Looking forward to a new week of excitement! Deuteronomy chapter 16.
In this chapter the Israelites are reminded of doing the different celebrations as they were told to do years before at the given time of each year. The writer mentioned the Festival of the Weeks. A festival which included celebration and rejoicing. Each person was expected to give a Free Will Offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord has given them. This is thought provoking because how much would I give as a free will offering?
How much do I feel the Lord has blessed me? Would I give a little or give a lot? How do I measure His blessings? Do I base it on my finances? On my material things? On how many friends I have? On whether my life is in turmoil or not? Is it based upon my attitude at the given time?
In the Bible we are told to rejoice in the Lord always Philippians 4 4, and to be joyful always 2nd Thessalonians 5:16. Why? Because God is in control and always at work in our lives. Every positive and negative experience of life we are going through, God is desiring to use it as a way of conforming us more and more into the image of Christ. He wants to help us look more like Jesus in our thoughts and actions.
To me, that is the greatest goal! So in reality, everything we go through is a blessing because God will use all things to help us look more like Jesus.
To be honest, I hate difficult and painful situations. I whine and complain. The word blessing is far from my lips and my mind. In fact, it's during these times that I am most likely to miss the blessings surrounding me. I will focus so much on the negative circumstances that I miss the blessings.
The difficult and painful situations often are what God uses to build my character. To make me humble like Jesus. To be more empathetic to others. To be better understanding of what others are going through. To be more kind and loving to others. To trust God so I can share the outcome as a testimony for the Lord and encourage others going through similar situations.
if I didn't let the difficult and painful situations blind my spiritual vision, then I would notice more often the blessings of my wife, my children, my grandchildren, my extended family, my roof over my head, my warm bed, my running water, my friends, those supporting the ministry of the camp, my paid bills, my answered prayers, etc.
So if I really let myself see all the blessings, then let me ask myself the question again. What would I give to God as my free will offering? What would I want to give? I would want to give him my life everyday so he could use me however he wanted to so I could be a blessing to others. That I would give and help those around me with the blessings that God has given me.
After reading chapter 16 today, I thought more about God’s many blessings and also reflected on Psalm 37:5-31.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He sees that His day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright; their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance. But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away. The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives; for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off. The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand. I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. For the Lord loves justice; He will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever. The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.
Thanks, Jim, for the Psalm reference. I can’t remember ever being blessed as much as by reading through the Book of Psalm recently. The beauty of God’s Word and His Spirit in us is that we can read His Word over and over and He’ll show us something new each time. There is no other God like Him.
[I’m guessing I’m not alone in being drawn down “blessed” rabbit holes at times.] In our devotion today, my heart was drawn to thoughts of the danger in being politically correct today – especially in the danger in learning about other religions/cults like God was warning His children in Deuteronomy. We cannot be servants of God if we seek to please men (see Galatians 1:10). Christianity alone is not based on man working up to God (like Mormonism, Jehovah’s witnesses, Scientology, etc.) but God reaching down to man. Paul tells is we are saved by grace through faith not by anything we do but a gift from God (see Ephesians 2:8). We need to beware of any false doctrine that says Jesus is a created being and not God, as they want to lead us to believe that God did not die for our sins but sent a created being to take His place. Stay with the simplicity of the gospel and the finished work of the Cross. God Himself became a Man. God was in the Son. That’s why a man can’t be saved if he doesn’t believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, that Jesus Christ is God.
We are not here to be politically correct but to share the truth and simplicity of the gospel. The sheep have to be fed but they also have to be warned. Lord, give us the strength and boldness to do Your will while we’re here on earth.
Blessed to see another day! Thank you for all the wonderful comments and insights! I feel honored to be in a group so knowledgeable and steadfast! I took away from this chapter that we must always remember how God has delivered us from this earthly pain (coming out do Egypt) and even when faced with many hardships in life we are blessed! May our offering (our lives) this week to the Lord be intentional and of great devotion.