Faith in Miracles

"See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand" (Deuteronomy 32: 39 NIV).
Sometimes it’s hard looking at the pain and suffering in the world around us. I know I, at times, question where God is in the midst of it all. Today’s readings from Deuteronomy 32-34 and Luke 8:26-56 were a great reminder that God is right there, working his hand. In Deuteronomy we were reminded of his healing power, in Luke we saw some of that power being displayed first hand, as Jesus cast out demons, healed an ailing woman, and raised a young girl from the dead.
Even at this, it’s easy to start doubting His ways. It’s easy to get caught up in earthly pain, and forget that our God is all knowing and all-powerful. Deuteronomy 32: 4 says, “ He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he” (NIV). God is our rock, he’s someone we can depend on, someone we can look to when the world looks meek around us. He’s ways are good and just. We may not always understand them, but he really does have a perfect plan in store for all of us. This is hard for our human brains to grasp, and so I hold on to verses like those above, that reminded me to trust in the Rock of our Salvation. I trust that he will give me faith to believe in healing when the world around me seems to give up. I pray that he will give me hope when others have given up. At times it’s so hard for me to believe in healing, but I have to, I must, because I serve a God of miracles.
And so, for right now, pray for healing for those around me that need it most, for the sweet baby girl in our church, for my mother in law who’s trying to regain her eyesight, for a friend’s preemie baby who’s struggling to hold on at this moment. I pray for healing for all of them, because our God is a Rock, a fortress for all those in need.

He Carries Me

Hello all,
Today’s readings came from Deuteronomy 30-31 & Luke 8:1-25. Here’s the verse I’d like to focus on for today:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
We all have moments of doubt. I was reminded of a friend of mine as I read these verses today. This friend has started doubting the presence of God in her life. She doesn’t feel him moving in the midst of her troubles. She feels very alone. But he’s there. He promises in these verses above that he will never leave us, even during the darkest, scariest times. I know from dark moments in my life that God is always ready to pick us up and carry us through the good and bad times. He’s never let me down, even when other people in this world have. He’s always been there.
Have you had moments where you truly sensed the presence of God? Do you need him to carry you through a rough spot today?

Living By Faith

I’ll admit, I’ve slacked off again. I read part of this reading on Friday and am only getting back to it today. I guess that shows my imperfections, right?

Anyway, the verses I finished reading today came from Deuteronomy 28-29 and Luke 7:31:50.

In Deuteronomy Moses is reminding the people of the blessings they’ll receive if they follow God, and the curses they’ll receive if they don’t. My favorite scripture from this section was the very last verse: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29).

God has given us such wonderful wisdom to follow in scripture. Yet, I often get caught up on the things I don’t know and don’t understand. I question God, instead of living by faith. This verse was a wonderful reminder of God’s intentionality in scripture. He gave us what he wanted us to know, and expects us to trust him for the rest.

The Sinful Women In Luke 7 knew one thing about Jesus, that he was God. She had the right attitude in not asking for millions of listeners, but instead, laying at the feet of Christ and worshping him. Perhaps that’s what I need to do today.

What about you? Do you need to lay anything at the foot of the cross, and trust by faith instead?

First Fruits or After Thoughts?

Today’s Bible in a Year readings were from Deuteronomy 26-27 and Luke 7:1-30. There’s much I could say about both, but for now I’ll focus on the very beginning of Deuteronomy 26. In this section, the Israelites are called to present the first fruits of their crops to the Lord. Not their leftovers, not their end-of-the-season crop, but their first fruits, the very beginning of their crops. Their God deserved the very best, so he expected as much from them.

As I read this section, I started thinking about my own life and wondering. Do I give God the first fruits of my life, or do I hoard those for myself, and only give him the leftovers. It’s so easy for me to get a full head and admire everything I’ve done in this life. How I excelled in school, married a wonderful man, and have had some success as a freelance writer. But the reality is that I am nothing with Jesus. He is my rock each and everyday. Because of this, he deserves my very best, my first fruits. What do these first fruits look like? They could be in the form of a tithe, in a worship song, in time spent on my knees, or in simply giving God the glory he is due. I’m sure there are many other ways to give God our first fruits. What do you think? How will you give your first fruits to Him today?

Deuteronomy 14-16; Luke 5:1-16

Well I know I won’t get this whole Bible in a Year thing done in a year, but I still have the intention of getting this thing done, and blogging about it through the whole process. So here goes the 2010 readings!

The thing that stuck out the most to me today was a tiny verse near the end of Deuteronomy 16. This verse says “your joy will be complete” or as the NASV translates it, you will be “all together joyful.” In context the verse was talking about the Israelites’ feats, but I think that there’s some application even today.

Matthew Henry comments on this portion of scripture by saying, “It is the will of God that his people should be a cheerful people. If those that were under the law must rejoice before God, much more must we that are under the grace of the gospel, which makes it our duty, not only as here to rejoice in our feasts, but to rejoice evermore, to rejoice in the Lord always.”*

God calls us to be joyful. Not just sort of joyful or kind of joyful or sometimes joyful, but completely joyful. This may seem like a daunting task for some, but the invitation is always there. He is ready and willing to give us joy in our lives. A joy that passes understanding. A complete joy that can only come from him.

Do you need joy in your life today?

Lord thank you for loving me the way I am today. Please give me more joy in my life.

*Henry, Matthew. "Commentary on Deuteronomy 16." . Blue Letter Bible. 1 Mar 1996. 2010. 4 Jan 2010.
< style="color: blue;">
AuthorID=4&contentID=800&commInfo=5&topic=Deuteronomy >

Deuteronomy 5-7; Luke 3

“So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.” (Deuteronomy 5:32-33).

I’ve known the Ten Commandments for as long as I can remember. They were ingrained into me as a little girl. They’ve been listed before me so many times, that I’ve started to forget how important they really are. Out of all the rules and laws, these ten were what God saw as the most important. They were the laws he wanted to set down for all generations to follow. Why? Because He knew that his people were an imperfect people in an imperfect world.

I like to thin that I’ve always kept the Ten Commandments, but that’s untrue. I slip up in one area or another on a regular basis. Without realizing it, I often put things before my God. This could be in a relationship, a hobby, a book, or even time spent in the internet. When I value these things above God, I am in fact “worshiping” them as a god. Ouch. I had a tough time even writing that last sentence, but it’s oh so true. For me it’s a daily battle of giving up myself and focusing on my Saviour instead. I’ll leave you today with a rather long passage of scripture that is oh so dear to me. Please, read through these scriptures, and contemplate the daily struggles of your life and then claim victory from them in Christ Jesus:

^“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippines 3:7-4).

Deuteronomy 3-4; Luke 2:25-52

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

How quickly I forget the great things God has done. One thing I’ve been amazed to see over the course of this Bible study is how closely I identify with the Israelites. Time and again I fall back into the same practices. I make the same mistakes. I start to doubt my God. And time and again I have to fall on my face and ask him for forgiveness once again. That’s why these words of caution from todays reading are so important, even to me. I too, have things I never want to forget.

What things do I never want to slip from my heart, you may ask?

That day when I was a friendless, broken twelve year old girl, and God spoke to my heart and told me that He was ready and waiting to be that friend that would never leave or forsake me.

The long night of grief when I was nineteen and he gave me a peace that passes all understanding.

That moment when I pledged my life to my husband at the age of twenty-five, and God began the task of teaching me what true, agape love was really like.

And so many other moments in between. My life has been radically changed by my Savior. Each and every day he’s pushing me to grow and change and become more like him. Sometimes I fail, but other times I’m victorious. In all of this, God is ingraining lessons on my heart each and every day, things I never want to forget, things I want to change me forever.

What lessons has God taught you over the years? What things do you never want to forget? Is there anything that you want to start afresh today? How will you go about that?