One Year Bible, April 5

DEUTERONOMY 28:1-68                                                                                 
Chapter 27-32 look forward to our inheritance in God. Chap 27 emphasizes our covenant responsibilities. 28:1-14 list the promised blessings if we obey God. 28:15-68 list the promised curses if we disobey God. The blessings actually "overtake" us - like a pursuing army!

V.15-20 show the progression of first despising God (not listening to Him), then disobeying God, and finally deserting God.

V.65-68 are four symptoms of being out of the will of God:
(1) (v.65) Uneasiness, restlessness, anguish of heart and mind.
(2) (v.66) Uncertainty, fearfulness, lack of confidence.
(3) (v.67) Apprehension, disillusionment, insecurity.
(4) (v.68) Alienation, bondage, hopelessness.

RESPONSE:   My mother always said, "There is no rest for the wicked."  I guess she was right. 

LUKE 11:14-36                                                                                                   
The Great Divide: Who is Jesus? Why do people resist the Truth about Who Jesus is?

Two groups: One says He has power, but gets it from Satan, the other says He needs to prove He has power. (They believe the Presence of God is expressed through power.) Is He God in the flesh, or is He the prince of darkness? Jesus forces the choice. Beware! When your eyes can't see, then your life/heart is dark, stubborn and hard.  It is better to hear and obey the Word than to be Jesus' own mother!

RESPONSE: Does our generation seek a sign? What sign would they accept? The fact is, they hide the little bit of light they have when they reject Jesus, so that their whole self is full of darkness. The sign of Jonah is the only sign people get - on the ground of Jesus' resurrection, we ought to repent and believe Jesus is from God. We can either reject Him and our bondage will be reinforced, or we can believe Him and be blessed.




PSALM 77:1-20                                                                                                 
"My soul refused to be comforted" - why? God's apparent failure to answer my prayer for help. The Truth? emotions can make us stupid!  "I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed." Now what should we do? "Remember....Meditate....Talk."

Meditate - a sound, not a thought.   It is self-talk, and it is how we rise above our feelings. We remind ourselves, OUT LOUD, of God's works, wonders, ways. God's goodness and greatness.

My inability to understand how God is working is not a sign that He is not at work. It actually turns out that God is leading me through the trial, not around it. Underneath the activity of God is a Shepherd's concern, watchfulness and care.

PROVERBS 12:18                                                                                               
Have you ever been maimed by words? (These are incautious words, blurted out without thinking.) Have you ever been healed by words? Spoken words are SO powerful.

RESPONSE:   Israel's deliverance from Egypt was at midnight during a thunderstorm. The two different Hebrew words for "troubled" in Psa 77:3-4, both meant "like an internal storm, tumult, agitated". It isn't really our circumstances that make us lose faith and get fearful. It is our interpretation of those circumstances. Circumstances don't have the power to push or pull. But our thoughts do. The secret of strength is not force or determination, but our meditation.   WHAT ARE WE TELLING OURSELVES? Remember, we have to say it out loud so our hearts can hear it. Meditation is a sound.