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Christian Devotional – April 5, 2014
Read Deuteronomy chapter 21 VERSE: Deuteronomy 21:8a–Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, Lord. TRUTH: Even when the people didn’t know exactly who was responsible for the sin, they were still to offer atonement for that sin through a sacrifice. The people would pray and ask God to accept this atonement. Sin is sin. Do we acknowledge that every sin is still a sin? We must come to God with every single sin and ask for His forgiveness. He is the only one who can redeem us. RESPONSE: Father, I will bring all sins before and will ask for Your cleansing power to redeem every sin. I love You and will acknowledge…
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Christian Devotional – April 4, 2014
Read Deuteronomy chapter 20 VERSE: Deuteronomy 20:8–Then the officers shall add, “Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too.” TRUTH: Our attitude affects those around us. If we are downcast and afraid, others around us will be able to tell and may start to feel the same way as well. Would we want others around us to mimic our attitude? Does our attitude reflect our faith and trust in God or not? RESPONSE: Father, give me an attitude that is a reflection of You so that I may be a part of Your work and also encourage others to…
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Christian Devotional – April 3, 2014
Read Deuteronomy chapter 19 VERSE: Deuteronomy 19:15–One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. TRUTH: God established the justice system in such a way that a person couldn’t be convicted based on just one witness alone. This was to keep people from just lying about a situation or preventing a “he said, she said” situation. When we are making decisions, do we get the opinion of multiple Godly people? Having a couple of people give their advice or their opinion helps to keep our perspective where it…
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Christian Devotional – April 2, 2014
Read Deuteronomy chapter 18 VERSE: Deuteronomy 18:2–They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them. TRUTH: I wonder if the Levites ever felt that they were left out? After all, they had nothing tangible to show for their inheritance in the promised land. They received no land and no territory of their own. Their inheritance was to be the Lord, Himself. Would we rejoice in knowing that we would receive nothing more or less than the intimate knowledge of the Creator of the universe? That privilege is truly the most valuable thing that we could ever be given. We have that…
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Christian Devotional – April 1, 2014
Read Deuteronomy chapter 17 VERSE: Deuteronomy 17:19–It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees. TRUTH: The king of the Israelite people was to be an expert in God’s law. He was to write his own copy of that law and have it with him everywhere he went. As a person who regularly enforced God’s law, he had to know it and understand it and live it out in his own life. How can we hope to keep…
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Christian Devotional – March 31, 2014
Read Deuteronomy chapter 16 VERSE: Deuteronomy 16:17–Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you. TRUTH: When the people came together for the worship times and celebration times, they were to bring a gift to the Lord. It was to be a gift that was in proportion to how God has blessed them. Do we come to worship with a gift to the Lord? Is that gift proportional to the blessings we have received? What do we need to bring to sacrifice before the Lord today? RESPONSE: Father, As I go about worshipping You today, I will be sure to…
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Christian Devotional – March 30, 2014
Read Deuteronomy chapter 15 VERSE: Deuteronomy 15:10–Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. TRUTH: When people in need come to us for help with material or financial burdens, how do we respond? Do we seek to give generously to them whether we think they will pay us back on not? Do we only give the bare minimum to ease our conscience or would we be accused of giving generously? God desires that we give to others in this way and He even promises…
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Christian Devotional – March 29, 2014
Read Deuteronomy chapter 14 VERSE: Deuteronomy 14:22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. TRUTH: The people were to bring a tithe, or ten percent, of the produce of the fields back to God. This was a way to demonstrate obedience and faith in the Lord. The people had to have faith that God would provide enough to meet their needs. Do we have faith that God will meet our needs? If so, we will give back to God with no hesitation. RESPONSE: Father, take what is Yours. You give me everything I have and I can trust in You that You…
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Christian Devotional – March 28, 2014
Read Deuteronomy chapter 13 VERSE: Deuteronomy 13:4–It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. TRUTH: The last several verses and chapters have talked about the importance of obeying God and following Him, but this verse adds one more idea: hold fast to him. We are to cling to God, desperately, intently, whole-heartedly. We cannot hope to follow Him unless we are clinging to Him like a drowning man to a life-preserver. Do we hold fast to God through every circumstance that comes our way? RESPONSE: Father, life throws me ups and downs…
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Christian Devotional – March 27, 2014
Read Deuteronomy chapter 12 VERSE: Deuteronomy 12:4–You must not worship the Lord your God in this way. TRUTH: The other religious people had others ways to worship their gods. They would perform sacrifices and rituals to their gods, but they would include things that were despicable and sinful in their worship practices. God wants it understood that what we do matters as much as why we do it. If we are doing the wrong thing, no amount of saying that it is “for God” will make it right. We must do the things of God in His way as that is what brings Him glory. RESPONSE: Father, I will follow…