Author Archives: Steve

Establishing the Sacred in Your Life – Deuteronomy 12:8-11

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stained_glass_church“You are not to do as we are doing here today; everyone is doing whatever seems right in his own eyes. Indeed, you have not yet come into the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you. When you cross the Jordan and live in the land the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you live in security, then Yahweh your God will choose the place to have His name dwell. Bring there everything I command you: your burnt offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the tenth, personal contributions, and all your choice offerings you vow to the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 12:8-11, HCSB).

Beginning in Chapter 12 in Deuteronomy and for about the next 10 chapters, a series of laws and statutes are given by Moses during his second address to the Israelites. In this chapter Moses specifically addresses the chosen place for the Israelites to worship.

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Your God Is Too Small – Luke 8:53-55

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God-in-a-box“But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died. Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, My child, get up! And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up!” (Luke 8:53-55, NLT).

In Luke 8 Jesus calms a storm, commands a large number of evil spirits to come out of a man, heals a woman who suffered from a bleeding condition for twelve years, and raises a little girl from the dead!

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It’s God’s Grace, Stupid! – Deuteronomy 9:5-6

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are-you-dumb“You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the Lord your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people”  (Deuteronomy 9:5-6, HCSB).

First, let me say that I’m not calling you (the reader) stupid. So please don’t be offended by the title. Rather, these are the words that I’m imagining Moses would have really liked to declare to the Israelites after their forty-year wandering in the wilderness.

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Life’s Not Fair – Ecclesiastes 9:11-12

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Lifes-Not-Fair“Again I saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, or the battle to the strong, or bread to the wise, or riches to the discerning, or favor to the skillful; rather, time and chance happen to all of them. For man certainly does not know his time: like fish caught in a cruel net or like birds caught in a trap, so people are trapped in an evil time as it suddenly falls on them” (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12, HCSB).

In a previous post I remarked that the Teacher, the writer of Ecclesiastes, is a deep thinker that has tried everything in life. If he hasn’t tried it, then he has at least thought about it.

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Death Wish – Ecclesiastes 7:2-4

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thinkingaboutdeath“A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume. And the day you die is better than the day you are born. Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies—so the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for sadness has a refining influence on us. A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time” (Ecclesiastes 7:2-4, NLT).

The Teacher had a good understanding about human nature when he penned these words in the book of Ecclesiastes.

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Success Story – Deuteronomy 8:18

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Success-Arrows-Up“You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (Deuteronomy 8:18, ESV).

This verse is one of my favorites. Moses is preaching to Israel and preparing them to enter the promised land.

He reminds them of all God has miraculously done in bringing them out of Egyptian slavery and during their wilderness wanderings over the last forty years.

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Life: An Exercise in Futility? – Ecclesiastes 1:2-3; 6:17

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exercise-in-futility“Everything is futile. What does a man gain for all his efforts that he labors at under the sun… For who knows what is good for man in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow? Who can tell man what will happen after him under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3; 6:17, HCSB).

It seems like the writer of Ecclesiastes, who calls himself the Teacher and is probably Solomon, had a jaundiced, even cynical outlook on life.

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God Fights For You – Deuteronomy 3:21-22

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RockyBalboa“I commanded Joshua at that time: Your own eyes have seen everything the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms you are about to enter. Don’t be afraid of them, for the Lord your God fights for you” (Deuteronomy 3:21-22, HCSB).

These are words spoken by Moses when he transferred leadership over Israel to Joshua. There’s no enemy that Joshua and the Israelites should fear because…

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The Greatest of All – Luke 7:28

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Greatest-of-All-Small“I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!” (Luke 7:28, NLT).

Jesus praised John the Baptist as one of the greatest people who have ever lived. Then, Jesus contrasted the eminence of John with that of people who are just “average” citizens of God’s Kingdom.

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