Deuteronomy 9:18

Deuteronomy 9:18 says, And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.  Moses said he neither ate nor drank for forty days and nights, after falling down before the LORD, because of the sins of the people.  We cannot atone for the sins of others, but we can go to God on their behalf in prayer and fasting.  Verse nineteen adds, For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.  Moses said that He did this because he was afraid of the anger that God felt toward them.  I believe God's anger was at their actions, just as it is at the actions of those who will not accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord today.  Moses said God heard him at that time.  We may never know when our prayers have given someone more time to accept Jesus Christ, but we can be certain that God will hear our prayers on their behalf.  Verse twenty adds, And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.  Aaron, God's priest, had joined in the idol creation and worship, and Moses was afraid that God would destroy him as well.  We need to be in prayer for any preacher who strays away from God's word today, that they might recognize their error and return to preaching God's word correctly.   Verse twenty-nine continues, And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.  Moses said he took the calf which represented their sinful worship, reduced it to powder and threw the powder into the brook that descended out of the mount.  It may have been gold, but it was worthless to them now.  We need to utterly destroy anything that stands between God and us today, no matter how valuable the world may believe it to be.  Verse twenty-two states, And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath. Even after being spared for their rebellion in worshipping the golden calf, the people again rebelled.  The sad news is that God has already forgiven everyone's sins when Jesus died on the cross, but most people continue to rebel against God by refusing to accept Him as their personal Savior and Lord, no matter how many chances God gives them to do so.  Verse twenty-three adds, Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.  Moses said they further rebelled when God told them to go in and possess the Promised Land, because they had no faith in God.  God calls us today to come to Him by faith in Jesus Christ so that we can one day go up to live in heaven, but too many people refuse to put their faith in Him.  Verse twenty-four continues, Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.  Moses said that the people of Israel, God's chosen people, had been rebellious since the day He knew them.  Some people today, even though salvation is their's for the claiming, have always rebelled against God by not accepting it.  Verse twenty-five says, Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you.  Moses said he once again fell down before the LORD for forty days and nights.  We should never be to quick to give up on people that need Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.   Verse twenty-six adds, I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.  Moses again intervened for the people of Israel, and we need to be intervening for the lost people of the world today.  Verse twenty-seven continues, Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin:  Moses asked God to remember His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and not to look to the stubbornness of the people.  When we are saved today, it is not because of our goodness, but because of God's promise of everlasting life to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty-eight states, Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.  Moses said that if God destroyed His chosen people that He had delivered out of Egypt before they went into the Promised Land that other people would say that He was unable to deliver them.  Verse twenty-nine adds, Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.  Moses said that they were God's people because of Who He was and not because of who they were, and so are we today as Christians. 

Deuteronomy 9:7

Deuteronomy 9:7 says, Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.  Moses reminded the people that even though they were God's chosen people that He had delivered out of bondage in Egypt, they had remained a rebellious people.  As followers of Christ, we can be and too often are as well.  Still, they remained His chosen people because of Who He was, and so will we if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse eight adds, Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you.  Still, there was a time when God became angry enough at their rebellious nature to destroy them, and we need to pray that we as Christians never make Him that mad.  Verse nine continues, When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:  Moses said that this occurred while he was up on the mountain receiving God's law, during which time he neither ate nor drank for forty days.  Moses represented God to them, and they hadn't seen him for forty days, so they rebelled.  If we begin to feel that God isn't with us today, we need to draw closer to Him and not rebel against Him.  Verse ten states, And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.  Moses said God delivered to him the two tablets of stone with the Ten Commandments written on them by God's finger.  Today, the Ten Commandments should be written in our hearts by God.  Verse eleven adds, And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.  Moses said at the end of the forty days that God gave him the two tablets of the covenant.  I don't believe that it took God forty days to write the Ten Commandments on the stones, but it was a time for Moses and the people of Israel to prepare themselves spiritually to receive them.  Verse twelve continues, And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.  Mose said God told him to arise and quickly get down the mountain because the people which he had led out of Egypt had corrupted themselves and made a golden image to worship.  The people of Israel may not have known what God was doing, but He knew what they were doing.  We may at times wonder where God is in a particular situation, but He always knows where we are.  Verse thirteen declares, Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:  Moses said God told him that He had seen this people and they were a stiffnecked people.  We need to make sure that as followers of Christ God never sees us the same way.  Verse fourteen adds, Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they.  Though God had chosen the people of Israel to be His people, He was ready to blot them out and choose a different people to work through.  We can never believe that we are special to God simply because of where we were born whether we obey God or not.  It takes a personal relationship with God to make us special to Him, and at this time the people of Israel did not have one.  Verse fifteen says, So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.  Moses said he went down the mountain with the two tablets of stone and the mountain burned with fire.  This should have gotten the attention of the people of Israel.  I believe that God will always get our attention if we turn away from Him and start to chase after false gods.  Verse sixteen adds, And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.  Moses said that he then saw that they has made a molten calf to worship, quickly turn away from God in spite of what all He had done for them.  We will never be able to find anything that will be able to replace God in our life, even if we don't understand what He is doing at the moment.  Verse seventeen continues, And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.  Moses said he threw the two tablets down and broke them.  We cannot allow the actions of others to cause us to become angry and break God's law if we are followers of Christ. 

Deuteronomy 9:1

Deuteronomy 9:1 says, Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven,  Moses told the people of Israel that they were to cross over the Jordan that day to go and possess a land that was full of nations greater than them and filled with cities with walls that were very high.  We as followers of Christ need to always look to God for victory in our battle with the world today and never view the world as too powerful for us to overcome.  Verse two adds, A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak!   Moses warned them that the land was full of giants, but they were not to let this dishearten them.  When we see giant obstacles in the world today as followers of Christ, we should never allow them to discourage us, but we need to simply continue to look to God for the victory,  Verse three  continues, Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.  Moses said that God would go before them to bring down all their enemies so that they could destroy them.  As Christians, Jesus Christ has gone before us to defeat all our enemies spiritually, and all we have to do is live by faith in Him.  Verse four states, Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.  Moses warned the people of Israel not to begin to think that it was because of their spiritual superiority over other nations that they were victorious.  They would be victorious because of Who their God was and not because they were inherently better than the people of other nations.  We as Christians in America can never believe that we are somehow morally superior to people in other nations simply because we were born here.  Verse five adds, Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Moses said that the people of Israel would not be successful because of their righteousness, but that they would be successful because of God's promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  We today are not specifically successful because of our own righteousness, but are successful because of God's promise to restore mankind to Himself by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ Who paid the penalty for our sins.  Verse six continues, Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.  Moses further warned them to not think that God gave them the land because of their righteousness, because they were a stiffnecked people.  We will never have salvation because of our own righteousness, because at some point in life we were a stiffnecked person who did not put their faith in Jesus Christ.  As followers of Christ, we are simply a sinner saved by grace, no better than any other.

Merry Christmas

Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

This is why we celebrate Christmas.  It is the birth day of Jesus, the Promised Messiah, Who was born to redeem all mankind.  He was born in a place where He was a stranger, not in a palace, but in a manger.  His birth was not noted by the rich and powerful, but was announced by the angel of the Lord to a group of shepherds as they went about their everyday life.  The shepherds were told to not be afraid, because the angel brought them good news.  This good news was that unto them that day in the city of David was born to them a Savior, which was Christ the Lord.  Again, this is what we celebrate today.  The shepherds were told where they could find Jesus and how they could recognize Him.  They would find Him wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  We today find Him as the Resurrected Lord, knocking on our hearts door as God calls us to Him.  Then, a multitude of angels appeared, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.  This is what we should be doing today as Christians while we celebrate Christmas, praising God and showing peace and good will toward all people.  Of course, it starts by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, and if you haven't what better day to do so than on Christmas day.  My prayer is that if you haven't, that you will do so today, then you can truly celebrate Christmas. 

Deuteronomy 8:10

Deuteronomy 8:10 says, When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.  Moses said when the people of Israel ate and were full that they were to bless, or thank, the LORD.  No matter how rich or poor we may be as followers of Christ today, we should always give thanks to God, especially if we have enough to eat and a roof over our head.  Verse eleven adds, Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:  Moses warned them against forgetting God when they were full and life was going well.  Too often today, people look to God in times of need, but forget Him in times of blessings.  Verse twelve states, Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;  Verse thirteen adds, And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;  Verses fourteen continues, Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;  This was a continuation of Moses warning the people of Israel to not forget God when He blessed them greatly with not only enough food and nice houses, but with herds and silver and gold as well, and their beginning to think that they were responsible for all the good things they had and forgetting God.  It seems today that as Christians sometimes the more God blesses us the more we take credit for it and the less the give God the credit and praise.  Verse fifteen says, Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;  Moses begins to remind the people of all thet God had done for them.  God led them through the terrible wilderness full of dangers, and even provided them water from out of a rock when there was no water.  Today, in our spiritual wilderness, God gives us Living Water if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse sixteen adds, Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;  Moses said that God also provided them with manna, bread from heaven, to eat to humble them because they had nothing to do with providing it for themselves.  We need to humbly thank God for the Bread of Life and all other riches that He brings us today.   Verse seventeen continues, And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. Moses continued to warn the people of Israel against beginning to think that they and not God were responsible for all the good things they had.  We as followers of Christ need to heed that same warning today.  Verse eighteen declares, But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.  Moses told them to remember that it was God Who blessed them with all these riches, and we need to remember that it is God Who provides us with all that we have today, whether we are rich or not.  Sometimes it seems that the less with have the easier it is to give God the glory and praise, and the more we have the easier it is to think that we are responsible and to forget God.  This should never happen though.  As Christians, we need to give God the glory for all that we have and use it for His glory.  Verse nineteen adds, And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.  Moses warned them that if they became rich in material things and forgot that God was the source of their blessings and began to worship false gods that they would perish.  We cannot serve God and material things or false idols at the same time.  Verse twenty continues,  As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.  This was a warning to the nation of Israel that if they forgot God that they would be destroyed like the nations that God had destroyed before them because of their disobedience.  We may call ourselves a Christian nation, but if we forget God and His laws, we eventually will be destroyed just like any other nation.  We are not blessed by the fact of who we are as a nation, but are a nation because of Who God is if we are indeed a Christian nation.  We should never believe that God blesses us because of where we were born.

Deuteronomy 8:1

Deuteronomy 8:1 says, All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers.  Moses told the people of Israel that they were to observe, or obey, all the commandments of God that He commanded them to do that day, so that they might live, multiply and possess the land that God had promised to their fathers.  Verse two adds, And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.  Moses also told them to remember the wilderness wanderings when God had humbled them and learned what was in their hearts, whether they would obey Him by faith or not.  As Christians, we need to humble ourselves before God today so He will know what is in our hearts, and that is that we put our faith in Him alone.  Verse three continues, 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.  Moses said God allowed them to hunger in the wilderness until He fed them with manna, which they knew nothing about.  Moses said God did this to teach them that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of God's mouth.  We still need to put faith in God above physical needs and desires.  Verse four states, Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.  Moses reminded them that their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet swell during all their movements.  God will still meet the needs of His people today and enable them to physically do what He calls them to do.  Verse five adds, Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.  Moses told them that they were to understand that as a father chastised his son when he did something wrong, so would God chastise them.  If God is not chastising us today, we must be either living perfect lives in His sight, or we are not really His child.  Verse six continues, Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.  Just as Moses told the people of Israel, we as followers of Christ are to walk in His ways and obey His commandments.  Verse seven declares, For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;  Moses said the people of Israel were to keep God's commandments and walk in His ways because of all that He had given them.  God has given us something even greater, and that is everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and for that reason we are to obey His commandments and walk in His ways.  Verse eight adds, A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil, and honey;  Verse nine continues, A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.  Moses said that the land God was giving them was a land that would more than meet their needs.  One day, as followers of Christ,  we will be called home to heaven, a place that will more than meet all our needs.  Most importantly though, as with the people of Israel, it will be where God is.

Deuteronomy 7:17

Deuteronomy 7:17 says, If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them? Moses said that they might question their ability to defeat these nations that were greater than they were.  We today may sometimes feel that the world is too powerful for us to overcome as followers of Christ when we see how powerful it is.  Verse eighteen adds, Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt;  Moses said if they began to feel this way that they were to remember what God did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt, which had definitely been more powerful than the people of Israel, but could not come close to standing up to God.  God is still that same powerful God.  Verse nineteen continues, The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid.  Moses told them that just as God had defeated Egypt, He would defeat all their enemies in the Promised Land.  Their might was not in their own abilities, but was in their faith in God, just as ours must be today.  Verse twenty states, Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.  Moses said that God would cause their enemies to try to hide from them and be destroyed.  Verse twenty-one adds, Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.  Just like the people of Israel, we must not be afraid of the people of this world, because we serve a mighty God that nothing or no one can ever stand up to.  Verse twenty-two continues, And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.  Moses said that instead of defeating the people of the land all at once that He would do it little by little.  Though Jesus Christ has insured the everlasting victory over sin and death, in our own life our progress to victory through our faith in Him may be slow.  Verse twenty-three declares, But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.  Moses told the people of Israel that even if their progress was slow that God would be with them until all their enemies were destroyed, and He is with us the same way today.  Victory over the world does not come by our power, but by the power of God.  Verse twenty-four adds, And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.  Moses said God would deliver the kings into the hand of the people of Israel until they were destroyed.  Though we may not physically destroy all our enemies today, if we put our faith in Jesus Christ, they have already been destroyed spiritually.  Verse twenty-five continues, The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.  Moses told them that they were to destroy the graven images with fire, and warned them to not begin to desire the silver and gold that these idols were made of.  As Christians, we must never be tempted by the things of this world that would lead us away from God, no matter how valuable they may seem.  Verse twenty-six concludes, Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.  Just as the people of Israel were warned to not bring a cursed thing into their midst but were to totally detest it, so must we today.