of Himself to death, "But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God." (Hebrews 10:3-7).

Today's Psalm: 9:10
"And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee."

Today's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Gracious Heavenly Father, I thank you and praise you for this day.
I thank you for my being able to see and to hear this morning.
I'm blessed because you are a forgiving God and an understanding God.
You have done so much for me and you keep on blessing me. Lord I love you and I need you, come into my heart. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness. And purify me with the precious blood of your Son Jesus Christ.
Guide me to walk with you by your Holy Spirit. Lord, I love you and I need you and ask these things in Jesus' name.....Amen.

Have a great and wonderful day/night.
God Bless,
Christina

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