God’s people are getting set to cross over into the promised
land, and The Lord feels the need to remind them of a few things from their
past and what is required of them moving forward:
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of
you but [reverently] to fear the Lord your God, [that is] to walk in all His
ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your [mind and]
heart and with your entire being, To
keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today
for your good?” - Deuteronomy
10:12–13 (AMP)
Through Moses, God gives them 5 commands/requirements that God expected of
them as His people and still expects of us as well. They were:
___To [reverently]
fear the Lord your God. Reverence is a healthy fear and
sometimes it can be the only thing that motivates people to fulfill their
obligations. A reverential fear is one that honors the Lord by submitting to
and having the highest respect for Him.
___To walk in all
God’s ways, To walk with someone is to be close to them; which begs
the question, how close are you with the Lord? Are you seeking each day to walk
blameless, giving Him your whole heart each day and seeking to know Him more
deeply and intimately as you journey together? To walk in all God’s ways simply means we’re to
conduct our lives according to His ways not ours. (Pr. 3:5-8)
___To love
God. Jesus stated in Matthew 22:37-38, “You shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first
and greatest commandment.” And also explained that love is an action in
John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will
keep My commandments.” Our love for Him enables us to trust Him.
Therefore we need to ask ourselves, do we truly love Him? Do our actions
convey this? For we can be sure: If Jesus is not the object of our affections,
something or someone else is! We need to remember, “We
love him, because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)\___To serve the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being. The Lord is to be the central focal point of our lives, which would be the natural outcome of loving Him. Because we love Jesus we are anxious to serve Him. It would be wrong for our love to do nothing. True love always longs to show itself in action, by doing the work He has assigned to us in particular. Are you actively involved in serving Him and others just now?
___To keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which
I command you today. This in essence means, to obey Him and all He
has required of us. There is a saying that goes, “Partial obedience =
disobedience” Are you obeying Him wholeheartedly and right away?
And then the Lord gave them a simple but profound reason why He is giving
them these requirements: “for your good.”It may seem strange to some that God’s commandments are actually for our own good. We often view any limits to our “freedoms” as something that would hinder our chances of enjoying life to the fullest, but in fact the opposite is true. We see that rather than limiting us and making life “less free,” it turns out that following the LORD brings blessings, and often in abundance! (John 10:10), “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
These same requirements given to Israel before they entered the
promised land are still required of us? How are you measuring up?
On this day, which happens to be Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday, why not take some time and sit quietly before Him and allow Him to reveal any areas the two of you may need to work on together? How can you love and cherish Him more? How can the two of you together love others?
I hope you'll join me today on WitW Facebook page where I'll be sharing more on The Lord loving others through us! AVD the difference between loving and cherishing! Did you know there was a huge difference?! I'm just discovering this for myself! Come join me!
On this day, which happens to be Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday, why not take some time and sit quietly before Him and allow Him to reveal any areas the two of you may need to work on together? How can you love and cherish Him more? How can the two of you together love others?
I hope you'll join me today on WitW Facebook page where I'll be sharing more on The Lord loving others through us! AVD the difference between loving and cherishing! Did you know there was a huge difference?! I'm just discovering this for myself! Come join me!
