Deuteronomy 31, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: MERCY AND GRACE

You and I have stumbled in life.  We’ve done our best, only to trip and fall.  The distance between where we are and where we want to be is impassable. Where do we turn? I suggest we look to one of God’s sweetest promises:

“For our high priest [Jesus] is able to understand our weaknesses.  He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin.  Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace.  There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it”  (Hebrews 4:15-16).

When we stumble we aren’t abandoned. The stunning idea is simply this: God, for a time, became one of us.  God became flesh in the form of Jesus Christ.  Neither his humanity nor deity were compromised.  Because God’s promises are unbreakable our hope is unshakable!

Read more Unshakable Hope

Deuteronomy 31

The Charge

 Moses went on and addressed these words to all Israel. He said, “I’m 120 years old today. I can’t get about as I used to. And God told me, ‘You’re not going to cross this Jordan River.’

3-5 “God, your God, will cross the river ahead of you and destroy the nations in your path so that you may dispossess them. (And Joshua will cross the river before you, as God said he would.) God will give the nations the same treatment he gave the kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og, and their land; he’ll destroy them. God will hand the nations over to you, and you’ll treat them exactly as I have commanded you.

6 “Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you.”

7-8 Then Moses summoned Joshua. He said to him with all Israel watching, “Be strong. Take courage. You will enter the land with this people, this land that God promised their ancestors that he’d give them. You will make them the proud possessors of it. God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; he won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry.”

9-13 Moses wrote out this Revelation and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the Chest of the Covenant of God, and to all the leaders of Israel. And he gave these orders: “At the end of every seven years, the Year-All-Debts-Are-Canceled, during the pilgrim Festival of Booths when everyone in Israel comes to appear in the Presence of God, your God, at the place he designates, read out this Revelation to all Israel, with everyone listening. Gather the people together—men, women, children, and the foreigners living among you—so they can listen well, so they may learn to live in holy awe before God, your God, and diligently keep everything in this Revelation. And do this so that their children, who don’t yet know all this, will also listen and learn to live in holy awe before God, your God, for as long as you live on the land that you are crossing over the Jordan to possess.”

14-15 God spoke to Moses: “You are about to die. So call Joshua. Meet me in the Tent of Meeting so that I can commission him.”

So Moses and Joshua went and stationed themselves in the Tent of Meeting. God appeared in the Tent in a Pillar of Cloud. The Cloud was near the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

16-18 God spoke to Moses: “You’re about to die and be buried with your ancestors. You’ll no sooner be in the grave than this people will be up and whoring after the foreign gods of this country that they are entering. They will abandon me and violate my Covenant that I’ve made with them. I’ll get angry, oh so angry! I’ll walk off and leave them on their own, won’t so much as look back at them. Then many calamities and disasters will devastate them because they are defenseless. They’ll say, ‘Isn’t it because our God wasn’t here that all this evil has come upon us?’ But I’ll stay out of their lives, keep looking the other way because of all their evil: they took up with other gods!

19-21 “But for right now, copy down this song and teach the People of Israel to sing it by heart. They’ll have it then as my witness against them. When I bring them into the land that I promised to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, and they eat and become full and get fat and then begin fooling around with other gods and worshiping them, and then things start falling apart, many terrible things happening, this song will be there with them as a witness to who they are and what went wrong. Their children won’t forget this song; they’ll be singing it. Don’t think I don’t know what they are already scheming to do, and they’re not even in the land yet, this land I promised them.”

22 So Moses wrote down this song that very day and taught it to the People of Israel.

23 Then God commanded Joshua son of Nun saying, “Be strong. Take courage. You will lead the People of Israel into the land I promised to give them. And I’ll be right there with you.”

24-26 After Moses had finished writing down the words of this Revelation in a book, right down to the last word, he ordered the Levites who were responsible for carrying the Chest of the Covenant of God, saying, “Take this Book of Revelation and place it alongside the Chest of the Covenant of God, your God. Keep it there as a witness.

27-29 “I know what rebels you are, how stubborn and willful you can be. Even today, while I’m still alive and present with you, you’re rebellious against God. How much worse when I’ve died! So gather the leaders of the tribes and the officials here. I have something I need to say directly to them with Heaven and Earth as witnesses. I know that after I die you’re going to make a mess of things, abandoning the way I commanded, inviting all kinds of evil consequences in the days ahead. You’re determined to do evil in defiance of God—I know you are—deliberately provoking his anger by what you do.”

30 So with everyone in Israel gathered and listening, Moses taught them the words of this song, from start to finish.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Read: Malachi 1:1–5

The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.[a]

The Lord's Love for Israel
2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob's brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob 3 but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” 4 If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’” 5 Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!”

Footnotes:
Malachi 1:1 Malachi means my messenger

INSIGHT
Malachi, though a short book, is a very important one. Malachi ministered as the last prophet sent to the remnant that had returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity. The prophet’s central theme is the coming of the Messiah. The prophet preaches about God’s righteous judgment as well as His love. It’s only in the overwhelming sacrifice of the Messiah, His victory over death, and coming back to earth to make all things right, that the love of God can be fully understood.

The unmerited offer of redeeming grace made known through Jesus Christ is the central theme of the Bible. Certainly our Lord’s life and ministry are a marvelous picture of God’s declaration “I have loved you” (1:2).

Why not take a few minutes to prayerfully reflect on Christ coming to redeem you and the future hope of His coming again. - Dennis Fisher

You Love Me?
By Kirsten Holmberg

How have you loved us? Malachi 1:2

As a teenager, I went through the typical season of rebellion against my mother’s authority. My father died before I entered adolescence, so my mom had to navigate these turbulent parenting waters without his help.

I recall thinking that Mom didn’t want me to ever have any fun—and maybe didn’t even love me—because she frequently said no. I see now that she said no to activities that weren’t good for me precisely because she loves me.

The Israelites questioned how much God loved them because of their time in captivity in Babylon. But that captivity was God’s correction for their continued rebellion against Him. So now, God sent the prophet Malachi to them. His opening words from the Lord were, “I have loved you” (Malachi 1:2). Israel replied skeptically, inquiring as to how God has loved them, as if to say, “Really?” But God, through Malachi, reminded them of the way He had demonstrated that love: He had chosen them over the Edomites.

We all go through difficult seasons in life. We may be tempted to question God’s love for us during those times. Let’s recall the many ways He’s shown us His unfailing love. When we stop to consider His goodness, we find that He is indeed a loving Father.

Lord, You have shown tender care for me over the course of my life. You’ve been present with me in difficult seasons. Help me to always remember Your love.

Our heavenly Father corrects us and comforts us.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
The Unsurpassed Intimacy of Tested Faith
Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" —John 11:40

Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith. But common sense is not faith, and faith is not common sense. In fact, they are as different as the natural life and the spiritual. Can you trust Jesus Christ where your common sense cannot trust Him? Can you venture out with courage on the words of Jesus Christ, while the realities of your commonsense life continue to shout, “It’s all a lie”? When you are on the mountaintop, it’s easy to say, “Oh yes, I believe God can do it,” but you have to come down from the mountain to the demon-possessed valley and face the realities that scoff at your Mount-of-Transfiguration belief (see Luke 9:28-42). Every time my theology becomes clear to my own mind, I encounter something that contradicts it. As soon as I say, “I believe ‘God shall supply all [my] need,’ ” the testing of my faith begins (Philippians 4:19). When my strength runs dry and my vision is blinded, will I endure this trial of my faith victoriously or will I turn back in defeat?

Faith must be tested, because it can only become your intimate possession through conflict. What is challenging your faith right now? The test will either prove your faith right, or it will kill it. Jesus said, “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” Matthew 11:6). The ultimate thing is confidence in Jesus. “We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end…” (Hebrews 3:14). Believe steadfastly on Him and everything that challenges you will strengthen your faith. There is continual testing in the life of faith up to the point of our physical death, which is the last great test. Faith is absolute trust in God— trust that could never imagine that He would forsake us (see Hebrews 13:5-6).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The place for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says nothing, but prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to get into contact with God, and the “greater works” will be done by prayer (see John 14:12–13).  Baffled to Fight Better, 56 R

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
The Set of Your Sail - #8253

Over the years we've lived near the ocean, and we were blessed to have a friend who was a veteran sailor. He'd been sailing the East Coast since he was a boy. And he was generous enough to allow us to go sailing with him sometimes and to watch a master at work. I tried to apply for "first mate," but he always said, "Don't call us, we'll call you." Which he never did. But I was a grateful and curious passenger. He told me some great stories of sailing adventures. He showed us how to do some of what he did, and he related times that he had seen one sailboat after another fall over as they were unprepared for a shift in the wind across the bay there. You don't have to be a seasoned seaman to understand a fundamental law of a successful voyage: It's the set of the sail, not the force of the gale, that determines the way you go.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Set of Your Sail."

That law is never more true and never more important than when it comes to making "no regrets" choices when you're under great pressure to make wrong choices. The Old Testament leader, Daniel, gives us a sterling example of setting your sail, and it's in our word for today from the Word of God.

He's only a young man when a pagan king demands that he and his Jewish friends eat certain foods that the king has prescribed for guys in his leadership-training program. And you don't mess with the king. But Daniel's faith in Jehovah God forbids him to eat those foods; especially in light of the fact that they have been used in idol worship. To do the right thing could cost him an incredible future. It might even cost him his life.

But Daniel 1:8 tells us that in spite of the probable price tag, "Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine." He risks everything. He stands up to massive pressure, and ultimately He's blessed by God and he's rewarded by the king with great position and privilege. Over and over in his life, even into his senior years, Daniel is faced with similar moral choices that could cost him everything. And every time, he does the right thing.

Is that you? The force of the gale on Daniel was powerful. He didn't cave in, though, because he had firmly set his sail in God's direction. And no one – not even the most powerful person in the world – could blow him off course. In order for you to be that kind of moral champion, you're going to need more than just a list of rules that your religion gave you. You'll need like deep-down inside convictions, based not so much on a list of what's wrong but on the ability to know what makes something wrong for a child of God.

So set your sail by asking these five questions about your life-choices: 1) Will this pollute or damage my body, which is God's temple? (1 Corinthians 6:19-20); 2) Will this hurt my reputation? The Bible says, "A good name is to be treasured above riches."(Proverbs 22:1); 3) Could this control me? The Bible says, "No man can serve two masters." (Matthew 6:24). Anything that's controlling your mind or your time or your affections means Jesus isn't. 4) Will this hurt people I influence? Romans 14:13 says, "Don't put any stumbling block in people's way." And finally: 5) Will this discredit Jesus? Colossians 3:17 says to, "Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus."

That Five-Way Test for your life-choices will help you measure every decision by the things that matter to Jesus. It's not rules – it's reasons to do what's right; to do what Jesus wants. He's the only One who loved you enough to die for you!

The heavy winds of pressure to do what others want you to do will continue to blow hard your whole life. But that won't decide what you do. No, it will be the set of your sail, pre-set before God, before the choice even arises. And remember, it's the set of your sail, not the force of the gale, that will determine the way you go!