One Year Bible, April 8

DEUTERONOMY 32:28-52                                                                               

A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH:  This section of Moses' song warned of what God would do IF they rebelled against Him. To have such a Friend as God is to have all possible happiness; and to have Him for their enemy is to be exposed to inevitable destruction. In Romans 10, Paul quotes from this passage to show how and why God turned away from the Jews, and gave salvation to the Gentiles.

"For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you." Romans 10:12-19

And so, Moses sang, "Rejoice, O ye nations..." Because the unbelief and apostasy of the Jews brought the Gospel to the Nations (Gentiles)

But they were warned in v.47, "It is not a vain thing, because it is your life."   It is not an indifferent thing, but of absolute necessity; it is not a trifle, but a matter of life and death.

RESPONSE:  And so it is. Believing the Gospel when we hear it, is a matter of life and death. This people did not allow the Word they heard to persuade them to believe God and obey Him.

LUKE 12:35-59                                                                                                     

FIRE AND DIVISION:  When do you think you will be judged for your life? Do you really think God saves it all up and judges you after you die, when it is too late to do anything about it?  It is interesting that when Joshua was about to enter the Land in the OT, he was met at night by an OT appearance of Jesus, and Jesus was dressed like a soldier and had a sword in His hand! (Joshua 5:13-15) Most of us, when we first got saved, experienced that arrival in our own lives. All at once there was a war inside. Our old nature, the flesh, against the new man, the spirit man. Then, there was a war on the outside with the things we used to do, and the people we used to know. Jesus is a Dividing Line. People polarize when the issue is what to do with Jesus.

Part of Jesus' mission on earth was to bring accountability to the Church, then and now - not in some distant future. So He calls us to repentance. Judge yourself. Why wait for the Judge to tell you what you already know? A smart man will settle out of court, especially when he knows he is wrong. Plead for mercy now. Jesus is God's offer of mercy.

And speaking of the weather, learn to discern the way of God, so you can judge yourself often. It's now or never.

RESPONSE:  It's a good thing that God's fire burns up what is judged to be "flesh" (self) in our lives, or we would go back to it! And it is the better part of mercy that we are judged continually - so we don't waste out lives on fleshly pursuits. I don't want everything I've ever done to burn up, with nothing to show for my life. Fire is a GOOD thing in this case. What remains, will be like the "burning bush" - and won't be consumed by the fire.




PSALM 78:56-64                                                                                                  
God was so angry with His own people, that He gave the Ark to the Philistines and allowed His people to be slaughtered, including the high priest and his sons! (1 Sam 4:17-22)  Why was God so angry?  They were unfaithful. They "cheated on Him" with other gods, "high places", and "graven images".  The Temple had become a placed to be avoided because Eli's (high priest) sons were sexually harassing the women, taking the best offerings for themselves, exacting tribute from the people. Outside the Temple, the people had begun worshipping like the tribes around them - pagan nature worship. When the Philistines came against them, the Israelites took the Ark into battle like a "lucky rabbit's foot".  Only it didn't work this time. God let the Philistines take it. That was a big deal, because the Ark represented the Presence of God.

RESPONSE:  When I know I've provoked God, I want to repent quickly. But I don't always do it because I am stubborn, and I want to be sure I'm wrong first! Why risk losing the Presence of God over something like that? That is what is REALLY at stake here. Not my pride, but God's Presence with me. When we repent we draw CLOSER to God, and He then draws CLOSER to us. (James 4:8-10)

PROVERBS 12:24                                                                                                  
"Laziness ends in slave labor" - it seems to me that laziness does not pay, if it leads to more work later!