March 17, 2006 - Deuteronomy 30-31 and Mark 15:1-25
Have you ever drifted away from the Lord? Have you ever gone away from the Lord on purpose? How was your life different at that time? Were you more happy or did you have less joy and peace? Did God give up on you? Did He stop caring about you? Of course, He did not stop caring. God loves you, and when you get away from Him, He is waiting for you to return. He will punish you to show you your sin, but He does it all to bring you back to Him. That is what this passage is all about.
Chapter 30 is really very amazing. God tells His people that He will receive them back after they depart from Him, if they will return in genuine repentance and obedience. Isn't that an amazing testimony to the love of God? He told them in advance what He would do. He never wanted them to be unsure of His love for them. The message is that our relationship with God is up to us. Once we come to know Him as our Lord and Savior, He wants to have a close relationship with us. If we depart from that close relationship. It is up to us to return to Him. It is our choice. We can choose life or death. (v.19) This is not that we will lose our salvation, but it means we can destroy ourselves by choosing to depart from God and live a life of sin. He will add all of those curses to our lives. Isn't that what you see all around you today? There are so many Christians who have left God, and they are experiencing troubles, but they are refusing to return to Him. If they would just return, He would welcome them back and restore their joy.
Chapter 31 reinforces this truth. God ordered the Law to be read to all of the people together every seven years. It also tells us that God gave Moses a song to give to the people before he died. This song was to stick in their heads, so they would never forget that they could return to God. God knows how music works on us. He wanted to give the most powerful way possible to instill in their memory this vital truth. Of course, today we have the Holy Spirit in us to convict us all of the time, but that was not the case in the Old Testament time. What songs has God used in your life to call you back to Him? I think we all can name a few. This shows the great love of the Lord in our lives.
Mark 15 shows the sober reality of sinful hearts that had departed from God. The Jewish leaders were calling for Jesus to be crucified. They even caused a murderer to be released at the same time. What were they thinking? They were very far from God. What was Jesus will for them? He wanted them to return to Him and to believe in Him for salvation. He wanted to forgive them. That is the heart of God. He wants us to have the same heart for those around us. He wants us to forgive. He wants us to welcome people back to the Lord, when they repent. He wants us to show His love, too.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 32-34 and Mark 15:26-47.
Chapter 30 is really very amazing. God tells His people that He will receive them back after they depart from Him, if they will return in genuine repentance and obedience. Isn't that an amazing testimony to the love of God? He told them in advance what He would do. He never wanted them to be unsure of His love for them. The message is that our relationship with God is up to us. Once we come to know Him as our Lord and Savior, He wants to have a close relationship with us. If we depart from that close relationship. It is up to us to return to Him. It is our choice. We can choose life or death. (v.19) This is not that we will lose our salvation, but it means we can destroy ourselves by choosing to depart from God and live a life of sin. He will add all of those curses to our lives. Isn't that what you see all around you today? There are so many Christians who have left God, and they are experiencing troubles, but they are refusing to return to Him. If they would just return, He would welcome them back and restore their joy.
Chapter 31 reinforces this truth. God ordered the Law to be read to all of the people together every seven years. It also tells us that God gave Moses a song to give to the people before he died. This song was to stick in their heads, so they would never forget that they could return to God. God knows how music works on us. He wanted to give the most powerful way possible to instill in their memory this vital truth. Of course, today we have the Holy Spirit in us to convict us all of the time, but that was not the case in the Old Testament time. What songs has God used in your life to call you back to Him? I think we all can name a few. This shows the great love of the Lord in our lives.
Mark 15 shows the sober reality of sinful hearts that had departed from God. The Jewish leaders were calling for Jesus to be crucified. They even caused a murderer to be released at the same time. What were they thinking? They were very far from God. What was Jesus will for them? He wanted them to return to Him and to believe in Him for salvation. He wanted to forgive them. That is the heart of God. He wants us to have the same heart for those around us. He wants us to forgive. He wants us to welcome people back to the Lord, when they repent. He wants us to show His love, too.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Deuteronomy 32-34 and Mark 15:26-47.