God Teaching His Children

Deuteronomy 8:5---Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.

The word "discipline" means "to teach". God is always trying to teach His children. The verses in yesterday's devotion showed us that trials in life teach us how much we need to depend on God's Word. We need to learn the lesson of humility. The teaching method God often uses is discipline. In this verse, we are told about the heart of the teacher. He has a Father's heart. No wonder Jesus called God 'Daddy' (Abba). The word of God tells us that even Jesus learned through the things He suffered. If Father God would take His beloved Son, Jesus, through difficulty to teach Him, then how much more do we need it? We often pray to be delivered from illness, to escape a trial, to be rescued from situations, and we should look to God when we are in trouble. The lesson we see in the wilderness wanderings of Israel is that of attitude toward the test. Israel often failed by murmuring about the test instead of learning the lesson God was trying to teach, the lessons of humility and dependency. What will you do when the next trial comes your way? What should be your response? Some demand that God remove the test, the teaching tool, without learning or even acknowledging the lesson. Others run to a man to find a solution and refuse to acknowledge the test comes from a loving Father.

Trials of Life Are to Humble Us And Show Us Our Need

Deuteronomy 8:3-4---And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.

God tested Israel in the wilderness in order to know what was in their heart. It was not as if our all-knowing God couldn't see their hearts. They needed to see how faithless and proud their own hearts were. So do we! Because of our sinful nature, we get the ridiculous idea that we are independent creatures. We think we can take care of ourselves. That is why we are taken through wilderness experiences. When the LORD sets his love upon you, the most gracious thing He can do for you is to show you the truth. The truth is that you are a dependent creature, dependent upon the word of God for air, water, food, ability, and life itself. God alone is ascient (self-sustaining). How do you think Moses survived two forty-day fasts without water? The Word of God sustained him. How could the nation of Israel live for 40 years in a desert? The Word of God brought water from the rock, bread from the sky, and kept their clothes from wearing out. When we realize this fact of total dependency, we are humbled. Jesus knew it to be true. He said, "I can do nothing by myself." As a man, He knew He had become dependent on the Word of His Father, and so He spoke and acted what He heard and learned from the Father. The effect of the humbling truth that we are totally dependent on the Word of God should change the way we speak and act if we are to accomplish anything of lasting value. Recognize the reality of how needy you are.

Delivered From The Power Of The Enemy

Deuteronomy 7:7-8---The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Why does the LORD set His love on certain ones? In the case of Israel, we see that He simply chose to love them, and it was in keeping with the oath He made to their forefathers. That oath began with the man of faith, Abraham. Our relationship with God can affect future generations that follow us. God chose to love the world. He set His love upon the world because of what Jesus did. The result of Jesus' life of faith is the same type, but it is the ultimate fulfillment of the shadow in Abraham. We, too, were delivered from the land of slavery, slavery to our old nature. We, too, are delivered from the master of this world, Satan. He no longer has a claim to our lives. He has no right to our souls. God made a promise to crush the head of Satan so that we could be redeemed and out from under the power of the enemy. This verse applies to us today. God has set His affection on you and chosen you. Thank Jesus for making that possible. Live in the knowledge of the truth that God has set His affection on you because of Jesus' life of faith and death in your place.

Education May Change but God's Word Never Changes

Deuteronomy 7:2---And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

Many people stumble upon this portion of Scripture. It is amazing how modern "science" justifies the brutality of some cultures and condemns Christian history as un-Christian. If a culture is faithful to its beliefs, though those beliefs slaughter innocents and destroy indiscriminately, we are told we just don't understand their culture. But when power mongers live in disregard to Christian principles, yet operate in the name of Christ, it is condemned as Christianity's dark side. Look at any culture today that does not have a Christian heritage and ask yourself if you would honestly want to live there. Yet, few educators will acknowledge the wonderful blessing faith in Christ has brought to the world. The passage today is often cited as an example of the brutality of the Old Testament God. What is ignored is that the Children of Israel were in Egypt 400 years while the cup of iniquity of these people was filling up. They had the truth during the time of Melchizedek, at the beginning of that 400 year period, but they turned from it and became increasingly wicked. By the time Israel entered the land, the people there were slaughtering babies by the thousands to Moleck, burning them alive. (12:31) The other god they worshipped, Baal, included self-mutilation and perverse sexual practices in public worship. When cultures become that evil, life becomes unbearable and filled with misery and disease. It was God's mercy to command (and only the Creator has the right to) that those cultures be wiped out. They were influencing the world for evil, and God was replacing them with Israel to influence the world for good.

He Has Brought You Out To Bring You In

Deuteronomy 6:23---And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.

All through the wilderness wondering, the people complained that God had brought them out to let them die in the wilderness. Someone had their ear. Does someone have yours? God's intention is to bring you out of the world to bring you into fellowship with Him. The Israelites kept complaining that God was going to let them die in the wilderness. They feared never making it. That was the worst of both worlds. They couldn't enjoy Egypt nor could they enjoy the Promised Land. All they had was the Desert wandering. When they finally were ready to go in, they had such a lack of faith in God's ability to conquer their enemies that they requested dying in the desert. The Apostle Paul wrote that if we have no hope of resurrection, if all we have is here, eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. In other words, if this desert wandering is all we have, let's go back to Egypt. In today's verse, God declares that His whole purpose in bringing us out is to bring us in. It is not to take away pleasurable things. It is to give you real pleasures (Psalm 16:11). God will finish the work He started when He first drew you to Himself. He will change you into His image (Romans 8:29). He will bring you into the Promised Land of unbroken fellowship with Him. We struggle with all the distractions of life and wonder if we will ever get there. He brought you out to bring you in! Don't get comfortable in this desert, pilgrim.

The Fear (RESPECT) Of The Lord

Deuteronomy 5:29---O that there was such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!

The church of the last century took a giant swing from preaching the fear of God to preaching the love of God. Both are important and both are needed. We need to see the entire character of God, as a focus on only one aspect is sure to get us off balance. When Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon, Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God, the listeners had such a vision of hell that they clung to their pews for fear of falling in. Today we almost laugh at that image but remember that people were coming to Christ and confessing their sins. When Moody began to be popular he preached along this same vein, until he heard a young evangelist preach on the love of God. He saw people accepting Christ and was upset. Then he began to realize what a wonderful drawing power the love of God has on a man. "We love Him because He first loved us." He saw it was true in the Scriptures. Gradually American preaching started to shift from hellfire and damnation to the love of God. Neither emphasis is wrong, for both are true of the nature of God. God hates sin because it destroys us. He hates sin because it is contrary to who He is and because He is good. He is a just and righteous God that will give a just sentence to those who insistently rebel against His goodness. Hell is real and is perfect justice for all who will be sent there. In today's passage, we see again that God has good intentions for us. To disobey means to walk toward destruction and evil. That is why we need to fear the Holy One and heed His commands. We can love Him and fear Him when we realize His commands are out of concern and love for us, to keep us from the Destroyer.

Finding Happiness

Deuteronomy 5:21---Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or anything that is thy neighbor's.

Hello America! Lust will be our undoing. What God has given to another should cause you to be glad for them, not envious. Envy and selfishness are clear signals that we are walking in the flesh (our old nature). To desire to have your neighbor's possession shows you have allowed your heart to become idolatrous (putting a thing before God). What follows is theft, adultery, working on your Sabbath, and ignoring God to get what your heart has fixed itself on. Every day commercials bombard us with things to lust after. Advertisers always imply that the possession of the thing will bring you happiness. That has some truth. Things often do bring a shallow and temporal happiness. Things never affect the genuine joy of the heart. Satan said in Genesis 3:5, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Satan promises way more than he delivers and never tells you the full price you will pay. The Ten Commandments are almost doable until we get to this last one. The problem with man is "his 'wanter' is broken". We should be desiring the truth, things of God, righteousness. Instead, we set our hearts on creations, not the Creator.

Life, A Vapor

James 4:14---Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

It seems like just yesterday that I was waiting anxiously to turn 16 years of age, and it took forever to get there. Since that time the years have flown by. On the 30th of this month, I will retire from Hospice Chaplaincy. The many journies I have taken with hundreds of families will forever be in my heart and I will never forget them. While I will step away from Chaplaincy I will continue to carry on through Danny V. Ray Ministries to do my best to point men, women, boys, and girls to the Lord Jesus Christ. I will continue to pastor the Gordon Avenue Baptist Church in Adel, Georgia. Thank you to the many who supported me through Chaplaincy and for your prayers as we seek God for direction in the days to come.

Acknowledge The Heart of God

Deuteronomy 4:39-40---Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath there is none else. Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, forever.

Moses reminded the people of the ways in which God had made Himself known to them. Then he spoke these verses. I believe God has shown each person reading this devotional a revelation of Himself. It is because He has drawn each of us uniquely that we are responsible to acknowledge and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and earth below. There is no other! There should be no valid competitor for our allegiance. There should be no usurpers to His lordship over our lives. If we are bowing to anything else, in any way, we are not rendering to God the response He deserves. Is there "no other" god in your life? Take that to heart this day. The enemy of our soul would love to distort the reason God directs and instructs us, just as he did in the Garden of Eden. God wants us to keep His instructions "so that it may go well with you and your children". In the Old Testament, the Spirit was not indwelling believers. That made generalized rules necessary as standards of conduct and health. Today the Spirit indwells every believer to instruct us specifically in every situation, "so that it may go well with you and your children". God can do His work without you, but He wants to include you to bless you and your children. Many of us have fallen prey to the enemy's lie in the Garden and think God wants uninformed slaves.

Who Do I Need To Forgive

Deuteronomy 4:29-31---But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) 

Moses warned the people that if they worshipped other gods and did not keep the covenant, they would become captives of other nations. God states that the reason is that He is a jealous God. The word for 'jealous' in Hebrew includes the meaning of a white-hot fire. God is passionate about those He has chosen. He will bring into their lives whatever it will take to turn them back to Him. He promises, in this passage, that if from that place of slavery, you will seek the LORD you will find Him. But that is accompanied by a big "if". The condition is looking for Him with all our heart and soul. That is why Israel went into captivity, their hearts were mixed, thinking satisfaction and fulfillment lay in God plus something else. God allows distress to come into our lives to return us to Him. Then we get a sense of the reality of life without Him and become desperate to be in Him. That is when He will help us turn back to Him. Why? Why would God want His unfaithful bride back after she so willingly sought other lovers? The LORD our God is a merciful God. Mercy forgives and forgets and loves once again. We have been recipients of this mercy as Israel was. It is now our duty to be merciful to others. Forgive and forget and love again so that you will be a reflection of the wonderful God who loves you.

Sharing With Your Children

Deuteronomy 4:9---Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;

Israel had seen so much since the days when Moses began to confront Pharaoh. If they could just remember all God had done and the lessons that He had taught them. If their children could only learn those stories by vivid storytelling so that they would cling to the lessons. What a difference it would make in their future and the choices they would make! It would save them from such heartache and sorrow. They were warned to be careful and watch themselves closely so as not to forget, letting the lessons slip from their heart. We have the same warning in the New Testament. (Hebrews 2:1) We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. And how much more it applies to us who know all that God did to provide us the Way of salvation in His only Son? We need to teach our children the lessons of the Word as well as those from our own lives. We need to remember the testimonies of when God met us and share them with our children. We need to share the wonder of when the Word came alive to us and spoke to us personally. When we do that, we not only encourage their faith, but we set an example that will affect future generations. Never fear to share your personal walk with God with your children. They need to hear about it. It also reminds you of the lessons you have learned and helps prevent them from slipping from your heart.

Forsaken Of The Father

God Is Near You When You Pray

Deuteronomy 4:7-8---For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statute and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

Our God fills the universe, and yet He is near everyone, ready to commune with hearts that are receptive to Him. He is overall and yet willing to have a personal relationship with those who seek Him in truth. There has never been a god invented by any religion that is so great and so loving as the God of the Bible. We did not invent our God. He revealed Himself to us. He continues to reveal Himself to us as long as we continue to seek the wonder of His infinite greatness. Though Israel was a nation with the privilege of seeing Him move on their behalf, all the nations that came in contact with Israel could witness the same and decide if they wanted to pursue the God of Israel. He would be just as near any of them that sought Him whenever they prayed to Him. What really made Israel unique was that they had the recorded word of God. The laws that they received were full of the Creator's instructions that kept them from the diseases and injustices that the nations around them experienced. The revealed Word gave them a new culture, the culture of God. Even the culture was meant to be a witness to the nations.

Be An Encourager

Deuteronomy 1:38---But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

How appropriate that the one whose name in Aramaic is Jesus, should lead them into the Promised Land. Now, Jesus of Nazareth leads us to inherit all that God has for us. There in the wilderness, Moses was telling the people that Joshua, son of Nun, was going to need their encouragement. Leadership is listed as one of the gifts in Romans 12:8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Just because some have and use this gift does not mean they can do it on their own. They need others using their gifts as well. The first gift mentioned in the Romans passage is an encouragement.We think of the gifts as uniquely New Testament, but they have existed to some extent in the Old Testament too. Leaders tend toward discouragement because they see more of the problems than most. They are also the target of criticism when things are not going well. Some are not satisfied because their personal preferences are not acted upon and let the leader know it. A number of times Moses had experienced discouragement while leading with God's direction. Moses knew how needed encouragement is. Encourage your leaders. Of course, they can get a big head and become prideful like anyone else, but most are in need of hearing an honest encouraging word. Look for the things that you sense is the leading of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of the Elders around you, and encourage them with the testimony of how it has ministered to you.

Dealing With Trouble

Numbers 33:55---But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.

Moses warned the Children of Israel. He told them they needed to drive out all the inhabitants of the land God had given them. We know from archeology that the people that lived there practiced some very dark religions that included the burning of live babies and lewd sexual fertility practices. God was establishing a nation that represented Him at the crossroads of the world. If the impression the world received was mixed with evil then the message too would be mixed and unclear. Unfortunately, they did not endure to see God's will done in this matter. It caused them many problems, and they were tempted to incorporate the religion of those people into Judaism. It was easier at the time of taking the Promised Land to avoid those areas that were the most difficult to conquer. It was harder for later generations to deal with the descendants of those people. That principle carries on to this day. If we will deal with the difficult issues in our lives when we are made aware of them, we will save ourselves and our children problems in the future. If we compromise and do not allow the Lord to take full possession of our hearts, our children and we will pay the price later. When the Lord makes you aware of an unsurrendered area in your heart, don't compromise. Deal with it. Make it His. You can justify anything if you want, but you and your children will pay the price. That thing will be barbs in your eyes, skewing the way you see the world. It will be thorns in your sides, causing you to move in directions you would not otherwise.