Deuteronomy 11:1-12:32 ~ Luke 8:22-39 ~ Psalm 70:1-5 ~ Proverbs 12:4
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Old Testament - Wow. I like Deuteronomy chapter 11 a lot today. There are a ton of powerful verses in this chapter! I love verse 22 - ""Be careful to obey all the commands I give you; show love to the LORD your God by walking in his ways and clinging to him." I really like that... show Love to God by walking in his ways - and clinging to him. I think I caught that term in our readings yesterday as well - "clinging." I know in our world today it's not too cool to be too clingy. :) But, I think God indeed wants us to be clingy when it comes Him! I pray that I cling to God each and every day. How about you? When it comes to God, are you clingy? Check out this amazing stained glass image of a woman clinging to the cross. Amazing. I love the imagery. Take a few moments to meditate on this one...
Verses 26 through 28 are terrific verses on the choice the Israelites could make back then - ""Today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today. You will receive a curse if you reject the commands of the LORD your God and turn from his way by worshiping foreign gods." I believe this choice has morphed but still continues today through the New Covenant. We can choose to follow Jesus or we can choose to follow our own ways. One way is a blessing and one way is truly a curse. Like the Israelites, we still have the choice of a blessing or a curse.... Which choice will we make?
New Testament - Today in Luke chapter 8 verses 29 through 31 we will read some sobering verses – “For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.” Jesus then expels these demons from the man into a herd of pigs. The One Year Bible Companion has an interesting commentary on these verses that says Jesus did not simply destroy or send these demons into the Abyss, “because the time for such work had not yet come. But it will come. The book of Revelation records the future victory of Jesus over Satan, his demons, and all evil.” This is news for each of us to pay attention to! Satan, his demons and all evil are still out and about in our world today. And honestly - make no mistake - we each need to be very cognizant of the evil that can pursue our hearts. I don’t mean to scare you – but also, I do mean to scare you. :) When I first became a Christian 9 years ago, I instantly understood God’s love and grace and goodness. And I honestly thought for a short while that the world was just so good, and that there wasn’t really any evil in the world. There were just humans that made bad decisions. Well, fortunately I shared this viewpoint with a wise Christian friend of mine. He prescribed that I read 2 books – 1. This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti and 2. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. My friend also told me this – “The devil’s greatest trick is making you think that he does not exist. If you don’t believe he exists, then you won’t even realize it when he’s tempting you.” Wow. So true. If you are like me, where I was a few years ago, and you are not so sure that there is an actual presence of evil in our world – an evil that pursues people’s hearts – then I prescribe these 2 books above to you as well. Now – the good news – Jesus is still the answer to expelling demons and evil and sin away from us today! Jesus is Risen and is so infinitely more powerful than any of the evil that is out there. So – more important than reading those 2 books above, my prescription to you really is to stay as close to Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit as you possibly can in this life. And you will have no need to fear evil. Stick with Jesus.
Okay, I’ve typed a lot here without a question. . . Here it is. Do you believe in the existence of evil in our world today? Do you believe that Satan exists? Do you believe that demons exist? Do you know the one true Remedy and Salvation and Protection from all evil? Will you run into Jesus’ arms for this safety forever? And my last piece of very serious advice if you are struggling with a sin that you know is putting you in contact with evil – you must must must leave that sin behind. I know that all sin is risky and dangerous and dumb, but I think you also will know if you are really entertaining a sin that is leading you down a very dark path. Please confess that sin to Jesus and God and repent. Seek counseling and professional help immediately if it a serious sin or addiction. God will give you victory. Yes, it may be a long and painful process of getting free from the addiction, but you must take this journey to freedom. The freedom will justify the pain it takes to get you there. Paul tells us to flee from sin. Flee from evil. Will you flee? Please flee.
Bible.org's commentary on Luke chapter 8's readings today titled "Stilling of the Storm" is at this link and commentary on "The Deliverance of the Demoniac" is at this link.
Interestingly, ABC's Nightline TV program just this past Thursday night did a big "Does Satan Exist?" program featuring Pastor Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle (arguing for Satan's existence) and Deepak Chopra (arguing against Satan's existence). If you didn't see the program, it is now online in its entirety at the website link below. Please pay careful attention to Pastor Mark Driscoll's words and don't be swayed by Deepak or the other gentleman's smooth & deceptive talking. It is particularly sad to see what the world thinks about the Bible these days... http://www.abcnews.go.com/Nightline/FaceOff
Psalms - Psalm 70 verse 4 is awesome - "But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, "God is great!"" Indeed, I think as Christians we should be filled with joy & gladness! Yes, there will be tough times. And suffering. But overall, I pray that we are filled with joy and gladness. And then the second sentence in this verse reminds me of an older Relient K song with lyrics that go something like this - "Your voice has broken my defense. Let me embrace salvation!" I like that thought. Let us embrace salvation. Let us love salvation.
Proverbs - Proverbs 12:4 today teaches us: "A worthy wife is her husband's joy and crown; a shameful wife saps his strength."
Worship God: Deuteronomy Chapter 11 reminded me of John Waller's great song called "The Blessing." Below are 2 videos - one a video with just the song "The Blessing" and the 2nd video is more details on John Waller with interviews of him.
Will you be a blessing for life? Click here for your eternal Blessing!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture this week: "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection." Philippians 3:10 NIV
Comments from You & Questions of the Day: Based on our Proverb above, what do you think worthy means in this context? Why would a worthy spouse be the other spouse's joy and crown? What does shameful mean in this context? If you are married, do you seek to be a worthy spouse? If you are not married, are you preparing yourself today for potentially being a worth spouse in the future? Also, what verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
Yes, I do know there is a devil and demons in this world today. I have read both those books you recommended. They were real eye openers, even when I already knew satan and demons were real.
One suggestion I'd have about getting rid of sin in your life--first of all you may need to ask God to reveal anything in you that has not been planted by Him, then if you have a hard time giving it up, all you need to do is ask God to give you the strength to give it up. He shows you the sin and then gives you His power alone to give it to Him. God is so neat that way--it's like getting a test and then He gives you the answers and ways to "get it right". There is no way we can give up sin on our own power. Giving it to Jesus is the only way.
Posted by: Betty | March 28, 2009 at 08:07 PM
Hello All,
Betty, thanks for sharing your thoughts. The Screwtape Letters is a powerful little book that will stay with you forever. I love the works of C.S. Lewis--great stuff.
Mike, I love the thought of clinging to Him also. He's the only one worth clinging to! It reminded me of the wording in the Parable of the Sower from yesterday's reading:
Luk 8:15 And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God's word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.
Cling to God, cling to His Word--about sums it up : )
Posted by: Elizabeth | March 29, 2009 at 06:07 AM
I just want to thank you for the wonderful links and music you've provided today. The Satan debate was hugely interesting for while I find much of what Mark D does in his church offputting, his rebuttals in the debate were solid and provoking. I'd also never heard of John Waller's music before, so really appreciated hearing it. BLessings TKR
Posted by: TKR | March 29, 2009 at 03:27 PM
I don't know anything about Mark D, but I found myself wishing that they would have picked someone else to represent the Christian faith for that Satan debate. No one seemed to have any rebuttal to that ex-reverand and all of his twisting of Scripture, making God out to be so angry.
Thanks for posting the link. It was an interesting way to start off my Sunday :)
Posted by: Barb | March 29, 2009 at 06:15 PM