EXPAND TO READ: DEUTERONOMY 26 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 16): This is a tough verse for me to hear to be honest, Father. You tell us to follow Your statutes and ordinances, but You didn’t stop there. You added to it that I must be careful to follow them with all my heart and all my soul. Oftentimes, I live in my faith in a way that can seem somewhat robotic in the sense that I am just doing the acts but not truly embracing it with all my heart and soul. Please forgive me for this, Father. You do not want just mindless followers. You want people who truly care for and deeply embrace what You say, not ones that just do the things just to do them because “that’s what a good Christian does.” My struggle with this is probably two-fold. The first is breaking my old training and fleshly habits. The second is the “need” for true understanding as to why I need to do things a certain way. I don’t know why, but most of the time I really need to have a deep understanding of something before I truly feel passionate about doing it and maybe that’s where I’m lacking. Maybe I just need to dig into understanding You more and better, Father, so that I can truly become more passionate about Your ways. Help me with this, Father. Put me down the right path to enhance my understanding of You, Father.
PROMISE (verses 18-19): Your promise to Your true people is absolutely amazing. You promised them that if they truly keep and embrace all that You are and all of Your commands, then they will be elevated in praise, fame, and glory above all other nations and that they will become a holy people in the eyes of the Lord. How amazing is this promise? Not only did You give them a promise that is unfathomable for a people that just came out of decades of slavery, but You also tied in both a spiritually driven motivation and a world-driven motivation. On the spiritual side, You promised them that if they follow Your commands that they will be a holy people to You. On the world side, You promised them that the prior slaves who were abused tremendously would receive praise, fame, and glory above all other nations if they follow Your commands. This is so amazing how You know exactly how to speak to us in any given situation. Thank You for this promise, Father!
ATTITUDE (verse 12): Today’s attitude adjustment is concerning an attitude of a giving heart. In this verse You talk about the tithe we are to give regularly, but then You mention that at certain points we are to also embrace a giving heart towards those less fortunate with our tithe. We are to give to those in need in-place of Your kingdom, so that others may be blessed and satisfied with what You have blessed us with. Help me to be better at embracing an attitude of a givers heart, Father. Help me to more frequently recognize and act on the moments which You want me to give, Father.
COMMAND (verse 16): Your command in this one verse actually has two parts to it. The first part is one that is repeated often throughout all scripture, but even just in this one chapter—follow Your statutes and ordinances. The second one, however, kind of puts a twist to the first command. Not only are we to follow Your commands, but we are to be cautious that we are doing so with all of our heart and soul. You don’t want people just walking around doing what You tell them to do if they don’t truly care about those commands. You want people who are passionate about You and all that You say. Help me to be more passionate in my walk with You, Father, so that I can abide in both parts of this command.
EXAMPLE (verses 5-10): This is a rather amazing example You provide here on how we are to truly reach out to You. You tell us that the Your people went down to Egypt with high hopes and good intentions but were quickly made into slaves and devastated for quite some time. When Your people cried out to You due to all of their struggles, You didn’t just sit back and allow it all to continue. All Your people banded together to cry out to You for help and You responded far greater than even they could ever imagine. You responded to them so loudly and proudly to the point that they described You as responding with a “terrifying power” on their behalf. Such an amazing testimony Your people had in this major event. Thank You, Father!
*DAILY NOTE: Father, You always provide so many examples and testimonies of Your amazing, great, and sometimes terrifying power. At the same time, however, You provide us with so many promises and blessings that show how compassionate, joyful, loving and caring that You are for Your people. Thank You for all of this today, Father. Thank You for the great conversation today, Father, as well as the great lessons on how I can improve my faith walk in this life. Help me to continue to repair, restore, build up, and improve my heart, Father, so that I may continue to become more passionate about all things related to You.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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