Living by God’s Rules

-

 


Scripture: Deuteronomy 12:28 (NIV)

28 Be careful to obey all these regulations I [Moses] am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God.

Devotion:

          When parents raise their children, they set down rules for them to follow. The rules are there to protect the children from danger. Often kids will break the rules because they can’t see the danger themselves, so they suffer the natural outcome of say touching a hot stove. When we were children, we all acted foolishly and disobeyed our parents.

          The rules God gives us are there for our own good. The rules show us the way to a life that is pleasing to God. However, like children we often don’t believe that the rules are really there for our good. We often disobey them and suffer the consequences. The apostle Paul understood this to be our human condition when he wrote Romans 7:19-20 (ESV) “19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”

          Since this is our human condition to break God’s rules for our lives, how are we to ever to do what is pleasing to God? The answer does not lie in our human nature which is bent toward sin. Paul gives his summation of the situation at the end of chapter 7 of Romans “24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” In Jesus Christ we can serve God even though our flesh still desires to do what is sinful.

          Therefore, we see that our only hope to do what Moses is talking about in Deuteronomy is to know Christ as our savior. Without him there is no hope of ever really pleasing God. So, let’s rededicate our lives to God through Jesus today.

Prayer:

          Almighty God we humbly submit our lives to your Son, Jesus Christ. We know that nothing that pleases you is found in us apart from Christ. We thank you Lord that you loved your people enough to send your son Jesus to save us from our hopeless sinful condition. We praise you because you are love. Your grace reaches to the heavens keeping us in the way that is right in your eyes. Amen.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcoming the Unwelcome

-
  Scripture: Luke 7:36-38 (NIV) 36  When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Devotion:             First of all, some warnings to my readers. This post will exceed the 500 words I try to limit my posts. Second, this post will contain content people may find offensive or otherwise unfit for print. Please understand that my purpose is neither to offend nor upset but to provoke thought and, hopefully, respectful dialog.             We will use Luke chapter seven as an aid to interpreting the events that occurred last Thursday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. On that da
Read more

Transgenderism letter

-
  This is a copy of my letter to my senators, representative, and President Biden. January 15, 2024 Dear President Biden, Senators T. Duckworth, R. Durbin, and Representative D. LaHood             I am writing to you because I am concerned about the situation affecting our children and grandchildren, namely transitioning them from one gender to another. This nation must adjust course concerning these “interventions” because they are dangerous, irreversible, and life-changing. Our country should not be permitting these procedures on minor children under any circumstances. We must also make sure that adults who seek this care are given informed consent as to the risks versus benefits of sex reassignment treatments.             There are many drawbacks to gender-affirming care for minors. Besides the loss of any ability to give or receive sexual pleasure and sterility these treatments cause, there are social and psychological effects that we have no way of identifying because these
Read more

The Hatred of the World

-
Scripture: John 15:18-20 (ESV) 18  “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20  Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. Devotion:             This scripture is compelling. It explains what happened to Jesus and His disciples some 2,000 years ago. The message of God is rarely welcome news for the world. It calls out many of the culture's favorite practices for what they are: sin. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, humankind has been adamant about trying to hide or excuse their sin. Sin causes a barrier between humans and God that humanity cannot overcome in its own power.             Things have not changed in the
Read more